How to Write a Listicle That Wins (8 Step Process)

I have several different go-to content types for my sites, but if I’m being honest the backbone of my portfolio is built with listicles. My business brought in revenue in excess of $19k in June and a good majority of that is directly from display ads showing on list articles. In this article I’m going to talk a little about how to write listicle, by giving some tips that I’ve picked up on over the past few years.

But first…

What is a listicle?

A listicle is a piece of blog content that covers a given topic in the form of a list. The list can be formatted in many different ways and look totally different from author to author. The important part is that you are giving the reader a list of items to consume, preferably numbered and with images.

I think the way people use the internet continues to evolve, and right now people like to scan and scroll. If you give people a well-written and long post that they can scroll down while learning about their search and looking at relevant pictures, then you’ve got a piece of the puzzle.

You also must be able to choose the right topics, not all topics can be satisfied properly with a listicle.

How to write a listicle

Here’s the basic 8 step process I use when crafting my listicles. Not only does Google seem to love the way format and publish these articles, but I also see high RPMs (typically $40s and $50s). I can’t guarantee any of these tips will be the turning point for your struggling blog. However, if I had followed these tips 2 years ago I would’ve gotten to where I am now a lot sooner.

1. Start with the right topic

It all starts with the topic. If you don’t choose a topic that can be satisfied with a list, then the following steps are going to be pointless. So first and foremost you need to do some research for listicle keywords. I just add a ton to a spreadsheet along with estimated search volumes.

As look through keywords I’ve picked out, I’ll research the competition and decide on the spot if the keyword makes it to the next phase. The next phase being my WordPress editor or being assigned to a writer.

Some examples of obvious list keywords:

• Examples of [term in your niche]
• Types of [term in your niche]

Some examples of not-so obvious list keywords:

• Reasons why [term in your niche] *wildcard
• Ways to *wildcard [term in your niche]
• How to *wildcard [term in your niche]

But these are just some basic examples and is just scratching the surface. Each niche is going to be different and you’ll have to take a deep dive into your own niche to find the gold nuggets (low competition listicle keywords).

2. Quickly outline your article

When I say quickly outline the article, I really mean quickly. I basically just add placeholders for each section, it takes me all of 2 minutes to do this ultra-quick pre-outline directly in the WordPress editor to get my article going.

Here’s an example of what I mean:

That’s really it. I just get a basic skeleton template up like the above, directly in the WordPress editor. Then I move on to the next step which is the discovery of my list items.

3. Discover your list items

By this point the topic has already been vetted and approved by me, and the outline is up and ready. I now research and discover the list items going into listicle. This is obviously going to be radically different from list to list, but this is the heart of your listicle and your list items need to be good.

You could find the best low competition keyword in your niche and then choose all crappy list items and the article tanks anyway. So take your time and choose the correct steps for your list or the best random list items, depending on the type of list you’re going for.

One important tip I have applies to random list item listicles, (types or examples of for instance) where you can just choose whatever you want for the list. Always choose the most well-known and famous list items. The more search volume that surrounds each one of the list items, the better chance you have of that listicle getting some traffic.

Let’s say your topic was “examples of pets for kids”. Don’t add a bunch of obscure pets on your list, like some near extinct fish that’s only found in South America, a color-morph of a pet snake that costs $3k, or a breed of dog that has a search volume of 10 searches/month. Follow the volume and overall interest and you’ll have a better chance.

So when it comes to discovering your list items, there are a few things to remember.

• If it’s supposed to be an exhaustive list then make sure you’ve done your research and include everything you’re supposed to
• If it’s a list of random items then choose the most famous, well-known, and possibly household items you can
• For a guide or list of numbered steps, make sure that you cover all of the bases and don’t leave any holes that will make people bounce
• How many items your competitors are doing may affect your number – i.e. if competitor A is doing 8 you may want to do 9.

4. Search for images

After I’ve been through the discovery phase, now I consider the list to be outlined. Even if I pass it off to a writer at this point, I know that the content will be focused on the right things. However for our purposes, I’m writing this one. So the next step is to go down the list and add images.

For most of my lists, they’re fairly dependent on images. Users often click on my articles in order to see images along with the info about the list item. I’ll start with the first list item and just go down the list looking for public domain or Creative Common images. Whenever possible I find something in the public domain and use websites like Pixabay, but I often end up using DepositPhotos or Flickr.

Regardless of where you source your images, I suggest that you keep a record of where each and every one came from and credit all authors if possible. Not all lists require as many images as others, but I do think it’s import for there to be at least some images in every listicle.

If I feel like one particular list item really needs an image but I can’t find one anywhere, I’ll often head to YouTube and see if there is at least a video I can embed.

In the end, the amount of images you have in your listicle is up to you. All else being equal, I’ve generally found that the more images the better in terms of both ad revenue and traffic. People like to look at engaging images and I give them what they want, in exchange they look at my ads.

5. Start entering descriptions

Descriptions, my absolute least favorite part of writing a listicle. I find this part monotonous and the most time-consuming, which is why this is really the only part that I outsource. I do still write my own quite often though, I just don’t enjoy it.

As I write this article, I have 2 other listicles going alongside this one. I am just bouncing back and forth, whittling away at descriptions. This article is the easiest for me because all of these descriptions come from knowledge in my head, no research involved which is awesome. The others require separate research for each list item which is time consuming.

The length of the description is going to greatly depend on the topic and the number of list items in your listicle. A good range to be in for most informational listicles is 75-150 word descriptions. That’s what I try and stick to. However, sometimes they need to be more or less depending on the topic.

When it comes to the listicle item related to the niche or topic of the article. Here are some things you can cover in your listicle description:

• What
• Why
• Where
• When

Most importantly be sure to cover how the listicle item is directly related to or connected to the topic at hand.

So back to the previous topic example of  “examples of pets for kids” be sure to include in each and every pet description why the pet is or isn’t a good pet for a kid. That’s relevancy. You’re giving a list of pets for kids, then discussing their potential as pets for a certain age group.

If you instead you just wrote a description with some random facts about each one and didn’t even mention its potential for a kid, you aren’t addressing the search intent.

6. Check the formatting

After I’ve filled in my last description, it’s time to format everything. Honestly I often do this as I’m writing, but if you write in another editor or in Word or something you may do it after the writing is complete and you’ve moved the descriptions into WordPress.

Basically I just want everything nice and clean and looking like it came off an assembly line. All of my listicles are in the exact same format, the one in the outline example above. It’s not rocket science. Above all else just make it easy to digest.

One thing I do is separate the list items with the <hr> separator in WordPress. I know it has absolutely no effect on SEO, but I think giving clear separation between list items like this helps the reader distinguish between them better and more easily scan the post.

I can’t tell you exactly how to format yours, your style will develop over time after you’ve received back enough data and find your groove. All I can say is stick to what’s simple and what works. You want a template for every type of post you publish and to just repeat it over and over.

7. Proofread the content

At this point the article is more or less done and I just go through and correct all of my mistakes. I type pretty fast and often just keep going even when I notice a mistake, so there are often several typos to fix.

Even if I miss some though, it’s not the end of the world. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read over one of my older articles that gets a bunch of traffic a year later only to notice a glaring typo that has been there all along. Google didn’t seem to care and readers know that humans make mistakes, I just fix the error and move on.

Regardless, it is important to try and put out as error-free of a product as possible. So don’t skip the final check, just read the article over once and fix anything that needs to be fixed.

8. Add an FAQ or facts section (optional)

I don’t do this most of the time, but sometimes. One scenario when I might add a short FAQ section is if it’s an exhaustive type list where there can only be 3 list items. That seems kind of short for a listicle, but it still fulfills a search and the article needed to be written.

In this case you might end up with a 600 word article, so you want to beef it up just a little with another 200-300 word section. This is where I might add and FAQ section, facts about [topic] section, or simply sneak in a few subheadings.

Like I said though, I only do this really if the word count comes up really short.

How long should a listicle be?

I like to keep most of my listicles in the 800-1500 word range. Having said that, some can be much much longer. Last year I found a cluster of about 40 listicle keywords in one of my niches. I created a template for that cluster that ended up causing each article to be 5500 words. That’s rare though and closer to 1k range is the sweet spot for me in most cases.