Repurposing Your Content – The Life Cycle Of Your Original Idea
I'm Connie Ragen Green, and I thought I'd sneak in to Nicole's blog while she is away, traveling in Europe with her family.
I wanted to share my experiences with content creation and repurposing with you so that you will be able to turn your ideas into content that will increase your visibility, credibility, and your bottom line…
When I came online in 2006 I quickly realized that I needed to start creating content if I was going to build a profitable business. The only problem was that I believed my writing was not very good, and that my ideas did not seem very original or innovative. Everyone else seemed to already have this content creation thing figured out.
Instead of giving up, I gave myself a needed boost of self-confidence by taking action and moving forward.
This served me in two ways; immediately I felt better about what I was working to achieve and my writing started to improve.
Writing articles and blog posts was an arduous process in the beginning. I would spend about two hours on each one, making sure that I was presenting my topic in a way that could be easily understood by my readers. The directories only required your articles to be two hundred fifty words at that time, but it was still a struggle for me to get my thoughts and ideas out of my head and on to the screen. I still type with only two fingers, so this probably seemed comical to anyone who saw me tapping away on my keyboard each day.
My blog posts were flat and uninteresting. The mechanics of getting them written and posted took all of my energy, leaving little time for creative ideas to flow. I was also trying to maintain ten different blogs during that first year, but that's a whole ‘nother conversation.
The ‘ten tips' style was the model I used for my articles back then, making a list of tips on my topic and then writing a couple of sentences about each one. I would then add a paragraph at the beginning and another one at the end to get to my two hundred fifty word minimum requirement to submit them to the article directories. Each day I would start with a new topic, so this process started all over again. The result was that my business grew very slowly as I worked to come up with new ideas. That all changed when I discovered how to repurpose my articles into a variety of different formats to create an ongoing stream of content.
Repurposing is simply the process of taking your idea and using it over and over in different ways. I think of this as being the ‘Life Cycle' of our original ideas. Going back to when I was starting out, I knew that I needed to have content to use as my foundation. So I challenged myself to write one hundred articles in one hundred days. This was a huge undertaking for me at that time, but I was willing to stretch myself in order to have an excellent chance at success. Those hundred articles (which only took me 78 days to write) became the basis for all of the content I created during the next six to twelve months. I will explain how this ‘life cycle' can work for you.
As an example, you can write three articles, submit them first to an article directory, and then turn them immediately into a short report. Even though the content is roughly the same, a whole new group of people will be able to learn from you when they receive your report. You can also rewrite these same articles and use them as blog posts. After the changes to Google's algorithm (the Panda, Penguin, and other updates since February, 2010) you'll want to make sure to rewrite them significantly before using them on your own sites.
The next step in the repurposing cycle is to use this new short report as a free giveaway for your existing site or new optin page. You may be thinking that your prospects and clients will recognize what they are receiving as something they have already read, but the truth is that everyone is at a different point in your autoresponder series and in their connection with your business, so they may not have even seen it the first time around. Over the past six years only two people have ever told me they had read my report before, and that was because I mentioned concepts that were innovative and original, something I had longed to be able to do since the beginning of my online career.
Publishing your report as a book for the Kindle or Nook can be the next step. You will attract and connect with an entirely new audience when you do this. It has never been easier to have your writing available in this way, and becoming a published author is a way to build your credibility as well. Because I give away my short reports, publishing your material in this way may also be the first step of the monetization of your content.
The next stop in this life cycle is to make an outline of your topic and turn it into an information product to sell online. Then you can further repurpose this content by teaching it as an online course. I have done this more than thirty times since coming online and it has been very lucrative.
At this point I like to take my content offline to use as presentations and handouts for when I speak to groups both locally and around the country. By explaining my original ideas to a live audience I receive feedback that is extremely valuable.
Don't forget about repurposing your content into audio and video as well as part of this process. I started hosting my own teleseminars in 2007 and used my articles, blog posts, and short reports to write my outlines and study guides to use during the calls. Even though many of the people have already read my material, they are anxious to hear me discuss it on a regular basis.
For video, remember that you do not have to make a personal appearance unless you want to. Create a short PowerPoint presentation that highlights the key points in your articles and blog posts and then post it to your YouTube channel to reach even more people who are interested in what you have to say on your topic.
Other ways to repurpose your content include e-courses, Internet radio (Blog Talk Radio is very good), podcasts, eBooks, and in your membership site.
We all have different learning styles and repurposing allows your prospects to take in your information in a way that suits their needs. It is also a huge time saver as you can use your same ideas to create many different final products. The life cycle of your content will continue to flow for years to come if you will think of it in this way.
About Connie Green:
Connie Ragen Green is a former classroom teacher and real estate broker/appraiser who left it all behind to come online. She works with new online entrepreneurs to help them get started online with a successful business based on their passions and life experiences. Her most popular program is the 10K Laser Coaching, where you can be a ‘fly on the wall' as she mentors her students as they build their own online empire.
Recommended Resource:
You can eavesdrop in while Connie coaches her friend to $10,000 per month. And, the best part? You don't have to pay the big bucks for private coaching.
Listen in while someone else makes the mistakes – so you don't have to.
Check that out here: Listen in on Connie's Private Coaching Here
Warmly,
Nicole Dean
Jill
June 27, 2012 at 11:13 amConnie I really enjoyed this post, congratulations on being a published author and thank you for showing us the blueprint to your success. Oh, and a big shout out from one teacher to another!
Connie Green
June 27, 2012 at 11:33 amJill,
Thanks so much for stopping by and for your comment. Yes, teachers see things differently.
Take care.
Connie
The Mom
June 27, 2012 at 2:16 pmThanks, Connie. It’s so nice to see your smiling face over here at NOTN. Nicole has always been kind enough to remind me (repeatedly!) to reuse my stuff. My blog posts tend to be very long and I spend a lot of time on them. Since I can’t seem to shorten them up much or speed them up, Nicole says that leaves only one option – to use them again and again and again… to get some mileage out of them. Seems you agree and have been doing just that! And that’s what I’m working on now.
Thank you for sharing your journey with us here. It’s so nice to know that you didn’t just fall into this without some sort of learning curve. It makes me feel like there is hope for me after all. 😀
Thanks, Connie!
Connie Green
June 27, 2012 at 3:03 pmPatti,
Thanks so much for your comment. The learning curve continues, and I gain confidence each time I master a new skill. If I can do it, so can you!
Connie
Connie Green
June 27, 2012 at 3:03 pmPatti,
Thanks so much for your comment. The learning curve continues, and I gain confidence each time I master a new skill. If I can do it, so can you!
Connie
David Grande
June 27, 2012 at 3:06 pmHi Connie,
I have been checking out Nicole Dean’s work and purchasing her products over the past 6 months since I started my online entrepreneurship. Really like the goal you set for yourself for doing 100 articles in 100 days and find myself in the same cycle as you with publishing a lot of content as I move forward each day.
It is funny, because I was just starting the process of writing an article on repurposing content for my main blog site. My focuses are on Product Creation, Kindle Publishing and Membership Site Development and I have a knack for writing so my new focus for developing business is SEO Copywriting. Anyway, just thought I would drop you a line and it would be great working with you and Nicole in the future.
Best Regards,
David A. Grande
Connie Green
June 28, 2012 at 4:00 pmThanks so much for your comment, David. It sounds like you are very busy building your online business. Keep up the great work!
Connie
Debi J
June 27, 2012 at 8:47 pmConnie,
Great information. I appreciate finding folks like you who are so willing to share their knowledge. I’d seen it mentioned to repurpose, but I was concerned that people would wonder about the whole “I’ve already seen this” issue. Good to know that they don’t really notice.
SO much more to learn but this is a great roadmap that I can add to on my mindmaps for every new product I create!
Thanks, Debi J
Connie Green
June 27, 2012 at 9:27 pmDebi,
So glad you found this post to be helpful. Thanks so much for your comment.
Connie
Sandy Halliday
June 28, 2012 at 1:26 amYou give some great tips here Connie for repurposing content. That is something that I have not been doing to any great degree but your post has spurred me on to get started.
Kindle has certainly opened up a whole new avenue for turning your past articles into useful Kindle books. With a little creativity and a good attractive covers designed at fiverr you could be onto a good thing. Priced right they are a spur of the moment purchase.
Connie Green
June 28, 2012 at 1:33 amSandy,
Thanks for stopping by and connecting. Yes, everything we write can be repurposed into another format or style to meet the needs of our community.
Connie
Grace Sevillys
June 28, 2012 at 6:09 amOne strategy i use to repurpose my content is to do a content curation. I will collect all of my related content, summarize them into a whole new article and make use of old ideas to create new ones
Connie Green
June 28, 2012 at 6:10 amFantastic idea, Grace. So glad we are sharing ideas and learning from each other on this topic.
Connie
Bob Lampard
June 28, 2012 at 6:28 amHey Connie,
Fancy seeing you here while Nicole is on my side of the Pond!
Been busy since we last connected but just wanted to say that the ideas in this post have given me ways I hadn’t really considered to repurpose some of my old blog posts.
I cringe when I read some of the earlier ones but your ideas will bring new life into them again. Thank you.
Bob
Connie Green
June 28, 2012 at 6:30 amBob,
Wonderful to see you here! I’ll be on your side of the Pond for several weeks during July. It truly is a small world these days. Some of my earlier posts are quite frightening as well, but practice and persistence makes everything we do improve over time.
Connie
Danyelle Franciosa
June 28, 2012 at 6:49 pmWell, just keep moving forward when you feel that you needed it and don’t let discouragement ruined what you’re doing.
Kasi
June 29, 2012 at 10:29 amThank you for the great ideas, Connie! Our marketing team is working really hard at doing more content creation and we always seem to be hunting around for more things to write about. We need to do some repurposing!
Connie Green
June 29, 2012 at 12:15 pmKasi,
Content creation is even more fun when you can use what you create over and over again. Just this morning I used a PowerPoint presentation I had written for a select audience to create a new post on one of my blogs. It only took me about fifteen minutes to write the post because I had done most of the work when I originally put the presentation together.
Connie
Kasi
June 29, 2012 at 12:18 pmFifteen minutes? I love the sound of that! 🙂
Connie Green
July 3, 2012 at 11:42 amYes – it’s always much faster to repurpose your existing content than to start out from scratch.
Connie
Dale Anderson
June 29, 2012 at 3:39 pmConnie, this is such a powerful post, I seriously doubt if many people realize what they have in their sweaty little hands here. It is truly a golden key that will unlock the door to success in anyone’s online endeavors.
It closely follows your 5 prong approach that I have taped to my office wall, it is old, the edges are curling up, but I see it every day and do my best to follow the concept. I recently used the ideas you talk about in this post to flood my target market for my Big Bad Horse Sale.
For example; I had 18 horses for sale, wrote a short description of each horse, then used it in; a blog post, a video, a photo description, craigslist , us freeads, dream horse, autoresponder, Facebook, twitter, my online sale catalog, my printed sale catalog, and my bid sheet for the silent auction, I know there is more but gives the idea.
That is roughly 10 items on each horse so there are 180 pieces of content floating around that ended up attracting buyers to my sale. And I did the same thing with my horses photos, The possibilities are endless.
Thanks Connie
Dale
Connie Green
June 29, 2012 at 4:11 pmDale,
You are too kind. You are successful because you take action and implement what you are learning.
I love your list of the ways you have repurposed your original writing in order to achieve your goal.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
Connie
Geoff
June 30, 2012 at 11:57 pmMy friend Randy Cassingham always says, “Write Once, Sell Often.” He should know, he was one of the first people to have an email newsletter. He has re-purposed that content into books, tee shirts, mugs, etc., etc.
This is a radical idea for some, but it is something we all have to look at very seriously.
Great post, Connie.
Geoff
Connie Green
July 1, 2012 at 7:56 amGeoff,
The idea of creating content or a product once and then using/selling it over and over again is an amazing concept. Once I understood it and put it into play my business soared. Thanks so much for your comment.
Connie
Barb Brown
July 2, 2012 at 11:30 amGreat info Connie thanks. I’m busy creating and writing (and building my list) as well as studying. I get overwhelmed sometimes with all of the information. But I will keep moving forward.
Barb
Connie Green
July 3, 2012 at 11:40 amBarb,
It’s so easy to experience overwhelm while building your online business. Take some time out just for yourself each day, and connect with others in forums and social media sites. I also spend quite a bit of time volunteering with local charities, and this has given my life more meaning as I remember my big ‘Why’ for wanting to grow my business to begin with.
Congratulations on all you have achieved so far!
Connie
Dom Casas
July 13, 2012 at 5:18 amHi Connie,
I really appreciate your post. The information I got from it is really beneficial for me. So let me thank you.