Save Time With An Article Outline

by Dawn

I spend countless hours each week at the keyboard, tapping out content not only for my own niche sites, but also for submission to other sites, in a race to get as many backlinks as possible. Sound familiar? If it does, then I have a question for you...

When was the last time you used an outline for writing?

Not to get off topic, but...

Have you ever watched the television series "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?"? It's a game show where adult contestants are posed questions on a variety of school subjects - math, science, social studies, language - that typical fifth graders would be expected to know.

Sounds easy, huh? Fifth grade, that's kids' stuff, after all! Well, trust me, it's not so easy - the contestants on the show are proof that between fifth grade and the present, we tend to forget a lot of the basics that we learn...

My oldest son happens to be in fifth grade. Recently, he brought home a three paragraph writing assignment. He had prepared an outline for the assignment at school, and for his homework, he needed to use the outline to write a rough draft.

Watching him work, it occurred to me that I was taught the same steps when I was in school. Prepare an outline, write a rough draft, and finally, edit the draft, in order to produce a final copy.

Despite the fact that I spend several hours a day at my computer keyboard, composing blog posts and articles for my niche marketing projects, I could not recall the last time I had actually used an outline to map out what I was going to write.

I Decided To Give It A Try...

I scratched out an outline, my first one in who-knew-how-many years! It took only a couple of minutes to jot down the headline, along with a few supporting points. Then, I sat down at my computer to write.

Normally, I spend at least an hour composing a 400+ word article, but armed with my outline, I spit one out in half that time. Could I be on to something?

Knowing that some articles are easier to write than others, I was not sure if the outline had helped. I needed further proof if I was going to add an extra step to my never ending workload.

So I prepared another article outline. And once again, the article seemed to come together in about half the time. The more I tried this technique, the more I realized what a timesaver it was.

So, now here I am, one month later. Do you think I am still using those outlines? You betcha! I think you should give it a try.

Why You Should Outline Your Niche Writing Projects

Find out before you write if you have enough to say about a topic. If you have a difficult time coming up with points to support your proposed headline, it's a good sign that you are going to have a tough time writing an entire article on the subject. On the other hand...

You may find you have too much to say. This is a good thing! Break your idea down even further, and you may be able to come up with two, three, or even more articles from one idea.

An article outline will help you organize your thoughts. Think of it this way - it's easier to get to where you want to go if you have a map. Without one, it's easy to get lost!

Outlining your article can be a great motivator. I don't know how many times I have put off a writing assignment, with the excuse that I just didn't have enough time. An outline takes only a couple of minutes to throw together, and once you have it in hand, the rest does not seem quite as overwhelming.

Can you think of any other reasons? Feel free to share them below. Do you disagree with me? Well, dare to share that too!