Repurposing content to increase your traffic is a smart strategy to maximize the value of each piece you create, attracting more traffic and extending the reach of your message.
From turning blog posts into videos or podcasts to transforming them into infographics or online courses, these techniques allow you to connect with different audiences in different formats. In this article, we present 20 effective ways to repurpose content that will help you increase traffic and make your content strategy more profitable and dynamic.
1. Convert into a blog post
Almost any piece of content works well as a blog post. Did your CEO send an inspirational email to employees? Have you spent weeks, months, or years publishing an ebook? Is your podcast series generating a lot of traffic? Turn any piece of content into a blog post (or several) to get the most out of it and drive traffic back to the original source.
2. Create a new guide
If you’ve published multiple pieces of content on a specific topic, combine all of the material into one comprehensive guide. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel. You can even take different types of content (videos, text, audio, infographics, case studies, etc.) and mix them together to create a more comprehensive resource.
3. Create a resource list or summary post
A resource list can be a powerful way to connect your audience with relevant content. For example, check out our Holiday Shipping Packing List, which tells a short story by linking to great content we created months or years ago. Or check out Copyblogger’s weekend roundups, which summarize each of the recent posts and group them together in an engaging way.
4. Compile an ebook
If you’ve been blogging for at least a year or two, you probably have hundreds of posts on various topics in your industry. Organize all that old content into a downloadable ebook. You can use the ebook as a lead magnet or even sell it.
5. Print physical copies of the book
Take your ebook to the next level with a printed version, a real, tangible book (yes, they still exist). A printed book will require printing costs, but will require little additional work. You can then send copies to your most valued clients or hand them out to guests at your next conference.
6. Create an email series
Email series are a perfect channel. You can take an ebook or even a long blog post and break it up into several parts to send to your mailing list over a few days or weeks.
Presenting at a conference? Instead of creating your presentation from scratch, use insights from your existing great content. Once you have your slide deck down, upload it to sites like SlideShare for even more views.
8. Turn presentations into webinars
If you spent a lot of time creating an original and effective presentation, repurpose the slides in a webinar. This way, you’ll just be giving a digital presentation instead of an in-person one.
9. Repurpose content into videos
The amount of time people spend watching online videos continues to grow year after year. To take advantage of the trend, explore ways to turn your existing content into videos. For example, record your webinars and, once they’re finished, post the recordings on YouTube and Vimeo for more reach. Easily turn your blog posts into videos using video creation software like Lumen5 or Content Samurai. Extract the audio from your podcasts, add a background image, and now you have a YouTube video.
10. Produce podcast episodes
Do the reverse of the last tactic. Extract audio from your videos, add a short intro, and turn them into podcast episodes to publish on Spotify, iTunes, SoundCloud, and more. You can also record a podcast with one of your content creators, where they talk about a topic they’ve already written about. For example, if a member of your team wrote “10 SEO Tactics to Consider in 2020,” you could do a Q&A on the topic for a podcast episode.
11. Turn data into an infographic
Everyone loves images, which is why 32% of marketers say that images are the most vital form of content for their business. If you collected data from a survey or benchmark report, repurpose the content into an infographic. You can embed your infographics in a blog or post them as standalone images on your Pinterest account. If design isn’t your strong suit, try services like Canva, Piktochart, or Visme, which offer plenty of templates for those without advanced design skills.
12. Compile your guest posts into a guest book
Typically, when you guest post on another site, you agree not to republish it on your blog to avoid Google penalties for duplicate content. But if you compile your guest posts into a non-indexable, downloadable PDF, problem solved! Now you can repurpose that great content without fearing Google’s wrath.
13. Republish on LinkedIn, Facebook Instant Articles, and Medium
LinkedIn and Medium are great places to syndicate your blog content. Yes, there is a risk of being penalized for duplicate content or having Google rank the LinkedIn or Medium version higher in search results. However, if you follow the best practices recommended by Google, you should have no issues when reposting. Here are some tips for reposting on LinkedIn and Medium:
- Don’t publish the entire article. Make it more of a teaser. Provide good content and then invite readers to view the full article on your blog.
- Don’t repost every article. Focus on your best evergreen content pieces. Social platforms value quality over quantity.
- Optimize for the platform. Your LinkedIn and Medium audiences are different from your blog audience. Adjust your headlines and calls to action (CTAs) to appeal to your audience on each unique platform.
14. Turn your posts into stories
Almost all major social networks (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat) allow users to post stories (short content). If you just published an article, repurpose it into a series of stories. For example, if you just published “6 Tips to Optimize Email Marketing for Your Small Business,” you can create stories to introduce the article, share 2-3 tips, and encourage your followers to read the entire post.
Have you promoted a hashtag at a conference? Or hosted or participated in Twitter chats? If so, summarize those social media posts in a blog post.
16. Develop an online course
If you have a lot of content on a specific topic, consider compiling it into an online course. An online course is basically a more instructional version of an ebook. Instead of just offering content to read, it includes resources, quizzes, tests, and a way for consumers to ask questions (email, forum, Q&A, etc.).
17. Answer questions on Quora
You may get interesting questions on Quora about your brand, product, or industry. Repurpose your existing content to provide long, detailed answers to Quora community concerns. And if you find a question for which you don’t have supporting content, take the time to create a thoughtful, well-researched answer. You can then repurpose that answer on your blog or in your documentation.
18. Compile a compilation of experts
If you’ve taken the time to interview professionals (internal or external to your company) for specific content, repurpose the highlights of those conversations into an expert roundup. In the end, you could have a great article like “The 250ok Email Service Provider (ESP) Buyer’s Journey.”
Have you created shortcuts for writing email subject lines, designing high-converting landing pages, or managing your busy schedule? Repurpose your own processes into valuable pieces of content. You’ve already spent hours perfecting your methods, now just share your secrets with everyone.
20. Gather questions for an FAQ
Your support team, social media manager, and customer success team receive hundreds of questions each year. Talk to them, gather the questions, refine the answers, and publish the end result as an ongoing FAQ. Now your team can direct customers or visitors to the FAQ for a complete answer to their questions without doing the work again (plus, they might find answers to questions they haven’t asked yet).
