The Inverted Pyramid: How to Write Better Articles Faster

We recently completed a small business website redesign project that accomplished everything we had hoped for and more -- just not in the ways we expected.

The project was so successful we wanted to shout about it everywhere we could: on LinkedIn, Reddit, Substack, Medium, and other platforms.

There's a catch, though. Sites like these don't want a retelling of the same story that's already been published somewhere else. They want original content that offers original ideas.

Describing the same project from different angles is easy the first couple of times. But by the time we reached the third or fourth telling, we were starting to struggle. Nothing we came up with seemed particularly interesting.

Our initial problem was that we were describing events in the order they happened to us.

• 1. Here was the project.
• 2. Here were the steps we followed.
• 3. Here were the results.

That's a perfectly natural way to tell a story. But it can be boring for readers who are in a hurry.

Perhaps you've had similar writing experiences.

After rewriting, rewording, and rearranging the story several times, however, we stumbled across a formula that just seemed to click.

It was captivating right from the start for readers -- and surprisingly easy to write for us. It was almost like following an outline.

The approach wasn't new. In fact, it was one we already knew quite well. It had simply fallen off our radar:

The Inverted Pyramid approach to writing.

HOW THIS APPROACH BENEFITS BOTH WRITERS AND READERS

Since the Civil War, journalists have been writing in roughly this manner: lead with your most important point, then fill out the remainder of the article with observations and details that support that main point.

Rather than starting with a blank sheet, this provides writers with a fast and easy template to follow.

It works great for editors. They can cut a story as needed without lopping off the most important information.

Ironically, it works equally well for readers as well.

It is a format they are familiar with from reading the news. Plus, readers can tell within the first paragraph or two whether the article is going to be of interest to them. If it isn't, they can move on. If it is, they have a reason to keep reading.

WHERE'S THE BEEF?

Readers couldn't care less about how we eventually arrived at our "aha!" moment. They want to get to the point. "So what did you learn?"

In many ways, the Inverted Pyramid turns conventional storytelling upside down. It announces the big idea early, then uses the rest of the story to explain, illustrate, and support it.

The result was a faster, easier, more focused article to write -- and one that was easier to read, follow, and remember for our readers.

OUR 4-STEP FORMULA

Writing for newspapers isn't quite the same as writing blog posts, email blasts, or customer newsletters.

As small businesses, we're not simply reporting facts or observations. We're often building an argument for why readers should choose us when they need a particular product or service.

So we've adapted the traditional Inverted Pyramid into a formula of our own.

Here is the approach we like to follow -- sometimes strictly, other times loosely:

A Simple 4-Step Writing Shortcut

1. WHAT? -- What is the one thing I want my reader to remember?

This is your main point.

Before writing the article, write this down in one sentence.

If your reader remembers only one thing after reading your article, what do you want it to be? Be specific.

For instance, this could be a main point:

"Small businesses don't need to publish more content. They need to publish content that answers the questions their customers actually ask."

That's a message.

"How to write better blog posts" is a topic. It's broad and tells us very little about what the article is actually going to say.

The difference is important.

A topic is what you're writing about. A main point is what you want the reader to know about it.

If you can't express your main point in one reasonably clear sentence, you're probably not ready to write the article yet. And that's okay.

Figuring out that sentence is part of writing.

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2. WHY? -- Why is the story of interest to our readers?

This becomes your introduction -- the short setup gives the reader enough context to understand why your main point matters.

It might be:

• a problem you encountered
• a lesson you've learned
• something surprising that happened
• a question a customer asked
• an observation you've made
• or a short story that led to your conclusion

But keep it brief.

The introduction isn't the place to tell the entire story from beginning to end.

Its job is simply to get the reader to the point where your main message makes sense. A useful test is:

What does my reader need to know before my main point will make sense -- and nothing more?

That's often much less than you think.

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3. HOW? -- How can I support my main point?

Now you've stated your main message and explained why you're making it.

The rest of the article has a job: Support your point.

This is where you can provide:

• evidence
• examples
• research
• statistics
• instructions
• explanations
• before-and-after comparisons
• case studies
• customer experiences
• tips and techniques

And here's a simple test that can keep your article from wandering:

• Does this paragraph support my main point?
• If it does, keep it.
• If it doesn't, you can probably cut it.

This doesn't mean every paragraph has to repeat your main point. But it means the reader should be able to understand why the paragraph is there.

4. SO WHAT? -- What should my reader take away or do next?

Finally, bring the article back to the main point.

A good conclusion isn't simply a shortened version of everything you've already said. It answers the readers' "so what?"

• What should the reader remember?
• What should they think about differently now?
• Why does any of this matter?

And, when appropriate:

What should they do next?

That might be:

• read a related article
• download a resource
• try the technique
• contact you
• request more information
• buy something
• share the article with someone who might find it useful

Don't assume the reader will figure out the next step.

If there's a logical action you'd like them to take, tell them.

WHAT HAPPENED WHEN WE USED IT

Initially, we were trying to figure out both what to say and how to say it.

But once we followed the Inverted Pyramid format, we could identify the most compelling thing we wanted the reader to know first.

Then we worked backward. We explained the context, presented the main point, and gathered the supporting material needed to explain and demonstrate it.

That changed everything. The article practically wrote itself.

The supporting material wasn't just a collection of things we thought were interesting. Each section now had a very specific job.

SEE THE STRUCTURE IN ACTION

So far, we've talked about the Inverted Pyramid as a writing principle and shown you the four questions we use to put it into practice.

But sometimes it's easier to see a writing technique than to explain it.

In Part 2, we take the actual article that came out of this process and break it apart.

You'll see how the four-step framework shaped the article from beginning to end -- and why each section is there.

See part 2 of this article: The Inverted Pyramid in Action

The 4-Step Writing Shortcut at a Glance

You don't have to follow this formula rigidly.

But the next time you're struggling to write a blog post, newsletter, email, or other piece of content, try answering these four questions before you start writing.

You may discover that you weren't suffering from writer's block after all.

You just hadn't decided what to say first.