We’ve all read them, and some of us have written them- those catchy little blog pieces that promise sometimes to give us 5 of this, or more boldly THE 7 of that. Perhaps like me you have puzzled over this numeric pandemic. So this morning I’ve been thinking it through, the whys and the wherefores, and thought my answer would make a nice blog post. Here then, they are:
5. To get you to read the piece. Bloggers write to be read, and when we see a pattern emerge chances are the bloggers will at least believe that following the pattern will help draw you in. I know that my pieces 5 Reasons You Should Go to Your Local Abortion Mill and 5 Things I’m Surprised I Don’t Find in the Bible did, for me, well in terms of viral-ity. Not virility mind you, viral-ity.
4. So you will know what to expect. Strictly speaking this isn’t a new reason, but is only further exposition of the previous reason. That hasn’t stopped other bloggers, and it won’t stop me. Those numbers tell you, by the title alone, that what you will get is bigger than just a one-off idea, but smaller than a chapter in a book. That is, it tells you the blog piece is blog piece sized. Blog readers tend to like that, and so dive right in.
3. So you will think you are reading an expert. This is especially true for those brave souls who insist their list is complete, the “THE 7 of that” people. This suggests that your author has scoured the known world, rejected all pretenders to the list, and winnowed it down to all that properly belong on the list, and no more. If you think there are 8, or 9, or 10, you’re just wrong. There are seven, unless of course the piece is THE 5 Reasons Bloggers Put Numbers in Their Titles, in which case, there are 5.
2. Next, it’s a handy little framework for the piece. Form and function come together here as the blogger puts together six or seven paragraphs, complete with transitions between them such as, “Secondly” or “Next” or “Finally.” Add an intro paragraph, an outro paragraph and you got yourself a nice blog-licious stew.
1. Because writing five short pieces is easier than writing one long one. Bloggers, as a rule, are passionate about brevity, pursuers of concision. That’s why we write blog pieces more than we write books. That’s why we are likely, if a blogger, to also be a twit. Five pieces, 280 words each is a snap, even easier than 5 tweets, 280 characters each. These things practically write themselves.
There may, of course, be more reasons. I’m not one of those THE guys. Rather your humble blogger is well, a humble blogger. If I come up with more, I can always write another piece, complete with a link back to this one, “Five More Reasons Bloggers Use Numbered Lists.” We’ll have to wait and see. Shoo now. That’s enough time behind the curtain. Back where you belong. But do tell your friends.