I love blogging: From day one I got passionate about the process and the results. The only thing that makes me sad is seeing lots of older articles I once wrote being forgotten with time. We've seen a few great articles on getting more value from your old content including getting more traffic to it and breathing new life into it using images. In this article I am following up with some tips on getting really creative with bringing your old content back into the focus.
The end of the year is coming, and it is the perfect time to start looking through all of that old content to see what can be re-used creatively.
[tweet_box design=”box_08″]Now is the perfect time to look through your old content to see what can be re-used creatively[/tweet_box]
Bloggers should squeeze every bit of value they can out of what they write because we all know, it's not about how many articles you write: It's about how much effort you put into writing and marketing each of them.
Here are some creative ways to give your old content wings:
Keeping track of old content
As someone who is blogging all over the web, keeping a good track of what I wrote where is not easy. Usually I clearly remember I already covered a topic in detail and have to use Google to find that article online.
I have also collected all my author RSS feeds (by default (for WordPress sites), it's usually as easy as adding /feed to the end of your author page, for example: maximizesocialbusiness.com/author/ann-smarty/feed) and used this tutorial to create an auto-generated spreadsheet of all my major content.
I am also using these two tools (both are not perfect for that, so sometimes I still need to search Google) but on the bright side, they help me keep promoting my older content on social media:
1. Rebel Mouse
Rebel Mouse is a semi-automated content curation tool that aggregates your sources and creates an online magazine using them. Among other sources, it also supports RSS feeds (25 feeds for free), so I imported my major blog columns into it to collect my articles in one place. This way I have a nice collection of my articles – all on one page.
Viral Content Bee (Disclaimer: I am the co-founder) is the social media sharing collaboration platform which also has an RSS import option. I like the fact that it collects my articles from my RSS feeds: This way I can access the whole list via “My Projects”. Also these VCB projects will keep picking up social media shares through the platform even after they get older.
Write an update (& and approach that creatively and productively)
Let me break it to you: Looking at your old content to find what was well received previously is one the most efficient ways to brainstorm. If that topic worked well for your audience once, it's likely to make some waves again!
You can gather all the newest information on the topic, write a new post, and then link back internally to the original post. It gives you both a brand new article on something formerly well received, and direct new readers (or old ones) to the first post you did on it. It's great for traffic.
Here are few creative ways to write updates on older content:
1. Combine topics you researched earlier and write an “Ultimate resource”
If you have written a lot on one topic or a few related topics, think about investing your time into creating a crash course or an ultimate evergreen guide.
First Site Guide is a perfect example (and also a recommended resource for beginner bloggers): It is very well organized, concise and truly complete.
2. Collect opinions on the same topic and publish a “Group interview”
Writing a follow-up article featuring different opinions on the already covered topic (with the link back to your initial article) is effective for both adding highly-sharable and trusted content to your blog as well as bringing your old article back into the center of the discussion. Look through your old articles and find the one with a solid discussion (Comments are my favorite source of inspiration when it comes to questions for the group interview). Then go ahead and create a group interview revolving around that discussion.
You can collect original opinions from MyBlogU members: It's a huge time saver because we take care of finding experts to contribute, collecting and storing opinions, coding and even promoting the article when you publish it.
(Disclaimer: I am MyBlogU founder)
3. Create a collection of tools that solve a problem discussed in your old articles
You can never go wrong with tools: Readers love them! My most popular articles are about industry tools. Find your old article that explains a process and think of tools that can help make that process easier!
Re-package old content into a new format
Re-packaging means turning your text content into a different format (image, video, powerpoint deck, pdf, etc). It's by far my favorite way of targeting more social media channels and wider audience.
Make a video round-up
Videos are visually stimulating and engaging. They also demonstrate a concept in a much more focused and useful way than text may do. Take an old post and turn it into a handy video guide. Then you can also benefit from having it on other sites, like YouTube.
For quick video round-ups I often use Animoto: It's a time-saver! It's also perfect for creating video mashups as well (in case you want to re-use your past videos as well). As an example, here's one I created using our past #vcbuzz chats.
Don't forget to link to your original blog post from your video!
Create a slideshow round-up
Slideshows are great, because they give a quick-fire way of organizing the information in a new way. Since most online readers are skimmers anyway, this cuts out the middle man and just goes right to the skimming-friendly format.
Here are 3 free tools to create awesome Slideshare uploads easily!
Here's a quick example of me curating my tips and previously written articles using Slideshare: It made it to Slideshare home page!
Note: Slideshare links will be clickable after Slide #3.
Create a graphic round-up
Thanks to sites like Pinterest, images in general are gaining a lot more traction on the web than they even had before. Infographics are increasing in popularity at a shocking rate, and are some of the most shared types of media available today. You can be incredibly informative with an infographic, giving a condensed version of your posts that are also visual and attractive, and keeps the reader's attention.
Here are some great tips from Ms. Ileane.
Re-package old content into an eBook
There are plenty of tools out there that let you create ebooks out of your blog posts, such as BloxP and Zinepal. I prefer to do it manually using Word / Google Drive (the latter allows collaboration) and this Words-to-PDF converter.
Here's how to build your email list using an eBook
Do you have any tips for bringing old content back to life? Let us know in the comments.
Recommended Reading and Additional Resources:
- Blogging for Business: A How- To Guide
- SlideShare Traffic Case Study • From 0 to 243,000 Views in 30 Days
- Content Repurposing Made Easy: How to Create More Content in Less Time to Expand Your Reach
Awesome tips by Ann Smarty maam. I use rebelmouse but did not know it could be used this way also. Leaving this comment from your android app which is awesome.
Thanks so much for downloading the Android app! Really glad that you are enjoying it Swadhin.
I am still going to check the app out, Ileane! @Swadhin thanks for the comment!
Hello Ann,
I’ll have to check out RebelMouse, it seems like it’s quite handy. Although I am a Viral Content Buzz member, I haven’t taken full advantage of it. I need to get that going! Thanks for the excellent tips.
Take care,
Lillian
I’ll see you at Viral Content Buzz then, Lillian! It turned out to be very addictive to me personally!
Hi Ann and Ileane
What an article!
I thought I had some ideas, until I read this. Crazy full of helpful tips.
And thanks for the mention too :>
There are indeed so many ways to put a good article together, re-use it and revisit it at a later date to refresh it.
I think I need to re-read this a few times to digest it all
great stuff
ashley
Thanks for the kind words, Ashley! You are as awesome as always! How do you do this? 🙂
Hi,
As a blogger, we do face the same problem. But even if it is old content, We can reuse the content in better way. Thanks for sharing nice information.
Thanks for the comment! I hope the article will turn useful!
Great Post I think that writing roundup post and regularly updating and interlinking old posts with new one’s are one of the best way to drive more traffic to older posts
Making it part of your blogging routine, that’s what is going to work! If you write one follow-up and remember to interlink once, it’s not going to help! But when you scale and organize the process to turn it into the strategy, that will drive awesome results!
Ann,
Wow, you are a powerhouse, lady! You’re everywhere! I’ve read your work before but I think this might be my first comment for you. I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciated the tips you shared here, particularly the one about turning your best performing posts into a group interview.
I see group interviews a lot and often they seem a little contrived, like they’re just a means of building traffic, but I can see how you could take meaningful comments and parlay them into a really robust interview. I might just take that suggestion!
Thanks so much!
Brittany
Thanks for the kind words, Brittany! If you try the group interviews, please share your experience! I am looking for different ways to get creative with the interviewing process
I have about three working blogs on different niches.
I saw that the most succesful ones receive daily traffic only from older posts (2013) and I don’t understand why goole is not promoting my new content the same way.
Hey Nelly, probably the older articles have accumulated more trust and inbound links – but that does show that you are doing something right here (since your older content is getting some trust signals!)
Really great information you have shared.
I only heard the rebel house name before but now when i read about that i shocked either it can be used in this way also.
Regards
James Bond
Good luck with Rebel House, James!
Hi Ann and Ileane,
I love linking in to old articles while leaving comments and also, throughout my posts.
I usually give a clear call to action too. Nothing subtle.
I may say, “check out this Hootsuite Pro review”, or something similar, and I may date it a bit if it’s evergreen.
Power tips Ann! I vibe with all of them.
Simply linking up through comments and doing the deep linking bit on your blog can drive steady traffic to old pieces.
In honor of this post – and in honor of my 52 post on Blogging from Paradise – I linked in to my first blog post, from some 4 months ago.
Of course, all old posts should be evergreen or updated. You won’t impress anybody with yesterday’s news, but you will wow them with timely content.
Love the tips guys. Thanks for the smart share.
Tweeting from Fiji!
Ryan
Thanks for the great comments and additional thoughts, Ryan!
All great tips Ann. I’ve been updating old posts for weeks and archiving outdated ones. Some of those will be updated later but I’ve been keeping a list of old posts I want to put into my future podcast. I’ve been watching EOFire do this for their older content to kick off their newest podcast and it seemed like a smart idea.
I love the Slideshare tips. There’s so many posts we have that can be turned into video, slideshares and even infographics.
I’ve also been updating posts I want to keep as authoritative posts and that seems to help the entire site. The more of those high quality posts the better.
Thanks for stopping by to comment, Brian! The podcast idea is cool!
Really like this Ann. We can put so much time into creating stuff and then it just gets forgotten about – these are great ideas to squeeze more value out!
Thanks for the great feedback, Robert! I am happy to hear you have found it useful!
Hello Ann,
Nice to meet you. Thanks so much for sharing all these resources for our content and for the ideas for writing updates to our posts. You have given us a lot of information!
There are some tools here that are new to me so I will definitely check those out.
I also like the idea of reformatting the old content like text to video…I”m just shy about making videos but I have done a couple slideshares.
Great post! Have a great week ladies!
Thanks a lot, Corina! I am happy you feel inspired to implement some of the tips!
Hello Ann,
Smart ways to ensure old content never dies. For me, repackaging previously well received content with new perspective and ideas always does the magic for me.
Please, do have an awesome day!
Always,
Terungwa
Thanks for stopping by to read and comment, Terungwa!
Great tips Ann. I have been looking a lot at how to re-purpose blog content, but I have not ever really considered the prospect of writing follow up articles. I really like that idea.
Thanks for the kind feedback, Kostas! Let’s not let our efforts go wasted! 🙂
Great practical ideas to repurpose content! You inspired me to revisit some of my most popular work and improve it and reuse it! Thank you!
Awesome! Glad to hear it was inspiring!
Love the ultimate resource tip. I’ve written so much on similar topics and it’s really hard to think of new avenues to explore with regard to it. There’s not an enormous amount of scope when it comes to nickel plating, so new ways to refresh old content is always welcome. Thank you
Thanks for reading and commenting, Marcus!
Great post. I think that writing roundup post and regularly updating and interlinking old posts but I have not ever really considered the prospect of writing follow up articles. I really like that idea.
Just another way to add fresh interesting content while bringing the old article back into the focus! Productivity! 🙂
What an inspiring piece adorning a great site! As a blogger I found this write-up really stimulating and informative. Tnx Ann and Ileane
It’s great to know it was inspiring! Thanks!
Good tips Ann. I have now been looking a great deal at how exactly to re-purpose blog material, but I have not ever really considered the outlook of writing follow up articles. I like that idea.
Thanks for stopping by to comment, Raman! Glad to know it was useful!
Linking back to old content on new posts allows to provide context and it gives a trackback link to the old article. I’ve always felt like that gives an incentive for people to explore older posts in my blog.
Thanks, Gab! Good point!
Great piece of work, I have come to appreciate one fact that you can re-create your old contents in 20 different ways, for example if you have an article that goes like ‘how to increase your blog comments by 100%’
three weeks later you can re-create that content in another way say ’20 surefire ways to sky rock you blog comments’
6 weeks later you can inject more vibe to bringing flavour with another title ‘why you should use these 10 ways to increase your blog comments’
I have tried these unique strategies for my friends and it surely has worked for most bloggers out there.
Heard alot about Rebel Mouse but never giving it a thought will surely look into this .. thanks alot Ileane and Ann
These are some great tips and few of them I haven’t tried. What I like is the repackage of old content. I have some articles that are over a year old and still gets 100s of hits. Doing a repackage and revisit of this topic will bring new life to the article and bring more traffic to the site. Thanks for the tips. Adding your idea to my to-do list for content creation ideas.
Great to see you, James! And thanks for the comment!
Hello,
This is very nice post.You inspired me . I really appreciated the tips you shared here, particularly the one about turning your best performing posts into a group interview.Thanks for the ideas for writing updates to our posts. You have given us a lot of information!
Keep up your great work!
Regards,
Mohd arif