Organizing copy

Sensus goes to the science museum

Use the feature structure for emailed invitations

When I teach the feature-style story structure, communicators nod. It seems reasonable that readers would prefer concrete, creative stories to a hierarchical blurtation of facts.… Read the full article

Into the deep end in PR

Phillips 66 makes a splash with feature release

Talk about diving into the work.

During a recent NOT Your Father’s News Release Master Class, Phillips 66 communicator Shannon Vogt wrote and rewrote, asked for group feedback every chance she got, and left with a totally rewritten piece.… Read the full article

Avoid flabby middles

Five ways to shape the body of your message

My favorite scene in the movie “High Fidelity” is when Rob Gordon (John Cusack) becomes so depressed over his failed love life that he seeks solace in reorganizing his albums.… Read the full article

Read all about it

Use a structure that’s been proven in the lab to increase reading

What if I told you there was a free tool available that would help you convince readers to read your messages more often, read them more completely and spend more time reading them?… Read the full article

One to remember

Features ‘cement main points into readers’ memories’

The feature-style story structure — aka the “stack of blocks” — is more memorable than the traditional news structure.… Read the full article

Hey, neighbor!

Want your brand to seem more personable?

Brands that run more feature-style stories are seen as being more:

Honest
Fun
Neighborly
Intelligent
Personable
Thought-provoking
In the know
In touch with reader values

That’s according to “Impact,” a 2001 study led by the Readership Institute at Northwestern University and sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.… Read the full article

Write cliff-hangers

External transitions move readers from section to section

Talk about a transition. Here’s how author Erik Larson ends one chapter of Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America:

“‘Would the thin rods (of the first Ferris wheel) be sufficient to sustain not only the enormous weight of the structure and that of the 2,000 passengers who might chance to be in the cars, but the pressure of the wind as well?’ a reporter asked.… Read the full article

‘But then the dream became a nightmare’

Avoid transitional clichés

Transitions can be hard to write. Maybe that’s why we keep turning back to these hackneyed transitions, listed in a Poynter Institute forum:

“But then the dream became a nightmare.”
“But then something went horribly wrong.”
“But that was about to change.”
“When he first … he never dreamed …”
“But then something happened that would change her life forever.”
“Then she experienced every parent’s worst nightmare.”
“For now they can only watch and wait.”
“What a difference a (day, week, month, year) makes.”
“Now the victims are picking up the pieces of their shattered lives.”
“At the end of the day …”

Fresh transitions drive readers further into the story.… Read the full article

Shatter the pyramid

Three ways to create more feature-style stories

Increase the percentage of feature-style stories you produce, and you’ll increase reading.

Or so say the researchers behind “Impact,” a 2001 study (PDF) led by the Readership Institute at Northwestern University and sponsored by the Newspaper Association of America and the American Society of Newspaper Editors.… Read the full article

A way around the pyramid

Lift ideas off the page with display copy

There is one great thing about the inverted pyramid lead.

“The only benefit of the inverted pyramid lead was that it put a lot of valuable information high in the story,” write Mario R.… Read the full article