Repurposing is not a new concept.  We’ve been doing it for years…products have been created with one use in mind…and then consumers like us think of great NEW ways to use them.

Here’s a great (and funny) example of a product repurposing I invented (or at least I think I did…).

**WARNING:  You’re about to learn one of my deepest, darkest secrets!**

OK…now that you have an idea of what my “killer” sense of humor is like…let’s get back to why repurposing is important.

Keeping your content fresh is an important part of making content marketing work for your business. A really fast way to boost the effectiveness of the content you already have is to freshen it up and repurpose it.

Content gets old, and information can quickly become outdated…especially in this technological age.  That doesn’t mean it needs to be deleted, though…you can breathe new life into it and it will continue to provide excellent results. Similarly, content can be reused and repurposed in other ways into new formats that help produce more traffic, too.

Repurposing Blog Posts Into An eReport

Compile blog posts that are about the same topic into an eReport. Add some images, nice headers, special formatting, affiliate links, and turn it into a PDF format and sell it or give it away to your audience. You can use a WordPress Plugin like Anthologize or Beacon to help make this easier.

Update One Old Blog Post Every Day

Start from the first post you wrote, or the first piece of content you created, and update it. Make sure the information is as accurate today as it was the day you wrote it. You can append the old blog post notes about how things have changed or not changed, as the case may be, update images and more to make older content get better results.

Create A PowerPoint Presentation From A Report

Use images from the report, the headlines of the report, and bullet points to create a presentation that can be placed online at SlideShare or used for an in-person or online event or a class on Udemy.

Create A Video From A PowerPoint

You can go even further with the PowerPoint slide show and create a video with a voice-over using a program like Audacity or a mic on your computer. This is a great way to put information on YouTube or you can put it on a membership website and charge a small fee for viewing that information.

Create A Podcast From A Report Or Blog Post

Some short reports or blog posts are perfect for discussing in podcast format. Once you create a podcast you can also put them on iTunes so that people can download to listen to on the go. You can also post them on the site right with the blog post or information in question so your audience has a choice about how they consume your content.  One of the best resources I know for launching a podcast is John Lee Dumas’ Podcast Launch.  It includes everything you need to have in place BEFORE you launch, as well as how to build your audience and monetize your podcast.

Create An Email Course From A Small “How To” Report

Another way to repurpose content is to break up a how to report into a 7- to 14-day email course. Simply load into your autoresponder for easy automatic delivery when your customer signs up.

Turn Quotes From A Report Into Pinterest Pins

Within each report you’ve created you probably have a few really good lines and quotes either of your own or from a popular figure that you can add to an image and share on Pinterest (or Facebook and Twitter). Link back to the full report on your website for added impact.

If you didn’t see my post on the Power of Pinterest, check it out here.

Rewrite And Update Old Reports And eBooks

While you’re repurposing your old reports and eBooks you may as well give them a facelift. Freshen the images, the design, the content for accuracy, and make needed additions. Offer anyone who purchased the first one a deep discount on the upgrade, and then remarket the upgrade.

Combine Several Informative Blog Posts To Create A White Paper

Just like you can create a small report or eBook from blog posts, you can also combine the right kind of blog posts to create an informative, decision-boosting white paper. Weber State University has a great outline for how to make an effective whitepaper.

Keep New Content Coming Regularly

While you reuse, repurpose and refresh your content, remember to keep the new content coming on a regular basis. Your entire content strategy should include new content as much as it includes repurposed and refreshed content.

Repurposing and refreshing old content is an important way to increase website traffic, using work that you’ve already completed. It can liven up your website and blog, make information more current and accurate, and increase traffic in the process. After you’ve updated the content, or created it into a new form, share it again so that you can get the most out of all the content you’ve created over the years.

What’s your favorite way to repurpose your content?  Leave a comment below.