Why Top Seven Lists Work
Aug 1st, 2007 by Lewis 5 Comments
I read an article over at webpronews.com called Top 7 Lists Lead The Pack On Digg about using lists. The basic premise of the article was that a Top 7 List performs much better than all other list sizes - based on front page views on DIGG.
I find this to be a very interesting article because it relates more to how people react to things than to the actual quality (or completeness) of the information presented. Based on this article, people actually choose to DIGG these list sizes more often than the others. This is very important information for bloggers because the bottom line in blogging is traffic. If you can reach the front page of DIGG, just think about how broad your readership becomes instantly. From the article:
The result: if you can’t think of ten different things to say, it’s not a problem. “7 is the magic number, it seems the most comfortable - not exhausting but not incomplete,” writes Jones. “Perhaps our attention span is shorter than ever?”
Of course, let’s not believe that this is a new phenomenon. My first reaction was that the Top 10 list has fallen out of favor because the new generation wants instant access, instant information and everything packaged neatly and quickly. I don’t think this is the case. If you take a look at one of the biggest selling personal finance and development books (most likely not targeting tweens!) the Top 7 list is king there too: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
Perhaps it comes down to seven being an all important number in our human psyche that controls our subconscious mind. Here’s a look at some important facts about the number seven:
- The number of openings into the human head
- Seven is the smallest positive integer requiring more than one syllable in English
- The number of rings given to the Dwarf Lords in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings
- The number of main islands of mythological Atlantis.
- The number of stellar objects in the solar system visible to the naked eye
- The number of spots on a common ladybug.
- The name George Costanza desired to give his first-born
If this doesn’t explain it then nothing will…
If you liked this post, buy me a coffee!(so I can stay up late and keep writing)
| | |
|
| |  |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
Interesting, I’ve been 1 off with my lists by doing 6 Tips lists. That’s ok though, I’m not really writing for Digg anyways!
Did you know that if you have to go beyond 7, your probably thinking about going to 10. But dont do it! Top ten lists are yesterdays news! Lew is right 7 is the magical number, for obvious reasons, seeing the number 7 in print actually releases a special chemical in your brain. But going back to the more than 7, I bet you all know where this is going. The top 11 list!!! The number 11 also releases spunky chemicals in the brain that give users itchy trigger fingers!
This article would overload your server with traffic
“The top 7 reasons why 7-11 is better than 11-7″
Omg too many chemicals getting released in my brain.. cant think..ahh..
Yo Lew, anyone else give you a nickname?
You’re the first to use ‘Lew’ but I’ve got ‘Lewis’ a number of times. Maybe I’m not brave enough but I’ve never gone as far as to use a Top 11 list. I love the idea of lists working because it’s a total reflection on today’s society. What I find funny is that a book like Covey’s 7 Habits could be limited to only 7 habits! Maybe it’s the 8th or 9th that didn’t make the magic number list that would push the rest of us into super-stardom!
The number 7 is definitely interesting. It has a lot of ties in religion too.
I think it does have something to do with our shortened attention span… uh.. what else did you say?