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101 Content Generation Ideas: Create Top 10 Lists



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101 Content Generation Ideas: Create Top 10 Lists

101 Content Generation Ideas: Create Top 10 Lists
I was just going through my box of content generation tricks and looking at what I could pull out, spit on and and shine up and talk to you about and in my juggles and shakes this one floated to the top and up pops like the biggest rocks usually do, for creating Top 10 lists for content. And I'm surprised I didn't do a post on this one before actually because it's probably one of the most suggested and common methods of them all that people can use for creating killer content with! 101 Content Generation Ideas: Create Top 10 Lists

According to List.ly, lists rule!

  • Up to 99% of blogs use lists.
  • And up to 57% of blog posts use lists.
And everyone loves a top 10 list! And it doesn't even have to be a top 10 list. It could be a top 5 or a top 3 or less and people would still find it almost irresistible to see who comes 1st! And it gets better because another thing about lists is that every niche industry or business can easily brainstorm some top 10 or even top 5 lists etc that are related to your niche/business.

Just look at and think of those things that are trending trends and insights in your niche, to-do lists, tips lists, tips on where to shop, buy, eat, wear, sleep, travel, experience etc etc. What is it about your niche/business that your targeted clients use? Where would your business rate in a top 10 list with another? The top lists you can create are practically endless.

How to Create Top 10 Lists?

Here is a top 10 list of tips for putting a killer top 10 list together!

  1. Structure Data by Importance
    Every list starts by listing the points by least order of importance or significance where the least important fact/point/thing comes first and builds up to the most important.
  2. Make Lists Related
    Every good top 10 list is a list of related things. Your readers will want to know that there will be 10 different things being listed and they are all related in some way.
  3. Don't Overload Information
    If you give your readers TMI (Too Much Information) you'll make it hard for them to focus and they'll be off to read another one of your posts, or someone else's!
  4. Have a Great Headline Hook
    Research has proven that list headlines that start with a number have a 36% response rate compared to lists that start with a traditional title.
  5. Make Your Top 10 List Stand Out
    Every point/thing in your list that you do list should be unique and distinct to the next while always relating to the core theme that your top 10 list is for.
  6. Make Your Top 10 List Easy to Read
    Don't just slap top 10 lists together, they suck! Take some time to put one together that readers can easily read and where applicable add photos, images etc to boost the attention they get.
  7. Make Your Top 10 List Highly Shareable
    Every top 10 list you make should be shareable if you want to maximise how much it does get shared - break each point down into a separate tweet by using ClickToTweet service (optional).
  8. Help Readers Make a Decision
    Instead of providing a long a list of things you want people do buy, this will put people off and they'll grow confused and skip out of there faster than lightening. Make it easy for them.
  9. Make it Easy to Make
    Putting together a good top 10 list is no mean feat. It takes time, organisation & structure. Make it easy for the content creators who can't just jump in and start making it quickly.
  10. Make a Top 10 Calendar
    You could fill in your content calendar with a top 10 list for every popular category on your site. Just know that you wont always be able to make a top 10 list for every category though.
And that is a top 10 list on how to make a killer top 10 list. And that also completes today's lesson for 101 Content Generation Ideas: Create Top 10 Lists.

Do you make top 10 lists for content generation purposes on your site?

What other ways do you come up with top 10 lists?

Cheers!

Mike.

Comments

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TheArticulate
I actually do not make top 10 lists for my interests, but it'd certainly something I could benefit from if I would just buckle down and start typing them out. Very related to your post about listicles, top 10 lists are able to drive across important information in short, concise messages that are easy to read and understand. This is incredibly effective in internet culture today, and something everyone should at least try.

If anything, organizing your thoughts into top 10 lists just for practice could be incredibly beneficial. I think you'll find that your thoughts will become better organized once you put them into lists, and they have more potential to be developed and build on once you have them down in an ordered and physical way.



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NicholasMukuha
Personally I have not been confronted by a situation where I need to make a top 10 list, except when going for shopping on a tight budget. However, I cannot help but agree with what you have posted here, and any time I am required to come up with one, I believe this will be my reference datum.

I would like to add that it's important for the writer to place themselves in a reader's shoes. If you were the reader, what would you be interested in? This is because, as you have said in number 3, most readers have the habit of scanning through a story, trying to look for that one thing that makes sense. If they do not find it within the first few lines, then they lose interest and press the 'next' button.

Generally, I love how you have brought the tips out, and would recommend it to anyone who is willing to succeed.



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Baburra
There are sites dedicated to just doing lists and there are also a lists done by those who don't specialize in it so it definitely could be a great gold mine for inspiration if you are absolutely blocked for content and need to put up something quick. There is a good and bad way of doing this though, as I've seen many lists done very poorly to the point that I got bored halfway and gave up without even reaching the number one pick. The good thing about this is that once you get your format down you could just replicate it for any other lists you might make in the future. Great tip!



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DarthHazard
Whenever I see a top 10 list on a social media site, I always tend to click on them because they have always been on something that I am pretty interested in. Like recently, there was a top 10 list of the best moments that have happened on the Game of Thrones show. It was actually a pretty good list and I'm sure that the blog earned quite a bit of money as there was quite a bit of advertising throughout the page. If you can create a top 10 of a topic that is extremely popular then this type of content will prove extremely popular with your readers.



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JoeMilford
I really like reading these, but I do not know if I would spend a lot of time creating them. There's nothing wrong with them, and obviously I just said I would go to a content site to have fun exploring them, but, for me, I am not truly excited about the form, so I would use the limited time that I have to write and research on a different sort of content generating vehicle. However, once again, you have presented us with yet another in a long line of creative ideas for generating content.



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nrnlss
Same here. The idea is really nice and it make your article really good. However, it will slow down our work and as a writer we have deadlines so it's hard to follow this.



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