App guide: blog posts from outline

Who can use this feature

Available on Team and Enterprise plans

The blog post from outline app will help you create a first draft of a blog post from a basic outline. This guide will walk you through the app and give you tips for how to use it most effectively.

When to use this app

✍️ Drafting

Use this template when you already have a basic outline for a blog post and need some help filling out the sections. If you don't already have an outline you like, you can generate one using the blog post outline app.

Inputs

Input field	Description	Required
Title	What's the working title of your blog post?	Yes
Summary	Summarize your blog post in 1-2 sentences	No
Sections	What should each section be about? ‌Add a section header or summary	Yes (min 3, max 6)

Tips

Tip 1: Provide the right balance of details

Once you have an idea for your blog post, the trick to getting the most out of the app is to find a balance between prompts that are too simple vs too detailed
For section headers, give Writer enough detail to pursue the right path. But, try not to get too detailed. Our app works best when it has some room to be creative and come up with its own ideas.
If you’re finding that content is too repetitive, this is typically due to one of two reasons:
- Your inputs are too detailed, and Writer feels boxed in so it'll repeat what you originally wrote.
- Your inputs for different sections aren’t mutually exclusive.
In general, treat working with the app like briefing a fellow writer on a new blog topic. Avoid being too vague or using terms that they might not know.
- When referring to an acronym that might not be super common (e.g., “PLG”), try writing it out
- Avoid making unclear references - e.g., simply writing “web accessibility” won’t give Writer enough direction. What is the aspect or point of view about web accessibility that you want to describe in the section?

Table A: Example levels of detail

Might not provide enough context	Just enough context	Probably too detailed
Web accessibility	Design teams find that web accessibility pays off	Web accessibility can be difficult to bake into the design process for small teams, but starting with accessibility in mind can pay off in the long term. Teams who do this early on can save time later by not having to completely rework their design system. And, it’s not that hard to consider the basic accessibility guidelines.
PLG benefits	Why product-led growth is trending in SaaS organizations	Write three reasons for why product-led growth is trending in SaaS organizations, including an overview of three recent success stories. Provide a deep dive about the Acme success story.
Persona for the role	To hire a product designer, make sure engineering, product, and design are aligned on the right persona for the role	Hiring a product designer is a team effort that should involve all three points of the engineering, product, design (EPD) triangle. Each counterpart should agree on the right persona for the role. Design should consider how “full stack” this designer needs to be given other supporting roles Product should decide who'll own shared responsibilities such as user research Engineering should consider how technical this designer should be to support tasks like prototyping

Table B: Sections that aren't mutually exclusive

Example	Commentary
Title: Top five biggest new employee onboarding mistakes
Section 1: Why companies spend so much time on onboarding Section 2: Benefits of a smooth onboarding	Section 1 and 2 might overlap somewhat, as Writer might discuss in both cases why onboarding is important.
Section 3: Five common pitfalls when onboarding a new employee Section 4: Pitfall 1: Trying to cram in too much at once	Section 3 and 4 might also overlap, since Section 3 introduces 5 pitfalls, and Section 4 goes into detail about the first pitfall.

Tip 2: Use the blog builder app if you have a detailed outline

If you have a detailed outline in mind for your content, try using our blog builder (in the Builders section of the apps menu). The builder allows you to specify both section titles and key points, so you can really hone in on the details you want to discuss.

Tip 3: Take advantage of the ideation powers of Ask Writer

If you’re still in ideation mode, you can be looser when writing inputs for Ask Writer. With more open-ended inputs, Writer can be more creative and generate new talking points you may not have thought of yet.

Table C: Ideation inputs vs fuller context inputs

Looser inputs for ideation

More specific inputs

Title: Why your next road trip could benefit from more down time

Section 1: Planning and reality

Section 2: Less rushing, more seeing

Section 3: You’ve planned enough already

Title: Why your next road trip could benefit from more down time

Section 1: Plans and reality don’t always align - leave room for the intangibles

Section 2: Rushing from place to place can stop you from absorbing the beauty around you

Section 3: Your itinerary is probably already detailed enough for the length of your trip

Tip 4: Use the summary section to your advantage

The summary section is optional, but it can be a powerful tool to help you thematically tie your blog sections together.

It doesn’t need to be too detailed. 1-3 sentences is plenty, and make sure to focus on the overall theme of the blog post rather than listing out the specific sections and content.

Table D: Summary section input example

Instead of...	Do this
Title: 3 key competencies that startups should probe for in a product design interview	Title: 3 key competencies that startups should probe for in a product design interview
Summary: Startups should look for three things in product designers: adaptability/agility, fast prototyping skills, and strong communication with stakeholders.	Summary: Working at a startup can be quite different than working at a larger company with more resources. If you're hiring a product designer for your startup, be sure to adjust your interview process to look for the key things that a startup designer will need to be successful.
Section 1: Probe for the designer’s adaptability and agility Section 2: Double check that the designer is comfortable with fast prototyping Section 3: Make sure the designer is comfortable communicating with multiple stakeholders	Section 1: Probe for the designer’s adaptability and agility Section 2: Double check that the designer is comfortable with fast prototyping Section 3: Make sure the designer is comfortable communicating with multiple stakeholders

Tip 5: Verify facts and quotes before publication

Writer has an enormous repository of knowledge from which to base its content, but the facts and quotes it produces aren’t guaranteed to be accurate. Our generative AI model is simply coming up with creative copy that fits the context.

How accurately it writes depends on how common the topic is on the published internet. For example, Writer will know how to write fairly accurately about performance reviews, CRM systems, user research best practices, etc. However, it'll know very little or nothing about the ins and outs of your organization’s proprietary CRM system.
Our generative AI model doesn’t have the latest information from the last 2 years, so keep in mind that it’s less likely to be accurate if you’re prompting it to write about very recent events.
- Learn more about how our generative AI model was trained here.

What this means for you:

When Writer produces facts, stats, and quotes, you’ll need to doublecheck these and replace them with verified content. Our claim detection feature can help.
In general, avoid articles or blog posts on topics that are proprietary, especially technical/specific, or completely dependent on recent facts and events.
If you're looking to create content about these types of topics, talk to our team to learn how custom apps can be trained on proprietary information.

Tip 6: Don’t be afraid to experiment

Writer apps are powered by an AI language model. Sometimes it can take a try or two to generate the content you’re looking for.

Don’t be afraid to try different ways of phrasing your inputs. If “CRM data mistakes” isn’t working, then try “Common pitfalls when it comes to setting up CRM data”.

Finally, remember that you can always rate your draft to help Writer improve generated content. We’re always looking to improve!