Why Content Repurposing is Valuable and How To Do It

Many bloggers have written tons of posts and articles throughout their careers to the extent that they now have a vast arsenal of valuable archived information. In many cases, that information, even though it was written years ago, is still relevant now. Also, it has been found that there comes a time when a blogger gets writer’s block, i.e. an inability to think of what topic to write on despite trying very hard to do so. So, what can be done with those archived articles and posts, and how can writer’s block be overcome? The simple answer to that question is to repurpose the archived content. Content repurposing is the process of taking your original content and using it to create something else, at times in another format. Creating new content from old content gives it new life and exposes it to new readers who may not have had a chance to read the original content. This provides the perfect opportunity for us to gain more traffic while creating less content seeing that the content where the information is taken from already exists.

One of the most important aspects of content marketing is finding ways in which content can be repurposed. Once you learn how to do that, you can get a lot more value out of your articles and blogs. This involves some level of creativity because there are no set rules or guidelines that dictate exactly how content repurposing should be executed. That being said, here are 17 ways in which you can repurpose your content:

1. Look for blog posts that have a series of steps in them and make an infographic. For example, you may have written a post on how to build a greenhouse. Create images for each step of the process and then put them together, in order, in a vertical line using your favorite photo editing software. You can then post the infographic on websites like Infographics Archive, Flickr, Pinterest, Tumblr, Daily Infographic, Google+, Cool Infographics, Scribd, Infographics Showcase, and Infographic Journal.
2. If you have a mailing list that you send a newsletter to, you can use some of your old blog posts as autoresponder emails. Search for posts that are actionable, engaging, and relevant to the niche that you are in and mix them with other emails to give your newsletter substance that your mailing list can benefit from.
3. Content repurposing is easily achieved by posting your content “as-is” on another website, i.e. reposting or syndicating your content on other websites. This is what numerous bloggers have done in the past with some level of success. Some of the sites that you can syndicate them on include Medium, Social Media Today, Growth Hackers, Reddit, and Examiner.
4. Take small quotes from your old articles or blog posts and use them as Facebook status updates. Sometimes you may find something inspirational that could benefit your friends or maybe you simply want to keep your account alive. Using small quotes is a great way of doing both things.
5. Small quotes from your old articles can also be added to images to create quote pictures. These can then be posted on Facebook or pinned on Pinterest.
6. SlideShare presentations can be created using the main points from a single blog post or even from multiple blog posts that have similar content.
7. In many instances, you may have a series of blog posts that are related to each other in some way. Use a series of those blog posts and compile them into an eBook. When you put it together, make sure that the chapters transition one from the other in a fluid manner. Then you can either sell or give away the eBook.  Some of the tools that you can use to turn articles and blog posts into eBooks include Papyrus, PressBooks, Liber.io, Kindle, and iBooks.
8. Use the articles and blog posts that were once a series of posts that taught something specific to create an eCourse PDF file. You can then send the eCourse to your email subscribers as a free gift or sell it on your website.
9. If you have old podcasts, take the best audio from them and break them into one to three minute long snippets. Those snippets can then be used to create videos that you can upload to YouTube, Vimeo, Viddler, or iTunes Podcast.
10. The content can be turned into an informative webinar. Webinars are great ways to interact with your audience, allowing them to develop a level of trust in you, converting them from mere visitors into fans. Some websites that make publishing your webinar easy are GoToWebinar, Join.me, LinkedIn event listings, Google+ events, Facebook events, and Eventbrite.
11. Some of your old content can be used as tweets on Twitter. You should be able to find a number of sentences in your articles or posts that are tweet-worthy.
12. Google+ updates can be fed from old content. You can do summary updates or even more detailed updates. Since Google+ allows you to publish long format posts, you could rewrite some of your old content and republish on your Google+ page as long format posts.
13. If you are a technical-minded individual, you could convert your old articles and posts into Whitepapers. Whitepapers are concise authoritative guides or reports that provide information on complex issues, presenting the philosophy of the issuing body on the matter. They help readers to solve a problem, make a decision, or understand an issue. The information that can be found in older articles will help to cut down on the research time needed to prepare and publish whitepapers.
14. Repurposed content can be used as case studies. Case studies are very effective marketing tools that have helped many businesses reap rich rewards in terms of improved brand recognition and increased sales. Find content that is relevant to the niche you are promoting and use it to create the case studies.
15. If you are an Expert on Quora, you can use your old content as Quora answers to help build your credibility. It may seem far-fetched but you may have articles or blog posts that can answer questions asked on that website. Check to see which ones can do so and have them handy so that you can easily grab them when needed.
16. If you are a teacher or tutor, you could use the archived articles as part of the course that you teach. This applies to both online and in classroom settings. Turn the articles into PowerPoint presentations and then convert them to videos that feature your voice over the points on the slide presentation. You can use tools like ScreenFlow or Camtasia Studio to create the videos. You can even go a step further by posting your educational videos on sites like Skillshare, Udemy, Helpouts by Google, and Guides.co.
17. You could turn your old content into a real book. With advancements in technology, you do not need to hire someone to write the book for you. Instead, use self-publishing tools like Amazon CreateSpace to do it. It allows you to create the book, cover, and promotional material that you need. Once you have completed the book, you can make it available on Amazon.com as a hard cover book or in Kindle format, on your own website, or on other websites that sell books. You can also use Lulu to self-publish your book. You will be able to create and distribute your book on their online store.

The Benefits of Content Repurposing

There are many benefits to be derived from repurposing content. Here are 3 for you to consider:

1. It Helps You To “Be Everywhere” – The fact that repurposed content can be published on media like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts, SkillShare, your own website, in effect just about anywhere, you are basically everywhere, so to speak. As you create and distribute repurposed content, think of all the possible avenues through which it can be made available to as many people as possible. This increases your popularity and following.
2. It Helps To Drive More Traffic – In many cases, repurposed content has a link back to your website or blog, opt in pages, one time offers, or anything else that you desire to promote. This drives traffic to your promoted content. Traffic flow will be greater as more and more people become exposed to your repurposed content. Some content creators, for example, include a link in their SkillShare presentations. Others add a link to their social media profiles, resulting in people who find them in one place beginning to follow them elsewhere as well, resulting in an increased following or fan base.
3. Different People Like Different Content – We all like different content. Some people enjoy reading books, others like watching videos, some like listening to audio, and many spend hours on Facebook or Twitter. Making repurposed content available in different formats widens the base of people who can access your content, ensuring that just about everyone gets a chance to benefit from it. This also helps you to “be everywhere” and cements you as an authority figure in your niche.