Creating focused and effective content is one of the most important things a marketer should be able to do. Otherwise, they could end up with an inefficient content marketing strategy that might even do more harm than good.
The great news is that there is a variety of techniques you could use for content creation – and one of the best one of them all is the inverted pyramid method. Hence, here are some tips for digital marketers on how to create content with the inverted pyramid method.
What Is the Inverted Pyramid Method?
To put it simply, the inverted pyramid method is a technique used for creating more focus in your content, but it can also be applied to your overall content marketing strategy or to its separate parts.
For instance, the inverted pyramid method can be applied to content creation to help you create a piece of content that leads your audience to a particular point and makes them perform a certain task such as a purchase or a subscription.
On the other hand, this method can also be applied to your strategy or to a particular part of it. For instance, when you apply it to email marketing, you will have a better idea about which emails you should send in which order and what each of these emails should do.
So, how can you use the inverted pyramid method? Follow these steps:
#1 Do Research and Get Ready
Before you start applying the method in practice, you should first get ready by doing the necessary research. It’s not just about researching your own target audience and understanding who they are, but also about researching the method itself and understanding how it works and how to use it.
The most important thing to remember is that the inverted pyramid method can be broken down into three stages: grabbing attention, building anticipation, and calling to action. However, this is only the general structure, but the pyramid itself can also be broken down into five stages (plus the revision part) which will be discussed in the following sections.
#2 Start with Important Info
The first stage of the pyramid is where you start with important information. This is where you start your article (or any other piece of content) and lay out the foundation for everything else you will be talking about. This is also the part where all of the most important information is, but it is also the most general.
A good tactic for creating this part will be to use the four 4W&H i.e. Who, What, When, Where, and How. By answering these questions, you will be able to provide all the information that is the most essential to your audience. Remember that this section is the one that sets the tone of your content and the expectations for your audience.
#3 Break Down the Details
The next stage of the pyramid is the one where you break down the details. This is where you go more in-depth into what your content is all about and build on the foundation that you have laid out in the first part. These sections don’t necessarily have to be divided, but you should make it clear that you are getting into more nuanced details now.
A good idea for this part would be to focus on emotions. If you can make your audience have an emotional response, you will both keep them engaged and increase the chances of them performing the action you want them to perform at the end. In other words, emotions will help you create a better connection with your audience.
#4 Give Background Information
The next stage of the pyramid is where you give some background information. It is not exactly a step back but rather a clarification that will help your audience better understand the points you already made. This part is meant to support your claims and to persuade your audience even more, guiding them towards the ultimately task.
At this point, if you look back and see that something isn’t working out, you can consider hiring an expert writer from a professional writing services reviews site. A writer like that will have the necessary knowledge of the inverted pyramid method and will apply it to create the kind of content you want.
#5 Include More Details
Now that your piece of content is almost complete, you will be at the fourth stage of the pyramid where you include even more details. Most of the time, such details will help you further support your previous points and help you persuade the audience, but you can also offer a unique perspective on the matter.
Having a unique perspective helps you surprise the audience again and keep their attention long enough to guide them to the last stage. It is also a way for you to stand out which is particularly important when you are competing with other similar brands that have content on the exact same topics.
#6 Conclude with Bio and References
The last stage of the pyramid is when you conclude your piece of content with a bio and relevant references. Of course, this is a mostly optional part, but you will still want to include some contact details or just a “Thank you” no matter whether it is an article on your blog, a social media post, or an email newsletter.
When your content has someone listed at the bottom as its creator and there is a short bio for this person, you show that the content you create is not just for the sake of business. There are real people writing, designing, or otherwise creating this content that care about it and about their audience.
#7 Edit and Update Your Content
Last but not least, once your content is ready and you have gone through every part of the pyramid, you still need to make sure to edit your content appropriately and update it already after it is published.
Always track your content and see how well it performs. If something doesn’t work, keep that in mind and change your approach in all the content you create next. It’s a way of perfecting what you create through observation and change.
Final Thoughts
All in all, the inverted pyramid method can be extremely useful to you both on the strategy-level and for content creation. Moreover, it is quite universal and can be applied to pretty much any type or format of content you work with. Use the tips from this article to create your own content with the help of the inverted pyramid method.
Author Bio
This article was written by Ana Mayer, a project manager with 3+ years of experience. While projects can do without her participation (which means almost never), she likes to read and create expert academic materials for the writing services reviews website.