How to Write the Perfect Listicle (About Anything!)

People like listicles because they like breaking things into categories and see differences between those categories.

You can find all kinds of listicles on the Internet, ranging on all kinds of different topics.

Buzzfeed invented the listicle and things were never the same again. When it comes to blog content, this article type reigns supreme. Here’s how to write one.

What is a Listicle?

Before you start writing a listicle, you should probably know what it is.

Buzzfeed is the website that made the listicle popular, and really it’s just an article that makes a list of anything. It can be on all kinds of different topics and can be a list of any number of points.

A lot of time there is media in the post as well, like photos, videos, and GIFs.

To see an example of a well-written listicle, click here to learn more.

There’s no right or wrong way to write a listicle, but there are different things to consider to help you get more people reading your listicles. 


Number Each Item

Listicles are normally a number of different items, and it’s important that you give a number to each major header. This will help break up your article and allow people to scan your article quickly rather than having to read huge blocks of text.

The numbered sections are great ways to summarize and categorize the information. Your goal is to make the information easily digestible for the reader. You want your article to look organized.

You should also decide how many numbers you want.

You should choose a number that will allow you to write about the project without having to leave out information different based on each topic that you write about.  or write fluff and filler content. This will be

And for the most part, it won’t matter which number you choose.

A lot of listicles have smaller numbers to make it easier for its audience to read. But that’s not to say that large-numbered listicles don’t work as well.

As a general rule of thumb, 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10, are common numbers for listicles.

However, based on different research, it looks like odd-numbered posts do better than even numbered ones. That may be something you want to consider when choosing a number.

Expand on Each Item on the List

After you make each numbered point, you should also go into a small explanation right underneath it. This is the place where you get to expand on your point.