Previous articles and posts have discussed powerful ideas and practices aimed at helping you create the type of engaging content that will drive your blog’s success. Now it’s time to take a closer look at organizing information in a specific way that will deliver real value to your readers:
The list post.
The “Secrets” of the List Post
What we call “how-to” or “list” posts can engage potential clients by providing relevant and helpful information in an easy-to-understand format. Remember, your blog is not a book-readers will quickly skim and scan the content you’ve created before investing more time in your blog.
Organizing useful information – steps the reader can take, important terms the reader should know, actions to avoid in a specific situation, top resources to learn more about a topic, etc. – into a list is a clear and concise way to demonstrate the value your blog provides (and your expertise).
These are example post ideas to get you thinking along the right lines …
Practice Area Specific
- 3 big things to remember when talking to the doctor after a workplace injury
- The top 5 ways to minimize estate taxes
- A few reasons why field sobriety tests aren’t reliable
- 10 tips for dealing with credit card debt
- The one thing every driver should know about car accidents-and 5 others
- The 4 steps to the Social Security Disability claims process
- 7 myths about bankruptcy
General Topics
- 11 questions you should ask when you are considering hiring an attorney
- Answers to the top 10 questions clients ask in initial consultations
- 5 things everyone should do today to protect their legal rights
- Top 6 reasons you may need an attorney’s help
The numbers we’ve mentioned are completely arbitrary, by the way. Some blogging “gurus” may tell you there are “magic numbers” like 7, 10 and 100 that drive more traffic and engagement. We recommend you take that kind of advice – usually pitched as a “super-secret blogging method” or similar hyperbole – with a substantial grain of salt.
List posts work, not because of the use of any particular number, but because they provide the reader with useful information in a digestible format.
In other words, there’s no “secret,” only good, common sense.
How List Posts Complement FindLaw-Provided Content
The posts that we write for Blog Service Premium and Essential clients are focused almost exclusively on “top news” items and current events. They are journalistic in nature and rarely, if ever, include advice, opinion or analysis. They never include calls to action or other marketing language.
While these news-oriented posts can and do produce powerful engagement – just look at some of the comments they generate, or will soon generate, on your blog – they are primarily designed to support other important performance objectives.
Specifically, the content we provide is part of a strategy to drive search visibility and search traffic to your blog, and to keep your firm “top of mind” with both visitors and Web searchers.
Supplementing FindLaw-provided content with list posts will help your blog become a well-rounded social media marketing tool-and a more valuable resource for your readers.
The posts you write will also give readers an insight into the personality of your firm, which can have a powerful impact on engagement, reputation and word-of-mouth referrals.
General Topics
Practice Area Specific