How to Write a Blog Post Outline: 7 Simple Steps to Follow [+Template]

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Looking to learn How to write a blog post outline? then you are at the right place.

Whether you’ve just started a new blog, want to reform your writing, or want to have a clear structure in mind before writing a post. There you have it, the outline of a good blog post to kick-start your writing process and move logically from one point to the next.

Also, creating an outline before you start writing will help you organize your thoughts in one place, and make your article flow more smoothly.
Knowing what topics you want to cover, what kind of information you need for each section, and what elements are most important, you can write a blog post that is logical from start to finish. This can really make a big difference anytime you want to write a post fast.

I’m a firm believer in creating a driving blog outline to kick things off.
That’s why in this post _ we’re going to show you in NINE steps how to create a coherent outline for a blog post so that whenever sit for writing a post, you already know what to actually do next.

Sounds good? Right 

So let’s get started without any further delay and first start with “what’s outline actually?

What is an Outline in Writing?

An outline for a blog post is an important tool for any writer. It ensures that your post is coherent and clear, and highlights the main points you want to make. By writing an outline before you start your post, you can create a clear, concise structure that makes your blog post easy to read.

What are the different types of outlines?

There are two types of outlines in general, One is topic outlines and another sentence outlines.

A topic outline gives a general idea of how the writer plans to organize the paper with a few words or phrases without going into detail. while A sentence outline, on the other hand, is more precise and provides the writer with a better idea of how the paper will be structured. It contains complete sentences with all of the necessary details provided.

Why should you first create an outline for every blog post?

A blog post outline can help you save time when writing by creating a structure that you can refer to when writing. An outline can also help you to identify what information is important and what you can leave out. This will ensure that your paper is focused and consistent so that it’s easy to read and understand.

Plus, the outline is a better way to refer to it afterward for further revisions. An outline can also help you focus on specific topics and bring the post to a manageable length.

along with ;

  • It helps organize your thoughts.
  • It gives your blog post a logical order that makes it easy to read.
  • An outline keeps you away from getting a ‘writer’s block’.

How do you write an outline for a blog post? | 7 Steps Process to prepare an outline

Here is the 7-step process to create an outline:

Step 1: Figure out your topic

A topic that you want to cover in your post is the first step when creating an outline for your post. Without a topic, you can’t think of anything and you can’t expand your outline. You can brainstorm a list of ideas about the topic you want to write about. This will help you figure out how to organize and structure your paper.

Let’s say…

You want to write about  “relaxing music” in the music category. So for better specifically you can go further in-depth on this topic of “relaxing music “

The best thing to do is to go to Google, type in your focus keyword, and wait for Google’s autosuggestions, for instance;

As you can see above, there are many suggestions for your query. Now try to go into more detail.

Let’s say we have chosen “meditation relaxing music for stress”
and if we like to go into more detail and find a topic that involves the 5 W’s (What, Why, When, Where, and How), we get some topics like these”

so here they’re;

  • how music helps with stress and anxiety
  • how music reduces stress and anxiety
  • how does music help reduce stress and anxiety
  • how does music reduce stress and anxiety
  • how does music help us reduce stress and anxiety
  • why music helps with anxiety

Get specific with what you want to write about and if you keep yourself specific to your topic, this can be always better for you that’ll also help you to create a blog post for your target audience.

so now you’ve chosen the topic finally “how music helps with stress and anxiety”

Overall now you’ve got a specific topic in your mind, and it’s time to take further steps in your research.

However, choosing a topic is not easy sometimes especially for newbies because there are various aspects to keep in mind while finalizing your content topic so for better understanding you can read this article_ “How to choose a topic?” where you’ll know about various elements that’ll help you whenever selecting the topic.

Step 2: Find out your angle

Even if you have finalized your blog topic, you can’t just create good content because there are already many articles on Google about the topic you have selected,  so you need to differentiate your article from all those articles.

To do this, you also need to decide the direction of your article so the angle of your blog post works to give each piece of content the right direction.
So you can think of_ the angle is the intersection of the topic of your post. This gives the point of view of your post in the right direction so that your users get a little idea in advance that what they are going to actually read.

Suppose, as a professional blogger and content writer;

If I speak for myself…

I’ll like to give my article an angle, for example,

“How Music Helps With Stress and Anxiety While Blogging.”
Or,
“How can music help with stress and anxiety as a blogger?”
Or,
“How Music Helps With Stress and Anxiety While content writing task.”

Or something like that.

These provided angles clearly address the topic as well as the perspective of the topic. this is the power of angle which always makes your opinion differs from the Cluster of Crowd.

What will come out of that?

Then,

Let me tell you, now it will happen that your content has now become a specific and unique one, which is going to be very valuable for each particular audience who falls into the blogging or content writing niche.

Step 3: Naildown your Stunning Headlines

if you’ve covered both phases one is what the topic is and another one chooses the right angle from your topic _ it’s now time to determine the perfect headline for your blog post so that you could able convey your audience with the right approach.

as you know, the headline is always the most important door of content that can capture the right intention of your content and also an emotional connection with your reader. It should also be catchy enough to make the readers curious to open the blog post. We’ve already talked about your main headline several times, which is usually the h1 headline, so we won’t go into detail about that here.

“Not so much”, Please try to understand briefly this time!

However for crafting your blog post title, you should also care about your blog post format, as you know, we’ve decided we’re going to cover the topic “how music helps with stress and anxiety” so the best deed for you, please check the current top ranking content on SERPs page at least TOP TEN articles from where you’ll get a good idea what the format will be best fit for regarding this topic.

For instance:

As you can see, most of the results showing are covering the ways of the concerned topic, and also, “people also ask(PPA)” feature of Google pointing most peoples want to the ways or types of benefits of this particular topic so your work is here to keep in mind this search intent of topic, ” and follow this format of the same pattern for creating the10x high-quality content.

“One thing I want to clarify is that you can also choose a blog post format after you have finished your topic, or you can choose a blog format along with a headline, but it is sure, this is the important point.”

Step 4: Make a list of the subtopics around the core topic

In this step, you should make a list of the supporting topic that fulfills the need of your main topic. this is also important for users who are not coming to only read the title of your content but also want to read something extra so this is your responsibility to put that type of sub-topics or subheadlines which is also useful for upcoming guests.

For this, you can go further in the process of research where you’ll have to do Research and gather sources.

But first Start with;

Brainstorming _This should probably be your first step to finding some relevant ideas on the core topic that come straight to your mind. In this step you don’t have to worry about your logic, just make sure your ideas flow naturally. only you can in mind, they should be somehow relative to the main topic.

For example;

  • Why does music help with anxiety?
  • Why is music good for anxiety?
  • How can listening to music help your mental health?
  • How does classical music relieve stress?
  • How does music lower stress levels, while content writing tasks?
  • What does music do to the brain when writing?
  • What does relaxing music do to the brain?
  • Is music a cure for anxiety?
  • Music therapy?
  • How can music be used to induce anxiety?
  • What music helps you relax?
  • Do song lyrics eliminate tiredness?
  • Does music help clear your head?

What will happen to this?

Let me tell you, this process is really great to add naturality to your blog post outline after all, these all questions are coming to your mind so whenever you add your outline that’ll provide a different touch whenever you’ll create content.
however, some ideas will not relevant but not a big deal whenever we’ll reach the final outline, we’ll remove these all questions that are not directly connected with the topic.

Cool?

You can now use various free & paid resources like keyword research tools for example Semrush, Or Aherfs for this process but for instance we’ll go through some free sources here so let’s see,

how can you research and collect sources;

Quora _ Quora is a great Q&A resource for finding additional subtopics to your main topic, and you can also get ideas from other people’s answers.
You can see it here:

as you can see, there are different types of relative subtopics, some are only relative, and some aren’t, but your task is to include some relevant subtopics in your outline with a little bit of correction accordingly.

Twitter _ Twitter is a good platform to collect data and you can also read other people’s comments on the topic.
when we searched our general topic on Twitter, we got something like the following, as you can see below;

Now you think that if something going on this platform which is relevant to your topic, you can discover something valuable that you can include in your outline, which could increase the value of your content.

Alsoasked _ Alsoasked.com is a great platform for finding related questions about your general topic, you can utilize this platform to make some more sub-topics for your content outline.

For example, when we searched our core topic on alsoasked.com, this is what we got.

Here you can find several related or relevant questions on the same topic that can help you add more subtopics to your outline and prepare to answer these questions in your content.

Answer the Public _ Answer the Public is a great platform to find subtopics for your content.
When we searched for our core topic on Answer the public, we got some amazing results like this;

You can see many relevant subtopics here that can help you add more subtopics to your content outline and make it more comprehensive.

Topicmojo_Topicmojo is another great platform for collecting ideas around a topic. It helps you to identify trending relevant subtopics and gives you data-driven insights on how to optimize your content around those topics.

For example, when we searched for our core topic on Topicmojo, this is what we got;

So you can use this platform to get some more sub-topics related to your core topic which will help you to make it a more comprehensive outline.

Google Scholar _ Google Scholar is a great resource to find additional research data on your main topic. There you can also find academic papers and journal articles on your topic that you can incorporate into your blog post outline.

Youtube _YouTube is a great source to find videos related to the topic and also you can get some inspiring ideas.

Reddit _ Reddit is an excellent resource to find the discussion and discussion threads related to the topic.

and also,

Google search _Google itself is a research giant, and we all know that, so there is no need to explain here that you can use Google to find different sources and media to get more specific data on your topic. and you can also analyze the top-ranking content to get more ideas about your topic.

Plus, You can also go through customer reviews or forums to find out what people are talking about the topic, and also utilize;

  • Google Trends
  • Amazon
  • Wikipedia
  • Paid Library

Honestly, there are many ways to gather information and data for your outline, but here we have discussed some of them.

Remember that your outline is a guide. Don’t be afraid to go off-topic when gathering information. This may lead to insights you didn’t expect. Also, when completing your outline, use transition words to ensure that each idea flows into the next.

However, make sure you’ll take only those queries which are common on various resources and if you take anyone’s personal point of view then you’ll provide relevant citations.” don’t forget this”

so this way you’ll have a list of subtopics around the main topic and once you’ve made a list of these subtopics, you can move on to the next step.

Now it’s time to give your blog post a framework by creating a detailed outline. This outline should consist of the following steps;

Introduction
Background information
Main points
Supporting facts
Conclusion

Step 5: Choose the best order to keep the user journey in mind

The next step is to flesh out your outline. This can take some time, but it’s the key to having a well-written and organized paper.

now that you have your research and sources, it’s time to choose the best order for your content. You should always keep the User Journey in mind when creating the outline for your blog post.

what the User Journey means is that you want the reader to flow easily through your post, so make sure you take them on their journey. so try to structure your blog post outline in a way that makes it easy for your readers to get into your article and all the information flows well.

The user journey for this example might look something like this;

H1 Headling – How Music Helps with Stress and Anxiety As a Blogger
Introduction
H2 Headling – Why is music so effective?
Subheading 1
Subheading 2
Subheading 3
H2 heading – How does music help us reduce stress and anxiety [  EXCELLENT Ways to overcome Stress & Anxiety ]
H3 Subheading – Way 1
H3 Subheading – Way 2
H3 Subheading – Way 3
H3 Subheading – Way 4
H3 Subheading – Way 5

H2 Heading – What kind of music reduces stress?
H3 Subheading – Category 1
H3 Subheading – Category 2
H3 Subheading – Category 3

H2 heading – What type of music is best for anxiety?
H3 Sub-heading – Category 1
H3 Subheading – Category 2
H3 Subheading – Category 3

H2 Headling – Conclusion

Step 6: Fill in useful information and statistics

In the next step, you add useful information and statistics to the outline you have just created. Here you use all the sources you have collected and turn them into a comprehensive article.

For this topic in particular, you could start by exploring the possible effects of music on stress and anxiety, then list some of the most popular songs and genres that are proven to help with relaxation, followed by the ways people can use music to overcome anxiety, and ending with ways to enhance your listening experience.

In this step, you should also include key statistics and relevant quotes to make your content more interesting and engaging.

For instance ;

H1 Heading – How music helps with stress and anxiety as a Blogger
Introduction
_______

H2 Heading – Why music is so powerful?
It keeps the heart healthy (to Research )
It keeps you in the pleasurable moment
___


H2 Heading – How to Use Music for Stress-free
H3 Subheading – Get Ready in the Morning
H3 Subheading – During a journey
H3 Subheading – While researching Something
H3 Subheading – While Eating
H3 Subheading – Before going to sleep
H3 Subheading – During Cleaning your stuff
H3 Subheading – While taking a bath
H3 Subheading – ___

H2 Heading – How does music help us reduce stress and anxiety [ EXCELLENT Ways to Decrease Stress & Anxiety ]
H3 Subheading – Way 1 – Triggers Pleasure with music
H3 Subheading – Way 2 – Music Take care of Your Nervous System
H3 Subheading – Way 3 – Emotional Release with music
H3 Subheading – Way 4 – Music keeps You in the Present moment
H3 subheading – Way 5 – Music Distracts from Stress situation
H3 Subheading – Way 6 – Music increase Creativity
H3 Subheading – Way 7 – Music Facilitates Connection
H3 Subheading – Way 8 – Ability to quickly shift our mood
H3 Subheading – Way 9 – Music works like Daily Medicine 
H3 Subheading – Way10 -Reprogram with music
H3 Subheading – Way 11 -Feal integrate with Music
H3 Subheading – Way 12 -Feal Happiness with music

H3 Subheading – Way 13 -Take sound sleep with music

H3 Subheading – Way 14 – Provide a distraction

H2 Heading – What type of music reduces stress?
H3 Subheading – Category 1 – light jazz 
H3 Subheading – Category 2 – Classical
H3 Subheading – Category 3 – Instrumental music

H2 Heading – What type of music is best for anxiety?
H3Subheading –  Category 1 – Upbeat music
H3 Subheading – Category 2 – Instrumental music 
H3 Subheading – Category 3 – Classical music

H2 Heading – Conclusion
_______________

Step 7: Revise and Review the Structure of Your Outline

In this step, you refine your outline. Here you go back and rearrange the subsections, add more detail, and smooth out any rough spots. You should be aware that each point in your outline should support and reinforce the main theme. If a point doesn’t fit into the flow of the paper, delete it or revise it thoroughly. The goal is for the outline to be readable and easy to follow.

We spent a while analyzing the whole outline to see what I could correct. Then we saw that some points didn’t make sense in the whole outline or were cluttered, so I removed them from my outline and added some important ones.
For example, look at this;

H1 Heading – How music helps with stress and anxiety as a Blogger
Introduction
_angle of content_

H2 Heading – Why music is so powerful?
It keeps the heart healthy (by Research – Provides source link )
It keeps you in the pleasurable moment
___
H2 Heading -How to Use Music for Stress Release
H3 Subheading – While taking a bath
H3 Subheading – Get Ready in the Morning
H3 Subheading – During a journey
H3 Subheading – While researching Something
H3 Subheading – Listen music While Eating
H3 Subheading – During Cleaning your stuff
H3 Subheading – Before go to sleep

H2 Heading – How does music help us reduce stress and anxiety [ 12 EXCELLENT Ways to Decrease Overcome Stress & Anxiety ]
H3 Subheading – Way 1 – Triggers Pleasure with music
H3 Subheading – Way 2 – Music Take care of Your Nervous System
H3 Subheading – Way 3 – Emotional Release with music
H3 Subheading – Way 4 – Music keeps You in the Present moment
H3 subheading – Way 5 – Music disjoint from Stress Situation
H3 Subheading – Way 6 – Music increase Creativity
H3 Subheading – Way 7 – Music Facilitates Connection
H3 Subheading – Way 8 – Ability to quickly shift our mood
H3 Subheading – Way 9 – Music works like Daily Medicine 
H3 Subheading – Way10 – Reprogram mind with music
H3 Subheading – Way 11 – Feal Integrate with Music
H3 Subheading – Way 12 -Feal Happiness with music
H3 Subheading – Way 13 -Take sound sleep with music
H3 Subheading – Way 14 – Provide a distraction

H2 Heading – What type of music reduces stress?
H3 Subheading – Category 1 – light jazz 
H3 Subheading – Category 2 -Classical
H3 Subheading – Category 3 -Instrumental music

H2 Heading – What type of music is best for anxiety?
H3Subheading –  Category 1 – Upbeat music
H3 Subheading – Category 2 – Instrumental music 
H3 Subheading – Category 3 – Classical music

H2 Heading – Conclusion
_ Call to Action_

If you follow these steps, you’ll have a well-constructed outline that you can be proud of. Not only will it reflect your thoughts clearly and logically, but it’ll also demonstrate your writing skills to readers.

What is a good outline look like? Example of Blog Post Outline!

So this is the right outline format… and you can use it as an outline template for your writing. check it out below;

1 .How music helps with stress and anxiety as a Blogger

Introduction(Angle of content)

2. Why music is so powerful?

  • It keeps the heart healthy (By Research – provides the source link).
  • It’s keeping you in a pleasurable moment.

3. How to Use Music for Stress Release

  • H3 Subheading – While taking a bath
  • H3 Subheading – Get Ready in the Morning
  • H3 Subheading – During a journey
  • H3 Subheading – While researching something
  • H3 Subheading – Listen to music while eating
  • H3 Subheading – During Cleaning your stuff
  • H3 Subheading – Before going to sleep

4. How does music help us reduce stress and anxiety [ 12 EXCELLENT Ways to Overcome Stress & Anxiety ]

  • H3 Subheading – Triggers Pleasure with music
  • H3 Subheading – Music Take care of Your Nervous System
  • H3 Subheading – Emotional Release with music
  • H3 Subheading – Music keeps you in the Present moment
  • H3 subheading – Music disjoint from Stress Situation
  • H3 Subheading – Music increase Creativity
  • H3 Subheading – Ability to quickly shift our mood
  • H3 Subheading – Music works like Daily Medicine 
  • H3 Subheading – Reprogram mind with music
  • H3 Subheading – Feal Integrate with Music
  • H3 Subheading – Feal Happiness with music
  • H3 Subheading – Take sound sleep with music

5. What type of music reduces stress?

  • H3 Subheading – light jazz 
  • H3 Subheading – Classical
  • H3 Subheading – Instrumental music

6. What type of music is best for anxiety?

  • H3Subheading – Upbeat music
  • H3 Subheading – Instrumental music 
  • H3 Subheading – Classical music

7. Conclusion
(_ Call to Action_)

Ready for your next post after the outline

While you have covered everything the best thing is that when you’re about to write according to the outline once a time look at your outline and review it again. Look for any holes in the information or any ideas that don’t fit. If you find any, go back and revise your outline accordingly.

Once you’ve filled out your outline completely and finally you have confidence that there is no missing important and everything is all good, now you can start writing your blog post. for writing the content the best tip is to break down the research into small chunks and write one point at a time and write your blog content according to the outline.

Tools for creating an outline

There are many outlining tools on the internet, some are mind mapping tools, and some are just list form tools. So it’s up to you what kind of tool you want to use for your outline.

Sometimes it also depends on the capacity of your mind, because some like to create outlines in list form, others in mind map form. So it all depends on you, which way you can capture things properly.

Below we have listed the different tools, so check them out.

Mind mapping tools for creating outlines

Listicle outline tools

FAQs | about How to write a Blog post Outline

Here are the most common questions users ask when creating an outline for a blog post.

What is the purpose of an outline?

An outline can be used as a writing tool to help organize thoughts and ideas, and Outlines can be used for many purposes. For example, they’re often used as a kind of “blueprint” to plan a project or writing task. Outlines can also be used to show the structure of an argument, concept, plan, or another form of information.

Should I write an outline first?

Of course, you should write an outline before you start the actual writing process. Although it’s not a principle to create an outline before any blog content, it’s also true that the outline is very helpful in bringing any topic into the larger writing aspect. It helps just like a small seed becomes a big tree with many leaves and trunks. Similarly, an outline also does the same.

How long does it usually take you to write an outline?

How much time you need to write an outline depends on the complexity of the topic and the amount of research required. It usually takes a few hours to create an effective outline.
However, don’t compromise on consistency, unity, coherence, and emphasis while creating the outline.

How long should an outline be?

The length of an outline varies depending on the type of content you’re writing and the topic you’re covering. Generally, an outline should be brief and include only the most important points. For short blog posts, an outline may be just a few subtopics that are relevant while a longer research post such as a pillar post or static post may require several related subtopics that increase the blog’s level of authenticity extend to, their outline may be a bit long.

How do I know my outline is ready?

If you have captured all the important points of your blog post, you can be sure that your outline is complete. However, if you add new points or rearrange the details of your outline, it may need to be refined. So there is no set rule for completing the outline.

Final thoughts | about How to write a Blog post Outline

It’s important to create an outline of your blog article before you start writing because a preliminary outline gives you the framework on which the final script will be built. An outline is an important exercise that will save you valuable hours of writing and increase your writing speed in content creation.

Now you know: “How to write an outline for a blog post”.

That’s it , apply these outline steps to your writing project and give a professional touch to your blog post writing.

In case you want to look for how to write a blog post, then follow this article.

 

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Amit upadhyay

Amit Upadhyay, who owns Spaceblogging.com, is a full-time blogger and content writer. He has good experience in blogging, SEO, content writing, and Content Strategist to help aspiring bloggers to grow and scale up their blogging business with the right approach to blogging. In his spare time, he is very fond of reading books, especially scientific books. He has a clear motive for making this website, helping millions of persons live a happy, prosperous, and spiritual lifestyle with the help of blogging.

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