List Blog Post Checklist

Follow this checklist when you are creating list blog posts:

• (pre-requisite) have good knowledge of most of the products in the niche after writing product reviews on them
• determine the main use case for the list
• start a new post in WordPress
• add the placeholder title
  • use just the keyword itself
• research the competition
  • use an incognito browser, set the language to English and the region to US
  • take notes, you may use some of the points as headers or inspiration for content
  • check all of the competing blog posts on the product found on the first page of Google
    • take note of the products they recommend and their header structure
    • you may end up reusing some of these, but always try to improve upon them
  • take note of the total word counts of the competing blog posts, find the maximum, and use that as a goal post for your own article and try to have at least 20% more words or at least a few more items in the list
    • use the Word Counter Plus browser extension
  • see which merchants does the competition recommend
  • see to what type of content are they linking out to
• choose the items you will include in the list
  • choose the specific secondary use case for each of the items, every item should be the best for the main use case and for the secondary use case at the same time
• perform additional Google research
  • use an incognito browser, set the language to English and the region to US
  • take notes, you may use some of the points as additional headers or questions
  • enter the keyword into the Google search bar and see what options does the autocomplete feature suggest
  • Google the keyword and see if there are any relevant ideas in the “People also ask” section
    • if a question seems relevant, expand it and contract it, and see the new questions that will show up below
  • Google the keyword and see if there are any relevant ideas in the “Related searches” section
  • enter the keyword into the Google Keyword Planner tool and see if you can find any related keywords that might be relevant
  • enter the keyword into the Answer The Public tool and see if you can find any related keywords that might be relevant
• empathize with your readers
  • if necessary, take a few minutes to think about the products you will include
  • think about the people that will likely use the products, what sort of problems might they have that are related to this type of product, and include those notes in the article
• create the header structure in WordPress
  • if you have don’t have any additional questions and headers you would like to add besides the products, then use the following header structure:
    • Best [main use case] product for [secondary use case] (H2)
      • Who shouldn’t buy the product? (H3)
      • Who should buy the product? (H3)
      • Product specifications (H3)
    • Best [main use case] product for [secondary use case] (H2)
      • Who shouldn’t buy the product? (H3)
      • Who should buy the product? (H3)
      • Product specifications (H3)
    • …
  • otherwise, add another H2 header that will simply say “Best products for [use case]”, place all of the product headers under it and add another level to them, and add all of the additional questions and headers as H2s
  • in addition, add additional structure for every product entry in the form of a bulleted list that will make writing the article even easier, some common properties and points you can touch upon in general will include:
    • a short summary of the product
    • a sentence or two about the main use case and how the product fulfills it
    • build quality
    • materials
    • size, weight, dimensions
    • capacities
    • features
    • price and value for money
    • reviews and user satisfaction
  • make use of some of the ideas, questions, and keywords we found in the previous phases, some of them might be headers themselves, othes may need a little tweaking (but don’t force headers if they are not relevant)
• write the content
  • use the Grammarly browser extension at all times
  • you can leave the first few paragraphs for last, as they can be difficult to write first
  • start filling in the headers, simply fill in each header and subheader with content that explains, expands, informs, or educates on them
  • use short, clear sentences (if a sentence is too long, try to divide it into two)
  • use short paragraphs (sometimes a paragraph can be just one sentence)
  • use the “talk to your friend” writing technique
    • use a writing tone that’s professional, semi-official, but still friendly and warm
    • explain, inform, give your opinion and friendly recommendations
    • don’t judge, and don’t go out of your way to offend
    • don’t lie
    • use your personal perspective, but also refer to other sources and explanations when it makes sense
    • be specific and determined
    • avoid fluff, slang, cursing, and filler words
    • avoid sarcasm and humor
    • avoid overcomplicated words for the sake of just using them, although don’t fear them if they fit the context and they are the best choice
    • add relevant links as you go, both to other content on the blog and to external sources (you will do this again later, but this way you make sure you don’t forget any important links)
  • cut out words and phrases that are not necessary
  • if the header is a question, answer it immediatelly in a clear, concise, self-contained manner
  • if you get stuck, take another look at the product or go back to the research phase
  • when writing the paragraphs that suggest who should buy and who shouldn’t buy the product, be very specific and list several different use cases and types of people
  • add buy links for every entry in the “Who should buy” section
  • add specifications tables for every entry
  • write the first few paragraphs after you’re done with the rest of the article
    • for the first paragraph, you can use the problem + connect + keyword formula (state the problem, connect with your reader, optionally use the keyword)
  • create the summary list or table for the Google snippet
    • if you have the header “Best products for [use case]”, place the table in that section, otherwise place it before the table of contents
    • use at least three columns in the table: the name of the product, its secondary use case, and a buy link, and include additional columns for more complex products and their dimensions
  • never copy content from elsewhere (we check the content for plagiarism, and if you do that you will get caught immediatelly and you will be permanently banned from the team)
• place the “Table of contents” widget before the first H2 header
• select all of the categories and subcategories that are relevant to the product
• link out to some relevant high-authority external sources (although not too many, we want to keep the reader’s focus on the products and not distract them too much)
• link out to other content from the blog if it makes sense
  • in the product entries, link out to product reviews of the competing products
• create graphs, charts, inforgraphics, and illustrations for the article if feasible
• add images
  • images should have a maximum width of 700-800 pixels
  • all of the images should be saved in the .jpg format
  • use images from the product review articles if possible
  • add one image per product immediatelly after the main header for the product
  • reuse some of the pictures on the manufacturer’s product listing
  • set the featured image to be the image of the best product overall
• correct the spelling, proofread the article, and edit it
  • read and check the article carefully (remember, if your content has too many mistakes for several times in a row, you might get rejected from the program, so make sure you are submitting your best work)
  • simplify the language you use if possible
  • if a sentence is too long, try to divide it into two
  • if a paragraph is too long, try to divide it into two
• briefly go through the entire article one last time, no need to focus on details this time, just make sure that the entire article makes sense as a whole
• craft the final title
  • the first part of the title remains the same, which is the main keyword
  • add the second part of the title, which can some intrigue or details
  • use numbers, hyphens, and brackets, especially the number of items in the list
• set the permalink, it should be the same as the main keyword but with hyphens instead of empty spaces
• hit the Publish button
• add internal links to the newly published article from other articles on the blog, from parts where the product is mentioned
• share the article on social media, use the Blog2Social plugin in WordPress

Make sure you have studied the list blog post writing guide before as well.