Outlines are the architectural blueprints for your blog posts.
A construction company wouldn’t dream of undertaking a large project without a blueprint. Likewise, you should never start writing without a blog post outline
A good blog post should be about one topic, one story or one idea. You are not writing a thesis. If you have more to say… great! That can be another blog.
In this blog post, I’ll give you 5 steps you can follow to create a solid outline before you start writing your next post.
Why You Should Always Create Blog Post Outlines
- It helps with writer’s block. The empty page can be intimidating. Creating a structure takes the pressure off. You can simply “fill in the blanks.”
- It saves time. You’ll know what to write and can simply sit down and write it. You can use the “batching” technique to write more efficiently.
- It will help you avoid “scope creep.” When you start a blog post without clearly defining what you plan to write, you can end up going into the topic much more deeply than you intended.
- It will save time in the revision stage. It’s a lot easier to adjust an outline before writing a blog post than it is to revise a fully written first draft.
- It lets you write in a non-linear way. Sometimes you end up writing section 3 before section 2 – and that’s okay.
- It allows you to organize and establish a hierarchy of your ideas. What’s the most important thing your readers need to know? The second most important? Etc.
- It helps with research. You’ll know in advance what information you’ll need to complete the blog.
- It helps you plan visual aids and other supporting media. Could you include a video? An infographic? A chart?
Ask Yourself: How Will This Blog Post Affect The Reader?
It’s one of the biggest missed opportunities I see. Many writers put all the work into creating a blog post without thinking about the change they want to make in the mind of the reader, or what they want the reader to DO afterwards.
As a long form piece of writing, blog posts are a way to get across a lot more information than you can in a social media post or an email.
Think about why you are writing the blog post and what you want to teach the reader. What is the goal you want to achieve?
To get a bit meta on this, my goal for writing this blog post is to explain why it’s helpful to create a blog post outline before writing, and give you some practical, actionable advice that you can start using right away to build better outlines. When I outlined this post, for each section I asked myself whether the content inside was relevant to that goal.
For example, the goal of your blog post might be:
- Teaching the reader something new.
- Debunking a myth or misconception.
- Explaining how something works.
- Convincing them of your position.
- Inspiring them to act.
- Encouraging the reader to share.
- Etc.
Questions to Ask Yourself Before Outlining
You have a goal in mind, but you’re not quite ready to start outlining yet. There are a few other questions you should ask yourself first.
- How many words will this blog post include? (For best SEO results, it should be at least 500+)
- Is it a one-off blog post or part of a larger series? (If it’s part of a series, you’ll need to know how it fits in with the rest of the topics.)
- Who is the target audience? (If it’s for your own blog, you’ll probably already know. If it’s for a client’s blog, you’ll need to make sure you do Step One: Research and Discovery in the Copywriting Process to learn more about the audience.)
- How much depth is required? (Is it a basic overview or a detailed analysis?)
A Practical 5 Step Process for Building Solid Blog Post Outlines
Step 1: Brainstorming
Now that you know what your blog post is going to be about, the first step is to do a “brain dump” about that topic.
Write down every facet of the topic you want to include. This can be in a bullet form list, a mind map, or whatever format works best for you.
At this stage, it’s okay to have more points than you can possibly cover. Let the ideas flow. You can narrow them down later.
Step 2: Creating Sections
Take a step back and look at the list you’ve made. You’ll start to see links between related ideas. Group them together.
Arrange the material into sections and subsections. You could start from general to more specific, or from abstract to concrete, or in order of importance.
Think about the journey the reader will take. You’re creating a path for them to follow.
Step 3: Balancing the Sections
At this stage, you may have an unbalanced outline. Some sections will have lots of bullet points, others only a few.
Now it’s time to fill in the spaces so your sections are balanced and complete.
Step 4: Editing the Outline
This is the step where you tighten up the outline so it only includes relevant information.
At this stage you can eliminate:
- Repetitive points.
- Points you can’t verify.
- Points the reader already knows.
- Anything that doesn’t add value to the post.
Step 5: Sources & References
At this stage, you can add in links to examples, studies, data, sources and references.
When you start writing, it will be all organized for you.
(You can also add notes on little details you want to remember to include.)
Remember – Outlining Should Always Be The First Step
The best blog posts always start from well-thought-out, strategic outlines.
The ultimate goal of blogging is to provide as much helpful, interesting content to your ideal reader as possible and outlining helps keep your ideas on track. If you do this step first, your blog posts will be more organised and easier to read, and they will perform better.
P.S. If you need help with your blog writing, it’s actually one of my specialties. Contact me to discuss blog writing rates, which include research, sourcing expert quotes, examples, internal linking and revisions. (And of course, outlining. 😉)