5 Ways to Repurpose Content (an Ode to Earth Day)
Posted by Beth Hrusch on Thu, Apr 22, 2010
One of the great things about content marketing is the fact that it's economical, which is good news for the little guy who just wants to market his business without going broke. Really, that's all he wants. And maybe the same kind of exposure as a big corporation. And also an increase in leads and sales that would make the big boys envious. That's all he wants. Of course, these are some of the other great things about content marketing.
Why is it so cost-effective? One reason is the fact that you can so easily recycle content, which is also known as repurposing. When you repurpose, you don't have to put time and effort into creating new content-- you just have to re-format it for different audiences. Sweet, eh? Aside from the savings of time and money, repurposing takes advantage of the different ways that your readers absorb information. Some are visual, others like the written word, etc.
Every company has content, already written and in use, that can be turned into something interesting. Here are some ways you can repurpose your content to appeal to a broader audience:
- Take a white paper and turn it into a slide show. The script is already there-- but in visual form, your white paper will reach those who don't like to sit through pages of text.
- Put together several articles to create an eBook. EBooks are popular with readers who want to get more in-depth on a topic and enjoy reading. If you've already covered your topic through articles or blogs, just take several of them and create chapters with the content.
- Make an educational video using blog posts or articles as scripts. Videos are enormously popular and effective marketing tools. Interesting and well-done videos consistently rank well, largely because they appeal to the visual and auditory nature of people.
- Take content written for one market and tweak it for another. Do you have any documents that could be customized for another audience? Could your articles or videos be translated into another language for your foreign market?
- Offer all of your content products (articles, podcasts, eBooks, etc.) in CD or DVD form. People sometimes like to download their information for future use, so consider giving them this option (maybe in exchange for an email address?)
There are many more ways to repurpose content. If you think of a way that your 
existing content can be put to use in another form, give it a try. There are no hard and fast rules about what you can do with it, and you may hit on a cool idea that works for you. So be creative!
And don't forget that, if you're launching a new content product, such as a blog, eBook or white paper with your repurposed content, announce it with a press release. And then take your press release and turn it into an article, which can become your next blog post, which will then become a video...
Now, won't you feel better knowing that your recycling efforts are making a positive impact on your (work) environment?