Free outline generator (+ how to create better outlines)

Writing a blog outline is the first step to writing a great blog. Think of it as your map. Instead of jumping in head first and getting lost along the way, taking the time to make an outline upfront will help guide your writing so you can create a cohesive and well-written blog.

As the foundation of your article, an outline typically includes three main factors: 

• Title
• Sections
• Key points

Sounds easy enough. But it can be the hardest part of the writing process. Going from a blank screen to thoughts organized on a page is a big jump, and it’s easy to get stuck. As many writers know, staring at an empty page is more than enough to cause writer’s block.

That’s where an outline generator comes in. It takes your thoughts and structures them to help you start off your content on the right foot. 

How does an outline generator work?

An outline generator is an AI-powered tool that takes your rough notes and parameters and turns them into a well-structured outline to help organize the content for your blog post. 

It helps save time by automatically organizing your information into a cohesive outline. This is especially helpful for content creators who are resource constrained or have a lot of ground to cover. 

How to use Copy.ai’s blog outline generator in 4 steps

Copy.ai’s free outline generator tool can help you get started on your next blog post in four easy steps. 

Step 1: Choose your blog title

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While only a few words, your title is an essential part of your article — it’s what catches your readers’ attention and acts as a preview of what the article’s about. 

As you write your article, the blog title might evolve — so this doesn’t need to be your final product. But it’s helpful to have a rough title that can help inform the outline and focus in on your main goal. 

While this step is optional, it is recommended! 

Step 2: What is the blog about?

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This is the most crucial step in generating an outline. It’s where you input the details of your blog. Some valuable points to include are: the target audience, why it matters, and what makes you unique. 

Let’s look at an example. If you’re writing an article about the best practices for sales outreach, you might input something like this into the outline generator:

• This article is about the five best practices for sales outreach
• The blog is targeted towards people just starting their sales career in B2B SaaS
• Many people get sales outreach wrong when they first start out, and this article will be a helpful tool for people looking for more guidance. 

While you should write clearly, it doesn’t need to be detailed. Input the basics, and Copy.ai’s generator tool will do the rest. 

Step 3: Choose a tone

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Just because AI is doing the writing doesn’t mean your unique tone of voice won’t shine through. 

Everyone has a different way of writing, and Copy.ai’s outline generator caters to that. Choose from nine different suggested tones available, including:

• Friendly
• Luxury 
• Relaxed
• Professional
• Bold
• Adventurous 
• Witty 
• Persuasive 
• Empathetic 

Or, even better, submit your own custom tone. Your tone descriptor can be as simple as “enthusiastic” or as specific as “Elon Musk.”

Step 4: Decide which results you like best 

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Now that you’ve submitted all the inputs, time to create your outline. Hit “create content,” and you’ll get various outlines to choose from — each including sections and a key takeaway. 

From here, you’re presented with a number of options, depending on your preferences. Here’s what to do in the following scenarios:

• You see an outline you like: If you generate a perfect outline, go ahead and click the save button. Doing this will store it in your saved tab at the top right side of the screen. If you want to use the outline right away, you can copy it directly into the right-hand side of the screen to start filling in the details of your article. 
• The outline’s great, but it’s not spot on: Click on “more like this.” This will create more content that’s similar for you to choose from.
• The outline misses the mark: Be sure to hit “remove.” This will help teach the AI more about your preferences, so you'll get better results when you ask it to create more options. 

Bonus: Upgrade to Blog Post Wizard 

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If you want to take your outline creation to the next level, Copy.ai’s Blog Post Wizard tool is the way to go. 

The Blog Post Wizard allows you to create a more detailed outline, including sections, key points and even a first draft of your content. Here’s a brief overview of what it looks like:

1. Enter your blog title, keywords and tone of voice: This step is similar to the free generator tool. The main difference is that you have the option to add keywords and phrases relevant to the blog. 
2. Generate an outline: Once you’ve inputted your information, the tool will generate sections for your blog. You can edit, add, and remove sections as you see fit or ask the tool to create new sections. 
3. Generate talking points: After you’re happy with the sections, the next step is generating talking points. Under each section, the blog wizard will spew out a few main points. Similar to the outline step, you can edit or add to them. 
4. Generate content: And voila! The last step is generating the final article. Seems like magic, right? There’s a reason it’s called a wizard. 

Learn more about Blog Wizard or upgrade to Pro to see the tool in action.  

3 Tips for generating great outlines

How do you write an effective outline with an outline generator? While the AI-powered tool will help make your writing process easier and quicker, the more upfront work you put in, the more tailored your outline will be. Here are three quick tips for creating a high-quality outline with an outline generator. 

Establish your goal

Always start with understanding what you’re trying to achieve with your content. Some examples of questions to ask yourself include:

• Who’s the primary audience?
• What stage of the marketing funnel is the blog post for?
• What action do you want people to take after reading it?
• What’s your unique point of view on the subject matter?

By understanding where you’re trying to go with the piece before inputting the information into the outline generator, you’ll improve the likelihood of getting back what you’re looking for. 

Provide the key details

AI can’t read your mind (or can it 👀). Remember that even once you’ve thought of the key points, the generator can’t use them to inform the outline unless you explicitly input them. 

Ensure you include your keywords and also the goals for your content when inputting your information. The clearer you are on what you’re trying to create, the clearer the final outline will be. 

Teach the AI

We know what you’re thinking: “I came here to make outlines quicker, and now you’re asking me to teach?!”

Not to fear. Teaching is as simple as hitting the “remove” button on outlines that don’t work for you and hitting the “more like this” button on outlines that do.

Let the tool know what you like and what you don’t, so it can give you more of the former and less of the latter. 

Generate outlines that generate results

Content marketing is an incredibly valuable tool to drive sales. But the first step to creating content that works is a stellar outline. 

Copy.ai’s outline generator tools are the easiest way to make your content creation process more efficient and your final product more effective. 

Sign up for free to try Copy.ai’s outline generator tool.

Looking for more tools to help you write a stellar blog post? Check out some of our other free AI tools here:

• Blog title generator 
• SEO title generator 
• Paraphrasing tool
• Content idea generator 
• Meta description generator 

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