Journalists have known this for over a century (since the 1800s!) Subsequently, they’ve created the ideal format of a well-structured article. Known as the “Inverted pyramid”, the idea is simple: start your article with a summary of the most important information. Then, give the details. Finally, add extra background information. Easy as one-two-three.

In this post, we’ll talk about using the Inverted pyramid method when writing a blog post or email newsletter. Although journalism and blogging are different beasts, we can still make use of the same overarching ideas.

The Five W’s

As we mentioned above, the introductory paragraph of a news article should answer the most pertinent questions immediately. These are often called the “Five W’s”:

• What happened?
• Who is involved?
• When did it take place?
• Where did it take place?
• Why did it happen?

While these questions are designed for a news article, we can still use the same format while writing a blog post:

• What is this post about? Be specific. Many bloggers make the mistake of “burying the lede” deep within the post. Remember: we’re all goldfish.
• Who should read this post? Your reader should immediately think, “Yep, this article is for me.”
• When is this post useful? Think in terms of your readers’ timelines. For example, if you run a wine shop, consider the different stages of the wine-buying process: before purchase (choosing a wine), after purchase (storing the wine), and while drinking it (how to properly serve and drink it).
• Where is the information within post useful? On a personal website? On a mobile app? At a physical store? Be specific!
• Why should your reader care? Among the millions of posts online, what makes this particular post worth reading?

You should aim to answer all five of these questions in the first paragraph, if not the first two or three sentences. Don’t be afraid of brevity; you can always add extra details later.

Then, add important information

Once you’ve answered the most pertinent questions, it’s time to flesh out the details. In this middle section, provide some context to the Five W’s listed in the introduction. You can often use each “W question” as a header for its own paragraph.

Don’t talk about an entirely new topic or share an unrelated factoid; those can come later. Instead, focus on expanding the topics initially mentioned in the introduction.

Extra details

You’ve made it to the end! Unfortunately, most readers won’t make it this far. As such, feel free to add background, general thoughts, and other non-essential information to the concluding paragraphs. That said, don’t add extra information just for fun; after all, the road to hell is paved with adverbs.

For example, did you know that two MailPoet team members have a background in journalism? Both Kim and Alexey studied journalism at university. To quote Alexey, now a software developer, “An [education in] journalism helped me to approach problems from different angles.” While this factoid isn’t essential to know, it nonetheless adds some color and personality to an otherwise straightforward blog post.

Background and fun facts

This is also an opportune spot to delve into the background of your topic. The history of the inverted pyramid, for instance, is quite interesting, though not absolutely necessary to know. While the exact origin of the method is unclear, most historians agree that it began to be widely used following the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

After Lincoln was shot, the Secretary of War (and second American to appear on a postage stamp) Edwin Stanton sent a telegram to the commanding army general in New York City to inform him of the events. This telegram was also sent to newspapers, who, rather than write their own version of the events, simply published Stanton’s account. You can still read the actual account at the New York Times.

Thus, the “get to the point!” Inverted Pyramid method wasn’t created by a journalist at all, but rather by a politician. A hard-to-imagine situation in the twenty-first century, indeed. :)

The unique appeal of the typewriter

What’s so special about a typewriter, anyway? After all, they are an outdated, rarely-used technology, usually only owned by hipsters and your grandparents.

Even so… there’s something magical about them. They seem more real and substantial than a laptop or smartphone. The actor Tom Hanks even wrote a love letter to typewriters in the New York Times. Sentimental? Maybe.

Not just nostalgia

Nonetheless, there are real, objective benefits to using a typewriter over a computer when creating content for your website or blog. Above all, a typewriter forces one to focus. A typewriter won’t send you notifications, it won’t run out of batteries, and it certainly won’t forward you the 14 Reasons Why Buzzfeed is Killing the Internet. (Sorry, Buzzfeed!)

And let’s be honest – at the end of the day, typewriters are just plain cool. So, the question is: how do we replicate the benefits of using a typewriter without giving up the benefits of a modern computer?

Step 1: Remove all Internet connectivity

Obviously, typewriters don’t have an Ethernet port or a Wi-Fi card. (Other than the Frankensteinian monster Freewrite – a typewriter with a screen) For writers and content-creators, though, this is actually a feature, not a bug. Why? Because it limits our ability to be distracted by the Internet.

Thus, the first step to typewriter-ifiying your computer is to turn the Internet off. This one is pretty easy – just deactivate the Wi-Fi on your computer. Or, go somewhere without Internet, like the park.

However, if you still need to access some “research material” online, you can selectively block specific websites. Try using SelfControl, Focus or Freedom.

Step 2: A (digital) blank sheet of paper

Now that we’ve blocked all online distractions, it’s time to block offline distractions, too. The human ability to be distracted is endless, after all – Internet or no Internet. We’re all guilty of re-organizing our iTunes library (for the 12th time) when we should be writing our next eBook. The typewriter has only one function – to write.

As I mentioned in a previous post on focus, I don’t recommend using a complex writing program like Microsoft Word. A typewriter doesn’t have any formatting options.

For my money, the best minimalist writing programs on the market are iA Writer (Mac OS X) and Q10 (Windows.)

Add some cool sounds

Finally, we need to make our digital typewriter sound like a real typewriter. There are a few software programs that make this possible:

Typewriter Keyboard (Mac OS X)
Typewriter Keyboard, made by AlphaOmega Software, is the best tool for adding cool typewriter sounds to your Mac. You can easily enable and disable the key sounds.

Noisy Typer (Mac OS X)
Noisy Typer is another “typewriter sound” software program for Macs. Check out a video here.

I had some difficulty getting it to work on my Macbook Air, but you may have better luck.

Ready to write? I’ll leave you with a quote from Ernest Hemingway (whom we talked about in our last post):

“There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

– Ernest Hemingway

Unlike many other novelists, Hemingway didn’t operate on inspiration alone; instead, he meticulously followed a set of strict rules and habits. In this post, we’ll explore how his advice can help you stay motivated while writing content for your blog posts and email newsletters.

Just write one sentence

Like most writers, Hemingway faced writer’s block. His solution? Worry about one thing and one thing only: write a single “true sentence.” Don’t aim to create elaborate, complex writing – just focus on that one sentence.

All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know. I would write one true sentence, and then go on from there…If I started to write elaborately, or like someone introducing or presenting something, I found that I could cut that scrollwork or ornament out and throw it away and start with the first true simple declarative sentence I had written.”

That’s all you have to do – write one sentence. Pretty easy, right?

Stop while you’re ahead

Hemingway was a master of tricking himself into being productive. One of his counter-intuitive tricks was to stop writing before he felt finished.

“I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.”

As we talked about in another post on John Steinbeck, being consistent is incredibly important. By deliberately stopping while you are ahead, you’ll find it much easier to resume writing tomorrow.

You’ve written before and you will write again

The single most difficult thing about writing is getting started. When you’re struggling to write that first sentence for a new blog post, it’s very easy to fall into a spiral of despair. Don’t. Just remember one thing: you’ve done this before and you will do it again.

“Sometimes when I was starting a new story and I could not get it going, I would sit in front of the fire and squeeze the peel of the little oranges into the edge of the flame and watch the sputter of blue that they made. I would stand and look out over the roofs of Paris and think, “Do not worry. You have always written before and you will write now.”

Don’t think about writing when you aren’t writing

Hemingway lived a very full life (read his biography on Wikipedia.) Outside of being a writer, he was an avid skier, hunter, and journalist. To him, these other activities weren’t simply distractions – they were critical to his success as a writer.

“It was necessary to get exercise, to be tired in the body, and it was very good to make love with whom you loved. That was better than anything. But afterwards, when you were empty, it was necessary to read in order not to think or worry about your work until you could do it again.”

When you’re writing content for your website or newsletter, aim to focus on it completely. After you’re finished, let it go. Don’t dwell on it. Work on other parts of your website (or simply don’t work at all.)

When you return to writing, you’ll be refreshed, inspired, and anxious to get started.

Feeling motivated? I hope so – it’s time to write!

1. Do your research first

If possible, try to do all of your research before writing. It’s very easy for a quick fact-check to turn into a 30-minute “lost on the Internet” session. Gather everything you’ll need to write before writing.

2. Prepare your workspace

Before you start writing, it’s helpful to remove all the physical distractions in your workspace.

• Clear your desk of all papers, pencils, phones, Star Wars figurines, and other objects.
• Turn off the television (including Netflix!) and turn off any music that has singing (lyrics can be distracting.) I personally like some light classical music. The Inception soundtrack doesn’t count – try Mozart, Bach, Vivaldi, or Debussy.
• Turn your phone off or put it into airplane mode. If your phone is put away but still on, the sound from notifications and texts can be distracting. It’s best to just turn it off. Out of sight, out of mind.
• Finally, consider turning off overhead lights and only using a lamp or candle to illuminate your writing space. I have personally found that the “smaller” the physical space that I write in, the easier it is to focus. If I can’t see the rest of my office, it isn’t there!

3. Optimize your time with Timeboxing and the Pomodoro technique

What do these buzzwords mean?

Timeboxing is a time management strategy where you allocate a specific time period for a specific task. For example:

• From 10am to 11am, you are allowed to only work on blog posts
• From 11am to 12pm, you are allowed to only work on editing.

And so on. No website maintenance, research, social media, or any other tasks during these time periods.

Timeboxing is useful for getting a large number of unrelated tasks completed. Instead of doing a little bit of everything at once, tackle to-dos one at a time. Focusing on just writing for a brief time period can be very productive.

The Pomodoro Technique is a similar time management method. It works like this: you pick a time period (usually 25 minutes) and select a task to be completed in that time period. Start a timer and focus on nothing else for those 25 minutes. Once the timer goes off, take a brief break, then reset it and put in another 25 minutes of work. Rinse and repeat.

This cycle of focusing then relaxing is much more effective than just sitting down for write for hours on end.

4. Block Internet access and social media websites

Blocking your access to distracting websites can be immensely helpful for being productive. Of course, you could try to rely on willpower to keep your eyes off Facebook and on your writing, but it’s easier to just make it impossible. Willpower is a limited resource.

Remember: most popular websites have teams of people working around the clock to get your attention. Your productivity simply doesn’t stand a chance!

There are a quite a few programs available that can temporarily block your access to the Internet and/or specific websites. Here are just a few:

• Freedom is an app for Mac and Windows that lets you block specific websites. You simply add lists to your blocklist and click “Start a session.” During your block period, you won’t be able to access the specified websites.
• SelfControl is very similar to Freedom. It lets you block specific websites for a period of time. However, it’s a bit simpler than Freedom and doesn’t require you to create an account. Plus, it has a cool skull-and-bones logo!
• Focus is a Mac app that runs in your toolbar. It blocks distracting websites (like social media and Reddit) on Safari, Chrome, and Firefox. It can also block other Mac applications like Twitter, Skype, or Mail.

5. Writing programs to use

Finally, you should pick a writing tool that helps you focus. I don’t recommend using programs like Microsoft Word or Google Docs – there are simply too many opportunities for distraction.

Instead, use a full-screen application with minimal features. Here are a few popular ones:

• IAWriter is a minimal writing program for Mac and the one that I personally use. It supports basic formatting via Markup. Here is a guide to all of IAWriter’s features.
• Q10 is a Windows-only minimal writing program. It has quite a few features, but keeps them all hidden from view when writing.
• WriteMonkey is a Windows writing application with an extremely stripped down user interface.

Made it all the way through this post? Your focusing skills are impressive! Now it’s time to use them to write your newsletters.

Need some help coming up with content ideas for your email newsletters? Check out our post dedicated to this topic.

In this post, we’ll see how Steinbeck managed to be so prolific (he wrote sixteen novels, six non-fiction books, and five collections of short stories!) His lessons are immensely useful to all writers and content creators, not just novelists, as he took a very business-like approach to writing.

What was his secret? The simple power of habit.

Build a daily writing habit

The importance of habit to writing cannot be overstated. Ultimately, motivation only goes so far – it’s nearly impossible to complete a long project by sheer force of will.

In writing, habit seems to be a much stronger force than either willpower or inspiration.
Source: Brain Pickings

To be a truly productive writer, you must write word by word, sentence by sentence, from one day to the next.

Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.
Source: The Paris Review

The beginning of a large writing project can be incredibly daunting. How will you ever finish that eBook or write those 20 blog posts? The immensity can be paralyzing.

The trick is to fool yourself by dividing the project into tiny pieces. If you focus on making a little bit of progress each time you write, no matter how minor, your output will eventually add up. Steinbeck himself liked to write at least one page per day: a relatively small goal, all things considered. If you’re running a blog, try to write (but not necessarily publish) one post every day.

This also solves any “writer’s block” excuses. If you follow your habits faithfully and write every day (even days that you are lacking inspiration!), you’ll still end up with words on paper. You may end up deleting most of it, but that’s certainly better than having nothing written at all!

Pick the right tools

When he wrote, Steinbeck liked to use a very specific type of pencil. He kept dozens of them, pre-sharpened, on his desk. Why was he so meticulous? To be prepared when ideas came to him. He didn’t have to fumble around with a complex pen or waste time sharpening his pencil.

My choice of pencils lies between the black Calculator stolen from Fox Films and this Mongol 2 3/8 F which is quite black and holds its point well—much better in fact than the Fox pencils. I will get six more or maybe four more dozen of them for my pencil tray.
Source: The Paris Review

In the modern software age, this could mean using a specific program to write with. I personally use iA Writer. It’s very minimal but still allows for some basic formatting. You may find it easiest to write your posts directly in the WordPress editor. Or, if you prefer, you can still write with a pencil! Many writers still find it easier to write on paper than on a computer.

However, don’t let this turn into an obsession with the one and only tool I can write with. Many beginning writers fall into the trap of thinking they can’t write without their special Micro Gel DX 0.33m Hi-Tec pen on a high-quality double-breasted leather-bound Moleskine notebook. Real writers get it done, whether it’s with $1,000 writing software or on the back of a napkin.

The idea is to remove any and all constraints to writing, by using familiar, comfortable tools. That said, don’t let a comfortable tool become a crutch!

Let yourself get comfortable

Just as you should do a brief warm-up before exercising, you should warm-up before writing. Jumping immediately into the activity of writing can kill your focus.

Steinbeck had his own version of a writing “warm-up”. Every day, he began work by writing a brief (imaginary) letter to his editor. It functioned as a sort of journal for him; he expressed how he was feeling, what was on his mind, and so on:

March 21. . . . You must think I waste an awful lot of time on these notes to you but actually it is the warm-up period. It is the time of drawing thoughts together and I don’t resent it one bit. I apparently have to dawdle a certain amount before I go to work. Also if I keep the dawdling in this form I never leave my story.
Source: Journal of a Novel: The East of Eden Letters

Consider adopting a similar writing warm-up habit. Write a brief note to your typical reader or a close friend. Try to imagine that you are writing to someone, rather than just to yourself. It will ease you into writing your posts and other content.

Write first, edit later

Finally, Steinbeck (and many other writers) recommended writing first and editing later. Don’t try to write the perfect post or book chapter in one sitting. It doesn’t work that way in real life.

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.
Source: The Paris Review

Instead, write down everything, no matter how poorly-formatted or rambling it seems. Get all of the ideas out of your head and on to the paper (or Word document.) Polish your writing later before posting it to your site and sending it to your subscribers in a newsletter.