You’ve just put a ton of work into writing an amazing blog post. You’ve followed all the writing tips to make your blog readable, optimized your blog post for SEO, and hit publish. And now…you have to do it all over again.
Content creator burnout is a real thing. But it is avoidable. One of the best ways to keep up with your content schedule and maintain your sanity is to make your blog posts work overtime so you don’t have to. Whether you’re looking for more blog ideas or inspiration for other forms of media to connect with your audience, here are a few of the most popular ways to recycle your blog content and get the most out of your efforts.
Write a Round Up Post
If you’ve found your blogging niche and have been blogging for a while, chances are you’ve put a lot of good information out there about one specific subject. Help your readers out by putting all that good stuff in one place. A round up post provides links to previous blog posts you’ve written on a single subject that your readers will find useful. This creates a handy reference for your audience and is a breeze to write. Just create an intro, a sum-up, plus maybe a summary line for each post you’re linking to, and there you have it! Another blog post down.
Create an E-book or Guide
Again, if you’ve already written several blog posts that cover closely related topics, you’ve got a great resource at your fingertips. It shouldn’t take much editing to turn those posts into an e-book or guide that you could sell, offer as an incentive to join your email list, or send to clients to answer their questions. For example, all those informative posts on when to book your newborn session, how to prepare, what to bring, and what to expect at a session? Bring them all together and wow your clients with an incredibly helpful and detailed guide when they reach out for information.
Play with Format
The hardest part of creating a blog post is usually researching and organizing the content. Once you’ve got your ideas in place, you can make the most of your hard work by plugging your blog’s content into another medium. (Think YouTube video, social media post, infographic, or voice recording) and share it across other platforms. This increases your reach to audiences that may not love reading, gives your content a whole new look, and gives you a break from inventing something new to share on TikTok or Instagram.
Reshare Evergreen Content
Chances are, you’re probably announcing your blog posts on social media. (And if you’re not, you should be!) But, with ever-refreshing social media feeds, not everyone will see your original post. So, if you have some great info on social media that you mined from your blog, schedule it out again for later in the month or year (depending on your posting schedule). That way folks who missed it the first time around have a chance to see it. Plus, people who already saw it can be reminded of your amazing services or expertise.
Newsletters and Email Lists
Newsletters and email lists can be a great way to stay in touch with current clients and connect with potentials. But they can be a lot of work to keep up with if you’re trying to come up with brand new content every single time. Instead, rework your blog posts and use them to provide useful, up-to-date info for your subscribers.
Link Old and New Content
As you’re writing your posts, you’ll probably mention topics that you’ve covered before. In those cases, create a link in your current blog post that connects back to the older blog post where readers can find more information. This makes it easy for your readers to get all their questions answered, and it also brings the older post back to the attention of web crawlers, which is good for your SEO. For this to be a helpful strategy, only do this when the content you’re linking to is relevant. And try to use natural keywords that fit organically into your text, rather than language that could look spammy, such as “click here” or “this page.”
Let Past Content Inspire You
Blog posts you’ve already written are a fantastic jumping off point for new content. Spend an hour or two scrolling through past posts and I’m willing to bet you’ll find all kinds of great ideas for brand new articles. For example, maybe you wrote a post outlining several ways small businesses can come up with blogging topics (ways like “look at the calendar for seasonal inspiration,” and “check out the competition.”) You can then take each of those points and expand on it to create an entirely new article that goes into greater detail on that topic.
Recommend Relevant Blog Posts
Whenever you write a new post, take a look through your old content to see if there are other posts you’ve written that readers might also find useful. Most readers aren’t going to take the time to search the archives of your site, but if you point out a few articles they might enjoy, they may take you up on it and check them out. Showing two or three recommended articles below each post can decrease your site’s bounce rate (just like linking old and new content) as readers click to a new page on your site instead of leaving. And it can also show that you’ve got history and know what you’re talking about.
Recycle Your Blog Content by Rewriting It
If you’ve been blogging for a while, go back and check out some of your oldest posts. Are you cringing? I’m guessing that between now and the time you wrote your first several posts your writing style has changed. You’ve learned a lot, and if you were to write that post again, you’d do it differently. So, write it again! You don’t need to feel stuck with content that is outdated or no longer consistent with your style.
I hope these ideas on how to recycle your blog content have inspired you—and maybe even led to others! I’d love to hear your favorite ways to keep your blog and social media feeds fresh while avoiding content creator burnout. Let me know in the comments!
