by Skellie
Photo by Freeparking.
Posts based on the Number + Adjective + Contents headline formula are probably the most popular form of web content we’ve ever seen. For every one person who loathes them there are one-hundred people who are enchanted by them. For reasons that others have previously explored, this kind of content pushes all the right psychological buttons.
The formula isn’t a secret weapon known only to an elite set of maverick writers. Anyone who reads blogs or uses social media gets it: that the formula is very much in fashion. Blogs that have never used it before are now tapping into spikes of social media traffic with its help. Writers who can stick to the formula are highly sought-after and increasingly well-paid. Blogs that use the formula well are growing at a rapid rate (and so are some that don’t, but I’ll get to that later). The formula works.
But for how long? Trends reach a saturation point and then begin a decline. If the formula hasn’t reached saturation point yet, it must be heading towards it. In this post, I want to talk about what comes after the death of this trend.
One of the best articles I’ve read recently was Derek Sivers (founder of CDBaby.com) on the action-reaction principle: that change leaves room for its opposite reaction. He argued that once a particular trend reaches saturation point, a market opens up for its opposite. Here are some examples he uses to illustrate this:
ACTION:
More and more and more music to choose from.
REACTION:
More need for tastemakers to tell us what’s good.
ACTION:
Less venues for musicians to play.
REACTION:
House concerts.
ACTION:
Everybody getting too much email.
REACTION:
Increasing effectiveness of using anything-but-email to reach people. (Phone, SMS, snail mail, Facebook message.)
There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that the ascendency of the formula is creating a similar effect. The counter-trend is still very much in its infancy, just as the formula still has an indefinite stretch at the top (my guess is a year or so before the formula fades or is significantly modified) before the tipping point is reached and it becomes too much.
For bloggers, though, the counter-trend represents and opportunity to pre-empt the tide. Just like tapping into an undiscovered niche can help your blog to grow rapidly, tapping into a newly popular form of content just before it becomes popular is also very desirable.
So, what is the counter-trend? In amongst some of the web’s most popular content (designed to be scanned as much as read, formulaic or high-impact headlines, easily disposable) an anomaly crops up that is the complete opposite of these things. It’s dense and meaty. It requires an intellectual investment and commitment of time–if you want to spend only five minutes with the content you won’t even begin to grasp hold of its main ideas. Its key concepts aren’t served up as take-away sound-bytes, bolded for easy access. In fact, this type of content tends to release its value slowly and surely, in a steady ‘dripping’ rhythm.
Jacques Louis David - The Death of Socrates
Back in late 2007 writer and documentary film-maker Errol Morris’s series of blog posts on whether an image of cannonballs strewn across a road was faked became a viral sensation. Each blog post was thousands of words long, written in full detail, densely researched and slow to unfold. The first post in the series generated 938 thoughtful comments. People were captivated by it, but the post was written like it didn’t matter, and that’s precisely what made it so fascinating. It did everything you’re not supposed to do when trying to garner attention in the age of information over-load, and that’s exactly why it received attention, and loads of it.
Chicken?
Egg?
Consider also the convincing Digg front-page stint (1625 diggs) of an article about Piotr Wozniak, inventor of SuperMemo, a complicated memory recall computer program first developed in 1985. If you’ve heard of the guy before, kudos to you. I’d guess that most of us haven’t. The profile is seven pages long and takes a winding path through Piotr’s life. It’s a really interesting piece, but it’s a dense, slow burner. It takes more than fifteen minutes to read, paragraphs are infrequent and details are many. It’s not the kind of content that is supposed to work on social media, and that’s exactly why it does.
Dosh Dosh is another example of counter-trend content, and I wonder if the ascendency of the social media formula correlates with the blog’s accelerated growth. A few months ago the blog had leap-frogged the 10,000 subscriber mark. Now it’s knocking on the door of 20k. The content hasn’t changed–if anything it has become denser and its ideas more complicated and abstract (and often more powerful). Post are long and paragraphs are big and chunky. The vocabulary is robust. As a result, readers are as enthusiastic as ever, if not more so, and the blog is growing at a blistering rate.
While I could overload this post with evidence, I’m guessing that you will have had your own encounters with the counter-trend in recent times. It is slowly and steadily becoming more prevalent. We’ve reached a point where lengthy, dense, challenging and time-consuming content is stealing its own novelty away from common formulas for social media optimized content. Though it’s a return to a style of writing influenced by journalism and non-fiction, its scarcity in comparison to ‘the formula’ makes it seem decidedly new.
The counter-trend represents an opportunity, if it appeals to you, for creating content that is more deeply meaningful and multi-layered than you may have been able to create before. After all, if you can simplify a point down to one bolded sentence, perhaps you’re not doing it justice.
One very positive trait of this type of content is that it is incredibly optimistic about reader engagement. It doesn’t assume that readers are incredibly impatient, looking for any excuse to move on the the next article, or the next blog. Instead, it assumes that readers are willing to be patient if they have reason to believe they’ll be rewarded for it. It doesn’t assume that ideas must be presented in their simplest forms or else readers will miss or misinterpret them. Instead, it assumes that readers are fundamentally intelligent and capable of following along with the author, regardless of where they end up (and irrespective of whether they agree).
I also want to suggest that this form of content may be very good at helping readers to feel an intense loyalty and appreciation for you as a blogger.
Imagine that you have two friends–Alex and Kim–who are not quite in your inner circle but are both moving closer. You spend a day with Alex, see a great gig, go running together and swap stories about work. You look back on it as a fun and worthwhile day. The next day you invite Kim to your house for lunch and afterwards, share a few glasses of wine. With the help of slightly lowered inhibitions you end up having a long, vulnerable discussion about things in your life that you would like to change. The result of the conversation is that you feel uplifted and inspired for the rest of the day. Which friend are you more likely to feel closer to?
Photo by freeparking.
The bond formed by engaging in content that challenges the reader intellectually is a powerful one. It probably helps to explain why Steve Pavlina’s book has entered the Amazon.com Top 100 list three months before its release date. Pavlina writes long, dense, multi-faceted posts with almost too-long paragraphs. His subject-matter is often incredibly challenging, and his headlines are written primarily with search terms in mind. He has not hit the front-page of Digg for one and a half years, yet he receives (reportedly) around 2 million visitors per month. This is because his fans evangelize him: they do they job of social media, and they do it better.
If you feel stifled by the formula, there is a strong alternative. Starting now could position you to be well ahead of the curve when the formula starts to fade. At the very least, take this as a cue to experiment, even if only once. If it doesn’t work for you, nobody will make you do it again (and if they do, tell me and I’ll sort ‘em out).
I should end on this note: while I expect the formula to fade in future, it remains very powerful for drawing in new readers to your blog. I’m not advocating that anyone stop using the formula–in fact, I’d suggest that you owe it to yourself to learn how it works and try it at least once.
However, sometimes it can seem like this is the only kind of content any sane blogger should be producing. It isn’t. The success of those who’ve turned their backs on the formula completely is testament to that.
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35 Comments, Comment or Ping
Dave Navarro
I’ve often marvelled at Pavlina’s and Maki’s ability to pull in readers with extremely long posts. Even though they go “against the trend,” what they do is pile on the information in rich detail and that’s why I read ‘em.
When somebody puts that much thought into a post, you feel a stronger desire to return the favor while reading.
Much like this post :-p
Aug 28th, 2008
Ultimate Blogging Experiment
Interesting article and a well written one. Really enjoyed this and I’m happy I found your blog.
Aug 28th, 2008
Mattt Tuley, Laptop for Hire
I often hesitate to post to my own blog because my posts tend to run on the long side, and “everybody knows” posts are supposed to be short. But I often don’t feel like I’ve adequately addressed my topic when I try to keep the post short. Thanks for this post. From now on my posts will be as long as I think they need to be and, ideally (idealistically?), I’ll find the right audience..
Aug 28th, 2008
skellie
@ Dave: That’s exactly it. I mean Maki’s posts sort of require a lot of literacy and analytical muscle to even read. He’s definitely not dumbing down for the masses and I think we’re seeing that the masses don’t need to be dumbed down for. Pavlina is more accessible but just epic — though blogging full-time helps!
I’m kind of scared what would happen if I had 7 days a week just to write…
@ Ultimate Blogging Experiment: I’m happy you found it too
@ Matt: Hehe, the funny thing I’ve always suggested that longer posts generally do better in terms of links and social media votes than shorter ones! You should definitely feel free to give each topic all the space it deserves, even if the result is quite epic. Plenty of readers really like that!
Aug 28th, 2008
Jade Craven
Yet another great post
I do have a question is regarding your response to Matt.
I’m one to give each topic the space it deserves as there is a definite lack of comprehensive resources in some niches. I’m wanting to create articles that are extensive. Erm - how long is too long?
I intend for some of my posts to stand the test of time and are targeted at newbies and was thinking of 5-10′000 words. Would you have any tips on presenting such massive amounts of information in a more digestible form?
@Matt, I’d be interested to see if sticking to your desired post length helped you.
Aug 28th, 2008
skellie
@ Jade: I think 5,000 words might best be reserved for a resource you’re going to link to permanently from your main page, rather than a blog posts that will disappear from your main page after a few weeks, simply because of the amount of work involved. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a blog post that is ‘too long’ but you want to make sure you’re rewarded for your efforts
Aug 28th, 2008
Writer Dad
I couldn’t agree with this more. The thought of doing a list post makes me shudder. So far, and granted the internet’s a pretty big place, I haven’t really seen anyone post quite like I do. Perhaps it’s because I didn’t read blogs before I started one. Only a few anyway. I didn’t realize how much repetition was out there. It’s numbing. I knew only two things: I didn’t want a niche and I wanted lots of traffic. It’s only been five weeks, but so far so good.
At dinner, I was talking to my wife about something similar to this. It’s a post idea that I have that would follow my usual format, but unfold over a five day period. I think it’s a good idea and I’m sure it can work.
That’s the thing about the future; it’s just one day at a time. Something’s not possible, or simply not done, until the next day when it finally is.
Great post. Thanks.
Aug 28th, 2008
Karl Staib - Your Work Happiness Matters
Breaking the formula is hard because you have to write such top notch content that it stands above the crowd. The formula allows average writers to succeed. They stick to the rules, making it easy to read and bang they get rated well in social networks like Digg. I’ve tried to write for Digg, but I’m not very good at it.
I write in the tone that feels best for me. I aspire to the depth and quality of Steve Pavlina, but I’m not going to copy him. Some of my posts have been flops, but the more I write the better I get. My voice is coming into it’s own.
Another well thought out piece! Great job Skellie!
Aug 28th, 2008
Joel Falconer
Number + Adjective + Contents posts certainly work, and I think we can attest to that with constant diggings giving all the TUTS sites a hard time staying up.
As a writer, resource lists pay nicely but I also can’t wait until we hit the tipping point and start the slide down the other side (if we ever do). I don’t have anything against resource lists but I sure have written a hell of a lot lately!
Aug 28th, 2008
Frank
Beautifully described argument. A+
I am becoming more and more adverse to reading Number + Adjective + Contents posts as I feel they are just using the formula to get me into their blog, not as a way to convey the information (or entertainment) I want.
I use them occasionally when I feel they are relevant to the topic and will add value to the reader.
Great post Skellie, don’t burn yourself our trying to put together one of these each day.
Aug 28th, 2008
Frank
btw, great picture selection
Aug 28th, 2008
Mary@GoodlifeZen
I don’t see how one can do justice to a theme in a short post. All my more ‘meatier’ posts are about 1500 words or so. That’s supposed to be too long for the attention span on the net.
But myreaders love it when I give them depth and not surface!
Aug 28th, 2008
Mikael
What an interesting topic for a blog post. Normally I do not read posts of this magnitude but it was worth the time. Skellie I think you’re right that these long posts will be part of the future in blogging. However because they require such an effort of time and brain activity to read, understand and comment on I believe that it will only appeal to part of the online users. Whether this part will be 10, 20, 30 or 40% I don’t know but I think that it will be closer to the low digits.
We live in a world where everything is presented faster and faster and because this is what the majority will get use to expect I can’t see that the majority will want to change this. The 10% (?) will increasingly choose to go for the long and thoughtful posts/movies/radio shows etc. but I don’t see the majority ever switching over to the “intellectual side” and mainly because the “instant infomercials” that they have been raised by will have diminished their intellect to a degree where they simple can’t understand the message.
Mikael
Aug 28th, 2008
Ankesh Kothari
Easy trick to make sure people love your writing, bookmark it, and spread it = overwhelm people with the content.
This is the single biggest reason for success of authors like Malcolm Gladwell and Robert Greene. They cover a topic from soo many facets that people can’t help it but be in awe of their articles.
Maki & Pavlina both write lengthy posts that overwhelms people. We have to bookmark it and come back to it to read it again.
Top 10 numbered posts do the same thing. And thats the reason I don’t see the trend of numbered posts dying anytime soon.
And if you evaluate the non-problogging scene, the trend is not even close to being saturated, its no where near its death bed.
(Read the mainstream press. Not the digg frong page links. And you’ll see how rare the numbered posts are - even though they are soo effective.)
Aug 28th, 2008
J.D. Meier
Really good points and perspectives.
I think there’s a distinction between market value and intrinsic value. I think numbered posts have an intrinsic value beyond the market value — they help readers feel good by setting expectations and simplify reading. Put it another way, they don’t make you work too hard. The numbered posts help with consumption and absorbtion. That’s a lasting intrinsic value.
I think the real issue is the lack of value or substance in many of the numbered lists. The non insightful lists give the insightful lists a bad rap.
I also think there’s a big difference between posts designed to be scanned vs. posts meant to make you think or feel (where stories and delivery come into play.)
Aug 28th, 2008
MaxBro
This is a great article on the qualitative vs. quantitative approach to blogging. Some blogs work better with shorter posts especially when they are news/gossip oriented, but personally I’m a fan of the longer, well-written and thorough style.
If done effectively, with the goal of providing useful, relevant content to the audience, longer articles are often much better in the long run. Steve Pavlina, as you mentioned Skellie, has an article on how to have a high-trafficked blog that is still considered one of the best written in its subject and no doubt pulls in people by the hundreds via the search engines week after week.
As the web community matures, I expect the qualitative approach to gain fashion. It’s certainly a style I am trending towards myself at the present, and one that I am growing to appreciate more often now.
Further, in the wake of all these Web 2.0 outfits, I think many bloggers have forgotten that making it on Digg or Reddit shouldn’t be your primary concern. There were many websites before those social networking sites came along that did well without them because they had great content.
Of course, I don’t think the Top Ten-style posts are going anywhere. Magazines have used those for decades before the web came along. But I suspect it will get harder and harder for obvious Digg-bait to get the attention it tries to get.
Aug 28th, 2008
plonkee
Hmm. Whilst I get the general gist, I actually skipped over the end of this post because I figured I’d worked out the message. It was too long for me.
Aside from their social media-ness, list posts have a place in everyone’s writing arsenal. They are one of the best ways of creating resources posts/pages that enable people to find information quickly. Writing is all about the readers, and sometimes lists are best.
Aug 28th, 2008
Tess
I agree with you and others that this depth of writing is desirable and likely to be seen more often.
My observation is a practical one: I’m drawn to so many different blogs that I don’t have time to keep up now with all those I subscribe to. And I like to get involved with blogs I read by commenting and joining the conversations, which also takes time and thought.
Perhaps if the style of writing you describe becomes more widespread, bloggers will have fewer, but more thoughtful, readers.
Mikael’s comment says the same sort of thing - although when you think of the millions of blog readers out there, even 10% (or whatever) of that figure adds up to a big audience.
Aug 28th, 2008
Evelyn Lim
Very interesting points you’ve brought up. I’ve toyed with both types of content - the list type and the beefy sharing type. I’d very much prefer to write the latter because I find it more rewarding. Its the list types that generate more views but the other ones that tend to generate “richer” comments and feedback.
Aug 29th, 2008
Bamboo Forest
“it has become denser and its ideas more complicated and abstract (and often more powerful).”
This is sometimes true. But sometimes, the simple message has far greater power than the more complicated one. Just like in martial arts - very often the most simple move is the most effective - not the complicated one.
As for myself - I have written very few list posts and the primary reason is because they do not resonate with me. My brother on the other hand does many of them.
This was a great read. Keep ‘em coming.
Aug 29th, 2008
Sean Hodge
@Skellie,
It’s great learning from you and the advice you’ve been giving is a big help.
In design it seams collections of images often make the front page of Digg, and the formula you mention is one of the most popular for that type of content. It makes sense, as it quickly and strongly says what the post is about. I think that type of post will help bring more new people to the TUTS sites.
90% of our content though has tremendous depth. So, the idea of a ratio might be something to consider. Maybe one or two Digg style posts to draw new traffic and then the rest are longer meety content.
I lean toward writing longer more analytical writing. And the tutorials on the site are really involved and descriptive. They often require time for the users who do them.
Of course some blog’s do well with short snippet posts, like Seth’s Blog, but there are plenty of markets with audiences that will really appreciate long thoughful articles.
It may be that the single biggest determinant of making the front page is “the push” though. Getting more than one “digger” with a respectable network to encourage their fans to vote for the post is helpful in “tipping” the post on Digg.
Aug 29th, 2008
fran snyder
Great post, just discovered your blog for the first time, because it mentions “house concerts.” I run the site that promotes them, and a blog chock full of advice for that community.
I thank you for spelling out something I’ve intuitively felt for some time, which left an uneasy feeling with me every time I published a post.
Wanting to “dare to be different” and to “follow examples of success,” you’ve made it easier for me to go with my (titling/content) instincts.
As an avid reader of Pavlina, I feel silly that the point has eluded me til now.
fran
Aug 29th, 2008
Angel Cuala
I am not fond of reading long articles unless the blogger can attract me through his style and the words he use, and you got me there.
You’re right. Intellectual investment is a requirement in blogging but sorry to say, not all bloggers have it. As some would think, you can be called a smart blogger if you are earning good money out of your blog and it does not matter how you do it.
Steve Pavlina and Maki are I think among the first bloggers of their own style and that’s what made them big. In short, be different and convince others that your difference is awesome.
But in the end, it is the capability of the blogger that matters.
Aug 29th, 2008
Mark Dykeman
I think this post is pointing to the fact that there are multiple audiences with different tastes in content, depth, and presentation. There can be short, medium, and long posts of different subjects and means of presentation. The demographics on the “cannonball” posts, Pavlina and Maki’s work would be interesting - is it an older, more educated audience vs. younger, less educated?
I think it’s encouraging to see people responding positively to meatier, remarkable (aka Seth Godin) material in the Web 2.0 era where some bloggers and advertisers are oriented towards quick, sensationalist content that’s crafted to score well in social news and bookmarking and then drive page views.
The fact that you wrote your article in a longer than normal length is not lost on your audience, either.
Aug 30th, 2008
Cindy King
I just linked to your post in my International Marketer Review Blog Carnival. Stop by and vote for the best post of the week.
Aug 30th, 2008
Joshua Clanton
Excellent analysis, Skellie. It’s partly just my personality, but I usually end up reading sites that offer more detail and less formula. There’s a place for simple formulas, but if a blog doesn’t have stronger content as well I’m not likely to visit again.
Aug 31st, 2008
ashok
I have a hard time writing list posts because if a list has an intrinsic, natural order then explaining that order and why it is important becomes a priority.
One thing you seemed to avoid is whether or not some longer posts actually provide more information than list posts. Granted, this isn’t a sure thing, but the emphasis on the emotional connection that a longer post creates starts to sound hollow as your post reaches the end. I don’t think this is just an emotional connection always; I blog longer posts because every sentence should be 1) something my reader should know already or 2) something new my reader probably doesn’t know or 3) something I don’t know and need to ask about or explore with the reader.
It would be a strange list post indeed, the one that didn’t offer something directly but instead attempted to ask questions, or use all the knowledge available to raise a bigger question.
Sep 3rd, 2008
Wendi Kelly
I found this post to be very reasuring as I have always since my first blogging day written longer posts and have bucked the trend of short bullet point posts. And while it has been true that it may have cost me in the * get tons of readers quick* formula, the community that is being built is thoughtful , intelligent and fun. Great conversation happens. It was worth the wait.
Thanks….its very validating and I had never thought about Steve or some of the others that you mentioned although like yourself, I am subscribed to all of you. I read for thoughtful powerful content, not a quick blurb that doen’t look like any effort was put into it.
Sep 4th, 2008
Sonia Simone
The problem with formulas is that they feel . . . formulaic. If a writer really puts some soul and thought into expressing something new with the formula, they can be very cool posts. (And those damned numbers in post titles really do hypnotize people into reading. It is very weird.)
Maki & Pavlina work because they don’t give a damn about anyone else’s definitions. They have something interesting to say and they speak up with a strong voice.
That’s not a formula for success. If there’s a formula for success, I think it’s “be really good at something many people want.” Thanks for reminding us that the “many people want” part of the equation is wider than we sometimes think.
Sep 5th, 2008
Michael Hoppal
Skellie, in your examples of great, content-rich posts that go against the number + adj. + content list-post style, you’ve forgotten your own blog!
I began reading this blog at random about a week ago, when I finally had the time to expand my horizons. I was told about it on the premise that, though you don’t post as often as some (such as lifehacker), your content is rich, well-researched, and informative. Rather than multiple superficial posts every day, you think of relatively unique topics and go as in-depth as is tolerable for a blog post, and use that to teach.
That is why I’m going to stick around: your content is definitely some of the best I’ve read online. It’s a refreshing respite from the typical formulaic drivel. Keep it up.
Sep 10th, 2008
Rob O.
I liked you “Alex and Kim” example and it’s kinda in sync with my own blogging style. Many of my posts tend to start out lengthy and even after I nip & tuck to edit some of the wordiness out, they’re still fairly long - or maybe more like what you’d consider an article. So I try to balance those out with shorter, quick & light posts so our readers don’t get overwhelmed or find the content tedious.
By the same token, I kinda go out of my way to avoid posting memes and some of the other pure fluff stuff that’s so common on many blogs. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with those, but it’s just not the kind of content I want to have as the norm. Those posts just don’t strike me as having much longevity or do much to compel visitors to become regular readers.
Sep 16th, 2008
Joni Scott
I am enjoying your posts while Darren is away. I am new to the blogosphere, but I decided as I began my blog that I would simply follow my passion and let those things I love to write about flow, and slowly build my “community.” I am learning alot, but your posts convince me that whatever a person cares and feels deeply about can create great blogs without “formulas.” I have visited quite a few “formula” blogs and, honestly, there are so many of them and thier content is often canned. Good Job Skelly!
Sep 19th, 2008
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