An article outline is a breakdown of content within an article you would like to cover. It consists of creating a title and multiple headings for each point within the article. I use article outlines to develop the content for my own writing. Many factors will influence the development of my outline.  

The Benefits of Having an Article Outline

1. The primary benefit of developing an article outline is allowing the writer to know exactly what information they intend to deliver with the article and the layout of the content. 
   
2. The second benefit of having an article outline is allowing the reader to scan the article for the exact information they are looking for.
   

How to write an outline in 6 steps

1. My first step is to decide on the topic you would like to write about. This will differ depending on the publishing platform for the article. For example, writing a blog post on Writers Guidance requires me to write within the topic of writing. I would change the topic if I was writing an article for an online news website or a different blog about a different topic.
   
2. The second thing I do is research the traffic and competition of the topic. Usually, from this research, I will gain an understanding of the content already produced on the topic and what information would be good to add. The research can be broken down into several different steps.
   
   1. First, after deciding on the title of the article, search google to see what content has already been produced. This will allow the writer to see the quality and quantity of the content. If the title has numerous articles already, from big well known websites this will mean the article title will be difficult to rank for. If this is the case, then you will need to alter the title or perhaps write the article about something more specific with less competition. (This should only be done if traffic is a consideration for the content being written.)
      
   2. Once I am satisfied with the title of the article, I begin to research the competition. These are the websites that Google believes are delivering the best content for the title. I use these websites to help me understand exactly what content I should have for my article. I make a list of all subheadings within the competition’s articles and create the list within a Google Doc.
      
   3. The final stage of research will be an ongoing process as I create the article. As you begin writing the article, some information you are writing about will be outside of your knowledge or expertise. When this occurs take time to research these concepts and include them within your article. Remember to link to these resources either within the article or at a reference section at the end of the article.
      

3. Now that I have utilized research to determine the title of the article and some of the different subheadings within I begin to develop the article outline. For my blog I use Google Docs to write my articles and keep them organized. I open a new document and place the title at the top of the page. I then place all of the subheadings from my competitors. This gives me a very rough idea of what the article will look like.
   
4. Once I have the rough draft I begin to revise all the subheadings within the outline. I go through each subheading and decide what information I will be adding.  Once I have an understanding of the content that will be displayed within the article I rewrite the subheading in my own style and words. I also begin adding new subheadings that I believe should be included within the article to give a better understanding of the topic. (Do not skimp on this step! It will determine the uniqueness and quality of the article. If you reproduce the content that has already been written it is copyright infringement and can lead to severe penalties.)
   
5. With the title and subheadings complete I begin to order the content. This part of the process is done by looking at the content through your readers’ eyes. Decide on what information you believe your reader will be looking for when they put your article title or certain keywords within google. Once you decide on the importance of information within your article outline place the subheadings in order based on importance.
   
6. Now you have the beginning article outline. As you develop content for each heading it is crucial to remember the outline is fluid. This means that at any point in the writing process, any part of the outline can be changed. The main issues you will face are the content within subheadings being too long or too short. If the content is too long you can either break the content up into multiple subheadings, or you can create subheadings within the main subheading.  
   

Article Outline Example

Here is an example of an article outline. Please note that these are very basic and if I were to write an actual outline they would grow substantially.

Title: Staying Ahead of the Competition: Top 5 Innovative Marketing Techniques for Online Businesses

  Subheadings for this article would be a 1-5 list.: Here I would have the list of lets say 5 marketing techniques for online business. For example: 

1. Developing interactive content 

2. Making use of social media (doing research on the hottest engine right now) 

3. Utilizing A.I. 

4. Using different forms of content such as video, pictures, etc. 

5. Collaborating with up and coming influencers within the niche.  

This would be my beginning article outline. I would research and write the content for each item. Once completed I would decide if more subheadings would be needed. Some ideas for more subheadings would be: How to Test Each Marketing Technique, My preference for each marketing technique, How each technique would work in each niche, and perhaps a conclusion.