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Features go viral more often, says Reuters Institute

While news stories make up the bulk of the content on three European news sites, most of the most-shared stories are features.

Share, but not alike Features are more likely to get shared than news stories, according to an analysis of three European news sites. Image by bronwyn quilliam

Or so says Satu Vasantola, Journalist Fellow at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

85% of the articles Helsingin Sanomat publishes are news stories, and just 15% are features. But 34% of the most shared stories were features.

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Shatter the pyramid: Three ways to create more feature-style stories A way around the pyramid: Lift ideas off the page with display copy

Go Beyond the Inverted Pyramid

Our old friend the inverted pyramid hasn’t fared well in recent research.

This way Want to reach your reader? Move beyond the traditional news structure. Image by Mario Klingemann

According to new studies by such think tanks as The Readership Institute and The Poynter Institute, inverted pyramids: 1) Reduce readership and understanding; 2) Fail to make readers care about the information; and 3) Don’t draw readers across the jump. In short, researchers say, inverted pyramids “do not work well with readers.”

At Catch Your Readers — a two-day writing Master Class on Nov. 2-3 in Houston — you’ll learn a structure that can increase readership, understanding and satisfaction with your message. Specifically, you’ll learn:

• How to organize your message to grab readers’ attention, keep it for the long haul and leave a lasting impression
• Three elements of a great lead — and five leads to avoid
• How to stop bewildering your readers by leaving out an essential paragraph. (Many communicators forget it)
• Five ways to avoid the “muddle in the middle”
• A three-step test for ending with a bang

This is your last chance to learn to Catch Your Readers in 2016. Don’t miss out! Register now.

Polish your skills at our upcoming Master Classes

Learn to Master the Art of the Storyteller, Catch Your Readers, Get Clicked, Cut Through the Clutter and more

Rather bring Ann in to train your whole team? Invite Ann