If you are super-crunched on time and just need to churn out a blog post, newsletter, or article, don’t despair! In the race against time, simply snag an idea from mainstream magazines: Repurpose old topics and content to create something entirely new. I do this on occasion, and it is a lifesaver.
A friend of mine, Thursday Bram, who also happens to be a fellow writer, wrote a wonderfully thorough guide on doing just this. I have borrowed a couple of her ideas and added my own, leaving you with 5 ways to repurpose content.
1. Reduce, reuse, recycle
This is what I do most often: I’ll edit out information from a blog post to shorten it or add new information to update it and then use the blog post on another blog. I have also seen highly regarded bloggers outright announce at the beginning of a blog post that this blog already appeared elsewhere.
You can also use blog posts and articles in your newsletter, and expand on industry news items from your newsletter for a blog post.
2. Reposition the story
Thursday suggests repurposing content by repositioning it for a new audience. You can refocus a blog post or article so it addresses a specific industry or niche in your target market. You can also rewrite the content so it’s written on a personal level, or a more general level.
3. Write a follow-up
Another great idea from Thursday is to write a follow-up to a story. If you wrote a profile, where is that person or company now? If you published a book, launched a new product or service 3 months ago, or tried out a new business process, write about how it was received. If you wrote about an event, explain what you learned, who you met, and what you are looking forward to next—maybe a new partnership, new funding, their next event, etc.
4. Rewrite a topic to address current events
The most creative content you produce can be the result of repurposing it to address current events. With Charlie Sheen’s recent decent into crazy-world, marketing, public relations and branding experts found a ton of ways to return to their evergreen topics. I read—or saw—lots of bog posts on how his antics were brilliant from a marketing perspective—he had his own online TV station, was producing video blogs and tweeting like crazy, and people were eating it up.
5. Talk to a new expert on the topic
If you like to conduct interviews, Thursday suggests talking to a new expert on the topic for their fresh perspective. You need not write new questions, either, which is one of the best parts. Just edit their answers for length, and you’re good to go!
Image by Flickr user John Morgan (Creative Commons)
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