Copy that Resonates:
You’re creating content! Woohoo!
Blog posts, social media posts, videos, Lives, email newsletters, podcasts, and more. Yay!
But the problem is – most pieces of content you create have a short shelf life.
As in, you create it… and for the first day or two, people see it (maybe)… and that’s it. Done.
- You post your latest blog article, then maybe tell your email list about it and maybe post about it on social media once or twice… But after that, it just becomes yet another “old article” that gets pushed back further and further in your blog, and no one sees it ever again.
- You write a wonderfully heartfelt + useful Facebook post – hooray! … But it’s not even 24 hours old before everyone’s newsfeed has moved on, leaving your beautiful post lost to the ethernet.
- You went Live on Facebook or Instagram (you daring thing, you!) … But, a few days later, the “views” count stops going up until it comes to a complete, grinding halt.
That piece of content has served its purpose, and now you have to move on to create the next thing.
Unless, that is, you have a system to repurpose + use every piece of content again and again, ALL OVER THE PLACE, for a long, long time.
For example, when I write a blog article, I don’t use it as JUST a blog article.
I immediately chop it up into a bunch of social media posts and schedule those posts over the next 6-12 months.
Wanna see how I do it?
Here we gooo!
1. Use your blog article as the Featured Article in your email newsletter.
This one might seem obvious, but I meet a lot of entrepreneurs who think they have to create something totally new and different for their email list.
But really, why do all that extra work?
Most of the people on your email list aren’t actively checking your website for new blog posts (they think you’ll TELL them about new articles, since they’re on your email list!).
And most of the people who explore the articles on your website are either…
a) new people who aren’t on your email list yet…
or
b) fans of yours who want to go on a learning spree with your blog posts.
Either way, there are veeeeery few people who would get annoyed if you email them the same article that’s on your blog. (And if they DO get annoyed and demand unique content for the newsletter, they’re probably not a good-fit client or customer.)
So make that puppy pull double-duty!
(Now, if you promised people unique content if they signed up for your email list, you can still send them special email-list-only content now and then – but also send them the articles you’re already writing. It’ll stretch out the times when you have to create something totally unique for them. Or, change the promise to your email list!)
2. Chop it up into smaller social media posts.
For every blog article I write, I immediately break it up into smaller social media posts.
But I do it in 3 different categories…
1. 5-7 Teaser Posts
In these posts, I’m trying to get people to leave social media and go over to my website to read the entire article…
…where they will (hopefully) join my email list by opting in for whichever Free Gift I’ve offered inside that particular blog post.
Start by asking a question that your article answers, or by talking about a problem that your article solves. Then tell them you wrote an article about that thing. Then give them the link to the article!
For example…
2. 5-7 Lesson Posts
In these posts, I’m trying to teach a complete lesson (or mini-lesson) within the post itself. So I’ll go through my blog article and pull out teaching points that I can shorten into a social media post that stands on its own.
These posts are a great way to provide your social media followers with valuable content (gotta build that Know, Like, & Trust Factor!). Plus, longer posts are often a great way to get higher engagement!
For example…
For this blog article you’re currently reading, I could take the section above about creating “5-7 Teaser Posts” and turn that into its own long form social media post. I’d edit it, so it doesn’t sound like it’s part of a longer article, but like it’s a complete lesson all on its own.
Or, here’s a real-life example…
You don’t necessarily have to send people to the entire blog post at the end of a Lesson Post.
You could, like I did in the above screenshot.
Or you could just let the social media post live on its own.
Or you could use a different Call To Action. (Like, if you do a Lesson Post about morning rituals, you could then send them to the opt-in page for your Free Gift that’s all about rituals.)
3. 5-10 Soundbite Posts
These are super-short 1- or 2-liners. You can use them on Twitter, or on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, etc. to vary up your post lengths.
For example…
The Secret to Email Newsletters? Just a little organization, imagination, and dedication! Read how… http://bit.ly/cl-start-nl
Or…
These tiny posts also work great as memes (where you put the quote on top of a background image or solid on-brand color).
If you use it as a meme, though, make sure you also write at least a few lines of copy to unpack it more for the body of that post:
Once you’ve got this giant collection of social media posts (from ONE article!), use the Facebook scheduler or a tool like Hootsuite or MeetEdgar to schedule them out over the next 6-18 months. (See below for more on creating your schedule.)
3. Record a video or Live of yourself teaching the same content
Yep. Even though you already wrote an article on it.
I promise, it’s fiiiine.
Here’s a screenshot from one of my really old Facebook videos, where I talk about the different elements of your About Page… and guess what? I also have an article about this exact same topic: How to Write Your About Page!
If you’re really worried that people will get annoyed that you’re reusing content, then schedule that video to be posted a few months from now, when people will have forgotten about the article.
Whether you record it in advance or do it as a Live, you can see how quickly (and easily) your video/Live schedule will fill up if you repurpose existing blog articles.
(And how nice would it be not to have to rack your brain to come up with a new idea each time you sit down to do a video?)
4. Chop it up and record SHORT videos or Lives of you teaching each of the different points
If you write long articles (like I do), consider using a similar technique as the Lesson Post I described above for social media – but turn each teaching point of your article into a shorter video or Live.
(Again, this technique is easier if your articles are already broken into sections or teaching points, like a list, steps, myths, secrets, keys, etc. Learn how in my course, Article Magic!)
Bonus: You can create Lesson Posts for each article AND create videos/Lives for that same article! (That’s the whole point of repurposing!)
5. If it’s really good, use it as an email for your Nurture Sequence
Most people who read an article or two on your blog aren’t going to do a multiple-hour deep dive to read every single article you’ve ever posted.
But I’m sure you’ve got some gems buried in there – maybe even stuff you wrote yeeeears ago!
So consider taking your strongest pieces and using them in an email Nurture Sequence. Just tweak the opening and closing so they read like actual emails.
It’s a great way to put your best material in front of brand-new subscribers, which ultimately helps to strengthen your relationship with them + increases the chances they’ll buy something from you.
For more help with this, get instant access to my FREE mini-course, Copy that Resonates: How to find the exact words that attract your ideal clients + get them excited to work with you
6. If you’re starting with a video (instead of an article), do all the same things!
- Turn your video into a blog post – Sure, you could just post the video itself into your blog and call it a “vlog” (and, in fact, I do recommend this if you’re already recording videos). But for SEO purposes + to take care of people who prefer to read, go ahead and write out all the content from that video. You likely already have your outline or script from the video, anyway. Just flesh it out and format it so it reads like an actual article.
- Make it the featured content for an email newsletter – Link to the blog post where you include the video.
- Pull little nuggets out to create social media posts – Just like above, you can do Teaser Posts that send people to the full video (or blog article you create from that video), or you can write Lesson Posts or Soundbite Posts.
- Stick the video in your Nurture Sequence! – Since video is a fantastic way for someone to get a feel for you, your teaching style, and your energy, using video in your Nurture Sequence is a great idea. Include a screenshot + link to wherever the video lives (ideally, on your own blog or in a Facebook group – somewhere that person can go down a little rabbit hole of consuming more of your content and fall in love with you).
7. If you’re starting with SHORT content, do a deep dive!
Let’s say you’ve posted a TON on social media, but most of your posts were on the short side.
Go back through all your old posts and see if there are any topics or tips you talked about briefly that you could now unpack in greater detail.
Do a deep dive on that topic in…
- A blog article
- A video or Live
- A longer social media post
2 Bonus Tips: How to use repurposed content to keep traffic flowing to your website
You might have noticed that a number of my tips above tell you to include a link to your blog.
That’s because, if someone is interested in that topic, and you send them to an entire article (or video) on it, then offer them a Free Gift related to that same topic, there’s a good chance they’ll actually join your email list.
So let’s make sure that each piece of content you create + repurpose sends you traffic for the long haul – and not just for the few days after you first write it.
Here are 2 tips on how to do it…
1. Schedule all those social media posts into the future.
If you follow my tips above, you’ll end up with a bunch of social media posts for every single article (or video) you create.
Typically, people will post about their new article on the day it’s released, then maybe a few times during that week… and then they never mention it again.
Instead, go ahead and post the first few times during that week…
…but then ALSO schedule the remainder of those posts over the next 6, 12, 24 months – or beyond!
I like to spread them out in a tool like Hootsuite, so there are a number of months between the times someone might see a reference to the same topic or article.
Plus, it’s nice to know that I always have social media posts scheduled, so I don’t have to scramble to think of something.
2. Share it on Pinterest!
Okay, I’ll admit that using Pinterest effectively requires a full strategy – but Pinterest sends me LOTS of traffic every month, and it’s one of my favorite ways to extend the shelf life of my articles.
Don’t think of Pinterest as social media – think of it as a search engine.
When you use Pinterest, you’re not there to have a chit chat with people or to scroll through other people’s updates.
You’re there to FIND something.
And it’s not just for finding inspiration for redecorating your living room.
People use Pinterest to find information on all sorts of topics!
And the great thing about pinning an image for your article is that THE PIN NEVER GOES AWAY.
As in, it’ll continue showing up in people’s Pinterest searches for years. (As opposed to a Facebook post, which no one will ever see again after just a few days.)
Now, like I said, using Pinterest effectively requires you to learn a huge strategy (which I def don’t have room for in this article), but if you just want to experiment a bit, here’s the basics of what I do…
- I have a Business account on Pinterest.
- I’ve created a bunch of Boards on topics that I tend to write about + help people with. On those boards, I regularly pin (or “save”) content from other people PLUS my own articles on those topics.
- I also have a Copy Luv Board, on which I pin ONLY content from my blog.
- For each blog article, I create a variety of images for Pinterest (usually with a background image + some variation of the article title). Then I pin the first image to my Copy Luv Board and schedule it to be pinned on every other board to which it’s relevant over the next couple months.
- I use a combination of manual pinning (going into Pinterest a couple times a week to pin stuff myself) and a scheduling tool to schedule a bunch of pins a few weeks into the future. (To be fair, my Virtual Assistant does most of it. ❤️)
Before you go all Shiny Penny on me and get lost down the Pinterest blackhole, remember – the Pinterest strategy requires quite a bit of learning + time + trial and error to get it all up and running.
In the meantime, I’ve given you a whole bunch of other ways to repurpose your content + use it to drive traffic to your site.
So I recommend making sure you’re following those steps for everything you’re already creating (and content you’ve already created) before diving into something new.
Now, if you need help creating content in the first place, check out my online course…
