99 Reasons why we should put an end to bullet lists
Many blogs have now specialised in internet marketing, providing tips on how to increase the number of RSS readers or how to write content that ‘goes viral’. While these resources are very helpful I believe that they are often too long.
Imagine the headline “99 ways to gain RSS subscribers”. I am sure that most of these ninety-nine tips will work, but most readers will not be able to focus on any of them due to their sheer quantity.
The article ceases to be helpful and simply becomes a marketing machine to attract more visitors to the authors blog, instead of also helping you do the same.
Due to the information bombardment that many of the weblogs practise today, I have decided to start something different: I want to highlight one issue at a time.
I might not be able to make the information as easily digestible as a bullet list with ninety-nine items, but thorough explanation will make up for this.
Of course this does not mean that I will abolish bullet lists, but simply that I want to focus on a single topic in an article.
For those still waiting for a sensational revelation about my choice of headline, read the last paragraph again. (This weblog post is an announcement of the juicy things to come.)
Stay tuned for some in-depth analysis to captivate your readers on your own blog. I hope I am doing the same on my own right now. (If I am, good. Otherwise,… tell me in the comments.)
A non-related addendum
Some of the other weblog entries that I will be planning are packaged as the plain old goodie. Fasten your seat-belts for some more photoshop brushes, a roundup of great free icons and a couple of illustration blurbs.
// Mrs. Micah
Sunday, December 9th 2007
at 21:01 PM
Some bulleted lists are insanely long. I tend to keep those open in my browser and periodically scroll through another few. You’re probably write that they also lead to less action than one or two good points.
I try to keep my own lists under 10 points, though I’m not into listing--unless it’s reasons which support my one point.
// Dominik Lenk
Sunday, December 9th 2007
at 23:28 PM
Mrs. Micah: I would not say that I am not into listing. Resource lists, such as free fonts, are great because they are timeless; you can always come back to them.
Yet other lists that focus on tips or techniques are often too long and as you said, actually lead to less action.
10 points: That seems to be a nice digestible number… I am sure to have a look at your future articles...:)
// Leah "Bean"
Tuesday, December 11th 2007
at 17:58 PM
Hey Dominik,
I’m coming to you from iLT, and I just wanted to say that when your site loaded and I saw the beautiful job you did (and specifically, the graphic of inky black and white scribbles/flowers on the blue background) I literally went: “OOOH!” out loud. I really like this art! Did you do it yourself?
Great job, anyway.
Also—totally agree about abolishing the whole “99 reasons.... (etc)” thing. It does grab you at first (same with magazine covers promising 101 New Sexy Things to Do in Bed, etc) but then when you read it, you realize half the things they list are things you already knew, another quarter are dumb and/or impractical, and maybe a quarter (I’m being generous) might work. Might.
// Small Business Marketing
Friday, March 7th 2008
at 20:34 PM
I like the long lists. It seems the short lists are always the same redundant things. If you have a long list (and time) then you are bound to find things you haven’t thought of or tried.
// mondeo
Monday, March 17th 2008
at 7:29 AM
Yeah lists are often gimmicks used by online and print media to get more readers. How many times in the last 10 years has Rolling Stone had “Top 10 [artist/album] of [time frame]” covers?