Hey, we all know it: Cranking out new blog content “on the reg” can be a big hassle.
How do we keep things fresh with new content ideas? And how do we avoid expensive investments? As all you WordPress professionals know, the time-consuming process of it all and the multiple people that can often be involved — SEO specialists, copywriters, social media “gurus,” and more — can often lead to expensive investments.
But it doesn’t have to.
You can eschew expensive investments and cut down on lengthy turnaround times while still producing new content.
How do we do this? By repurposing existing content.
Your existing content, whether it’s on a blog post or landing age, already contains a lead capture/magnet that points prospects towards gaining more information about you and your products/services. Why not take this existing lead and general content and rework it into something new?
In this latest instalment of our series, we’ll show you how to create new content — whether blog or otherwise — from old ideas by discussing an already established topic in a fresh way, thereby gaining more leads.
How to Repurpose Content
- This seems like the “duh” beginner step you see so often in “How Tos,” but bear with us. Brainstorming thoroughly ahead of time is crucial when it comes to repurposing content in a quick-and-easy, successful manner. If you already have your landing page set up and “in stone,” or you already have an existing blog post you’re going to be working off of, then great. But if you don’t, before establishing this initial page or post, you’ll want to brainstorm to ensure it covers an idea, topic, or “angle” that has the potential to be transferred across multiple pieces of content. Bear in mind that this page or post will act as the focal point for everything that comes after.
- Expand your idea. Your general topic is set and written about. Now what? Well, consider topics that are related to the subject of your existing landing page or article, but that are slightly altered. If your original post contains details on the services you offer, consider a blog post on the Top 5 ways your services can help prospective clients. Then, consider an alternate article that presents this information in more of a “How To” format that is related to the services you offer, as in, “How You (the customer) Can Do So-And-So,” rewriting your existing content in a manner that presents the information in a neutral and educational format, but that nonetheless passively promotes your services.(Still having trouble thinking of new blog content topics? Check our “How to Think of New Ideas” section below.)
- Consider other storytelling mediums. Content doesn’t have to be solely repurposed through blogs and pages. Is there an existing blog post’s text you could simply translate over into a script that can then be filmed into a video? If so, this video can be posted on your blog, YouTube, and social media in a separate post, successfully generating “new content.” Contrarily, you may be able to translate an old, existing video’s script into a “new” blog post. Get creative across different mediums, and watch as your content grows.
- Reuse old assets. Remember to always return to — and use — existing assets. Have an old image from your landing page? You may be able to implement it into a blog post. Possess an infographic from an internal company meeting/slideshow? Perhaps it can be of use to an external audience, too! Heck, even check your business email: There may have been some inspirational or industry-related quotes that were bandied about through an email chain that could be grabbed and stuck into a fresh blog post. Keep your mind open, and never let an asset go to waste.
How to Think of New Ideas
A main tenet of repurposing content as discussed above is coming up with fresh ways and angles to present existing topics. But what if you’re hitting a wall when it comes to new content ideas, no matter how much brainstorming you do and no matter how many old assets you seek to reuse?
Well, research can be your friend.
There are a couple of distinct research methods that we recommend to aid in developing new content ideas centred around your website’s existing information.
Keyword research. There’s always something “new” in your wheelhouse to write about. You can create fresh posts that nonetheless reuse existing content and assets by researching and implementing new keywords.
You can review keywords people used to find your website, as well as keywords in your field they searched for that didn’t lead to you by using HubSpot and/or Google Analytics. Both these services allow you to discover the exact keywords that were used to find your content or content like it. Once you understand what these keywords are, you can craft new posts, articles, pages, videos, and more using existing content that’s been refreshed utilising these keywords. In this way, you’ll be certain your new content is search engine optimised, as well!
Forum research. While perhaps not as clever-sounding on the surface, don’t dismiss manually searching Internet forums and related sites for what people are talking about in relation to your topic of interest. If you see people asking a question, you can easily turn that question into new blog content.
With the methods discussed above, you can easily generate new content ideas and market yourself to more people than ever before.
Of course, if you ever need a little pro help when it comes to a marketing funnel for your business, or if you’re interested in building out marketing automation for your WordPress site, we at Sell Your Service can help.
And of course, keep an eye out for the next in our series of articles examining how to automate your sales and email growth through WordPress and MailChimp!
