How to Get 21 Pieces of Content (or More) from One Post
By: Kathy Widenhouse
Tags: Blogging, Recycling, Content Writing, Messaging, Writing Tips

How to Get 21 Pieces of Content (or More) from One Post

Photo by Tomas Yates on Unsplash

For a writer, repurposing content is the ultimate recycling program. You start with one piece, such as your monthly or quarterly newsletter. Then, you can adapt that content to different delivery platforms and formats such as your blog, social media, appeal letters, email campaigns, and website.

Repurposing your content seems so simple that you may feel it’s a cop-out. But if you’re a smart, efficient communicator, you recognize that you need to repeat your message in different formats to drive it home. Here’s why — and how to do it.

Why it’s smart to repurpose your content

1. Repurposing saves time

Just as recycling aluminum cans or newspapers uses fewer resources than making new ones, it takes less time and energy to restructure one piece of content into different formats. We writers tend to forget the time needed to process an idea into a premise. One idea can be converted to different platforms much more easily than concepting a whole new piece of content.

2. Repurposing reaches more readers

Different platforms reach different readers. A Facebook post reaches one set of users. A video reaches the aural learner while the blog reaches the visual learner. The tweet reaches the person who is time-starved; the associated email campaign reaches those on your house list. Repurpose your content and you can reach more readers.

3. Repurposing keeps your message consistent

When you restructure long-form content into a short piece, you work it down to its bones. Conversely, when you break up one longer piece into shorter snippets, you have the chance to reinforce the key idea from different angles. Unified stories and language keep your point clear, even in different formats.

4. Repurposing reinforces your message

The Rule of 7 in marketing says that readers need to hear your message at least seven times before they respond. That rule’s roots extend back before social media overtook our lives. Today, the Rule of 7 can be rewritten — repurposed — to say that a reader needs to hear your messages at least seven times in a day before she’ll respond. Bottom line: you need to repeat your message for it to be heard above today’s noise. Repurposing allows you to do so.

Does repurposing content make you a better writer?

Do you write a blog post the same way you write an appeal letter? Do you tweet the same way you write a new page for your website? Me, neither.

Writing better content is not just about writing the subject matter. Writing better content is about packaging — that is to say, how you put together words for a particular audience in a particular format to communicate that idea. That takes skill. Repurposing your content makes you a better writer when you package it for the platform and the people who read it.

Here’s an example of how to repurpose content

Let’s start with one piece: your monthly or quarterly newsletter. It can become 21–30 pieces of content, like this:

3 blog posts: unpack the newsletter’s stories in-depth or simply publish them in successive posts.

1–3 website pages: create evergreen pages on your website that explain a certain concept, program, person, or condition addressed in your newsletter articles. Optimize each page with specific keywords to build web traffic.

1–3 videos: record short, helpful messages that comment on one point in depth and reach aural learners.

8–10+ Twitter updates: post pithy snippets or facts from your newsletter with a link to your website.

4–8 Facebook posts or Instagram posts: engage visual learners and create traffic.

1 appeal letter: use your most compelling newsletter story as a centerpiece of your next appeal letter.

3 email campaigns: write different subject lines and modify the email body content to repeat the message from the newsletter.

You can modify this formula, depending upon the kind of content you start with. For instance, a blog post can become the basis for an article, social media posts, and an email campaign. Or you can convert a series of videos into an email responder series. Package tweets together to make a listicle.

Repurposing your content is simple. And it’s smart — and not just for you. When you repeat your message in different formats, you give your reader a better chance of getting the message.

Kathy Widenhouse offers tips and tutorials for writers at www.nonprofitcopywriter.com.

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