Repurposing blog posts is a surefire way to make your audience gasp in awe and delight.
But how do some companies do it? How do they get so much out of one blog post, like they’re pulling an unending multicolored handkerchief out of their maw?
At the risk of suffering the same fate as G.O.B. Bluth with the Alliance of Magicians – that is, disgraceful banishment from the Alliance of Content Marketing Un-Agencies – we can’t resist sharing some secrets of repurposing blog content, itself a crucial best practice for successful audience development.
Let’s take a look at 10 tricks – or, as G.O.B. would prefer, illusions – to make your blog posts not just memorable, but as close to mind-blowing immortal shape shifters as possible.
10 Ways of Repurposing Blog Content
1. White Papers, eBooks, and Handbooks
Even after just six months of a regularly scheduled editorial calendar, the wealth of helpful articles, advice, and data you’ve assembled with your collected blog posts is staggering.
One way to extend the life of these posts – and possibly unleash a new revenue stream, or at least gather some email addresses – is to fold them into longer-form products. You could group related content into an eBook, for instance, or consolidate a series of posts into an instructional handbook. Borrowing bits and pieces of what you do best for a white paper is another option.
2. Webinars
A webinar is another tactic in repurposing blog posts. You can bring a blog post to life with multimedia!
3. Conferences and Events
Next, try parlaying that webinar into a conference presentation. Events are a great way to grow your audience and humanize your brand.
4. Video Transcripts
When you do produce webinars and conference events, make sure to transcribe panel discussions, comments from speakers, and Q&As – this practice can generate another cluster of content for your blog and social efforts.
5. Email Newsletters
Don’t let your emails lapse into exact replicas of your blog and other promotional materials. This platform presents another opportunity to harness the power of your content, tailored to the segments of your audience and customer base who respond well to email.
Try a roundup on Friday or a Sunday morning digest, for example, and make good use of art.
6. Infographics
The “illustrated” version of your blog post. Infographics are all the rage these days, and they’re starting to oversaturate the content marketing space, but but there’s no denying that a well-executed one can do wonders for attracting an audience.
H&R Block has set aside an entire archival library for theirs. It’s definitely worth a look. Which reminds me …
7. Archival Libraries
Devote an exclusive, special space to your signature content. The New Yorker, for instance, archives and sells its cartoons.
Your post on industry trends probably won’t end up framed on somebody’s bathroom wall, but analytics will show you the posts that your audience clamors for. If you curate your own content as a resource and treat it that way, search and social visitors will respond.
8. Podcasts
Podcasts are the cat’s pajamas right now, and a relatively simple way to liven up your content strategy. You might not achieve Serial numbers, but you can release quick-hitting conversations, based on your blog posts, that demonstrate your thought leadership and let loyal visitors and potential clients get to know your team a little better.
We recently found an accounting firm, of all places – our New England neighbor Tofias – putting podcasts into action with great results.
9. Syndication
We’re not talking about episodes of Cheers or Seinfeld here, but rather about repurposing blog content via outlets that collate the best material from around the web. Try press releases, too!
Check out this excellent post from CoSchedule for more than 50 of them.
10. Update, Refresh, and Repost
Incorporate as many of the above components as you can – test them out to see what works best for your original content campaign – but also keep the tried and true in your bag of tricks. Evergreen content is a must for any business blog: Ensure that your posts reflect your evolving field, and publish them again after you rework them with any changes.
As always, social promotion will do a lot of the heavy lifting for you. Don’t forget your formulas!
We’ve broken so many rules of the Alliance of Content Marketing Un-Agencies here today by revealing these secrets of repurposing blog posts, but we believe it was worth it to help out our fellow small businesses. Remember, undertaking an original content campaign will leave your audience wanting more – more articles, more interaction, and, most importantly, more of your product or service – but it takes dedication and follow-through.
Is your content more thrilling rabbit out of a hat or a befuddling vanishing act? Let us know if you need some help polishing up your act!
