Want to increase your blog traffic, get on your favorite influencers’ radar, and position yourself as a thought leader in your industry?
Um, yeah. Of course you do.
But how? We’ve got the (relatively simple) answer: Create an epic content roundup.
What’s a content roundup? It’s a massive blog post listing the top 100- or another number of your choice whatevers (people, products, pieces of advice, podcasts, photos, websites, etc.) in your industry or niche, à la our 100 Best Websites for Writers in 2016.
You make the rules. Call out your favorite features, rank by number or highlight key content from your favorite content producers. All you have to do is decide on your parameters and start rounding up your list.
When done correctly, a content roundup can send serious traffic your way, grow your email list, make the people you admire feel all warm and fuzzy, and allow you to become an authority on a given topic.
Content roundups are a win-win for everyone. Here’s why:
They aren’t too challenging to create
At its core, a content roundup isn’t extremely difficult to produce, as it requires little original or creative writing. Instead of sitting down with a completely blank slate, you have a template to follow, making the task of writing much less daunting.
Compiling the list will likely be your biggest challenge, but one way to make this part of the process even easier is to seek nominations from your community. They feel important and included and you save yourself the time of doing half the research.
Publishing a content roundup can be a time-consuming activity, especially if the list is on the longer side. But when you consider the relative ease of producing the piece, plus the long-term benefits you’ll see when it’s published, the time you put in is a worthy investment.
They help get you and your brand on the radar of the people, companies or products you highlight
Hoping to get the attention of those you admire most online? Include them in your content roundup.
That’s exactly what Nick Loper from Side Hustle Nation did when he created a content roundup titled “What I’ve Learned and Applied from 49 Awesome Entrepreneurs” (and then a follow-up list featuring 50 more folks!).
“I’ve done a handful of those types of posts, and they always tend to do well on social media. I think the reason is the ‘ego-bait’ factor,” he explains. “People love to see their name in print and share it around.”
*Blushes* It’s true.
When you feature an influencer on your blog, you increase the chances they’ll click over to your site to see what you said about them. You know their curiosity will get the best of them.
From there, hopefully you’ve caught their attention and can use the post as a jumping-off point to build a relationship.
They send traffic back to your site
It’s all about amplification.
Think about it this way: your content roundup features 100 people. Say, 50 percent of the people included share your post with their audience. Let’s pretend 100 people from each of their audiences clicks over to your post.
That’s 5,000 page views you otherwise may not have received. 5,000 opportunities to bring new eyes to your website, your awesome content and your products.
And we’re being modest here: Likely, more than 50 percent of your list mentions will share the post, and if they’re influencers, their audience probably has more than 100 people.
“100 Best Websites for Writers is consistently a top traffic performer,” says Lisa Rowan, editor of this very website. (Ed. note: It’s true.) “It’s often how new readers are introduced to us as they come from other websites that made the list or via search.”
They position you as an authority on a given topic
When One Woman Shop, a community for women building solo businesses, published the 100 Best Sites for Solopreneurs roundup, it saw saw a big opportunity to further position itself as a leader in its niche.
“We wanted to provide our readers with a comprehensive guide to the best resources on all aspects of solopreneurship, from digital marketing to sales and mindset to lifestyle,” says Sara Frandina, “co-head honcho” at One Woman Shop.
When you create a content roundup on a topic, you develop authority. You begin to build trust among your community. You become the go-to guy or gal on your topic of choice. You develop a strong reputation and a rocking personal brand.
They are the gift that keeps on giving
If the thought of creating a massive content roundup overwhelms you, know it’s the gift that keeps on giving.
When you produce a content roundup, your post has the opportunity to spread and create traction for months and potentially even years after you publish it.
Frandina of One Woman Shop knows this firsthand. “The 100 Best Websites for Solopreneurs post continues to perform very well, even a year later,” she explains.
As long as you continue to leverage and promote your roundup, you’ll continue to reap the benefits of the hard work you put in up front.
They are super useful
One of the main goals of blogging and sharing content online is to create something that’s useful and meaningful for your audience.
The wealth of information in your content roundup can can create a serious ripple effect to make a difference in the lives and careers of your audience.
Your community may discover a new website, person or product they didn’t know before that has the power to answer a burning question or or teach them something new.
And at the end of the day, you were the one who led them there.
Have you ever created a content roundup? If so, we’d love to hear why and the type of results you experienced!