How Can You Recycle Content Without Getting Caught?
The theory behind repurposing old content sounds great. Create less, get more eyes on stuff you already did. But, this isn't a post designed to help you be lazy. It's really about seeing the value behind reusing old content, and coming up with some great ways to bring older stuff back to life. Getting your content into as many hands as possible should always be your goal, and recycling can be a huge part of that. The real point of it is to bring value to both your organization, and your customers. It should increase the ROI from your content creating efforts, while simultaneously giving your customers value and satisfaction.
I have always been scared to repurpose content for fear of duplication, but after really looking into it, I've found that there are ways you can do it that don't warrant the concern.
So, what are the real reasons you should recycle content?
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Your SEO can achieve a major boost when you're getting new traffic to old content, for several different reasons. Getting new traffic to old content demonstrates to the search engines that your content continues to be useful and relevant. It helps to build your authority in the eyes of your readers, and Google. It also gives you more opportunity for quality links back to your site. And, it's a major asset to your keyword optimization. If you're re-distributing content around your existing keyword strategy, it's just another boost for your SEO.
EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Reinforcing your message is a very important part of your marketing strategy. It's very uncommon for a consumer to hear your message once and have it stick. The more times people hear the same message from you, the better. Eventually, they will hear you. And, if you know this content is something that had a great response previously, you know it's the type of stuff your current clients want -- so it make sense to give more of it to them.
NEW CUSTOMERS
Distributing content will help you connect with new customers. Your content might be old to you, but it's new to them. This is particularly true if you have different channels to promote your message through. Perhaps last year you only had 1,000 Twitter followers -- but now you have 3,000. The new 2,000 haven't seen the stuff you were posting last year. And, we often assume a lot more people see us in their feed than what holds true. Most of those initial 1,000 followers from last year didn't see your post either!
How Do I Pick What I Should Reuse?
This is important, because the whole idea here is to be bringing huge amounts of value to your existing and new customer base. You don't want them to feel like they're looking at your old stuff.
So what makes content reusable?
Look for topics that are still relevant. If you're in the digital marketing industry, don't talk about things like why being ranked first on Google is the only thing that matters.
Look for topics that are still popular and being talked about online.
Pick topics that you can grow on, and have lots to say about.
Look for evergreen content -- this is stuff that will qualify as timeless and high quality. For more information about this subject, check out this post.
Review your most popular posts. This gives you solid evidence as to what content is most popular amongst your readers. These subjects and ideas are the ones you want to build on.
Give Me Some Concrete Examples & Ideas
-You could take 10 or 20 old blog posts and turn them into a training course or ebook.
-Online training courses can be extremely lucrative, and many digital marketing experts make big bucks this way. For example, maybe you blog frequently about Twitter. You could compile everything you've done, and create a Twitter course for beginners.
-You could dictate old blog posts into videos, or do a webinar. Video is one of today's most powerful marketing tools.
-Turn listed-posts (10 Tips On Whatever) into more detailed posts. Really dive into each tip -- this could easily be 10 new blog posts.
-Create long-form content or a White Paper out of several blog posts related to the same topic or subject. Really dig deep into the subject matter and create something that has the potential to become evergreen.
-Create a presentation or slideshow out of existing posts that circle around one main topic.
-Make an infographic out of a post, or a compilation of posts. If you've got something with even a few numbers, it's a fantastic opportunity to create something that is visual and share-worthy.
-Update your old posts. Maybe you did something 3 years ago about best practices for SEO. Do a then-and-now comparison for each line item.
-Publish your older stuff, as is, to your social media. If it's something that is still relevant, you can probably push it back out. Remember, the majority of your followers probably didn't see if the first time anyway. You can make a joke or comment on it, like Wow - I wrote this two years ago and nothing has changed! Or I can't believe I felt this way two years ago, here's why.
-Monitor Quora for opportunities to answer questions using your old blog posts.
-Offer to write guest posts for other authors, that are based around your older content's subject matter. This is a great way to summarize and piece out the best parts of larger posts. This is also a great networking opportunity, as you can connect with other people in your industry.
-Start sending out a monthly newsletter, and use older content that is still relevant to beef it up.
-Create images using something simple like Canva from blog posts that include tips and tricks, or small tidbits of information that make sense when used independently. You can then promote these posts on social media, with a link back to your original post.
-Turn long-form content into checklists or mini-posts. This gives a quick-read option to people who may be interested in your more thorough content, and gives you the opportunity to link to the original post.
-Create Round-Ups or "Best Of" posts from a compilation of older things. Round-Ups are becoming extremely popular, and great ones will be shared for years to come.
-Create FAQ's or "Did You Know?" posts from topics or subjects that got a lot of questions and engagement.
For more tips on creating content that will be great for reusing later and some more ideas on how to recycle, check out this post.
And this is a solid guide if you want to start thinking about reusing before you even start creating. There are things you can do from the start that will make it easier to reuse down the road.
I have always been scared to repurpose content for fear of duplication, but after really looking into it, I've found that there are ways you can do it that don't warrant the concern.
So, what are the real reasons you should recycle content?
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Your SEO can achieve a major boost when you're getting new traffic to old content, for several different reasons. Getting new traffic to old content demonstrates to the search engines that your content continues to be useful and relevant. It helps to build your authority in the eyes of your readers, and Google. It also gives you more opportunity for quality links back to your site. And, it's a major asset to your keyword optimization. If you're re-distributing content around your existing keyword strategy, it's just another boost for your SEO.
EXISTING CUSTOMERS
Reinforcing your message is a very important part of your marketing strategy. It's very uncommon for a consumer to hear your message once and have it stick. The more times people hear the same message from you, the better. Eventually, they will hear you. And, if you know this content is something that had a great response previously, you know it's the type of stuff your current clients want -- so it make sense to give more of it to them.
NEW CUSTOMERS
Distributing content will help you connect with new customers. Your content might be old to you, but it's new to them. This is particularly true if you have different channels to promote your message through. Perhaps last year you only had 1,000 Twitter followers -- but now you have 3,000. The new 2,000 haven't seen the stuff you were posting last year. And, we often assume a lot more people see us in their feed than what holds true. Most of those initial 1,000 followers from last year didn't see your post either!
How Do I Pick What I Should Reuse?
This is important, because the whole idea here is to be bringing huge amounts of value to your existing and new customer base. You don't want them to feel like they're looking at your old stuff.
So what makes content reusable?
Look for topics that are still relevant. If you're in the digital marketing industry, don't talk about things like why being ranked first on Google is the only thing that matters.
Look for topics that are still popular and being talked about online.
Pick topics that you can grow on, and have lots to say about.
Look for evergreen content -- this is stuff that will qualify as timeless and high quality. For more information about this subject, check out this post.
Review your most popular posts. This gives you solid evidence as to what content is most popular amongst your readers. These subjects and ideas are the ones you want to build on.
Give Me Some Concrete Examples & Ideas
-You could take 10 or 20 old blog posts and turn them into a training course or ebook.
-Online training courses can be extremely lucrative, and many digital marketing experts make big bucks this way. For example, maybe you blog frequently about Twitter. You could compile everything you've done, and create a Twitter course for beginners.
-You could dictate old blog posts into videos, or do a webinar. Video is one of today's most powerful marketing tools.
-Turn listed-posts (10 Tips On Whatever) into more detailed posts. Really dive into each tip -- this could easily be 10 new blog posts.
-Create long-form content or a White Paper out of several blog posts related to the same topic or subject. Really dig deep into the subject matter and create something that has the potential to become evergreen.
-Create a presentation or slideshow out of existing posts that circle around one main topic.
-Make an infographic out of a post, or a compilation of posts. If you've got something with even a few numbers, it's a fantastic opportunity to create something that is visual and share-worthy.
-Update your old posts. Maybe you did something 3 years ago about best practices for SEO. Do a then-and-now comparison for each line item.
-Publish your older stuff, as is, to your social media. If it's something that is still relevant, you can probably push it back out. Remember, the majority of your followers probably didn't see if the first time anyway. You can make a joke or comment on it, like Wow - I wrote this two years ago and nothing has changed! Or I can't believe I felt this way two years ago, here's why.
-Monitor Quora for opportunities to answer questions using your old blog posts.
-Offer to write guest posts for other authors, that are based around your older content's subject matter. This is a great way to summarize and piece out the best parts of larger posts. This is also a great networking opportunity, as you can connect with other people in your industry.
-Start sending out a monthly newsletter, and use older content that is still relevant to beef it up.
-Create images using something simple like Canva from blog posts that include tips and tricks, or small tidbits of information that make sense when used independently. You can then promote these posts on social media, with a link back to your original post.
-Turn long-form content into checklists or mini-posts. This gives a quick-read option to people who may be interested in your more thorough content, and gives you the opportunity to link to the original post.
-Create Round-Ups or "Best Of" posts from a compilation of older things. Round-Ups are becoming extremely popular, and great ones will be shared for years to come.
-Create FAQ's or "Did You Know?" posts from topics or subjects that got a lot of questions and engagement.
For more tips on creating content that will be great for reusing later and some more ideas on how to recycle, check out this post.
And this is a solid guide if you want to start thinking about reusing before you even start creating. There are things you can do from the start that will make it easier to reuse down the road.
$2/100 words for REGULAR CONTENT
$4/100 words for TOP NOTCH MONEY CONTENT