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Article Marketing: 7 Steps To Writing The Perfect List Article

By Steve Shaw

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 15Dec2008 Word count: 808 Viewed: 191 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

No wonder list articles are so popular with readers--they're easy to scan and glean info from. To top it off, there is something about us humans that makes it very difficult for us to read just a few items in a list. If the list is 5 items long, it's hard to read just 3--don't ask me why, but it's true!

So, a list article is a great way to quickly and easily convey information to your target readers and also keep their attention longer.

But how do you write an effective list article?

It's not hard, I promise, but in order to get the most bang for your buck out of your efforts, there are a few steps to keep in mind:

1) What will you write about?

Of course your article is always on the topic of your website, but you need to decide what specific topic to cover in your list.

Will your article be a "how to" giving steps on how to do something. Will your article be a list of tips on a certain topic? Will your list be a collection of fascinating facts about your niche?

Whatever your topic, start brainstorming items for your list. Come up with as many ideas as possible--later you'll choose the very best to include in your article.

2) Decide how long your list will be.

If you're doing a "how to" list, then the number of items is determined by the number of steps in your tutorial, but you can condense or stretch your items to suit a specific number that you're shooting for.

List numbers that do especially well are 10, 5, 3, 7, 15, and perhaps the odd number if you wanted to go higher than that.

There are some numbers that just aren't as eye catching (such as 4 or 6). Usually you're better off with odd numbers, unless the even numbers are round, like 10, 20, 50, 100.

The fewer items you have in your list, the more space you'll have to elaborate on each item. If you have just a few items in your list, you'd better have something significant to say about each item, as having a really short list and not saying very much about each item can make it look like you're not knowledgeable on your topic.

3) Arrange your list items.

If you're doing a "how-to" list, then your items are easy to pick out, but if your list is a "Top Tips" or "Interesting Facts" list, then you need to strategically choose which list items to use and the order in which to put them.

Pick out your 3 strongest list items.

Put two of your strongest list items as the first two items in your list.

Then put your remaining strongest list item as the final item in your list.

There is a strategy here--you want to start strong to catch the reader's attention, lure them into your article, and then have a strong ending before leading into your resource box.

4) Fill in any explanations for your list items.

As you're writing the explanatory parts of each item, keep an eye on your word count. Articles used in article marketing generally have word count limitations of between 400-1500 words.

5) Write an introductory and concluding paragraph.

I usually save this for last in the writing process because I want to be sure that the bulk of my words are being used for the list. Definitely though, you do need at least a brief intro and concluding paragraph, as it's kind of abrupt just to launch into a list and then break off without so much as a "hello" and "good-bye".

6) Number your list items.

That may sound obvious, but I do see some list articles that don't have the items numbered, and it makes it more difficult to scan the list. One of the bright points of a list article is that it's easier to read than a paragraph style article, so why not make things crystal clear to the reader by putting numbers before each of your items?

7) Write a great title!

As I said before, list articles are very attractive to readers because they are easy content to consume--how hard can it be to read a simple list?

In order to lure readers in, make the fact that your article is a list article very clear in the title. Consider these title templates:

Top 10 Ways To _____

Top 7 Tips For ____

How To ____ In 5 Easy Steps

You get the idea!

List articles are a joy to read because they're so straight to the point, but they're also a dream to write too. By following these simple steps you'll be writing easy-to-read, easy-to-write list articles in no time!

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