Not sure what inverted pyramid is in reference to writing? Here’s a brief 101. It’s pretty simple.

Structure your writing so that the most important details are at the top, and least relevant are at the bottom. News writers around the world thrive on this structure of writing. You start with a compelling lede, transition to the most important facts, and work your way down to the nuances. Why? Because your readers are going to start at the top and more and more will drop off as you go on.

And here’s why it matters to marketers.

In a content-saturated world, it only makes sense that marketers need to follow the journalists’ cue. Content marketing (which absolutely is NOT new, but more on that later) has inundated the digital space. It’s harder and harder to get your audience to find you through the noise on the internet. And once they have found you, it’s darn near impossible to keep them to the end of a piece.

Chances are your audience found you by searching a question. You know what that means? They want the answer. Don’t keep them waiting or they’ll get bored and move on. I could throw a bunch of metrics and stats to prove it, but I don’t have to. Just look at your own practices. What’s your hang time on a website? How long does it take you to read a blog post? How often do you finish the whole post?

Note: There are times when inverted pyramid can be thrown out the window. You know, the same way we throw all guidelines out the window from time to time. Skip to the end for those of you hate the “IP”.

Doesn’t tl;dr cover our bases?

There’s a “new” trend in the industry of tossing our tl;dr (sometimes TL;DR) at the top of a piece with a short summary, and following up with the actual post and all the juicy details. Sure, this is one way to get around the reader retention issue. But if you’re sitting there wondering what “tl;dr” means, then you already know why I don’t support the trend. Unless you are in a high-tech industry and can guarantee your audience knows its meaning, you’ll be talking over their heads.

“tl;dr” stands for “too long; didn’t read”. Sometimes used literally, sometimes used tongue-in-cheek, for those “in the know” it’s an indication that says “here’s the short version, but if you want the good stuff read the whole thing”. Except when it doesn’t mean that. Or, more specifically, when your audience doesn’t interpret it that way.

I always try to write in inverted pyramid instead. We’re less likely to alienate our audience, and (hopefully) have a better chance of keeping them hooked along the way.

Okay, what are the exceptions?

Every rule, every guideline, every best practice has exceptions. Here’s a few:

  1. Lists. Whether a step-by-step guide, a top 10, or simply the “best of”, list posts don’t often apply to the inverted pyramid method. How could they? BUT a list could be similarly structured if you’re explaining risks, benefits, or anything else with some explanation behind it. Just but the most interesting, most important, most relevant at the top!
  2. Anecdotes. Sometimes you just need to take your time to tell a good story. Impact is lost if you give it all away in the first three sentences. (Ever read The Golden Compass? Did you see the movie? Then you know what I mean.) But you better be a seriously captivating writer, or have one stellar story to tell, if you want to leave your audience hanging.
  3. When it just doesn’t work. Look, writing for marketing is fluid. There’s no magic recipe or special sauce that you can replicate, rinse, and repeat. You can follow some basic paths, but your company brand and culture, your writers’ voices and styles, and even your industry needs (regulatory affairs, anyone?) will affect your content structure.