---
name: step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context
description: "Write an opening that says who the page helps and why. Start with a real, useful point."
category: Content Factory — Process
stage: Process
definitive_article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
status: complete
---

# Step 7: Write hook and establish context

Readers need a reason to stay on your page. This guide helps you show who it is for and what they will learn. Start with one true point from the source, then make its value clear.

**The path:** Real source moment → Reader’s need → Plain promise → Lead visual.

**Use this when:** The full draft and title are ready, but the opening needs a clear source-specific hook and context.

## Inputs
- The full article, title, [Goals, Content, and Targeting](https://blitzmetrics.com/gct-business-strategy/) brief and actual page role.
- The strongest relevant source scene, question or result, with its exact evidence.
- The intended author voice, source identity and planned meaningful first-screen visual.

## First-run prompt

> Rewrite only the opening from this source, title and GCT. Give the reader a true specific point, who this helps and what they can do next in two or three plain sentences. Add a meaningful lead-visual plan. Preserve actual voice and evidence; do not invent a result or force a keyword.

## Steps
1. Choose the true source moment that best connects to the reader’s problem. A precise question or lesson can lead when there is no dramatic story. Do not manufacture a surprising number to create a hook.
2. Draft two or three short opening sentences that explain who this helps, what the piece covers and the practical result. Make the specific GCT understandable without requiring readers to know the abbreviation.
3. Match the real author voice. Use first person for a supported personal-brand story, or the appropriate company/reference voice. Establish relevant experience through the source scene, not a stack of employers or famous names.
4. Keep the title’s promise honest. A source showing how to prepare for a quote does not support a hook promising a guaranteed price. Explain necessary limits in plain language where they matter.
5. Use the reader’s topic words naturally. Do not force an exact keyword string into the first sentence when it makes the opening hard to read. Explain a new specialist term at first use and link the maintained owned explanation.
6. Place the topic-specific picture, diagram or actual source player where it can be meaningful in the first desktop and phone screen. The visual may lead; a large empty box, tiny text or hidden iframe is not a hook.
7. Read the opening for jargon, long clauses and generic filler. Screen every document opening at grade 5 or below. State the value, audience, first action and useful result in plain words. A formula helps flag problems but does not replace human clarity review.
8. Compare the opening with the source, GCT and next section. Remove resume-style claims and defensive verification language. Retain a materially required disclosure close to its claim. Save the opening with the source anchor and visual placement note.

## Opening meaning review

Keep the opening to two or three short sentences at grade 5 or below. It must show the actual reader’s situation, why the subject matters, the useful result, and how this page helps. A source-backed moment or useful finding can lead. Keep its relevant visual in the first screen; check that the body delivers the opening’s promise.

Save the exact opening and artifact revision in the existing run receipt. Have the reviewer quote the words that establish the situation, reason to care, result and method. Record PASS, FAIL or UNKNOWN with reasons and a readability diagnostic. A grade score, keyword, generic audience label or unsupported conversion promise cannot approve meaning. Follow [Step 7: write and review the opening](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context#task-step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context) and the [maintained opening standard](https://github.com/dennisyu/local-service-spotlight-skills/blob/main/standards/every-article-and-project-starts-with-specific-gct.md).

## Definition of done (QA checklist)

- [ ] The same short opening explains the reason to care, useful outcome and supporting mechanism; the body delivers that promise and the existing tracker retains quoted reviewer evidence
- [ ] Relevant authentic visual is useful in the first screen; background and context do not bury it

- [ ] The first two or three sentences make who, what and useful outcome clear.
- [ ] The hook is true to the source and uses the correct voice.
- [ ] Language is plain and first-use terms have useful owned explanations.
- [ ] A meaningful lead visual is planned and later rendered checks are explicitly assigned.

## Example(s)

**Fictional teaching example — no real article or customer claim.** A sample opening reads:

“A blurry bike photo can leave the shop guessing. This guide shows riders which photos and notes help us prepare for a repair quote. Start with a full view of the bike, then show the issue up close.”

A simple three-part diagram below it reads “Whole bike → Close-up → Short note.” It supports the promise without pretending the shop can diagnose every fault from a photo. The writer rejects “Our world-class experts transform your cycling journey” because it gives no useful answer or real scene.

- Money Tree correction, 2026-09-06: replace the vague "A useful conversation becomes a story" orientation with the actual reader value: "Your best customer stories should help your next customer decide to buy. A Money Tree connects those stories, interviews and useful articles to the services you sell, so people can see your work and take the next step." This is a writing example, not a measured conversion result or text to duplicate across unrelated pages.

## Handoff and Content Factory context

The visual editor receives the opening and placement plan for [Step 8: add useful visuals](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-8-add-photos-and-featured-image#task-step-8-add-photos-and-featured-image).

Produce supplies the real source. **Process**, this stage of the [Content Factory](https://blitzmetrics.com/content-factory/), turns it into useful finished assets. Post saves or publishes them on the agreed channels. Promote tests and distributes suitable work within its own scope. The handoff above names this task’s actual next step; catalog neighbors alone are not prerequisites.

## When this runs

One focused opening pass, repeated when the title, source or intended reader changes.

## First-run setup and continuity

Open the supplied task file and its linked source. Verify the project’s real inputs, account, access and output folder before work. This Markdown file is a guide; it does not install an app, connect an account, supply a subscription or create a schedule. Carry out work already authorized; do not ask for the same approval again. Keep any unsupplied destination or new action outside that scope clearly pending.

Save source IDs, versions, decisions, checked outputs and next owner in the project tracker. Before a retry, check the saved state and other workers’ changes. A model name does not guarantee memory or a running timer. Repeated work needs an actual configured trigger and durable state; one-off work can be started by the prompt above.

Keep agent media muted with volume zero before playback. If mute cannot be verified, use captions, metadata or still frames. State the limit: silent visual checks do not prove spoken-word accuracy or audio quality. Do not start sound through the user’s speakers unless explicitly asked.

## Write up the real run

For every actual attempt, [write its meta article](https://blitzmetrics.com/meta-article-prompt/) with this recipe and revision, trigger, steps performed, output evidence, measured result, gaps and next owner. Failed, blocked and partial attempts also get a written record. A draft can satisfy writing; publishing it follows the existing job scope.

Keep one stable execution ID across retries and edits. A separately scoped child task may have its own ID linked to its parent. Writing the parent’s meta record is part of that run, not an endless new chain. The [recipe and meta-article guide](https://localservicespotlight.com/meta-articles/) explains this distinction. Teaching examples are not real executions and must not enter the run count.


<!-- factory-layer:start -->

## Factory chain (do not treat this as isolated)

- **Phase:** Process
- **Importance:** 4/5 `●●●●○` — frequency 4, revenue 3, gating 2 (runs every factory cycle or weekly)
- **Suggested previous station:** `step-6-write-title-and-headings`
- **Suggested next station:** `step-8-add-photos-and-featured-image`
These stations are generated neighbors, not verified prerequisites or handoffs. Follow the task’s actual Inputs and Handoff sections.
- **Handoff:** Process-stage artifact examples include `transcript.md`, `gct.md`, `article.html` (or a staged draft), `clips/`, or `04-Promote-Creatives/`. These are examples, not requirements for every task. Follow this task's actual Inputs and Handoff sections for the required output, evidence, and next owner. Pass the files or records, not one vendor's memory.

## Model routing (same factory, any engine)

- **This task's lane:** `any` — Any capable chat model (Claude, ChatGPT, Grok, Gemini). SOP following, drafts, checklists.
- **Single-engine path:** Use the capable AI app you already have. Check its required tools and access before starting. Pass the actual result and proof to the next task.
- **Optional multi-engine:** A tested local model may draft; a stronger model may review facts and voice. Use supported tools for approved actions. Pick models from observed quality and cost; a model name does not prove it can run this task.
- **Never** store the working state in one vendor's memory. Files in the Content Library are the bridge.

<!-- factory-layer:end -->
## Definitive article & links

- Canonical article: https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/
- Exact task: [Step 7: Write hook and establish context](https://local-service-spotlight.github.io/task-library/?task=step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context#task-step-7-write-hook-and-establish-context)
- Writing standard: [Article Guidelines](https://localservicespotlight.com/article-guidelines/)
- [Task recipe and publishing standard](https://blitzmetrics.com/definitive-article-guide/)
- [Entity linking: choose the right person, company or guide](https://blitzmetrics.com/entity-linking/)

## Review and evidence still needed

The source contributor status is preserved. It is not certification of this draft or proof of account access, completed work or a live outcome. The worked example teaches the method and is explicitly fictional.
- The real lead visual must be inspected in rendered desktop/mobile views; draft placement is not a rendered pass.