What is the inverted pyramid style of writing?
Think of a newspaper article. By reading the first paragraph you can decide whether or not to read on. It tells you the who, what, when, where, and why. Read on and you will get the more granular detail. This is known as the inverted pyramid.
Why is the inverted pyramid important in content marketing
When it comes to content marketing, that opening paragraph of text is all important.
Eye tracking studies have shown that the part of online content most likely to be read by visitors is the opening paragraph.
The opening paragraph of content appears as the description text under the link to your site in search engine results pages (SERPS). It may be the only interaction you have your potential audience, unless the copy is compelling enough for them to click.
Applying the inverted pyramid style of writing
A good example of the inverted pyramid is an opening paragraph which effectively provides the reader with a summary or conclusion. Without reading any other information, they understand what the rest of the article is about. Here is a great example – consider this opening paragraph from The Independent:“Track runner Alysia Montano ran the 800m at the US Track and Field Championships on Thursday, even though she is due to give birth to her first child in seven weeks.”
Lets
break that down and see all the information this one sentence
provides us with:
Who?:
“Track runner Alysia Montano”
What?:
“ran the 800m”
Where?: “at
the US Track and Field Championships”
When?:
“on Thursday”
Why
is
this newsworthy?:
“even though she is due to give birth to her first child in seven
weeks”.
A word on keywords
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