How to Write a Blog Post Outline in 7 Simple Steps

How to Write a Blog Post Outline in 7 Simple Steps

How to Write a Blog Post Outline in 7 Simple Steps

Every writer knows the ache of staring for hours at a clean web page and generating nothing.
But you don’t have to begin your draft on an empty Google Doc. It’s a whole lot less complicated in case you start with an define.

Creating a weblog put up outline will help you:

Overcome the dreaded “creator’s block.”
Organize your mind earlier than you positioned pen to paper.
Ensure you’re now not lacking any crucial factors.
Order your weblog put up in a logical, clean-to-read structure.
Get you and your editor, customer, or supervisor (if you’re working with one) on the equal web page.
In this post, you’ll learn how to write a blog publish define. Let’s get started out.

1. Choose your topic
   It’s not possible to create a blog publish outline without understanding what you want to write down about.

So if you’ve now not but determined on a subject, you need to select one now.

Brainstorm multiple subjects you’d like to cowl. If you’re familiar with the niche, there ought to be some burning problems you need to deal with. Write about them.

Otherwise, an excellent manner to discover topics is to apply Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer. Enter a applicable time period into the device and visit the Matching phrases record.

Switch the tab to Questions, and also you’ll see lots of capacity subjects to cover.

Matching terms file, through Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer

2. Select your content material format
   Will your article be a listicle or a how-to? Or perhaps it’s an opinion piece, a overview, otherwise you’re surely covering the modern information.

Whatever it’s miles, you’ll should determine on a layout.

Sometimes, the format is screaming at you in simple sight. For instance, if you’re masking the subject “how to make kefir at home,” then it’s probably going to be a how-to guide. Or in case you’re masking the subject “blogging tips,” then it’s probably going to be a listing of suggestions.

But now and again, it’s not so straightforward. Is the topic “best productiveness app” a list of productiveness apps, a overview of a selected app, or an opinion article about the “pleasant app”?

The reality is it could be any of the above. You’re unfastened to pick, and there’s nobody proper solution. But in case you actually cannot decide, then a very good manner to “settle” the talk is to sincerely study what’s ranking for that subject matter on Google.

The SERP for the question “pleasant productiveness app”
So searchers for “first-rate productiveness app” are really searching out “first-class productivity apps.” Google knows that and ranks best listicles for that topic. If you’re caught, growing a listicle can be a terrific manner ahead.

Recommended studying: 10 Types of Blog Posts & How to Use Them Effectively

3. Decide to your article’s attitude
   Mr. Bean falls to the floor. A highlight shines on him. The rest of the street has diminished into the shadows, and your interest specializes in Rowan Atkinson’s man or woman.

The topic you’re overlaying is the complete road, and the perspective you select is the highlight. It makes a speciality of one aspect, to the exclusion of others. If you’re writing approximately “how to make ramen at domestic,” are you coaching your readers the way to:

Make ramen fast?
Make restaurant-pleasant ramen?
Make tonkotsu ramen?
Make vegan ramen?
Make Sapporo-fashion ramen?
Make Korean-fashion ramen (additionally referred to as ramyeon)?
You can’t probable cowl the entirety. So you need to select. In truth, it’s the angle that makes your article precise and thrilling to readers, thereby making it stand out.

Use those questions to spark ideas on your own novel perspective:

Do you have got private revel in or understanding? For instance, if you’ve controlled efficiently to infuse Singaporean flavors into ramen, then you could percentage your specific recipe with others.
Can you interview professionals? For instance, you could interview a well-known ramen chef on how rookies can potentially make restaurant-excellent ramen at domestic.
Can you crowdsource reviews and ideas? For instance, you can poll members in r/ramen for his or her satisfactory at-domestic ramen recipes.
Can you provide records or lower back your article with science? For example, you could doubtlessly display readers a way to create the “ideal” ramen through looking on the sensory courting between exclusive acids and flavors.
Can you be contrarian? Don’t be contrarian for the sake of it. But if you have an opinion that’s the opposite of everyone else’s—for instance, how ramen is certainly extremely healthful—and you may back it up with evidence, it could be an attention grabbing attitude.
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You can also look at the pinnacle-rating pages on Google to get inspiration on what angle you need to cowl. For instance, if we search for “date thoughts” on Google, we see angles like:
Location-specific (“London”)
Quirky
Fun
Cool
Creative
And extra.

SERP for the question “date thoughts”
four. Use a template
Have you ever noticed that most blog posts are established pretty similarly?

In fact, maximum weblog posts you read are versions of the equal templates. So you don’t must reinvent the wheel on this front. Choose a template that fits your layout and get started out.

For instance, we use this template for nearly all our step-by using-step courses:

A blog post template for step-with the aid of-step guides
Looking for extra templates? Check out the blog put up underneath.

Recommended studying: 4 Simple Blog Post Templates (And When to Use Them)

5. Figure out what you want to cowl (for your subheadings)
   Your template has supplied you with the skeleton. Now, you want to parent out what you need to fill in, specifically your subheadings (the H2s, H3s, H4s, and many others.).

Here are a few ideas on the way to discover them:

A. Use your know-how and enjoy
The first step is continually to look inward. If you realize there may be a proper way to do something, then use that as a basis to your define.

B. Run a content material gap analysis
We can use the cutting-edge pinnacle-rating pages on your topic as thought too. After all, if most of those pages are protecting sure subtopics, then it’s probable they’re vital on your readers.

SIDENOTE. Make positive you’re only searching at pages with a similar angle as yours.
Here’s a way to discover those subtopics:

Paste some pinnacle-rating URLs on your major topic into Ahrefs’ Content Gap tool
Leave the lowest segment clean
Hit Show key phrases
Set the Intersection clear out to 3 and 4 goals
Ahrefs’ Content Gap device
Results from the Content Gap device
We can see that these pages are ranking for such subtopics:

What is the keto eating regimen
What does keto mean
Keto weight-reduction plan policies
Is keto food plan healthful
What to consume on keto weight-reduction plan
And greater.

If we’re covering the identical topic—”keto weight loss plan” from a comparable angle (“newbie’s guide”)—then they’ll possibly make appropriate H2s.

C. Look at People Also Ask bins
Google whatever nowadays, and you’ll see this:

An instance of PAA box for the query “keto weight-reduction plan”
These are known as People Also Ask (PAA) containers, and that they answer questions associated with your seek query. Since those are possibly famous questions, you could need to answer them for your content material too.

To acquire all of these questions, you could both click on on them again and again or use a device like AlsoAsked.

Alternatively, in case you’re without a doubt seeking out questions related to your primary subject matter (and are not always PAA), do that method:

Go to Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
Enter your topic
Go to the Matching phrases record
Switch the tab to Questions
Click at the hamburger menu beside the XX, XXX key phrases
Switch the tab to Parent subjects
Click for your predominant topic (e.G., “keto diet”)
A list of questions for the Parent Topic, “keto diet,” through Ahrefs’ Keywords Explorer
Here, you’ll see all of the questions grouped below the equal Parent Topic—in this situation, “keto diet.”

Look thru the report and notice if there are any questions well worth answering in your article.

6. Add bullets under every subheading
   You’ll need to flesh out each section so that you (and your editor, customer, and many others.) can apprehend what you’re attempting to say and wherein you’re coming from.

But don’t make the error of writing the whole draft right here. This is an outline, now not the actual publish. So just leave ideas that’ll assist and substantiate what you’re going to cowl.

Here are some examples of bullets you can add:

Brief rationalization of your argument
Examples of how your precise object/step/tactic/and so on., works
Potential expert fees (in case you’re using them)
Data you’ll be mentioning
For example, right here’s a current define of mine for a publish on content pillars:

Example blog submit outline
I create bullet factors and definitely imply the thoughts I’ll share below every subheading. But now not all outlines look the equal. You can pick to no longer lead them to so detailed too.

The international’s your oyster. Do what works for you and whomever you’re operating with.

7. Plan out your introduction and conclusion
   The goal of your intro is to “hook” the reader into finishing your complete article. So it’s a good idea to plan out (at least an concept) what you want to mention right here.

Again, don’t fall into the entice of fleshing the entire thing out. Just a couple of bullets will do.

To plan your intro, a easy formulation you may comply with is the Problem-Agitate-Solve (PAS) formula.

The PAS formulation
Here’s how it works:

State the Problem
Agitate the trouble through digging extra into the pain (felt by way of the reader)
Offer a potential Solution
And right here’s what it seems like in actual existence:

Example of the PAS method in motion
For your conclusion, I advise planning a one-line takeaway of your entire article, imparting hyperlinks to in addition assets, or sharing a final attention on your readers to think about.

Final mind
Before you start drafting, it’s an excellent concept to ship your define to a person else—a colleague, editor, or pal. They’ll be able to come up with remarks and factor out flaws, inaccuracies, or factors you’ve missed.

We do this all the time. Every in-house author has to ship their outlines to Josh, our head of content material, for overview.

Once your reviewer has given their feedback, you may glance through it and incorporate their thoughts into your outline. Then, it’s finally time to draft.

If you want assist writing a weblog post, test out this step-with the aid of-step guide on how to write one.