Don’t Re-Invent the Wheel. Recycle Your Blogs.

You recycle your paper and you recycle your plastic — why not recycle your blogs? No, we don’t mean taking a blog that you wrote two years ago and re-posting it verbatim with a spankin’ new title in hopes that your readers won’t notice — that would be WRONG! What we’re talking about is taking a look at the content that’s worked for you in the past and then presenting it in a new, useful, and interesting way that will re-engage your past and existing readers while also drawing in new ones. 

Just how do you go about doing that? Well, not to toot our own horn, but we’ve cleverly come up with not one, but six different ways to REDUCE your time spent on content marketing, REUSE your best work, and RECYCLE your existing content.  In fact, there’s so much good stuff that we’ve had to dedicate two whole posts to the subject. Happy reading!

Create a Mini ebook

Yes, ebooks are really popular, and miniature things are just adorable (have you checked out HGTV’s “Tiny House Hunters”? Aww!), so why not use your existing blogs to create your own mini ebook? All it takes is 4 simple steps:

1. Choose a Topic — Think of a topic that’s of particular interest to your target audience. It should be current, relevant, and related to your industry. If you run a heating and cooling business, for example, you might focus on your customer’s concerns about keeping their homes warm during the winter months.
2. Find Related Blogs — Now that you’ve got a topic, it’s time to go back through your old blogs and find a few (we suggest five) that relate to your topic. In the case of our previous example, you might include blog titles about sealing windows and doors against air leaks, furnace maintenance, or tips for consuming the least power/gas during the winter.
3. Write a New Intro and Conclusion — Provide fresh content (including images) for the introduction of your ebook, as well as a conclusion that invites your readers to reach out to your brand for more information or help. A table of contents is also a smart idea.
4. Promote — Now all that’s left is for you to write up a short blurb to post to your blog or social media account in order to announce your ebook and link readers directly to it.

Develop a Definitive Guide

Let’s face it — businesses that have been playing the content marketing game for a while may find it difficult to come up with fresh, new ways to write about the same subject matter time and time again. Even so, you don’t want your readers to struggle to find access to information on these subjects, and you want to keep your blog at the top of search engine results by providing content that meets your audience’s search needs.

The best way to do this is to create an “ultimate” or “definitive” guide on a specific subject. Although it may sound very similar to an ebook, the key difference here is that, instead of recycling your own blog, you’re providing direct links to other sites and content pertaining to the subject. This makes it easy for users to find exactly what they’re looking for, all in one place. You can add even more value to posts like these by providing brief descriptions and introductions to each link you cite.

Offer Bonus Information

Who doesn’t like to receive exclusive bonus offers? One of the simplest and most effective ways to get people to take a second look at your already-developed content is to offer just a little something extra as an exciting incentive. While the original post may be available to anyone who stumbles upon your blog, you might promote the post on social media, offering extra “bonus” content or helpful links to those who subscribe to your blog or email list. This is a double whammy since you’ll increase the number of readers for your blog and obtain new marketing subscribers in one fell swoop.

Create Checklists

If you’re like most brands, you’ve probably developed your share of instructional posts. These types of blogs are the prefect resource for developing useful checklists — and it’s super easy to do! Start off by finding one of your top-ranked instructional posts that meets current customer needs and concerns. Next, break down all of the main points in your blog into bullet points. From here, take away any bulleted content that doesn’t offer actionable advice to your readers. Now, remove the bullet points and replace them with numbered steps and check-boxes to allow your audience to check off the different actionable steps they take as they go. The only fresh content you’ll need to provide is an introduction, letting your readers know that you’ll be providing them with a step-by-step guide to accomplishing a specific goal.

Make Cheat Sheets

Blog posts are often used to take a somewhat (or extremely) complicated topic and break it down into content that’s easier for readers to digest and understand. Even so, sometimes the condensed versions of complex topics can still leave your readers scratching their heads. Here’s where a cheat sheet comes into play. Look over your existing content and offer a one-page sheet that will help to define important terms, summarize key points, or provide visual aids to explain difficult concepts. Having a cheat sheet will encourage your readers to come back and re-read your content, feeling more comfortable in the fact that they won’t have to swallow all of the information at once. You might consider offering the cheat sheet as “bonus” material for those who subscribe to your blog.

Compile a Guestbook

Guest blogging is a great way to build legitimate backlinks and thus improve your online presence and SEO. Guest blogs can also be of particular interest to readers, as they provide expert advice from other industry professionals. This both engages your audience and bolsters your credibility. Why not make all of your guest blog spots available in one convenient spot? No, you can’t just republish the content to your own blog, as Google will notice and ding you for it. What you can do, though, is to develop a compilation of your favorite guest posts and place it in an ebook format. Because ebook downloads are guarded by lead capture forms, you won’t have to risk Google punishing you for duplicate content.

Recycling content is a beautiful thing. This process lets you take pieces that you’ve already worked so hard on, and turn them into lead generating assets without having to invest much more of your time or effort. Interested in learning more about recycling your blogs? Give the experts at Madison Taylor Marketing a call today.