Using the inverted pyramid in copywriting

Journalists are the best non-fiction writers. They're generally the most skilled at writing hooks to bait the audience, they excel at putting together well-structured paragraphs in a limited space, they're well-versed in crafting effective conclusions, and they're great at conducting thorough research.

As a result, journalists would be better copywriters than most copywriters since all of these skills combined make for the most engaging and persuasive content. 

Journalists have many different writing techniques and methods in their toolkit that other content creators could adopt. One of the most pervasive is the inverted pyramid. 

What is the inverted pyramid?

The inverted pyramid is a writing structure in journalism, and although it goes back to the 19th century, it's one of the most effective forms for many types of digital content, not least copywriting. 

The inverted pyramid breaks content into three parts: lead, body, and tail.

The lead (vital information)

The first part is often referred to as the ‘lead’. This is the most important information (the who, what, when, where, why, and how).

Let's take, by way of example, one of the earliest examples of the inverted pyramid:

This evening at about 9:30 p.m. at Ford’s Theatre, the President, while sitting in his private box with Mrs. Lincoln, Mrs. Harris and Major Rathburn, was shot by an assassin, who suddenly entered the box and approached behind the President...

The body (helpful details)

The second part - the body - contains details that are helpful to know, but aren’t as crucial as the five Ws and the how.

...The assassin then leaped upon the stage, brandishing a large dagger or knife, and made his escape in the rear of the theatre.

The pistol ball entered the back of the President’s head and penetrated nearly through the head. The wound is mortal.

The President has been insensible ever since it was inflicted, and is now dying...

The tail (extra information)

The final part - the tail - is made up of additional or background information that helps to colour the story or provides the writer's opinion.

...About the same hour an assassin, whether the same or not, entered Mr. Seward’s apartment and under pretense of having a prescription was shown to the Secretary’s sick chamber. The assassin immediately rushed to the bed and inflicted two or three stabs on the chest and two on the face. It is hoped the wounds may not be mortal. My apprehension is that they will prove fatal.

The nurse alarmed Mr. Frederick Seward, who was in an adjoining rented room, and he hastened to the door of his father’s room, when he met the assassin, who inflicted upon him one or more dangerous wounds. The recovery of Frederick Seward is doubtful.

It is not probable that the President will live through the night.

Why use the inverted pyramid in copywriting?

For a long time now, copywriting hasn't just been about ads on billboards and in magazines. It's primarily short-form digital content that seeks to make people online take action. It is, for better or worse, the main form of writing you'll see when you get results for your search queries on Google.

There are over 4 million blog posts published online every day, and the average attention span (at least when it comes to digital content) is 8 seconds. If you don't give your readers what they want fast or keep them spellbound with the witchery of words, you'll quickly lose their attention, and they'll go searching for something else.

This is why the inverted pyramid, in contrast to other forms of writing, gives the important facts first. It doesn't have a typical introduction. In some cases, it begins with what could be considered the conclusion or summary. That way, the reader gets all the vital information before they stop reading. If they're interested, they can continue for more detail.

When and when not to use the inverted pyramid

You may have noticed that I haven't used the inverted pyramid for this article. The reason is simple: it's not the right type of article for that structure.

The inverted pyramid works best for success stories, case studies, landing pages, newsletters, or anything where facts, announcements, or product information are the main selling points. The inverted pyramid isn't so suitable for listicles (e.g., Top 10 Blog Posts...), comparisons (e.g., Content Writing vs Copywriting), or how-to articles and tutorials.

The final word: don't get stuck on one form

The inverted pyramid is just one of many forms of content that every writer should have in their arsenal. Many (myself included) prefer the storytelling approach. But it's all too easy to get stuck trying to write a piece of content because we forget about the other options available. So whatever your preferred style, always think about whether the structure you've chosen is the best fit for what you're trying to write. You may find a change of tactic is all you need to get unstuck.