diff --git a/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md b/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
index bc3da8e6e..d13e7e5bd 100644
--- a/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
+++ b/docs/CONTRIBUTING.md
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ Adding a new blog post is a four-step process.
 
 > Some posts have a `permalink` and `comments` in the blog post YAML header. You will not need these for new blog posts. These are an artifact of migrating the blog from Wordpress to gh-pages.
 
-1. Create your blog post in `./_posts` in markdown (file extension `.md` or `.markdown`). See current posts in that folder or `2016-04-07-blog-post-example.md` for an example of the YAML format.
+1. Create your blog post in `./_posts` in markdown (file extension `.md` or `.markdown`). See current posts in that folder or `2016-04-07-blog-post-example.md` for an example of the YAML format. **If the `./_posts` directory does not exist, create it**.
   - You can add a `<!--truncate-->` tag in the middle of your post such that you show only the excerpt above that tag in the main `/blog` index on your page.
 1. If you have not authored a blog post before, modify the `./_data/authors.yml` file with the `author` id you used in your blog post, along with your full name and Facebook ID to get your profile picture.
 1. [Run the site locally](./README.md) to test your changes. It will be at `http://127.0.0.1/blog/your-new-blog-post-title.html`
@@ -54,7 +54,7 @@ To modify docs, edit the appropriate markdown file in `./_docs`.
 To add docs to the site, ....
 
 1. Add your markdown file to the `./_docs` folder. See `./docs-hello-world.md` for an example of the YAML header format.
-  - You can use folders in the `./_docs` directory to organize your content if you want.
+  - You can use folders in the `./_docs` directory to organize your content if you want. **If the `./_docs` directory does not exist, create it**.
 1. Update `_data/nav_docs.yml` to add your new document to the navigation bar. Use the `id` you put in your doc markdown in ad the id in the `_data/nav_docs.yml` file.
 1. [Run the site locally](./README.md) to test your changes. It will be at `http://127.0.0.1/docs/your-new-doc-permalink.html`
 1. Push your changes to GitHub.