Repurposing content is a vital piece of your content marketing strategy. It is one of the most popular strategies on the internet right now. Why? Because it works! By repurposing content, you’re able to save time and reach new people with your older material.
It can be intimidating because there are so many different ways to repurpose content. And that’s why I’ve created this blog to help you through the process of creating new and useful content from your older content.
What Is Repurposing Content?
Before we continue on how to do it, we should first discuss what repurposing content is.
Repurposing content is a fancy way of saying that you take older content and present it in a new way.
It is all about reusing materials from older posts, to create new content. It can be a blog post broken down into smaller chunks to make it more digestible and shareable on social media for example.
By repurposing your blog posts, you can extend the life of your content, increase the reach of your content, and increase the value of your content. This will help you engage more readers.
Let’s take a look at some popular examples of repurposed content:
- Repurpose an old blog post as a video (or vice versa)
- An infographic based on an old post or data in your analytics tool
- A podcast episode based on an instructional article
- A presentation slide deck that shares the main points from one of your posts (and share it on for example LinkedIn)
- If you scroll down a bit, I’ll share 10 different ideas on repurposing your blogs!
Make Blog Posts the Heart of Your Content Marketing Efforts
So, in other words – if you’re repurposing your blog posts, it allows you to make blog posts the heart of your content marketing efforts.
What is content marketing?
Content marketing aims to build relationships with existing customers and potential customers. By creating valuable, relevant content to share with your customer base, you’re not just trying to sell something; you’re educating people and showing them that they can trust you. You’re showing them your expertise and passion for your industry, and ultimately convincing them to buy from you. Content marketing is all about building those relationships.
What is the best type of content to get started with content marketing?
So what is the best type of content to get started? Blog posts! Blogging is a very simple way for businesses to create fresh, new content on a regular basis and start getting noticed online. Blogs are the heart of any content marketing strategy because they can be shared across multiple channels such as social media, email newsletters and other websites. Blogging about topics that are relevant to your company helps establish your brand as an expert in its industry. It also provides search engines like Google with high-quality information that can be indexed by their algorithm and shown in search results.
How can I use my blog posts to start a content marketing campaign?
Your first step in utilizing your blog for content marketing purposes is to make sure you have a good foundation in place. You need quality content that provides value for your readers so that they’ll continue coming back and trusting the information you provide them with. Before you even think about repurposing your blog posts into other forms of content (like social media posts), take the time to create quality blog posts on subjects that interest your audience.
Write Evergreen Blog Posts to Repurpose Them
You can repurpose your blog content in many different ways, but to do it well, you need an evergreen foundation.
Are you sitting on an evergreen gold mine of content?
An article that is “evergreen” is one that will stay relevant over time. That could be for months or even years after you publish it. The amount of time the content stays relevant depends on the topic, but information about marketing, social media, and business are great examples of topics that create evergreen content.
In order to take advantage of this type of content, you need to make sure evergreen pieces get a second chance at life on your blog. Evergreen content is key if you want your work to be worthwhile and valuable for the long term.
How to Repurpose Your Content? Some Ideas!
Now we’ve talked about what repurposing content is, and how to get started, it’s time to talk about how you can repurpose your content. Here are some ideas to get you started:
Social Media Posts
One way to repurpose a blog post is to turn it into a social media post. Posts that contain more than one good idea can easily be broken down into several posts, each one focused on a different idea. This is especially effective if you have been encouraged to write conversationally and have created an engaging piece with lots of details. Your readers will appreciate having another chance to read the piece, especially if you focus on an aspect of the blog that was not highlighted in previous posts.
You can also re-use images from your blogs for social media posts and vice versa. In fact, many people prefer image-only posts these days, because they are easy to swipe through quickly when using a mobile device or tablet.
Here are the steps for creating a social media graphic:
- Head to Canva and create a new design.
- Choose the social media platform you want to create a graphic for (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.)
- Select a template that best fits the message you’re trying to communicate.
- Edit the template to include your own text, images, and branding.
- Download your finished graphic and share it on your social media channels!
Videos
Have you noticed lately that Google often shows videos as part of their search results? That’s not a coincidence – they’re doing that because people love watching videos! And as more and more people consume content through video, it’s becoming increasingly important for businesses to create them as part of their content strategy.
If you’re not sure where to start with video, there are plenty of ways to repurpose your existing blog content. For example, you could turn a blog post into an interview, a vlog (video blog), or even an animated explainer video. Not an experienced video editor? No worries. Turning blogs into videos is really easy using tools like Lumen5 or Animoto
No matter what type of video you create, make sure it’s high quality and provides value to your audience. Otherwise, you’re just wasting your time (and theirs).
Podcasts
Another way to repurpose your blog content is via a podcast. This is a great option if you’re looking to reach a new audience, or if you simply want to provide your existing audience with content in a different format. All you need is a microphone and some recording software, and you’re good to go!
If you like recording podcasts, you can record for example yourself reading off one of your top-performing posts and upload that podcast episode to iTunes. You can also create a show notes page to go along with the episode, which can include links to related resources, images, and information from the post.
To get started, open up your favorite audio recording software (GarageBand, Audacity, etc.) and hit record. Start by reading your blog post out loud, and then add in any additional commentary or thoughts that you have. Once you’re finished, hit stop and export your audio file as an .mp3. If you want it edited, you can look for professional audio editors on a platform like Fiverr.
Now it’s time to upload your podcast to a hosting platform like SoundCloud or Libsyn. From there, you can submit your show to iTunes and other popular podcast directories.
SlideShare Presentation
Turning a blog post into a slideshow presentation is a great way to repurpose content and reach a new audience. SlideShare presentations are perfect for sharing on social media channels like Twitter and LinkedIn, where images get more attention than text-only posts. A SlideShare works best for blog posts containing a list.
Not sure how to turn a blog post into a SlideShare? Here you can find some actionable tips.
Ebooks
If you have a number of blog posts on the same topic that you’ve written over time, then chances are that they can be grouped together to make an ebook. Group the posts together and add a few other things – for example, an introduction and conclusion, more detailed explanations where needed, and possibly new content such as additional tips or case studies – and you’ve got yourself an ebook! Then offer it as a free download on your website (which means visitors need to give their email address so you can build your email database) or sell it on Amazon or other online retailers.
Webinar
“What? Another webinar? I already have one next week, plus a couple of those this month. What are you going to do, webinar me to death?”
If that’s not your reaction to the thought of hosting a webinar, then I don’t know what is. But look: webinars can be a great way to connect with your audience and grow as an expert in your field. They’re also a great way to build trust and establish yourself as an authority. And you can use the material from some of your best blog posts for this purpose! Let’s go over how you can take the content from your blog post and turn it into something that will keep your audience engaged for much longer than the average article – namely, a live or pre-recorded webinar presentation.
- First, you need to determine the purpose of your webinar. Do you want to build authority? Connect with your audience? Sell a product or service? Once you know the purpose, it will be much easier to determine what content to include in your presentation.
- Next, create an outline for your presentation. This can be based on the structure of your blog post, but don’t feel like you need to include everything – remember, a webinar is much longer than a blog post, so you’ll have time to go into more detail.
- Create your presentation. You can use PowerPoint, Keynote, or any other presentation software you’re comfortable with. If you’re not comfortable speaking on camera, you can always record your presentation in advance and play it for your audience during the webinar.
But, you might think, where can I find attendees for my event? In our opinion, the best way to do this is by creating a LinkedIn event. LinkedIn events are a great way to promote your webinar and connect with potential attendees. You can also post about your upcoming webinar on your company’s page, in relevant groups, and on your personal profile. Just make sure to use relevant hashtags so people can find you!
If you want to learn more about hosting a webinar, I would definitely recommend you to download this e-book from Expandi. It is a 100-page guide packed with valuable info on how to host a LinkedIn event.
Course
Another way to repurpose your blog post is into a course.
Like some other ideas, this is another good way to build your email list. You can offer the course for free, but in exchange for their email address so you can send them marketing emails later.
Another idea is to use your blog post as one of several lessons in a longer paid training program. This could be a great way to turn your high-traffic blog into additional income by charging people for premium content. You can host it on a platform like Teachable, Udemy, or Skillshare, or even on your own website.
If you want to repurpose your blog content into a course, the first step is to decide on the format.
You can create a self-paced video course, an audio course, or even a text-based course. It all depends on what format you think your audience will best respond to.
Once you’ve decided on the format for your course, you’ll need to choose which blog posts you want to include in it.
Look at each of your existing posts and consider whether it would make sense in the context of your course. Include only those that will add value to the overall message you’re trying to get across.
It’s likely that some of your blog posts will cover similar ground so spend some time figuring out how you can rework them so they serve different purposes within your course.
For instance, if you have two posts on two different aspects of the same topic, combine them into one chapter. And if there are two separate posts covering two sides of the same argument, take one idea from each and create a new section that brings them together.
Emails
Email sequences are a great way to welcome new subscribers, or to consistently deliver value to your existing ones. Your visitors are already interested in what you’re doing and saying within your space, so creating content based on questions they ask or topics they’re interested in is the perfect way to keep their attention.
Repurposing your blog content into email can be done in two ways:
- Newsletter – For example, if you’re a travel blogger and someone signs up for your email list, you could send them a weekly digest of your latest blog posts, exclusive deals on travel products, or even a free guide to the best travel destinations.
- Email sequence – To create an email sequence, all you need to do is take a recent blog post (or two or five!) and translate each section into its own email. If you’ve never created an email sequence before, check out this post for a step-by-step guide on how to get started.
The key is to make sure that your emails are valuable and provide something that people can’t get anywhere else. Otherwise, they’ll quickly unsubscribe from your list!
Infographics
If you’re a visual learner, or if your blog post is more of a list with lots of bolded lines and colorful images, then you may be able to break that information down into an infographic.
Infographics are a great way to quickly deliver information in an easily digestible format. People love them because they’re easy to consume and share.
It’s actually super easy to create infographics—even if you’re not a designer.
To create an infographic from your blog content, start by identifying the key points you want to include. Then, use a tool like Canva or Piktochart to create your design.
Once your infographic is complete, share it on social media, embed it in your blog post, or even submit it to sites like Visually.
Translate Your Content
If you’re selling your product or service internationally, this might work for you. Translate your post into multiple languages. You don’t have to be fluent in other languages yourself in order to get this benefit; there are plenty of services that will translate your posts for a fee (check out Gengo). The more people who can read what you’re saying, the better!
This is a great way to repurpose content because it allows you to reach a whole new audience with your message. Just make sure that when you’re translating, you’re also taking into account cultural differences so that your meaning is conveyed correctly.
Repurpose Your Blog Content
In this article we discussed how to repurpose your blog content. Most businesses forget about their old posts, but they shouldn’t! Repurposing content is a great way to both make use of what you’ve already written and keep your audience engaged with new and different types of content.
Your blog posts hardly have to live and die as just posts. They can stick around for years, if you repackage them in the right ways. And that’s what repurposing content is all about – creating new versions of your old material to maximize its exposure and reach.
However, make sure you don’t overdo it. You don’t want readers to see the same stuff over and over again. If you do decide to republish your older content on your website, consider changing it up a bit during the editing process so that it doesn’t seem like you copied and pasted the original text directly onto a new page.
At Content Jungle, we’ll take care of the blog for your business from A to Z: the research, optimization, and uploading. We can also help out with repurposing your content. Feel free to send us an email via carolina@gocontentjungle.com or book a free coffee chat to discuss your content strategy.
