For the Love of the List: Why Lists Resonate With Readers
We’ve all clicked on listicles like “The 10 Superfoods Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2024” or “The 100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” So, what is it about the list format that’s so appealing to us as readers? The answer lies in how we process information and the pleasant ways lists stimulate our brains.
Familiar Formatting: Schema are “mental maps” that we build cognitively to organize information, make sense of the world and give us an idea of what to expect in the future. New information either adds more detail to existing schema or adjusts them accordingly. Because lists are a familiar format, our brains use less energy to absorb the information in a list, and incorporate it into our schema, compared to less organized forms of information. Built for efficiency, the human brain gravitates toward formatting types that allow it to conserve energy.
Easy Scanning: Lists are formatted with numbers and clear headlines, so readers are able to scan quickly for relevant information, providing a pleasant feeling of efficiency. Studies about comprehension suggest that the idea ratio of headlines to body copy is one headline for every 200 words, while too many or too few headlines can cause confusion.
The Joy of Prediction: If I bring up “The 23 Best Cartoons of the 90s,” you likely already have an idea of what should be on the list. It’s fun to guess and even more fun to be right. When our all-time favorite cartoons appear on the list, we have the satisfaction of being right and “winning.” From an evolutionary standpoint, being right is essential to survival, and our brains reward us for it with feel-good chemicals like testosterone and dopamine.
Control: Primally, a sense of control over our environment lends itself to increased odds of survival. With its rigidly defined order, a list feels definitive to the reader, providing that desirable sense of control over the contents by narrowing down an overwhelming amount of information into a more manageable format.
When creating marketing assets, great places for lists include blogs, landing pages, event invitations and contest entry instructions. One important nuance: numbered lists should only be used when the sequence matters logically, such as in ranked lists or sets of instructions; otherwise, bullet-pointed lists are more appropriate.
The next time you’re not sure how to organize info, use a format that readers love and make a list!