How to do a year-end Top 10 list on Storify
The year-end lists are rolling out. (Yes, we have one coming.) Whatever your industry or topic, here's how to pull together a great list that provides multi-media, interactivity, and social participation.
10. Show, don't tell.
Starting to read your list should feel like opening a box of chocolates: An invitation to sample delicious variety. You can't provide that feeling with sheer descriptions. Multi-media examples create an experience of your topic.9. Let readers participate.
One of the great things about Top 10 lists is the arguments they provoke. The more audience can click around and take part, the better. Even the most authoritative Top 10 lists are questioned. (See tweet above.)8. Make sure there's variety.
7. Let the topic dictate the media.
Adding hyperlinks to your Top 10 is not enough. You want photos, videos, and whatever else best illustrates your topic. If your list is about movies, you might want 10 clips from YouTube.6. Don't be closed-minded.
An early Best of 2011 list was all-male, inspiring outrage from U.K. sports fans. There's even a Storify about the response on social media.5. Put the list out on social media.
Top 10 lists do very well on social media. (You can share this one to experiment.) Why? Social media likes bite-sized nuggets.4. Provide value.
Is your list just a ranking system of items within a niche? That's not good enough. If you use your expertise and surf the topic well, you will find valuable content to contribute. You can surf and collect things for your list with our StoryPad tool, a bookmarklet that lets you click to add items to your Storify profile. Then you can just pull them into your story. (See tutorial above.)Veterans assaulted with truncheons, women dragged through the streets by their hair, grandmothers pepper sprayed in the face, peaceful protestors bludgeoned while sitting. Sound like something authorities in Egypt, Tunisia or Syria would order and condone? Think again. It's happening here in the US.
3. Give vivid examples from 2011.
Deliver a sense of living history. The story above was one of the most important on our site, well worth preserving. The Occupy movement adopted Storify as a kind of people's press, and our drag-and-drop platform was ideal for pulling together the social media that recorded incidents of police brutality.
How Storifying Occupy Wall Street Saved The NewsNov 17, 2011 ... In the dead of night on Monday, November 14, Zuccotti Park in New York City was raided by police. In the preceding day...2. Arrive somewhere.
What's the point? In any list, you should give the biggest news of the year for your topic, and tell why it was so important. Give the reader some sense of satisfaction at having read the list. When they're done, do they have a sense of 2011 in your industry?1. Bring home the bacon.
Deliver the goods. These three stunning photos appeared in some of our best stories of 2011. (We'll release our list soon.) We know seeing these photos will have a powerful impact on our readers. How could they not? Give your audience a jolt. Leave them awestruck.And after you build your Top 10 on Storify, let us know so we can promote it.
