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Writings Tips For Internet Marketers

by Darren

December 23, 2008 – 6:03 pm

Use the “Hourglass Method” to Write Faster

It’s not what you think.

Using the “Hourglass” method has nothing to do with putting yourself on a timer to see how many articles you can write in an hour. It is, rather, a way for you to visualize the “shape” your article will take before you even begin to write it.

That’s right! Finished articles have a definite shape, one that frequently resembles geometric or other common shape. You’ll see this shape if you look closely enough at any article after you finish reading it.

Some are shaped like pyramids. Others are shaped like squares or rectangles.

Still others are shaped like blobs — the worst shape of all because a Blob follows no recognizable pattern.

How an article is shaped often determines if it gets read from start to finish, abandoned in the middle or, worse, not read at all.

One of the best article shapes is the Hourglass — thickest at the top, tapering toward thin at the middle, and then flaring out to be thickest again at the bottom.

Beginning today, start to imagine your articles taking the shape of that hourglass
You’ll be able to write faster if you commit to the shape of the hourglass and imagine that shape each and every time you sit at your keyboard. Committing to that shape takes a lot of bad habits and time-consuming things out of play.

For one thing, it’s a means of assuring you’ll put information readers crave (the “meat”) at both the top and bottom of the article. You’ll gain speed because the method forces you to commit to putting the busy reader first.

Putting the reader first means you hit him or her over the head with the most compelling information first and last. In a way, it’s like giving readers a gift when they first enter your home and another gift when they leave.

Readers are people, and people like to receive gifts. Give a reader a gift at the top of the article and he or she just might stick around to see if they’ll get another one.

Commit yourself not to meander. Grab readers in the very first sentence and don’t let them go. This approach takes the worry about excluding the most important facts totally out of play, thus saving time.

Before you begin to write, take a minute to decide what information is the most important. If there are six important things you’d like to share, rank those in order of importance. Imagine your article as an hourglass.

Why is the hourglass shape of articles preferable to other shapes for writing with speed? Because it provides a smooth flow while still leaving room in the middle to provide background, the context of the article.

Commit yourself to placing background in the center of the article, the thinnest point of the hourglass. Background is important for readers to understand the context of the article. But it’s not as important as your key points, some of which are explained in the upper part of the article while others are explained in the lower.

One of the key points, of course, is how to get more information. End your article by telling readers where they can get it. It’s an important fact indeed, especially when you’re the purveyor of the information and can make money with it.

Before you begin to adopt these writing tips, closely read your existing articles.

Try to see their shape. The pattern that emerges may stun you.

Pyramid-shaped articles are thinnest at the top, meaning you’re likely not “grabbing the reader and not letting go” in the very first sentence — a recipe for boredom.

Tags: Article Marketing, Writing Tips