Oh yes, here it is…. your only blog post outline and template outline that you will ever need! 

Some people are strong advocates that start with an outline for any project will get you focused and keep you on track.

I‘m one of those people. And, with this outline, our team has been able to remove the headache and, well, what some have called it, the torture of writing a blog, and made it easy-peasy and painless.

I’ve included some tip-tricks to help you too. What’s a tip-trick you ask? Well, so many throw around “tips” and “tricks” and honestly, we just think they both work…. so we’ve combined them!

So, let’s jump right in and get you writing amazing blog posts.

The 10-Minute Blog Post Outline

Here are the steps to create your outline and ultimately cohesive and very readable blog posts for your website visitors.

We’ve also included this handy free blog outline download and worksheet that you can print out and put into a binder for easy access. You can use the included outline to brainstorm and think of topics for each month, each week, or even multi-week! Use it for every blog post you do. 

< Download Blog Post Outline and Worksheet >

1. Identify your topic

This should be the easy part, right? A topic for your blog post should be current, relevant and addresses a pain point (or solution point) that your customers have. This could be related to the industry, to products, to the usage of those products or even the services provided.

If a topic is not coming to you right away then here is a super quick way to determine a topic that you should be writing about.

First, the #1 tip-trick for finding a blog topic is to do a search for your top product or service and see what comes up! Take a look at the most recent articles that have been posted by top industry leaders.

Our #2 tip-trick is to look at your social media or competitors’ social media posts and see what customers are talking about and asking about.

Tip-trick #3 is to ask your employees, staff or community that you are closest with within your specific niche market.

2. Who is the audience?

Next, determine exactly who you want to read this article and how you want to showcase your brand to them, because ultimately, your blog posts are like the clothing you wear, they share your brand’s personality.

But, it’s up to your audience to determine how the world sees your brand. More on brand identity here >

Answer these questions and provide the answers on your blog outline worksheet.

• Who is your target audience for this blog?
• How do I want them to feel reading this blog?
• What actions do I want them to take while or after reading this blog?

3. What are 3 supporting facts, statements, or subtopics?

Now for the nitty-gritty.

Once you have your topic and who your audience is and what you want them to do with the article, now is the time to list 3 subtopics.  Yes, you only need 3 supporting facts, statements, or subtopics to provide for the main topic at hand. We have found that THREE is the secret-sauce number that people like…. it’s short, quick and easy to digest.

But, if you think of more than three subtopics, that’s OK too. If it makes sense and necessary, feel free to add more. Just remember to make sure it’s short and sweet and not overwhelming for your readers.

Since every topic is different, there’s not much further we can narrow down for you…but here are a couple of tip-tricks to get those juices flowing:

Subtopic tip-trick #1 – Think about how the topic benefits or provide a solution to your reader.  Use this to create a brainstorm tree or idea map. 

Subtopic tip-trick #2 – Think of a way that the topic relates to the industry or how it solves a problem. Also, think about how it advances your brand or the customer’s experience.

Subtopic tip-trick #3 – Create an easy to follow step list, bullet points, and examples that easily walk your reader through the topic or supporting facts. These can really showcase why this topic is so important to your business and its overall influence in the industry.

4. What are the categories or tags related to your topic?

And finally, here is a great way to target and highlight all the related categories this topic covers.

Not only will identifying these categories, but this will then help you tag your blog and boost your SEO for findability online when customers or potential leads are in phase 1 (or top of the funnel) stage looking for solutions related to this topic.

By creating blog posts that your potential target market may find, you will then be able to provide additional actions for them to take while reading your article to start to build a relationship with them.

Ultimately, if done right through forms, CTA’s, and funnels, you can lead them down a path to buy something!

5. Additional tip-tricks to keep in mind while writing your blog

Here are some other super handing tip-tricks to take your blog post from simple to sensational for your readers.

• Provide short sentences
• Use a standard font size 14-18, size 10, 12 are outdated
• White-space, white-space, WHITE-SPACE – break up long paragraphs because people will skim right over it
• Necessary and relevant images only – gone are the days for fluffy images
• Provide your readers with ACTIONABLE steps, including download links, internal links (to keep them on your site and reading more), add additional reading options called “You Might Also Like” or “Related Articles”
• Include external links at minimal to create industry relevancy and potential backlinking opportunities
• Share related products or services outside the main content areas
• Always have signup for your reader to continue the relationship, including a contact us link

Original post: December 20th, 2020