9 Reasons Readers Can’t Stop Reading Lists

New writers — a trick to keep the reader reading

Seeing a list puts our mind at ease. We know what to expect.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

We don’t read content. We skim it. This is the hidden-power of lists.

Skimming helps us judge content and decided if we should read it. It’s easier then reading, it’s a great time saver, and most readers skim — so as a writer, you should learn how to keep people skimming.

The 9 Reasons Readers Won’t Stop Reading Your Lists:

1. You shouldah been there…. You know what we hate more then spiders? being told, “you shouldah been there.” If something exciting happens, we want to be part of those who experience it.
2. Getting lost in the sauce: If we start reading a list, we usually continue reading the list — not always because we want to. Sometimes, it’s because w started a pattern, and patterns are hard to stop.
3. The pull of the familiar: We use lists in our everyday life — to-do lists, grocery lists, don’t-eat-this-because-it’s-too-spicy lists. Seeing a list in an article is like seeing an old friend. You may not know where the conversation will going, but it has this comforting familiarity to it.
4. An easy yes: Everyone has things going on in their life. Relationships, work, health — everyone’s got shit to deal with. It’s rare that we’ll have time to read a 10k word in-depth article on a topic.
5. That’s not me! As a writer, you may think, “I’m more sophisticated then this.” Humans have a bias to justify their own actions by their intentions (or as an exception), and judge others actions as their normal behavior.
6. Ego is your friend. “You’re soooo close. You’ve read 6 items so far. Why stop now?” This is your ego talking — and it doesn’t want you to give up half way through. That’s a powerful motivator to keep people skimming.
7. I don’t remember… Quick question. Without scrolling up, do you remember the first item from this list? How about the previous one? Chances are, you don’t. It doesn’t matter if the first 8 were great. If the 9th isn’t great, readers will stop there.
8. Read-Ratio FTW! Lists are bite-sized pieces of information. This means before you know it, the reader will be 8 items down, and 30 seconds into the article.
9. People want to be lead: Lists tell people what to do next. People want a system. A step-by-step process. If you write an article that says, “be more consistent” people won’t read it. If you say, “Here’s 9 ways to be more consistent” people will eat it up.

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