The New York Times runs 33% feature leads
New York’s Grey Lady isn’t so gray any more. Topping one-third of its stories with feature leads, The New York Times covers the world in living color.… Read the full article
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
Increase reading with your writing structure
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
Choose a writing structure that’s more memorable
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
Create a friendly writing structure
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:
… Read the full article“‘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?’
‘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:
Let’s pause and ponder that for a minute too.… 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