How to Write a Blog Post Outline for WordPress (8 Steps)

How to Write a Blog Post Outline for WordPress (Ultimate Guide)

Do you struggle to stay focused and organized when writing blog posts? Do you have trouble ranking your content on search engines? If so, learning how to create detailed blog post outlines is the solution you need.

Blog post outlines are like a roadmap for your writing process. They keep you on track, ensure you cover all the key points, and make the actual writing part much faster and easier. Most importantly, outlines help you create more focused, in-depth, and SEO-optimized content that will rank higher on Google and drive more traffic to your WordPress blog.

In this ultimate guide, we‘ll walk you through exactly how to write effective blog post outlines, step-by-step. We‘ll also share tips, examples, and tools to make outlining easier.

Let‘s get started!

Why You Need to Outline Your Blog Posts

If you‘re not currently outlining your blog posts, you‘re making the writing process harder than it needs to be. Here are a few key reasons to adopt the outlining habit:

Outlines keep you focused and organized. With an outline, you know exactly what points you need to cover and can stay on topic. This is especially helpful for longer, more complex posts.
Outlines speed up your writing. When you start with an outline, you can write faster because you‘re not constantly stopping to think about what to write next. The structure is already there – you just need to fill it in!
Outlines help you cover all the key points. It‘s easy to forget important details when you don‘t have a plan. An outline ensures you don‘t miss anything crucial.
Outlines lead to better SEO. By planning out your headings, keywords, and topics to cover, you can optimize your post to rank higher in search results, driving more organic traffic to your site.
Outlines make you a better writer. Outlining helps you think through your ideas logically and organize them effectively. The more you outline, the more this structured thinking will become second nature.

How to Write a Blog Post Outline for WordPress

Now that you know why outlines are so important, let‘s dive into the step-by-step process for how to create them. Follow these 9 steps to outline your WordPress blog posts like a pro:

1. Choose Your Topic and Do Keyword Research

Start by deciding what topic you want to write about and what target keyword you want to rank for. Do some keyword research using tools like Google Keyword Planner, Ahrefs, or SEMRush to find related keywords and determine the search intent behind your target keyword.

For example, let‘s say you want to write a post about "easy vegetarian recipes". Your research shows that people searching this are looking for quick, healthy recipes with minimal ingredients. Make note of any commonly searched questions or subtopics to cover.

2. Determine the Format and Angle

Next, decide what format your post will take – listicle, how-to guide, review, etc. The topic and keyword will often dictate this. For example, "easy vegetarian recipes" lends itself to a listicle post sharing recipe ideas.

Then, determine your unique angle. How will your post stand out from all the other vegetarian recipe roundups out there? Maybe you‘ll focus on recipes with 5 ingredients or less, or you‘ll share the recipes you make most often as a busy parent.

Having a specific angle will make your post more engaging than just another generic list of recipes. It also helps attract your target audience.

3. Analyze the Competition

Search for your focus keyword on Google and analyze the top-ranking posts. Take note of:

Common headings and subtopics covered
The type and quality of content (text, images, video, etc.)
Post length and structure
Opportunities to cover points competitors missed

Look for ways to make your post more comprehensive and valuable than competing posts. But avoid copying their outline structure directly.

4. Create a Working Title

Come up with a working title for your post that includes your main keyword and hints at your unique angle. For example:

"15 Easy Vegetarian Recipes You Can Make in 15 Minutes"
"10 Healthy Vegetarian Recipes Even Meat-Eaters Will Love"
"7 Vegetarian Recipes I Make Every Week as a Busy Mom"

Your title may evolve as you develop your outline. Use headline analyzer tools to refine it for SEO and engagement.

5. Brainstorm Your Headings and Subheadings

Now it‘s time to brainstorm the main talking points you want to cover and organize them into headings and subheadings.

Start with your introduction and conclusion, then fill in the main body points. For a listicle post, your headings may be the individual list items (like recipes). For a how-to post, break the process down into clear, sequential steps.

Use tools like Answer the Public and checking the "People also ask" results on Google to find relevant questions and subtopics to cover.

Organize your headings into a logical flow, starting with background information and getting more specific and actionable as you go.

6. Add Bullet Points with Key Details

Under each heading, jot down bullet points covering the key things you want to mention in that section. These could be ingredients or steps in a recipe, tips for a how-to guide, examples to illustrate a point, or stats and quotes to include.

Don‘t write the paragraphs in full just yet – simply note down the key ideas so you don‘t forget anything.

7. Gather Resources, Stats and Examples

Make note of any statistics, examples, or external resources you plan to cite in the post. Gather links to your sources so they‘re easy to find later.

If you plan to include original photos, charts, or videos, decide what you‘ll need and make a plan to create or source them.

8. Optimize for On-Page SEO

While outlining, look for opportunities to optimize your post for search engines:

Make sure you include your main keyword in your title, headings, and throughout the post
Use variations and secondary keywords where relevant
Aim for a good content length (at least 1000-1500 words for most posts)
Plan your internal and external links
Write a compelling meta description

SEO plugins like Yoast or RankMath can guide you in optimizing your post outline.

9. Get Feedback and Revise

Once you have a solid draft of your outline, ask a colleague or editor for feedback. They may spot gaps in your points, places where the flow could be improved, or other opportunities to strengthen the piece.

Revise your outline based on their suggestions until you feel confident it‘s as comprehensive and well-organized as possible. Now you‘re ready to write!

Blog Post Outline Template

Here‘s a basic template you can use to create your own blog post outlines:

Title: [Eye-catching headline with main keyword]

Introduction:

[Hook/intro sentence]
[Introduce the main topic/problem]
[Preview the points you‘ll cover in the post]

Heading 1: [First main point/step/list item]

[Subpoint 1]
[Subpoint 2]
[Example/stat/quote]

Heading 2: [Second main point/step/list item]

[Subpoint 1]
[Subpoint 2]
[Example/stat/quote]

[More headings as needed…]

Conclusion:

[Recap the key points/takeaways]
[Reiterate the importance of the topic]
[CTA – what should the reader do next?]

Feel free to customize this template to fit your needs and brand voice. The key is to create a consistent outlining process that works for you.

Blog Post Outline Examples

Let‘s look at a few examples of blog post outlines for different topics and formats:

How-To Post Outline Example

Title: How to Make the Perfect Cup of Pour-Over Coffee at Home

Intro:

Many people think making great coffee at home is complicated – it‘s not!
Pour-over is an easy method anyone can master
Preview the steps this post will cover

What You‘ll Need:

Coffee beans
Coffee grinder
Pour-over dripper
Filters
Electric kettle
Coffee mug

Step 1: Choose and Measure Your Beans

Grind your beans just before brewing for freshness
Use about 20-25 grams of coffee per 8 oz of water
Grind medium-fine for pour-over

Step 2: Prep Your Pour-Over Dripper

Place filter in dripper and rinse with hot water
This removes paper taste and preheats the brewer
Dump out rinse water

Step 3: Add Coffee and Tare Scale

Place dripper on mug or carafe
Add ground coffee
Place on scale and tare to zero

Step 4: Bloom the Coffee

Start timer and slowly pour about 2x as much water as coffee (40-50 grams)
The coffee should bubble and rise (the "bloom")
Wait 30-45 seconds after blooming before proceeding

Step 5: Continue Pouring

Slowly pour the remaining water in a circular motion
Pour should take about 3 minutes
Aim for a total of 400 grams of water poured

Step 6: Enjoy Your Coffee!

Serve coffee immediately for best flavor
Tip: Pour any excess into a thermos to keep it hot

Conclusion:

Recap the key steps to making pour-over coffee
With practice, it‘s an easy way to brew amazing coffee at home
Encourage readers to experiment with different coffees and ratios

List Post Outline Example

Title: 10 Must-Have Free WordPress Plugins for Bloggers

Intro:

WordPress plugins add functionality to your blog
Thousands of great free options available
Preview the types of plugins we‘ll cover

1. Yoast SEO

Helps optimize your posts for search engines
Provides suggestions for improving readability and SEO
Creates an XML sitemap of your site

2. WordFence Security

Protects your site from malware and hacking attempts
Includes a firewall and malware scanner
Login security features

3. WP Super Cache

Speeds up your site by serving static HTML pages
Caching reduces server load
Faster loading times improve SEO and user experience

4. UpdraftPlus

Backs up your entire WordPress site
Both manual and automatic backups
Restore from backup with one click

5. Contact Form 7

Create custom contact forms
No limits on number of forms or fields
Protects against spam submissions

[Other plugins and descriptions…]

10. MonsterInsights

Connects your site to Google Analytics
Provides key metrics in your WP dashboard
Helps you understand your audience and traffic sources

Conclusion:

These plugins will help take your blog to the next level
Recaps the different areas covered (SEO, speed, security, etc.)
Encourages readers to install the plugins that look most useful

WordPress Outlining Tools and Plugins

While a simple Google Doc can work for outlining, there are also WordPress-specific tools and plugins that can streamline the process:

Slickplan: Create visual sitemaps and content plans, including post outlines.
EditFlow: Collaborate with your team on content planning and editorial workflow.
HyperPlan: Mind mapping tool to brainstorm and organize your content ideas.

You can also use the WordPress editor itself to draft your outlines right in your post draft. Blocks like the Table of Contents block can automatically generate an outline from your headings.

Conclusion

Outlining your blog posts takes a bit of time upfront, but it more than pays off in the long run. With practice, you‘ll get faster at outlining while your posts will get better and better.

The more thoroughly you outline, the easier your writing will be. You‘ll stay focused, cover more ground, and create content both readers and search engines will love.

To recap the key steps:

Choose your topic and target keyword
Select your angle and post format
Analyze what‘s already ranking for your keyword
Create a compelling working title
Brainstorm your headings and subpoints
Add detail and research bullet points under each heading
Plan your on-page SEO
Get feedback and revise your outline
Write your post!

With this process, you‘ll be able to create comprehensive, engaging blog posts that drive traffic and grow your WordPress site. So give outlining a try with your next post – your future self will thank you.