Hey guys, welcome back to my blog! Today I’m bringing you something a bit different to what I’ve been posting lately but, I was in the mood for a change and I don’t think I’ve done a post on this before so here I am talking about how I outline my blog posts! I know not everyone does this and to each their own, but I plan most of my posts far in advance of when you guys actually see them, so I like to outline them so I don’t forget the idea!
I schedule my blog posts very far in advance and outline them as I schedule them if that makes sense. So, I’ll think of the idea, outline it and then schedule it (I also will then add the post title to my blog calendar for whenever I scheduled it). I prefer to heavily outline as much as I can because it makes writing the blog posts a lot easier when the time comes.
example:
I’m going to use my first Harry Potter series discussion posts as an example so, here’s a screenshot of what the post looked like when it was just outlines and general ideas/thoughts:
*Obviously a post that requires less research won’t look quite like this, and most posts don’t have graphics before I write them up.
book 
If I’m doing a light outline I will generally just include a few sentences or bullet points for what I want the post to be and/or look like. I will also include little hints to the structure of the blog post and I do this for all outlines. They usually look like this:
- intro
- divider
- point one:
- [the blog post]
- chat graphic
- qs
- social medias
Super easy and super simple but, I find it really helpful because it makes it much less likely for me to forget something when I go to write the post a few months later.
But, if I have more time, or I get really into the post I’m outlining it will turn out more like the HP post above. I didn’t usually include a lot of research in my blog posts but if I’m really passionate about it or I know the blog posts is going to require more time/effort from me I will generally try to really heavily outline like I did for this series.
I also like to keep my posts scheduled in a google calendar because this really helps me to remember what I have coming up on my blog. This also helps me to remember what I need to spend more time on and often by just looking at the titles I’ll get more ideas on a topic and then go and write down more ideas or add to my outline. All of this really helps me whenever it comes time to finalise the post, honestly, having to not spend hours at a time at my computer just saves me from stressing out and it’s often leads to a pretty good result (if I don’t say so myself).
So, yeah that’s how I outline my blog posts! I hope that wasn’t too boring for y’all!
If you’re curious, here’s a link to the HP Chats post I showed earlier in the post!
DO YOU OUTLINE YOUR BLOG POSTS IN ADVANCE?
ANY OUTLINING ADVICE?
an
allonsythornraxx 
Very nicely organized. I got a great excel sheet from Kaleena @ Reader Voracious Blog that I’m using that has a calendar for arranging my scheduled blog posts. For meme and tags and stuff, once I have a format I like, I’ll just copy that last one and use it for the next one. But as for my reviews – I stay away from lots of graphics. I just write them with one paragraph of a plot summary, then add as much or little analysis as I find is enough, put down the stars and then the thanks and affiliate links. I don’t add stuff about the author in my reviews.
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Thank you!
Yes, I’ve heard great things about that spreadsheet!
That’s really interesting, I might have to try your outlining method!
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Nice
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Thank you! 💖
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I do a similar thing, but a lot less high tech! I have a page in my bullet journal where I add the blog posts planned for each day (I normally post M W F and Tuesday for Top 5 Tuesday) and then color code based on whether I have written it or not.
When reading a book I just have a draft that I jot down my notes and what I think my main review points will be and the other posts I just add to whenever I feel like blogging and schedule them when done 🙂
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I used to outline a lot like that and honestly, it sounds a lot more relaxing then what I do so I’m kind of jealous of your method! 😂
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I love seeing these kinds of posts where you get to know more behind the blogger and how a person blogs! You seem to have a very extensive and well-structured way of writing posts 🙂 I also schedule mine but only max one week in advance, and only when it is finalized. I do love your idea with using bullet points, I sometimes do that but not all the time 🙂
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Thank you, I’m glad! Haha, yeah it’s definitely extensive!
Haha, I’m jealous that you can schedule only a week in advance but my brain won’t let me do that!
Thank you, I find that bullet points really help me!
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This post was so interesting to read! I just plan the title / idea / date posted of my posts a couple months before hand, and on the day I’m supposed to post it I write it. I can never write or schedule blog posts in advance and I think my current organizations work very well for me 😭😭
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Thank you, I’m glad!
Haha, I’m awful at writing posts in advance too but I’m trying to get better at it! 😂
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You are so organized with your blog posts! I do outline my posts but not like you. It’s messy and all over the place and I really need to follow your example of outlining. Bullet points have been helpful for me so far. As for future posts, I mostly only have general ideas of them. I will start elaborating when I feel like it.
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