Running a successful blog is all about finding topics people care about and writing the hell out of them. However, most blogs stick to written content alone, which leaves a lot of options on the table, some of which could help you find a broader audience.
Imagine, for example, if on top of blog posts, you also published infographics or videos. That’s a lot of extra work, of course, but you can simplify things by adapting some of your existing blog content to those other mediums.
In other words, you can repurpose blog posts into different formats to help them find a broader audience. We’ll dig into that concept right away, and then I’ll talk to you about some of the best formats you can use besides text. Let’s get to work!
What Repurposing Content Means
In my experience, even the most popular blog posts have a limited shelf life. If you’re lucky, that can mean months or years. However, in most cases, you’ll publish a new post, it will get a spike of traffic, and then views will even out over time.
That’s entirely normal, but it’s also a shame because you’ve probably had a lot of amazing posts that deserve more attention. Some people recommend reposting old content from time to time, updating articles, and using social media to drive traffic to them.
Those are all great options. However, you should also consider repurposing that content into a different medium. Let’s say, for example, you write an article about how to build a portfolio. Nothing is stopping you from taking that article and transforming it into a video, an infographic, or anything else you can imagine.
Well, there’s the matter of effort, of course, and the fact those two formats aren’t exactly accessible for beginners. However, finding ways to repurpose content can enable you to target people that don’t like reading blog posts (I hope you’re not one of those!). More importantly, it can help drive more traffic to your website.
3 Ways to Repurpose Blog Posts
There are a lot of formats you can use to repurpose blog posts. However, for this section, I wanted to focus on three of the most popular options. Be warned, though – they all require a significant amount of effort!
1. Design an Infographic
If you’re on social media (and who isn’t these days?), you probably see a ton of infographics each day on Twitter and Facebook. That’s because infographics enable you to pack a lot of information into a fun format that’s easy to digest.
The problem with infographics is they don’t lend themselves well to all types of content. For example, if you’re trying to repurpose a blog post about a personal experience, adapting it to an infographic can be tough. Now, if we’re talking about a roundup piece or something particularly data-heavy, then you’re in business.
Of course, creating an infographic is easier said than done. In the past, I’ve fooled around with some simple software to create images for my posts. However, that’s not nearly enough to design a great infographic.
If you have experience when it comes to graphic design, then this format may be the perfect option for repurposing blog posts. On the other hand, if you don’t know Photoshop from Illustrator, you’ll probably need to hire someone to pull this off.
2. Create a Video
A lot of people prefer watching videos over reading articles, which makes it one of the perfect formats for repurposing blog posts. The best part about videos is you can publish them on platforms such as YouTube, link back to your website, and drive more traffic towards it.
Videos are a lot more flexible than infographics in that you can adapt basically any type of content for them. You can record yourself talking, use illustrations, show your computer screen for tutorials, and more.
The difficulty of using video to repurpose blog posts will depend on how you want to go about it. If you plan on recording your computer screen, for example, then you might not need help from a professional, although editing and voice recording can get quite tricky.
Anything more complex than that, however, usually requires you to have some experience in video creation. Just as with infographics, that means you may need to hire a professional to help you create videos, which can get quite expensive.
3. Record a Podcast
As far as repurposing content goes, podcasts are my favorite format. I’m not great when it comes to video editing or graphic design, but I do have a kickass voice, so this format works perfectly for me.
More importantly, podcasts are a lot more forgiving when it comes to how you approach them. If you’re a fan of the format, you’ve probably noticed a lot of them tend to be over half an hour long or more. That means you can ramble as much as you want and dig in deep into the topics you care about.
In the past, I’ve talked about some of my favorite podcasts about freelancing. However, today I want you to consider the idea that your blog could also benefit from one. You probably already have all the equipment you need to try recording yourself, so all you need to do is pick a blog post you want to repurpose and work on a script.
You can also try to wing it, of course. However, in my experience, having a script or an outline to fall back on makes podcasts feel a lot more professional. Once you’ve recorded an episode or two you’re happy with, you can upload them to your blog and other platforms, to get even more traffic.
Conclusion
A lot of people don’t like the idea of repurposing blog posts. However, you need to keep in mind not everyone likes to consume content the same way. I like articles because I read them at my own pace. However, other people would much rather watch videos, listen to podcasts, or even get their news via social media.
If you’re willing to experiment with different formats, you may find that you can reach a broader audience. All you have to do is figure out which alternative format(s) you feel confident tackling and take a look at your library to see which posts would be a good fit.
Do you have any questions about how to repurpose blog posts? Let’s talk about them in the comments section below!
Image credit: Pixabay