My Blog Outline Template That Gets 120,000 Pageviews Per Month
I use this template over and over again
I used to spend hours staring at a blank screen, wondering how to start my next blog post.
But then I had a brilliant idea: why not create an outline template? By following my simple template, I was able to pump out blog posts like a pro and get over 120,000 page views per month.
Best of all, it sometimes only takes me 30 minutes to write a post now.
If you’re struggling with writer’s block or just want to boost your productivity, read on to learn how my blog post outline template can help you get the job done.
My Blog Outline Template: The Overview
Writing a blog post is sort of like baking a cake — you need the right ingredients and a good recipe to end up with something worth reading.
Fortunately, my trusty blog post outline template has everything you need to whip up a delicious post, (almost) every time.
The introduction is the short and sweet first impression that will either have readers hooked or clicking away. In just a few sentences, you must completely answer the question, solve the problem, or cover the topic.
To flesh out the body of the post, I start by asking myself (and the people around me) what questions they have about the topic at hand. I also search questions from Google, pulling common questions from keyword search tools like AHrefs and DeapMarket, and using my common sense for what someone might want to know about this particular topic or question.
By the time I'm done, I have more than enough material with which to work.
Finally, I finish with a very short conclusion and mention related articles for interlinking and SEO. I add a dash of images and video and, voila, one delectable blog post, is ready to be devoured by my loyal readers.
My Blog Outline Template: The Intro
I’ve written back my introductions many times before so I’ll just list the most important elements here.
I like my intros to be:
- As short as possible
- Direct and to the point
- No fluff or warmup
- The complete answer to the question
- The best introduction for this keyword/topic
Here’s an example:
I should note that this is not my website, nor did I write this article. But this introduction is virtually identical to many of mine so it’s a good example to study and follow.
The only real difference with my intros is that I typically add the bolded “summary” paragraph in the introduction (as opposed to after the first paragraph).
I hope this helps!
My Blog Outline Template: The Body
All of my blog posts follow a strikingly similar pattern.
However, the body of my outline looks the most different because it really depends on the topic. As I mentioned earlier, I create the subheadings in the body of my outline by looking at the People Also Ask and Google People Also Search sections on Google search result pages.
That ends up giving me most of my subheadings for the bulk of my article. Then I’ll fill in any gaps by running my topic through a keyword tool.
Let’s say I’m writing an article about “why were chainsaws invented?”
Hint: Chainsaws were invented for childbirth not knocking down trees.
That’s shocking, really.
Here are the steps I take to flesh out the body of my blog post outline:
Google It
When I Google my topic, I find out that people also search for:
- Why were chainsaws invented joke?
- What did the first chainsaw look like?
- Why were chainsaws invented for childbirth?
- When did they stop using chainsaws for childbirth?
I’ll add these and any other questions I find into my blog post outline. I decide on the order of the subheadings by how relevant they seem to my main keyword and topic.
Run It Through a Keyword Tool
After I exhaust all of the questions from Google, I’ll run my keyword through a few keyword tools. One of my favorite paid tools is Ahrefs in one of my favorite free tools is called DeapMarket.
From DeapMarket I get these subheading questions for my article:
- Why were chainsaws invented video?
- What year were chainsaws invented?
- Why were chainsaws really invented?
This topic is a great example of a question where I don’t find that many extra subheadings from my keyboard search tools.
When that happens, I’ll go into any existing articles on the topic and see what subheadings they used. I’ll probably use some of those in my article if they seem to fit and be super related.
Use My Noggin
Lastly, I use common sense to add any other subheadings in my article that I think someone looking up this topic would want to know.
For this question, someone might want to know who invented the chainsaw for childbirth.
Like, who thought that that would be a good idea? Jack the Ripper?
My Blog Outline Template: The Conclusion
I keep my conclusions super short.
After all, I’m already done with the meat of my article and we’re just wrapping things up.
For that reason, I try to add something personal and a little extra there at the end. Then, I offer up some related articles that the reader might want to read after finishing this one.
You can look at the conclusion of this article as an example.
Sample Outline Using My Template
I thought it’d be nice to share a complete sample outline using my template.
We’ll use the same example topic to keep everything connected. Hopefully, it’ll also make this outline make a little more sense.
Here is an example outline:
Topic: Why Were Chainsaws Invented?
Intro
One-sentence personalization, demonstration of experience, and mention of the topic
Fully and completely answer the question in a short, bolded paragraph (I try to keep this answer summary under 300 characters). This summary is meant to be dense with details and not vague.
Body
Why Were Chainsaws Really Invented? (Detailed Answer)
[Insert Blog Post Image]
Why Were Chainsaws Invented for Childbirth?
Who Invented Chainsaws for Childbirth?
What Year Were Chainsaws Invented?
What Did the First Chainsaw Look Like?
Why Were Chainsaws Invented? (Video)
When Did They Stop Using Chainsaws for Childbirth?
Conclusion
A final thought or idea on the topic
Related posts
Sources (I try to link to a high domain authority site that is not my competition)
Final Thoughts
To fine-tune my outlines, I think about all of the different contexts related to the question/topic/keyword. For example, I might add a section at the very end with various other creative uses for chainsaws.
I also use Al writers like Jasper to quickly create content that I then edit and tweak before publishing.
Related posts:
- How I Use Dark Horse SEO to Destroy My Blogging Competition
- The Image Tools I Use To Drive 120,000 Pageviews Per Month
- Bloggers Are Quietly Quitting, Too
Don’t miss my next blogging article — sign up for my Medium email list
