The second greatest challenge is what happens after that content is created.
While promotion is key to a successful blog, the astonishing truth is that most bloggers write an article, hit publish, share it across one or two social networks and call it a day.
You might wonder why anyone would take the time to write an article simply to let it gather dust?
Mainly because they don’t know what to do with it or how to get that content in front of as many people as possible.
The answer? Repurpose your content by putting a new face on it!
Below are eight ways you can take your existing content and repurpose it for a whole new audience!
8 Ways to Revive Old Blog Content
1. Follow-Up Post
Have you been blogging for some time? Then you’ve probably built up a considerable amount of content.
If you struggle to continuously come up with fresh topics for your website, using old posts as inspiration can be very helpful.
Go back through past posts in your Google Analytics and scan for those that performed well. Now look to see if there was any one article that felt unfinished or would possibly warrant additional information due to changes or updates.
Writing a follow-up post is a great way to breathe new life into your old post by linking back to it as a reference. And don’t forget the added bonus of additional traffic when you revive a hot topic.
2. Roundup of Resources
Weekly or monthly roundup posts are a very popular way to highlight articles that deserve a second look. Cultivate a list of your previous articles and include them amidst other relevant blogs within your niche.
Be picky in which articles you choose, linking back to only a select group of your top posts. This will ensure value to your readers, rather than simply feeling like a ploy to gather additional views and shares.
Look to someone like Carol Lynn Rivera who puts together an excellent weekly roundup of posts. Notice how she adds context around each article, sharing her take on why the post is roundup worthy.
This is the value in the post. Simply throwing up a bunch of links is not of any value to your readers.
3. Design a Graphic for Pinterest
Why repurpose content specifically for Pinterest? First and foremost, Pinterest offers a way to visually brand your business, putting your message in front of a whole new audience.
And it’s an audience eager to buy according to recent studies. In fact, Pinterest has proven to generate over 400% more revenue per click than Twitter and 27% more than Facebook.
Five tips for finding success on Pinterest according to Cynthia Sanchez, Owner Oh So Pinteresting is:
- Create a plan
- Take a good look at your site
- Put in the time
- Leverage what you already have
- Patience
Ready to create a graphic, but don’t consider yourself a Photoshop aficionado? Use Canva, a free photo-editing tool to create an eye-catching visual.
As one of the best visual content creation tools available online today, Canva offers great effects that can quickly and easily put a little WOW into your images.
Stock image versus a Custom Design:
4. Share that Graphic to Google Plus
Now that you’ve created the perfect image for Pinterest, share it to Google Plus. The image, plus detailed context from your blog post make a striking share that instantly breathes new life into your post and provides an incredible conversation starter on your Google Plus profile.
According to Peg Fitzpatrick, Google+ and Pinterest are the perfect match!
“Beautiful images propel content on Pinterest and Google. Use all the real estate that you can on each image by creating a big, vertical image. Add some text and watermark it to boost your branding.”
Peg recommends image dimensions of 600 x 900 for both social platforms and I can attest to the value behind this formula. Since changing the size, look, feel and strategy behind my Google Plus posts, my engagement has increased by a whopping 67%!
5. Create an Audio, Video or Podcast Recording
Did you write a list post that performed well its first time around? Take each bullet point and turn it into a quick audio or video post. Answer a reader frequently asked question or simply highlight a feature within your business.
If you have contemplated stepping into podcasting, but weren’t sure what to talk about, grab a few points from your article and expand upon each bullet point.
6. Email Mini-Course
Take a series of related articles and turn them into an email course. Add 5-7 emails to a drip campaign.
You can also break down one article into multiple tip emails. For example, you share home décor tips via your blog. A frequently asked question by your clients is how to mix traditional and modern elements into their home. Helpful how-to emails are a great way to revive an old post and attract new subscribers to your blog.
7. Webinar Script and Slide Deck
Use your article as the basis for a webinar, presentation or workshop. If you’re a speaker, repurposing blog content can cut your preparation time dramatically.
Haiku Deck is a fabulous app that easily allows you to convert an article into a visually appealing slide deck. Incredibly intuitive, Haiku Deck will save you an incredible amount of time and allow you to create stunning, image-rich slideshows that stand out.
8. Social Media Posts
While Google Plus and Pinterest are excellent resources for visual content, do not neglect other social networks such Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Each one is a great tool to repurpose and share your content. And if you are worried about filtering through old content, remember that just because the blog is old to you doesn’t mean readers won’t find it interesting.
Use the tool “Save Publishing” to grab snippets or quotes from your post to break up your article into bite-sized tweets. Use a tool like Hootsuite to schedule these tweets throughout the month. And make sure to change up the type of tweet.
For example, tweet a quote linking back to Pinterest or Google+ to cross-promote your content. You can also use the WordPress plugin Evergreen Post Tweeter to schedule and tweet old posts on a continuous basis.
You’re so cool! I do nott suppose I have read anything lik this before.
So nice to find another person with original thoughts on this topic.
Seriously.. thank you for starting this up. This site is
onee thing that’s needed on the internet, someone with
a bbit of originality!
This is a really excellent piece of research. Well done!
Hi Rebekah,
This is the first time I have commented on your blog. I’m here by way of Adrienne. I had to come and investigate especially because writing for a blog is sometimes difficult. I do a Friday Roundup for my subscribers and sometimes it’s tough coming up with something viable.
These are great tips and I will start to incorporate some of these ASAP. 🙂
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Geri Richmond
Hi Geri! Thank you so much for stopping by!
A roundup is an easy way to add content to your blog and draw traffic over to it by highlighting other bloggers who will hopefully share it on your behalf.
This is a great list of suggestions Rebekah with some original ideas that I haven’t seen before. I especially appreciate the link to Carol Lynn Rivera’s post. I had not seen her roundup before. Thanks!
Hi Rebekah,
Thanks for these great tips. I agree with Silviu that creating slideshows is another good idea. Also, picking up and building on ideas from comments you’ve received to previous posts.
Hi Rebekah,
Repurpose content? Good idea. Now, from your list the most appealing to me are:
a. Round ups
How often should I create a round up with my posts and how often a round up with other people’s posts?
b. Take a list post and create a podcast. Podcasts are on a rising trend so it is wise to use it, indeed. I like very much the idea of making podcasts as they are easier to do than videos and sound has a powerful impact on subconscious mind (especially when the voice is nice).
My suggestion
We must not forget Powerpoint presentations. A Powerpoint presentation is a very attractive type of content. When you upload it to sites like Slideshare and create a slideshow you may attract significant amounts of traffic.
Have a wonderful day
Hi Rebekah,
I like the word “repurpose” for old relevant content. I guess you can that the old never goes out of style. These are some great tips, and i really like the roundup tip. I’m going to put that in my list of things to do! Thanks for sharing!
Hello Rebekah,
Wow!!! This is indeed a nice post that worth the read :).
I have never thought of reviving my most popular old post but i can see that it has a positive effect on traffic generation. The link roundup is also one great idea and i will also be looking at it very soon…
Thanks for the great post, saw it on Adrienne’s link round up…
Have a blessed day ahead…
Hi Rebekah,
you have provided awesome suggestions in this very informative post!
Wow, we could be very busy if we would apply all those.
I suppose the trick is to start and ‘play’ with one option and extend it from there.
The Haiku Deck sounds interesting and thanks to your post I just sign up to try it.
Thank you so much for sharing your expertise!
Yorinda
Hey Rebekah,
A great post!
All the eight tips seems equally effective to revive an old blog content.
Some I already follow and will surely try out the rest. 🙂
Thanks for sharing such a wonderful article!
Generally speaking, one of the best ways to promote all content is via social media. When it comes to old content, the best way is to get old(er) content to new subscribers. Someone new subscribed but that does not mean that they took the time to check out old posts that might be even better.
Thanks for the great ideas on how to re-use content Rebekah. Is there any particular type of content would you recommend re-purposing? I find some content formats (like Slide Share) are much more time intensive than others, so I’m looking forward to trying Haiku, but would appreciate any tips you might have on best-practices for re-purposing content.
Wow! This was an AWESOME post Rebekah! New follower for sure!! I love Google+ but don’t utilize it as much as I should.
Blessings!
Hey Rebecca,
Great article. I even get my picture in it!!!
I have tried Haiku Dectyet, looking forward to trying this out.
Ian
I love the way you repurpose content on G+. I actually stole that idea from you. It’s been working really well! Also, great ideas on using your old content as well on your blog.
Thanks for the great information. I have been doing a few of these things, but I am excited to try the others. Love the tip on picture sizes for Pinterest and Google+. I am definitely going to put that into practice.
These are excellent ways to freshen up our blog content and get our message to more consumers. Thanks for this wonderful share Rebekah!
Great post Rebekah, I tried to ‘reblog’ on Triberr, but l can’t get it to work, so I shared everywhere.
I’ve never tried the reblog feature within Triberr so i’m not even going to speculate on what the issue might be Jason. I’m sure I’d be wrong! 🙂
Thank you so much for all of your shares! I truly appreciate it!
Hi Rebekah,
Some great tips as usual. I am happy to see that I am doing most of it right.
I have certainly seen my pinterest numbers go up since re-doing the way I make my header images. And I see we have similar tactics there (although I don’t include a blonde in mine :>).
I have not really done a log to leverage G+, but I think that is also something I have to look at. I saw a best practice post on that a while back that mentioned trying to get that sweet spot where the post goes full screen (width) – then you really get people’s attention.
have a great week
ashley
Hi Ashley! As an active blogger, you really need to work on G+. It’s such an enormous opportunity. Especially when you use it in conjunction with Pinterest. The image size is perfect for both platforms. Give it a try next time you create one for Pinterest!