A pretty good percentage of our population lives by lists. We jot down a never-ending stream of to-do lists, grocery lists, "honey-do" lists, repair lists, cleaning lists, how-to lists, wedding lists, customer lists, reason-to-buy lists, etc., etc., etc.

So what, you ask?

Well, "Yo, Dog!" as Randy Jackson would say on American Idol. All these lists should be telling you something. If nothing else, they should tell you that a LOT of people love to reduce their lives to lists as much as possible. Then they can just cross off each item, one by one, until they get through their list. Then, they are ready to start on another list.

As a blogger, to increase your popularity, it's best to give people what they want. The more you can present information in simple list format, the more appealing your blog posts will be to a large segment of your market.

Heck ... a list just makes the whole thing more readable. It's easier. It's a format they're very familiar with. A list makes it look like you have a real plan that works. People like that.

There is an online marketer by the name of Larry Dotson who has published hundreds of lists over the years. He is very successful, and probably 90% of what he's done has been in the form of lists. Another big clue ...

So - why do lists?

1. If you blog a list, your readers will likely tell you what you left out. So that starts a conversation. They will often add to your list.
2. Because so many people like lists, a good one has a chance to go viral. It can certainly attract links and Stumbles and lots of good attention.
3. Lists are pretty easy to research and write.
4. Lists are quick ... much easier and quicker to read and benefit from that other forms of content presentation.

What other reasons can YOU think of to blog by list?