How to Write a Blog Post Outline

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For a good part of the last decade, experts have decried that the blog is dead! Especially since the rise of micro-blogging with X (previously Twitter) and photo/video-blogging with Instagram, long paragraphs of text in blog posts have been written off as useless.

Nothing could be farther from the truth.

Fact Check: On WordPress alone, users publish over 70 million new blog posts each month. 89% of organizations maintain a regular blog. Three-fourths of respondents say that blogging produces business results for them.

It is safe to say that blogging is one of the most effective ways to gain visibility (by appearing on the result pages of search engines), authority (by speaking about relevant topics), and thought leadership (by ideating the future).

Yet, 96.5% of the content on the internet gets no traffic from Google, finds Ahrefs!

One of the biggest reasons for this is that the content in these blog posts doesn’t match the search intent. In other words, the content doesn’t meet the needs of the reader.

Today, we look at how you can solve that problem using a comprehensive blog post outline. We discuss why you need a blog post outline, how to create one, and the common mistakes to avoid while you’re doing so.

60-Second Summary
A blog post outline is a framework that guides the writing by creating comprehensive, effective, and differentiated content. It provides brand clarity, speed, quality, consistency, and risk mitigation.

To create a good blog post outline, follow these steps.

Brainstorm ideas and key takeaways
Structure the main sections
Fill out each section with the right level of detail
Revise and refine your outline
Monitor the performance of your blog post and improve over time
Understanding the Basics of a Blog Post Outline
A blog post outline is a structure or a framework that includes all the aspects that need to be covered by the writer. It helps the writer frame the narrative of the blog post in a way that’s most meaningful and useful to the reader.

Why do you need a blog post outline?
Whether you’re the only writer or belong to a team of many, outlining a blog post is integral to SEO project management. Before sitting down to write, creating an outline draws the boundaries of your content.

It’s like making a pencil sketch before painting. It gives you a complete picture of what you’re going to paint without constricting your creative process. This is how it helps.

Clarity: The outline is a roadmap for the entire article. You know where to start, what milestones uae telemarketing data you need to cross and where to reach. This gives the writer complete clarity of their work.

Risk mitigation: As writers have clarity on their blog post’s goal and structure, they are less likely to submit something that’s way off the mark. This reduces rework and minimizes the risk of delays/failures.

Speed: Outlining separates the research and thinking phase from the writing phase. This means that when you have an outline, you can sit down and finish writing faster than you will without one.

Quality: A good outline helps elevate the blog post. It gives the writer everything they need, including language, SEO, and marketing best practices, dramatically improving quality.

Consistency: For organizations that create blogs at scale, the outline helps bring consistency and repeatability to the process. It expedites the quality control process by creating a checklist for editors in advance.

What is included in a blog post outline?
If you’re wondering how the simple outline can deliver all of these benefits, here’s how. A good blog post outline contains everything the writer needs to know to do their job well. That encompasses:

Context
Who is the audience? What are they looking for?

For example, the outline might include a short paragraph saying, “this outline is targeted at software developers looking to learn how to use AI for coding.”

This helps the writer visualize the person they’re writing the actual post for and deliver what’s important to them.

Title
What is the title of the blog post?

A good blog post title tells the reader instantly what they can expect. It summarizes the crux of the article. For instance, “How to use AI for coding” is a great title.

Structure
What are the major sections to be included? Are there any specific ideas/points to be covered?

This is the biggest part of the outline. It defines section by section, heading by heading, what’s to be included in the blog post. Here, the creator of the outline can be as high-level or granular as necessary, depending on the writer’s skills, availability, etc.

Additional elements
Are there any links, images, videos, templates, tools, etc. to be included?

These are the SEO or brand elements that the writer should keep in mind. For instance, you might want to include a few internal links or add a visual that demonstrates the blog post topics you’re covering. This is the place for that.

Housekeeping
Is there a style guide or any other guidelines to be followed?

Last but not least, let the writer know if there’s anything else they need to keep in mind. This can be anything from avoiding the Oxford comma to choosing references from a particular source alone. This sets up the writer for success, minimizing rework resulting from logistical issues!