Revise Utopian Templates to Encourage Better Ledes

Hey, you! Yeah, you. There's something crucial you need to know about the Utopian templates. Any writer must first capture a reader's attention and then earn at least a sliver of trust—even if only just enough for that reader to commit a few more seconds exploring that perennial question: Is this is worth my time?

Marketing is one focus of my master's degree and for a moment of your time I'll explain how a small adjustment to the templates can help each Utopian contribution reach more readers.

Repository

https://github.com/utopian-io/editor-templates

Components

This suggestion applies to the template file for each Utopian contribution category. That is 13 files in the repository in all.

Proposal Description

Each template should include an introductory paragraph and placeholder encouraging the contributor to include a featured image. Here's why:

In terms of the decision to read a given article or not the three most important elements of first impression are:

1. Headline
2. Featured image
3. Lede — meaning the opening sentence or paragraph. Such introductory prose is usually visible in the reader's feed before deciding to click.

The current templates, if used without modification, result in leading the article with the heading Repository and a link to a GitHub repository followed by another heading.

On Steemit and Busy the URL will be suppressed creating an awkward summary in a user's feed where the first 18% or so provides the user with little incentive to devote any more attention. This is jarring to read and can interrupt any momentum garnered from interest in the headline or image.

To illustrate here is the way one of my early contributions appeared on Busy.org when I followed the template as written.

Notice above how the word repository makes no sense in context because the link has been parsed out for summary purposes. Likewise the inclusion of headings early in the post has created ambiguity about the project name.

Is this project called Details Anole and if not what is the word details telling the reader in this sentence? Nothing, it's just confusing.

These may seem like small matters but the battle for online attention is unrelenting and unforgiving. And nowhere is that more clear than on the Steem blockchain where our attention literally backs the currency.

Whenever I ask a reader to exert extra effort it's a small waste of the time with which they've entrusted me so far. And this can only encourage my reader to move on to another proposition.

Now it's true that contributors are free to depart from the templates by their own initiative. Successful contributors do tend to see the templates as a starting point. Nevertheless almost all contributions use the awkward introductory phrasing.

Here's an example of a better lede by making a very small departure from the initial template.

This was accomplished by including an introductory paragraph to push headings and less enticing factual information out of the leading summary. The templates should encourage this better practice by default. Contributors can thus have confidence that structuring a post in this way will be satisfactory to the moderators.

Mockups / Examples

The following example shows how the Blog category template could be revised.

Introduce the goal and content of your post. This intro will be 
seen in user feeds. Don't use headings, links, or formatting in 
this paragraph. Jump right to the point and begin telling the 
story of your contribution.

![INCLUDE_A_FEATURED_IMAGE](https://via.placeholder.com/520x400)

A featured image should be inserted no later than the
end of your first paragraph.Optionally continue your 
introduction after the featured image.

#### Repository
e.g. https://github.com/utopian-io/utopian.io

#### Post Body

. . .

The rest of the template would remain unchanged.

Example contributions that take an intentional approach to ledes:

• https://steemit.com/blog/@tdre/developer-blog-2018-08-29
• https://steemit.com/pygame/@amosbastian/writing-unit-tests-for-pygame-1535752824859
• https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@tdre/create-a-scheduling-framework-to-automate-all-the-things
• https://steemit.com/utopian-io/@tdre/it-s-skiff-a-utility-command-line-interface-for-the-steem-blockchain
  _{Inclusion of example does not imply endorsement of this suggestion by @amosbastian. He handled this issue right independently :)}

Benefits

• Improved appearance of Utopian posts in user feeds on Steemit, Busy, and other platforms
• Contributor confidence that well structured ledes are welcomed by the Utopian moderation team
• Less reorganization of the template will be required to write an engaging lede, saving time

GitHub Account

https://github.com/tdreid