5 reasons I don’t want to see another “Top 5 reasons…” list. Ever.
This guest post on Patrick’s blog (a good blog normally) was the straw that broke the camels back.
I’m a big fan of blogs and have about 50 bookmarked that I visit regularly. However lately I’ve noticed more and more posts starting with “5 reasons….” and to be honest I’m getting really bored with them. I don’t know if somewhere someone is selling an eBook on how to be a good blogger that states that they must have at least one “5 reasons/5 tips/5 ways etc etc.” blog post of if that people think that they will get Dugg if they have a “5 reasons” post but enough is enough!
I don’t want to know 5 tips for writing with confidence as its the same tips that I’ve seen in approximately 1 billion other blogs, just worded slightly differently. How about 5 reasons to sell your products with affiliate marketing? Boring. What about 5 reasons to hate conference calls? Talk about stating the obvious.
Then you have the completely crazy Cosmetic Surgery Wife who posted 5 reasons why my getting breast implants was the best $5,000 I’ve ever spent, 5 reasons I love going to the mall to show off my augmented breasts, 5 reasons why my saline implants make me a sexy Mom, 5 reasons why it matters to have the best looking breasts in the health club and finally the classic 5 reasons why I know my best friend is jealous of my new boob job.
So here are my 5 reasons not to have any “5 reasons” posts on your blog:
1. As you can see everybody is doing it!! Don’t you want to stand out from the crowd and be a little different? And no, I don’t mean start writing “6 reasons” blog posts from now on.
2. A vast majority of the “5 reasons” posts I see in the “Internet Marketing/Make Money Online” sector is just the same old information/advice rehashed with a few words jiggled around. Its nothing we haven’t all read before.
3. Having a “5 reasons” post on your blog does not guarantee you a position on the Digg homepage. Once upon a time a “5 reasons” or “top 10 list” used to guarantee you some success on Digg but it and its users have got slightly more sophisticated since then.
4. A lot of the “5 reasons” posts I read have 2 or 3 good points and then the last couple are just fillers to make the count up to 5. A bit like this one really 
5. Oh just stop doing them already!
What I’m listening to right now: Kanye West Feat R Kelly - “Flashing Lights” (Remix)
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 12:45 pm and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Welcome to my blog. My name is Kieron Donoghue and I run UK Offer Media Ltd. I thought it would be fun to post a daily (well hopefully daily) blog, writing about my experiences in Internet Marketing and more specifically Affiliate Marketing. I'll include some personal stuff too, probably about my other passions, music and cars. Please feel free to post your comments and thoughts too.
January 30th, 2008 at 1:25 pm
I sympathize with you. But the cliches seem to work. Now, yes, a well worded original phrase works better, but many people can’t seem to come up with one - so it’s back to the swipe file.
Now come on…
“Who Wants To be Next to Get the Top 5 Secrets That They Don’t Want You to Know?”
I have never met one of those conspiratorial “theys” either.
January 30th, 2008 at 2:41 pm
wow, better stay away from cracked.com then
February 14th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
[...] post was going to be called “The 5 SEO Sins……” but judging by the current backlash I thought it was a good idea to remove number from the [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
[...] it was these five reasons, but some people are putting an end to the whole “numbers in the post title” madness. [...]
February 27th, 2008 at 5:45 pm
A poorly executed technique does not mean the technique should be binned.
A rifle should not be discarded because the shooter is shortsighted.
There are tons of poorly implemented examples of lists, does that stop lists being linkable? No. Then why for one moment even let it entertain a second more of your thought?
March 11th, 2008 at 10:09 am
[...] the biggest of its kind in the bingo sector. My regular blog readers will know I’ve grown bored of Top Ten lists and the like, but I’ll allow this [...]