Why Every Content Marketer Wants to Outline Their Content

What comes to your mind when someone mentions the word “outline”? Does it give you flashbacks to that English teacher in high school who tormented you? Or maybe the word makes you think of your favorite cop drama?

Regardless of what the word makes you think of, an outline can be a content marketer’s best friend. They save you time and brain power when you sit down to write. No more staring blankly at your screen, hoping an idea comes to you.

Instead, you can simply focus on creating good content. That’s why I love outlining!

Now, I know there are some people who hate outlining and they’re going, “But I still get the words written even without an outline!”

And that’s a totally valid point. You can create amazing content, no outline needed. I’m not going to argue with you there.

But think about it this way: I live in South Carolina. Let’s say I wanted to travel to Daytona Beach, Florida. I could pack my bags right now, head to my airport, and hop the first plane I see.

It might take me to my destination.

It might not.

But even if I arrive, I guarantee you that I’ll endure more anxiety and discomfort simply because I didn’t take the time to plan ahead.

It’s the same way with creating content. No, you don’t need an outline but it sure makes the journey more enjoyable!

I’ll Show You How to Outline

To help you with your outlining, I sat down and started outlining a blog post. I turned on my screen recorder as I did it and I talked to myself so you could actually hear my thought process and see how I do it. Watch below…

My Best Outlining Tips

• Outline in a way that doesn’t distract you. I use Notepad for this purpose, but you can use any program you want.
• Switch between content ideas if it helps. As you can see in my video, I was outlining several posts at once. This keeps my ideas flowing and lets me make connections that I normally wouldn’t see.
• Keep your outline simple. This doesn’t have to be something that would make your high school English teacher weep tears of joy.
• Look through your old content for inspiration. As you see in the video when I lost my way, I pulled up my old content to see what I’d previously covered and look for new angles.
• Set a timer. If you really hate outlining, set a timer for 5-10 minutes and jot down as many ideas as you can. When you’re done, organize them in a logical order and get to work.

Need Some Help?

Remember, outlining doesn’t have to be this big, stressful thing. It can be fun to spend a few minutes just dreaming about new possibilities for your content.

Of course, if you want help, I’m here. I LOVE helping people improve their content marketing. I’m currently offering one-hour consultation sessions for just $37. Go here to book your session today!