10 Creative Ways to Make the Most Out of Existing Content

With Pinterest now in our tool belts, people are uncovering creative ways to make something remarkable out of everyday items.

I mean, who would have thought you could make custom stamps from old wine corks, bracelets out of gum wrappers, or handbags out of old Capri Sun pouches?

But what about ebooks from blog posts, new topics from old analytics, and podcasts from written offers?

If we're finding ways to give gum wrappers a second chance at life, why not get creative with our existing content? You know, that library of resources you've spent countless hours piecing together.

When it comes to up-cycling, your content library is best comparable to an untapped gold mine, and with the right approach, it's easier than you think to make existing content shine again. 

If you're feeling crafty, we've come up with 10 exciting ways designed to inspire you to start making the most out of your existing content. 

Use it for Inspiration

You'd be surprised how much you can learn by revisiting the numbers from your old blog posts, ebooks, and offers. Take a detailed look at your content archives and pick out the pieces that performed best. Pieces that have been really well received by your audience are ones that you'll want to reinvent, spin, and pull from.

What does the subject matter of these posts reveal about what your audience is interested in? Do they tend to flock to numbered posts? Do the words "free tools" make them drool? 

Content creation doesn't have to be a shot in the dark. Utilizing the analytics from your past posts makes it much easier for writers to narrow their focus and put forth posts that they know will resonate. 

Record What's Written

Like a book on tape, podcasts provide marketers with an opportunity to transform their written work into something pleasing to the ears. Rather than read the post you wrote, your audience now has a chance to pop in their headphones and listen to it while they eat lunch or schedule social media posts. 

In doing so, you're presenting the information to members of your audience who may have passed up the written content, and roping them back into content consumption through an alternative avenue. Any opportunity to minimize the chance that your content will fall through the cracks is a noteworthy one in our book. 

Aside from podcasts, videos can function in the same way. By recording a video segment that touches on the key points you've made in your written content, you'll find it's easier to attract an even wider audience. 

Link It in New Posts

Including links to existing relevant content within your blog posts is considered a best practice. Why? Not only does linking text help you clarify the points you are trying to make by providing additional resources, but it also helps SEO.

What internal links do is they demonstrate additional authoritative pages to search engines, while encouraging visitors to stick around and explore pages that they may not have visited otherwise. 

Make it Visual

The harsh reality is that a lot of people don't actually want to read your content word for word, but rather they just want the juicy bits. An infographic serves as a great way to extract the juicy stuff and reformat it into something highly shareable.

While infographics certainly look good, they actually work too. In fact, businesses who market with infographics grow in traffic an average of 12% more than those who don’t. (Source: NeoMam Studios)

Considering that 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, repurposing existing content into infographics or a new medium like a SlideShare will help your business gain more attention.

Break it Down

Simplifying your content is an effortless way to expand its shelf life. 

Let's say you have a list post that contains 15 items. Take a closer look at each item individually and consider how you can expand upon each area in order to produce 15 separate blogs posts that provide a more in-depth take. 

While optimizing a blog post might fit well on a blogging checklist post, it also has enough value to stand alone on its own. 

The same can be done with ebooks. While ebooks may span over many pages, it's easy to revisit yours and pull out sections that could serve as a singular blog post. 

Piece it Together

Conversely, it's just as easy to break down content as it is to stitch it together to create something greater.

If you review your blog article archive, you'll find that there is probably a ton of complimentary content that can be arranged cohesively in the form of an ebook, guide, or kit.

By inserting new visuals, adjusting transitions, and updating any stale information, you can piece together an offer that will appeal to a new audience in no time. It's all about finding a way to re-present or reformat the information to make it more interesting, more valuable, and more consumption-friendly. 

Include it an a Newsletter

Calling upon existing content within a newsletter serves as a quick, effective way to get your content in front of more eyes.

If your blog subscriber's email inbox was a nightmare the day you published that post about XYZ, they might have missed it. By including one or two of your existing posts in a weekly or bi-weekly newsletter, you are providing yourself with another opportunity to reach those people. Sometimes a change in format and timing can make all the difference. 

Use it on a Error Page

There comes a time when one of your customers is going to come face to face with a 404 page. If you're unfamiliar with the 404 error page, what it essentially means is that the page that the visitor is trying to reach has either moved, been removed, or the URL has changed.

Rather than serve as a dead end, your 404 page can actually be transformed into a valuable marketing asset with the right inclusions. In fact, these pages serve as an opportunity for you to insert links to relevant content that may also meet the needs of your visitor. 

It's like they always say,"when life gives you lemons, make limoncello" ..or maybe it's lemonade. You get the point.

Reference the Comments

The comment section on your existing posts is like a treasure chest filled with hidden gems.  

From past experience, we know that readers turn to the comment box to ask clarifying questions, express their gratitude, or let you that your post actually sucked. 

Whatever their "choice words" may be, take note. You can use any and all feedback that you've received on older posts to inform future content. If someone posed a compelling question, use a blog post to answer it. If someone poked holes in your argument, reevaluate your stance, and spin the content from a fresh perspective. 

Repurpose Titles

Sometimes my titles take off, and other times they totally flop. What I've learned is that a really compelling headline can truly make or break the success of your content. 

With that being said, leverage the analytics behind your old blog articles to uncover which titles received the most clicks. This type of insight will help you to gain a better understanding of which types of titles work, and which ones could use some tweaking. 

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