Cut Your Content Creation Time in Half with Repurposing

Content marketing requires a great deal of effort and constant content creation. This can easily be the area where you spend the bulk of your time, especially if you’re a slow writer. But there’s a handy shortcut you can take to reduce your content creation time: it’s called “repurposing.” 

What is Repurposing? 

Repurposing means taking some content and changing it in some way so that it’s unique from the original. It’s not just copying, rewriting, or rearranging, but a deeper change that creates something entirely new. 

Switch Up the Format 

One way to repurpose your content is to change its format. Take a piece that’s in one format and change it to another. For example, you can adapt a blog post into the script for a video. Alternatively, you can take a video and transcribe and edit it into a blog post.  

Other examples include turning video into an audio podcast, turning a press release into a social media post, or cutting up a webinar into a video series. 

Expanding and Enlarging 

You can also take one section of a piece of content and expand it into its own standalone piece. For instance, if you have a blog post outlining ten tips on a topic, you could turn each tip into its own standalone post. This gives your audience a deeper dive and clearer instructions on how to do something specific. Another idea is to turn a blog post into a full report or digital information product.  

Contracting and Summarising 

You can also take a piece of content and do the opposite. For example, take 7 blog posts with advice on how to do something and create one article that gives the reader 7 quick tips. Each post is shortened into 2-3 sentences. Or, take a long video and make a shorter version that just covers the main points. This offers a piece of content that’s shorter and easier to digest.  

Change the Angle 

Take a piece you created before and offer a different angle. Present it from an entirely new point of view. For example, you can take an article with 4 tips and reverse them into negative “mistakes to avoid.” Another idea is to take a piece that teaches people how to do something and reframe it as a step-by-step guide so it’s easier to understand. 

Change the Audience 

Rewrite your content for another segment of your audience or for a whole new audience. For example, if you have content creation tips for online entrepreneurs, you can rewrite so that you’re writing to brick-and-mortar businesses just getting started online. 

For the best results, mix and match all the ideas from above. Expand while switching the format and rewriting for a new audience. This way, you’ll create completely fresh content that will help you get more miles out of your existing material. 

Remember that repurposing isn’t about cutting corners. It’s not only a shortcut for you to create more valuable content, but a way to offer alternate formats for your audience to consume your content. Focus on delivering value and don’t be afraid to get creative.