Do you ever sit down at your desk, staring at your computer, struggling to figure out how to start your blog post?
Creating a plan before you start writing makes it easier to stay on track and produce high-quality content.
In this blog post, I’m going to share with you, step-by-step, how to write a blog post outline and also explain how an outline helps and why it matters.
Follow these simple steps, and you’ll be on your way to publishing high-quality blog posts that are both informative and engaging.
Let’s get started!
Table of Contents
TOP 5 Reasons WHY You MUST Write a Blog Post Outline
1. Creating a Blog Post Outline Will Save You Time
By establishing a blog post outline framework for yourself, you can save hours of headache.
Stop trying to pull a rabbit out of your hat and focus on a strategy and a plan. I promise you; it’ll be worth the effort.
2. A Blog Post Outline Will Keep Your Ideas Organized
We can sometimes be TOO close to our own material.
Creating a blog post outline will help you in more ways than one. It’ll keep you on track and help you avoid becoming lost in your own noise.
3. Outlines Will Help You with Better SEO Rankings
When you take the time to create an outline, it will ensure that your content is well-optimized for SEO.
Subheadings that include targeted or LSI-related keywords can help your material improve in the rankings and perform better, allowing you to gain more visitors to your website.
4. It Helps with Writer’s Block (BIG Time!)
After blogging for a few years, wondering why I was always having writer’s block, one day, I stumbled across an article about “how to write a blog post outline,” and it was a lifesaver of sorts.
Since that day, it’s saved me hundreds of hours of painstaking work, plus my eyes are no longer bloodshot from staring at a blank screen for hours.
I will be the first one to admit that there were times when I skipped the outline with regret.
You’ve heard the saying before… failing to plan is planning to fail. That was me when I was in a rush to knock out content.
5. You Can Outsource Your Work
When you create an outline, it can be a workflow script for outsourcing.
This is a huge time-saver and can be a game-changer for your business. You can hand over your blog outline to a freelance writer, editor, or virtual assistant, and they’ll know exactly what needs to be done.
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How to Write a Blog Post Outline
We all know that poor word choice, poor formatting, typos, and bad grammar make up for a less-than-perfect blog post.
As long as you keep yourself from a poor workflow, you can always fix the mistakes – thanks to another artificial intelligence program like Grammarly.
If you’re like many of my followers and are fairly new to blogging and need a refresher course for creating a blog post, follow the link below.
This post will help you with the basics of creating an article from scratch (including Checklists that can help).
I learned a long time ago that whenever information is being offered that might help me continue to succeed, I grab it!
Here, I’m going to TEST YOU!
We said it once already, but do you know what helps with the workflow?
Cue the Jeopardy theme…
Ok, it’s a blog post outline.
Having a list of headings and subheadings for your blog post gives way to your thoughts. When your imagination flows freely, so will your words, making your writing more readable.
The more comprehensible your words are, the better the audience will like them. The credit goes to a pre-planned and typed blog post outline.
Here’s how to create a blog outline for a logical, detailed, and impeccable blog piece.
1. Decide on the Blog Topic and Nail the Title
Deciding on a blog topic for your blog post can be tricky, even if you have a niche-focused website.
For instance, you may be intrigued to write about “Top 5 Most Expensive Dog Breeds.”
But as you check the search volume for that phrase, you see that it’s of low volume, hardly anyone is searching for it.
Instead, a topic like “Dog Toys Man’s Best-Friend Will Love” is drawing attention.
In that case, go with that particular subject that the audience is searching for to make your content more SEO-friendly.
Note that choosing the blog topic is different from picking the working title.
If you plan to write on “Dog Toys Man’s Best-Friend Will Love,” you may want to alter it to “Best Dog Toys All Dog Breeds Adore.”
You can always make it catchier, but don’t forget to include your target keyword phrase.
Spend some time thinking about what your working title should be. Make it precise and easy to address for a blog post outline, but don’t get too picky, you can refine it later.
The goal here is to have a title that gives you a very clear idea of what the whole blog post is about.
2. Document Your Key Takeaways
Now is the time to work on everything you believe your readers would be interested in reading about.
What do you want your readers to remember or understand after they’ve finished reading your blog post?
This doesn’t have to be limited to what your main heading implies, but you’ll want to include everything your readers anticipate seeing in the blog post.
For instance, let’s use this blog post title, “How to Write a Blog Post Outline & Why it Matters (Easy-to-Follow Formula),” as an example.
This title gives the impression that not only are we going to show the reader how to create a blog post outline, but we’re also going to let them know why creating an outline is important.
This headline also tells the reader to click me because we’re going to also give you an easy-to-follow formula to help you create your blog outline.
Think about the title I mentioned above for a minute and what you’re telling your reader that he is going to learn when he clicks on the headline link after searching for information.
So, if you were to write down the key takeaways for the example title above, you’d want to write down everything you can think of to meet the needs of what that title implies.
Don’t worry about organizing your thoughts just yet (we have a section for it below). Instead, let the ideas flow naturally.
Don’t hesitate to clutter your page; let it be as long as your imagination allows.
Let’s look at an idea for a topic about Best Dog Toys All Dog Breeds Adore.
So, here’s a quick blog post outline template for it from brainstorming a few thoughts.
- Why do dogs like toys?
- Best dog toys all dog breeds love
- Do all dog breeds like toys?
- Roughly, how many dog breeds are there?
- Where can you buy dog toys?
- Advice for dog owners
3. Break Your Outline into Header Sections
Breaking the key takeaways into sections means writing the headings. Now is the time to structure and organize the cluttered outline you wrote.
No matter the headings you choose to write, don’t divert from the focus title. Plus, be sure to provide value to your readers in each subheading.
Here’s how you can set up the headings from the outline mentioned in the previous section.
H1: Best Dog Toys All Dog Breeds Adore
Intro
H2: Why Do Dogs Like Toys?
H3: Toys Help Them Build Cognitive and Motor Skills
H3: They Eliminate Predatory Aggression
H3: Toys Keep Them Busy
H2: Best Dog Toys All Dog Breeds Love
H3: Rubber Chew Toys
H3: Squeakie Toys
H3: Chuckit! Ultra Ball
H3: Good for the Teeth Chew Bones
H3: Rubber Flyer Frisbee
H2: Do All Dog Breeds Like Toys? (This can be answered in 2-3 paragraphs)
H2: How Many Dog Breeds Are There? (Mention the names)
H2: Where Can You Buy Dog Toys?
H3: Your Local Pet Store
H3: Amazon
H3: eBay
H2: Advice for Dog Owners (Answer in 2-3 paragraphs)
H2: Conclusion
4. Research for Relevant Data and Sources
It’s critical to give as much credibility to your material as possible, after you’ve completed your blog post outline, the next step is to research for examples and data that will help back up your outline information.
Your readers will be more likely to trust you if you can show that the content you’re offering is based on genuine research.
Once you’ve found sources for your outline statements, write any specific information to help with your claim along with the link(s) below the section in reference.
This way, when you are in the process of writing your blog post, everything is organized and right there for you to reference.
5. Final Revisions and Blog Outline Clean Up
Alright… here’s the final step for your blog post outline.
It’s time to make any final revisions and tidy up any loose ends before you can get down to business creating your blog post outline.
The fact is that, no matter how much research you’ve done up to now, some of your ideas may not work well together, and others may not flow naturally into a cohesive tale.
So, with your researched information below the referenced sections, go right down your blog post outline to see if it tells a story.
This is your chance to correct any obvious problems with your blog outline before you begin writing your post.
6. Write Your Blog Post Masterpiece
With your completed blog outline, you’ll now have a clear roadmap to follow as your writing process begins, and it should save you a lot of time.
I also recommend that you wait to write your introduction and conclusion until after you’ve finished writing your blog post.
Even if you don’t choose to, I think it’s much easier to complete these two summary sections after you’ve completed writing your blog post outline.
The reason I say this is because your article is complete, so you’ll have a better idea how to introduce the article and conclude the article.
Conclusion – How to Write a Blog Post Outline
A blog post outline is the skeleton of your article.
Now that you know the secrets to writing a blog post outline, it’s time to put your skills to the test.
If you can commit to writing quality content and following this easy-to-follow formula, there’s no doubt you’ll be creating amazing blog posts in no time.
