Never has there been a time in history where lists have had it as good as they do today. The internet has given rise to an incomprehensible number of blogs, magazines, websites, and forums as well as an ever growing need for more quality content to support them. The amount of people joining the web every day and the speed at which they consume posts, articles, and other media make lists an invaluable tool in the writer’s toolbox.
Why?
Because making lists is easy. They’re formulaic and intuitive to put together since they’re simply a written reflection of how we structure data in our own minds. Lists also pull in readers. Humans love ranking things and testing their own opinions against the opinions of others.
Who hasn’t seen a best restaurant list and wondered where your favorite places ranked?
Despite being easy to pull together lists are not all the same, and the biggest fundamental difference between them is if they qualify as actionable or informational (non-actionable). Pretty much all lists fall into one of these two categories. As mentioned in a previous article, actionable lists are lists that contain items you could easily format into a to-do list. Examples of this would be lists of top restaurants to try, steps for a recipe or places to visit. Informational lists don’t have achievable items, they simply exist to share ideas (jokes, pictures, thoughts, etc.) in a simple and clear format. Most BuzzFeed listicles are informational.
So what’s the benefit of understanding the type of list you’re working with?
Why does this matter?
Understanding list type is valuable when building a list for yourself or others. This relates to the U and E factors of the QUEST system we went over in our last article. Usability and engagement are very much connected to list type, and by understanding list type you can figure out the best tools to use to optimize your list.
Let’s talk through a quick example to illustrate how this works. We’ll begin with a list we’ve identified as actionable. With that as our starting point, we can then figure out how to improve the usability of the list. Since it’s actionable we’ll want to consider adding check boxes to track progress, possibly a map so the user can easily find their way to the listed items, and we’ll likely want to include operating hours, links to websites and even online ordering information. All of these things will help our reader work through and use the list without having to rely on too many outside sources.
With usability addressed we can then turn to improving engagement.
While informational lists might benefit from more general photos or videos (like random GIFs), actionable lists are less about entertaining and more about utility. Instead, actionable lists should include photos or video that help the user identify a location or aid their experience at that location (like food or menu photos). This does not mean an actionable list can’t be entertaining, but its primary value resides in its usefulness.
The better you understand the list on your hands the more useful you can make it for readers or yourself.
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