You have heard this before – many, many times – always write an outline.It seems like a huge waste of time, doesn’t it? You know what you are going to write so why do you need an outline. It seems like writing the outline takes you longer that writing the actual post. You couldn’t be more wrong! Here are some great reasons why you should always write an outline

• You only think you know what you are going to write. When you write an outline and put down the structure of what you are going to write then you sometimes realize that you are missing something.
• You may forget some important points while you are writing.I don’t know about you, but this happens to me ALL the time. I get in the flow and, boom, memory fog happens and that great idea or thought vanishes into the mist.
• You can move to a different part of the page or post if you get stuck on the part you are writing. With an outline, you could write paragraph 3 if you get stuck on paragraph 2. That keeps you writing!

Here is an GREAT Outlining Tip. Create an outline ahead of time for each type of post you write. It ends up that there are only a few types of posts that you write. Each of us writes certain types of posts. Maybe your list includes:

• Personal Reflection posts
• Inspirational or Motivation posts
• How-to or Tutorial posts
• Product recommendations or comparisons posts
• In-the-News posts

If you take a few minutes to layout the structure and outline for each type then you only need to fill in the blanks for each post and you will have your outline!