The Beginner's Guide to Creating Blog Post Outlines with Zero Stress
- Rachel Meyer
- Apr 9
- 5 min read
One of the hardest parts of writing a blog post is getting started. You have an exciting idea, then you sit down to write it and the struggles begin.
You don’t know where to start. What are you trying to say? You can’t figure out how to make your post original. The longer you write, the more you lose the plot.
I’ve been there, too, and I write blog posts for a living! It’s frustrating and makes you question your writing abilities.
But I have one secret technique that helps eliminate writer's block and makes writing posts a dream. Creating an outline before I write a word.
In this post, you'll learn how to make a simple blog post outline with tips and tricks from a professional content writer (me!). I've even included a free outline template to try it yourself.
Why Should You Outline a Blog Post?
If you’ve never used an outline before, you might not be sure if you need one. Isn't it just adding one more step to an already long process?
Kind of, but the benefits far outweigh the cons. Here are just a few of the ways an outline can help you.
Reduce Writer’s Block
Writer’s block can have many causes, but a big one is being unsure what to write. When you create an outline, it reduces uncertainty and decision-making. All you have to do is write, following the path you laid out.
Organize Your Thoughts
I don’t know about you, but when I’m writing, I go on tangents and side comments that don’t need to be in my post. An outline helps you decide which thoughts to include and what to eliminate.
Make Your Post Easy to Read
Have you ever listened to someone tell a story where they never seem to get to the point? It's easy to do the same thing in a blog post if you don't use an outline. Rambles and tangents are one of the quickest ways to drive searchers away, which is the last thing you want.
Help Your SEO
Creating an outline will help you divide your blog post into headings and sub-headings (H1, H2, H3, etc). Adding headings and white space will make your post easy for readers to skim and for Google to index. That's how it decides what your blog post is about and shows up for the right keywords.
How to Outline a Simple Blog Post
Decide Your Angle
I assume you already have a topic in mind for the post you want to outline. If you don’t, check out my post on finding blog post ideas to help you get started.
Having a topic is great. You can't write a post without it. But your first job is deciding your angle on it.
An angle is your take on the topic; the specific section you want to cover. It will help your blog post stand out in a sea of other blog posts also discussing that topic.
Deciding the angle is one of my favorite parts of outlining. It helps me stretch my creative muscles as I take my original idea and brainstorm how it could be better.
For example, say you want to write a post about living room decor. That’s a broad topic. Some of the angles you could take include:
Where to buy living room decor
How to decorate a living room
Living room feng shui
Living room paint colors
Living room furniture must-haves
Choose Your Format
Your angle will help you decide what kind of blog post you’re writing. Even if the format seems obvious, start by doing a quick Google. See what format the top-ranking posts are and mimic it since that’s what readers want.
A few of the formats you could choose include:
How-to
Guide
Essay
Review
Interview
Let's say you decided to write a post on how to decorate a living room. If you Google that, you'll see how-tos, guides, and listicles are popular, so you could pick any of those formats. In this case, I'd go with a how-to/guide.
Write Down the Main Points
You’ve got your topic, angle, and format. Now, we can finally start outlining!
Start by writing down 2-5 main points you want to make. These are your biggest headings or H2s.
If you have more than five main points, your topic/angle may be too broad. You'll want to narrow your post topic further or divide your content into two or three posts.
Let's go back to our living room decorating post. The main points for this could be:
Choose a paint color
Buy big furniture
Fill in the gaps
Add decor
Finishing touches
Add Sub-Points
Okay, now let's go deeper. Look at your first point and write down 3-5 sub-points you want to cover under it. These are called H3s.
Again, don't include more than five sub-points. You want your post to be digestible, even if the topic you cover is dense.
Going back to our example post, let’s look at the first point. Under "choose a paint color", we could add the sub-points:
Why your paint color matters
Dark or light paint?
Get swatches
Consider an accent wall
Include Notes (Optional)
Most of my outlines are done once I've written out my headings and sub-headings. But occasionally, I write research-heavy posts that require a lot more note-taking, which I include in my outline.
You probably won't need to include notes, but it can be helpful sometimes, especially if you're new to blogging. For our example, you might write down "include affiliate link for paint" or "find example graphic" under "why your paint color matters".
Organize Your Outline
You’re almost there! But before you start writing you should organize your outline.
When making an outline, I'm often just trying to get my thoughts out on paper. But an important part of creating an outline is making sure your post flows logically BEFORE you write it.
So take a moment to review your outline. Are there any jumps from one topic to another? Should you rearrange any points? Does the order make sense? Is there anything else you should remove?
The better you get at outlining, the less you'll have to rearrange. These days, I already have a good idea of how I want the post to go when I outline it, so I rarely rearrange points. But it's always good to double-check.
Once you're done polishing, give yourself a round of applause! You created an outline!
Tips for Outlining Blog Posts
Keep It Simple
While I think everyone should use an outline, I don’t think these outlines need to be complicated. Mine are pretty basic because I've been doing this so long that I need less guidance.
When you’re first starting out, your outlines may have a lot more parts. But as you build your skill, you'll also figure out how to minimize your outline so it gets the job done more effectively.
Adapt It to Your Style
This is a standard blog post outline format, but not everyone outlines like this. What works for me might not work for you. Use this outline as a starting point and experiment to find your optimal system.
Don’t Be Afraid to Change the Outline
Outlines are guides, not rules. As you write, you may realize you want to make a different point, add a new sub-heading, or even change the entire angle. If that's the case, do it! Don't stifle your creativity in the name of following the outline. You can always change things later.
Free Blog Post Outline Template
While I hope this guide has been helpful, I know it's also nice to have a template to follow, which is why I made this free one for you! Click the image below to access it via Google Drive.
Writing an outline is a helpful practice that yields higher-quality posts for your blog. Try it yourself and see the difference it makes.
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