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5 Ways To Repurpose Articles From Your Blog

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Repurpose Articles

The biggest obstacle I see when I talk to clients about their blogs, is that writing original content for their blogs can be quite time consuming. Of course what I really hear them saying is that, “I am not seeing enough benefits or results from all of my hard work.” And I can understand those feelings, can’t you?

Time is money, and that’s why if you sit down to write a fantastic article for your blog, or someone else’s blog, you want to see more than a few visits to your site and retweets for the day. You want to be able to extend the life of that blog article, and here are a few ways that have successfully worked for me…

Idea #1 – Republish Articles In Newsletters

Rewrite ArticlesIf you find yourself struggling to find content for your newsletter, you probably have just completely forgotten that you have tons of wonderful articles from your blog available for republishing in a newsletter or ezine.

Remember that not everyone on your list has visited your blog today, or the day that you published your article. Not everyone saw that guest post you wrote last either. So here’s a good way to get further exposure for your articles without having to deal with the search engine duplicate content issue.

Idea #2 – Create Easy eCourses

Build up your subscriber list when you offer visitors to your blog a free 5, 7, or 11 part eCourse for opting in. This course will be created by 5, or 7, or 11 of your favorite related articles on your blog. This is a tried and true marketing strategy for delivering valuable content to your readers while also exposing them to your marketing message repeated times.

This is also a great way to reframe your content and give it a higher perceived value. Additionally, it is also a fast way to create an irresistible  “free taste” of what your site has to offer.

Idea #3 – Build Book/Ebook Chapters With Your Articles

Are you still working on that book? Finally get that book done by creating chapters using several related articles from your blog.

If you are working on a shorter ebook project, you could even create the entire ebook using articles from your blog. I coach clients on how to do this all the time – with great results!

Idea #4 – Rewrite Articles For Guest Blogging

Let’s face it, you’ve probably already written some of your best work! It’s a shame to only publish it one place.

It’s a great idea to rewrite and submit your highest viewed or commented on blog articles, because you know they will probably get a great response on another related blog as well. Especially one with a larger reach than yours. Rewriting them is essential because most blogs that accept guest posts want 100% unique content AND you really don’t want your articles falling prey to the Google content filter.

Idea #5 – Turn Blog Articles Into Video Articles

If you want a nice surge of traffic to your site, it’s a good idea to start using video articles a.k.a. video marketing for your blog.

A quick and easy way to create video content for this purpose is to take existing articles and turn them into video articles by dividing your articles into chunks and placing them on powerpoint slides which you then can convert into a video.

Or you can record yourself speaking the article and use that video on top of a few visual representations (free images) of your article’s content to make the video.

Or you could record yourself doing an example of what you are explaining or describing in your article using a screencast.

All these should be pretty fast to create because you already have done the hard part and that’s create the substance of the video. When you’re done simply upload and promote these videos to high traffic video sites such as YouTube, YahooVideo, MySpaceTv, etc.

Image credit: Diane Gilleland

About

Lisa Angelettie is an award-winning author & creator of the Articology System. She writes about copywriting & content marketing at Lisa Angelettie Blog and you can follow her on Google+ or Twitter.

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{ 62 Responses }

  1. Robert says:
    I really like the video article idea - I guess you could just slowly read those articles on your computer screen while filming yourself with a webcam. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes for a short article and you wouldn't have to worry about creating powerpoint slides.
    • Lisa Angelettie says:
      Hi Robert, Video articles are a content marketing strategy that is continuously rising in popularity. People love 'em especially when they are tutorial in nature but short and sweet. Much success to you! Lisa
    • Robert says:
      This always sounds good to me, but my old desktop has no camera. I know I have to get one and hook it up but seems I have no memory left. So adding anything new really slows my computer down. Time to upgrade? WAiting for my first BiG BloGGing Check. ; ) Rob
  2. David Marks says:
    when writing an article one should know more about the topic in order to write or create a high quality article, we all know that article is one of the best way to drive traffic to sites, not only traffic it also drives money straight to you.
  3. David Marks says:
    article writing is the most and the best way to drive traffic to your site, it is also the best way to gain money online.
  4. David Marks says:
    article writing is just easy, you just need to know the topic and you should know the tricks on how to create a high quality article.
  5. David Marks says:
    the best way to drive traffic to your site is to write quality articles, and it will also help you gain a higher page rank.
  6. Raj says:
    Thanks for the tips Lisa. I am new to blogging and was wondering if I can republish my articles without falling pray for Google for content duplication. Fortunately tip #4 cleared that doubt :)
  7. Jenn says:
    I have seen people who compile their blog posts into an e-book. The guy who is behind the Evil Editor site (to which I will not link) comes to mind. But when I buy the e-book and realize it contains only the stuff that's already available for free on the blog, I get angry! Why did the author ask me to PAY for something that was already available for free? I feel like it's a bait and switch. If you are going to repackage your blog as an e-book, please include something new! :)
    • Lisa says:
      Hey Jenn, Not familiar with that site, but I've seen people do the repurposing thing badly and others who do it very well. Sometimes I assume that people realize that they have to repurpose their articles into an ebook with a fresh perspective -- especially if you are going to ask for money -- but of course everyone does not do that. Also, there are people who may not have read everything on his site and bought the ebook - it's pretty much a decision if a site is going to cater to new visitors or to their existing community. But hopefully they can cater to both.
      • Jenn says:
        Good points. Thanks for the reply!
  8. Brendan says:
    Good post I like the idea of #1 and in theory if you send it to your list and they have seen it before they might have forgotten about it so reminders of good articles are good thing. Definitely more upsides than downsides :)
  9. Claire says:
    Great ideas. I like very much your suggestion about video articles. I have never tried this one. Hope it works explosively on my blog. Thanks!
  10. Karan says:
    Building up E-books and videos is the best way I find to repurpose my Old blogposts. These two ways help me spread the word about my blog.
  11. Lauren Ashley Miller says:
    What a great post - all of these ideas are completely applicable to me. I am excited to try a free e-course out! I have been looking for ways to build my subscriber list, and something like that could help a lot. I also love the video idea - doing it via slides, etc is much less intimidating than getting my face in front of a flipcam.
    • Lisa says:
      Thanks so much Lauren. I'm with you! I rather do a few slides any day before I put on makeup for a video :)
  12. Gina Jennings says:
    These are great ideas. They say there's nothing new under the sun, so really original content is about giving it a fresh approach.
  13. Lucian says:
    Or you can just change the date and the article will be moved to the top of your posts. I never done this but it may be a good strategy.
    • Dennis Edell says:
      I've done it often and catch new readers every time. :)
  14. Dennis Edell says:
    Republish *Guest Posts*In Newsletters - I may have written it, but I'm thinkin' I still need publishers permission to republish, even though it is not "public", yes?
    • Lisa says:
      This really depends on the publisher's guidelines. Everyone's is a little different -- because essentially it is "your" content and you gave the publisher the rights to publish it. The question is - did you give 100% exclusive publishing rights forever? For 3 months? For 30 days? Or no exclusive rights at all? Check with their guidelines. Also - you should try to rewrite these articles anyway. I wouldn't submit the same exact article as a guest post and to my newsletter. Not 100% the same.
      • Dennis Edell says:
        Most bloggers, myself included, demand unique/original/never published work as guest posts. However, I think it is assumed, up to now anyway, that we're all referring to Online.....never thought about newsletters. Also, assuming the newsletter is not online, why would you need to rewrite?
        • Lisa says:
          1. Most bloggers also have to state what their exclusivity rights are. You may ask for me to submit 100% original work, but that does not mean that you have the rights to that article forever. You have to state that in your guidelines for that to be so. Otherwise a writer could take that article, their article, and submit it somewhere else 30 days from now. All bloggers should make that clear in their guidelines. 2. When I was referring to newsletters, I meant online newsletters and ezines. But if you are referring to print - sure you could use the same article. No duplicate content problems there :) Thanks for all your insightful comments Dennis! Glad to see some folks are paying attention:)
          • Dennis Edell says:
            Perhaps we should put it in writing, however, yes it is actually "implied" that 100% original means no duplication, EVER. I think we're confusing "online". There is only dupe issues if there is a URL involved. Email is still "online" but without dupe issues, at least as far as search engines are concerned.
            • Lisa says:
              Well nowadays if you publish your newsletter using one of the major autoresponder/newsletter companies (for example Aweber) you actually end up sending the newsletter to your list and they will host a html copy on their server for folks you cannot read the email or who rather read it online. So that presents the "url" situation and the duplicate content issue. Of course this is an option, but most people use it because I believe it is usually automatically checked in their backend.
            • Dennis Edell says:
              Lisa, When I see "having trouble reading this? Click here for the online version"...that's automatically generated by the autoresponder? I had no idea. I wouldn't say most though, I've subscribed to hundreds and rarely see it.
  15. Michael says:
    Yet another great posting. I am always fascinated at the things that I had not thought of as it relates to my blog and my work. Good point is that your love for writing will carry you through most times, but when it doesn't there are many great options to consider! Thanks again everyone for sharing! Michael
  16. Alex says:
    Great advices to get more subscribers or even bulk up your list. Also this is a great way to increase your traffic by offering mini-courses and ebooks. We all know that time is money and sometimes when we try hard and it doesn't always pay off, and we get disappointed but with this advices you can always, practically reuse that time and transform it into something else.
  17. Andreas says:
    There is also the other way around. If you have a great video, make sure that you always create a written version of it and publish it on your blog or on other blogs in your niche, maybe with a link pointing to the video.
    • Lisa says:
      Very true! Good example.
  18. Karan says:
    I have always given these tips a thought but never gave them a try, looks like its really worth it.
  19. Pete Carr says:
    Hi Lisa, Another cool way to boost your traffic, is to create Pdf's using your articles, then upload them to free ebook/report sites. You mentioned power point slides, you can also upload them to sites like Scribd. More eyes on your content. No duplicate content issues, all your content will be in different formats. Pete
    • Lisa says:
      I love those ideas Pete! Thanks for sharing those:)
  20. Sreejesh says:
    Excellent points to make note of, Yeah this will help blogger to make more out of one topic
  21. Lennart Heleander says:
    Hi Lisa, Rewriting article for guest blogging is a very good tip and Google accept around 75-80% of the original article before they call it for a copy. So just change around the position in a text and some words can be enough, with this way can you create 4-6 “new” guest blog articles.
  22. TJ McDowell says:
    I'm toying with the idea of eventually writing a book. I have a couple of topic ideas, but none that seem so easy as taking existing blog content and turning into book form. Do you think that people who pay for the book would feel ripped off because the information was available for free on the blog already?
    • Lisa says:
      Absolutely not. People will pay for the convenience of having your knowledge packaged in one place. Plus, as you write your book using much of the content which you have already written, you will naturally end up adding new stuff - making the book fresh. Non-fiction books are typically a "taste" of what the author features on their site and in their business.
      • TJ McDowell says:
        Would you leave the pictures from the blog post or just use the text? It seems like having your own book would go a long way in establishing credibility.
        • Lisa says:
          Yes, a book is an incredible credibility booster - so definitely consider it. As far as the pics, since you are a photo expert - I'd use different ones. But of course u could include a few special ones that you've already featured on the blog - but for the most part use new ones if you can.
  23. Lisa says:
    Thanks Mani:)
  24. Patricia says:
    Hi Lisa Some helpful hints here that I hadn't thought about. However, for guest posts I like to do totally original posts. Have only been blogging a few months, so maybe that's why I still have heaps of ideas for posts I want to write. Also, I love writing so maybe that helps. There are other things I find a challenge with my blog, but not the writing aspect. Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us Lisa. Much appreciated. Patricia Perth Australia
    • Lisa says:
      Hey Patricia, I think you hit the nail on the head - you love writing - and it's probably quite easy for you so writing original content every time is not such a chore. But I work with people who find it very difficult to write on a consistent basis, so I'm always trying to figure out strategies for them to make the most out of every article that they painstakingly wrote:) Thanks for your comments, Lisa
  25. Murlu says:
    I've been working on repurposing a lot of content over the last few months especially on my other blog and a lot of the freelance articles I still have ownership of - usage rights are amazing. One of the posts I had on my blog turned into my email list freebie. I've uploaded content to other sites that pull in page view money and others are going to link building campaigns.
    • Lisa says:
      That's what I'm talking about Murlu!!!
  26. wasim ismail says:
    nice, didn't think about turning the article into a video post, must give it a try, sounds fun too. Sending your articles in your monthly newsletter is a common one and used by many, and works very well. Thanks for the tips
    • Lisa says:
      The video posts are fun Wasim and really fast to do if you like messing around with powerpoint. Thanks for the comments:)
  27. Mike says:
    Hi Lisa, These are all awesome ideas to repurpose your article. I like the idea of repurpose your old content for new content of your blog when you're out of idea, but I think we shouldn't do it for too often. Readers are going to be bored at the same stuff you cover again and again. Besides that, I am having a plan to repurpose a pillar content in my blog about submitting links via directories into an ebook or so. Glad that I have read your article :)
    • Lisa says:
      Thanks for reading Mike. Looking forward to that ebook:)
  28. Daniel Sharkov says:
    Hey Lisa, I have to agree with you that sometimes bloggers (or maybe it's just me, who knows) are asking themselves whether the whole ordeal of writing top-notch content is worth it. Unfortunately the answer is not always positive. It has happened for me to put tons of time in an article and to not get much appreciation. At the same time other articles, which I believe are not as good, get a lot more interest. Strange thing. LOL! Either way, the ideas you've given can be worth taking a shot at. Lately I have been thinking on ways to build a list. Some sort of an e-book was my number one idea. The problem was content, since an e-book requires A LOT of it. Making a compilation of the best articles is a nice one. Spinning them to a certain extent and diving into some deeper details will be a good finishing touch. Great work! :)
    • Lisa says:
      Hey Daniel, Take those articles that folks love that you've written and make sure to use them as chapter titles or sections in that ebook. It will sell! Thanks for the comments. Lisa
  29. Brandon Cox says:
    Awesome thinking! I love it. One thing I'm doing now is that I've launched another blog that's more narrow in its niche, so I'm going back to old, dead articles on my previous, more general blog and moving them over with a disclaimer that it "previously appeared on..." You can argue that it's duplicate content, but I'm getting traffic on otherwise useless posts.
    • Lisa says:
      Hi Brandon, Move those babies over and inject some fresh life into those articles! Duplicate content is much less of an issue with older, previously published articles. The search engines are more on the alert for articles that have been published to several sites at the same time. That looks spammy. Thanks for the comments:) Lisa
  30. TrafficColeman says:
    Lisa..great stuff..especially putting your content into videos..that's something I do already..all my content is on video. "Black Seo Guy "Signing Off"
    • Lisa says:
      Black Seo Guy - I Love it!
      • TrafficColeman says:
        You know Lisa..some people like and some people just hate..but I think I'm going to continue to roll with the ""Black Seo Guy " trademark....BTW..your blog is awesome. "Black Seo Guy "Signing Off"
  31. James Johnston says:
    Great post Lisa! I find myself without ideas for new content even though I have a lot idea saved for later articles. I generally go through older posts and if they are out of date, I will repost it with an update and link back to the original post.
    • Lisa says:
      Hi James, That's a cool idea - reposting the updated article instead of just updating the original article. Love that.
  32. DiTesco says:
    Solid tips. I particularly have started to use the strategy of rewriting some of my blog post and submitting them to article directories. Never did think about the possibility of submitting them as guest post, but its worth the thought.
    • Lisa says:
      I truly believe that no one is out there reinventing the wheel, so rewriting killer articles and submitting them to the write blog with the right audience is a winning formula. There aren't too many people saying something 100% original - it's just how you present it differently to the world.
      • Lisa says:
        Oops - I meant the "RIGHT" blog :)
  33. Mani Viswanathan says:
    The 4th Idea is pretty interesting. Reframing posts.