Repurposing your content can breathe new life into old material, help you reach new audiences, and maximize your content creation efforts. At this point in your business, you probably have a vast collection of content. You probably have even more content that’s partially done.
You can use this collection of content, and future content, in a more productive manner. Remember, it’s not about creating more content, it’s about using what you have effectively. Maximize the ROI of your content creation by thinking creatively and repurposing wisely.
How To Find Content You Don’t Even Remember Creating
The first objection often heard, when someone mentions repurposing content, is, “But I don’t have enough stuff to repurpose”. The truth is you probably have more raw material than you think.
Here are just a few of the places those gems may be hiding:
- Your Blog
- Your Book
- Course lessons or modules you created
- Articles you wrote for article directories
- Emails you’ve sent to your list
- Things you started to write, but abandoned
- Your recorded webinars or podcasts
- Notes from or for client sessions
- YouTube videos you made
- Slideshow presentations you put together
- Free content-creation resources you’ve downloaded
- Images that you own all rights to
- Infographics you’ve created
The real key with repurposing your content is not finding enough material, but knowing exactly how to use – and re-use, again and again – the content that you do create and own.
It takes strategy; it’s not merely recycling, it’s about adapting your message to resonate on different channels. A webinar can become a video tutorial, a series of blog posts, or even an e-book. Each iteration reaches a new audience and extends the life of your original content.
How To Evaluate What You’ve Got
But which of all these pieces of content should you use? The answer to that is probably easier than you might think!
Don’t start by looking at the content itself: Start by first taking some time to look at your mission and at your ideal client or customer. Identify or reaffirm your ideal client and you’re over halfway there to deciding how to repurpose your content, and which pieces will work for repurposing.
Your Ideal Client:
Understanding your ideal client’s needs is crucial for delivering valuable solutions. If you already know who your ideal client or customer is, look at your stats and comments on your social posts and blog, and write out a new client avatar for her. Don’t assume she hasn’t changed since you started out in business … or that you haven’t changed.
Who do you want to attract? Are you looking to speak to more of the same, or are you about to re-brand or upscale your offerings and raise your prices? If it is the latter, you will need a new client avatar, for sure.
Asking is always a great way to go, if you want to find out what your ideal client or customer needs. You can do this by querying your list, people in your Facebook groups and people in forums you belong to.
By observing the social media interactions of industry experts your ideal client follows, you can gain insights into the pain points, interests, and preferences of your target audience. Look for patterns in the questions asked, highly engaged posts, and shared content. This will not only inform your content strategy but also help tailor your services to address their specific challenges.
Take the time to watch the expert’s recorded, recent Facebook Live feeds and check the comments. (Don’t just check the comments: Half of them will mean nothing unless you listen to what was being said live.)
Also, be sure to watch that expert’s webinar replays – especially if there is a Q and A section at the end of each. And look at the hits and comments on her YouTube videos.
Don’t be like ninety percent of your competitors: Take the time to do this.
(Or delegate this task to your VA.) Book a day strictly for research before diving into your content repurposing. This extra data will help you put together a much more accurate ‘avatar’ (profile) of your new ideal client.
The only qualifier to this strategy, when researching other experts, would be taking into account your own USP (unique selling point). This is your specialty, the ONE thing you offer to that sub-niche/client that the other experts don’t. If your USP is different from hers—and hopefully it is—that means you have to ask yourself if this would work with your ideal client or customer.
How To Make Your Content Really Stand Out
Embracing the fluidity of your unique selling proposition (USP) is key in today’s dynamic content landscape. As you repurpose content and gauge audience reactions, be prepared to pivot and refine your message. Remember, perfection is a moving target – focus on delivering value and authenticity with each iteration.
Even if there is real competition in your niche, realize that ninety-percent of those who produce content for it will go through the motions. They won’t really take the time to do thorough research. The result? Their stuff will be generic. That’s when their clients and customers are ripe for turning to check out your content and getting exactly the help they need!
Focus on your ideal client; on how to help them. Get into the habit of thinking about helping them every time you sit down to do anything with content. If you are someone they can trust to provide what they are looking for – and especially if they buy something from you, or even downloads your sign-up gift, and you deliver with a capital “D” – they will come back for more. And that’s what you ultimately want your content to do.
So, start out with what worked for you in the past. Which content resulted in discussion, comments, shares, testimonials, arguments or any interaction at all. That’s where you start. If you’ve made actual sales, that’s golden information. Your sales are proof of what sells for you.
To really stand out in any niche, go the extra mile to provide the quality content they actually need. Do that by focusing on listening to them, and providing the help they need, when they need it.
Once you’ve taken the time to listen and identify your ideal client or customer and USP, then it will be time to look through your content collection, and cull content that you know is going to be useful—all without writing any new material.
Should You Use Content You Actually Abandoned Or Never Finished?
You may be wondering if paying particular attention to proven content – content that caused people to take action – means that you shouldn’t bother with content that got minimal response; or that you actually abandoned unfinished.
Absolutely not! Going through unfinished articles or eBooks and reading unpublished blog posts may help you find really great nuggets. At the time, perhaps you didn’t really see the relevance, or you were struggling with something about the topic; or your audience wasn’t right. It’s also possible you weren’t presenting it in a way that worked, but the information was still valid for your audience.
No matter why you abandoned a piece of content, don’t give up on it, sight unseen. Trends may have changed since you abandoned it, along with your goals – the goals and needs of your audience. Take the time to check it out.
Remember, staying ahead of the curve with content creation involves a strategic blend of understanding your niche’s current interests and anticipating future trends. By mastering your keyword game, you can ensure your content resonates with your target audience and ranks well on search engines. But it’s not just about what’s trending; it’s about aligning those trends with your brand’s voice and the unique value you offer. The old saying really is true, sometimes: “Everything old is new again”.
Content repurposing isn’t just about saving time, it’s about maximizing value from your existing assets. Before diving in, conduct a content audit. Organize your assets by type, date, and how well they performed. This will help you pinpoint the evergreen gems that, with a sprinkle of updated data or current trends, can shine anew. Not only does this keep your content fresh, but it also ensures a quicker path to delivering material that your audience already loves.
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