This article about repurposing content is written by Vanessa Chiasson, a freelance writer based in Ottawa who specializes in travel and human interest stories.
If there’s one thing that freelancers know, it’s that you can pour your heart and soul into a project, and sometimes it just doesn’t work out.
Here are 12 ways to repurpose old content for profit and creativity
Not everything you craft is going to find a home. Brilliant stories will be rejected. Beautiful paragraphs get cut. Blog posts die on page three of Google. You can’t win them all, but you can recycle, reuse and repurpose.
Create a “from the vault” segment in your newsletter using an old, unloved blog post or photo
You get to highlight a “blast from the past” piece for your audience AND you have one section of your newsletter that essentially creates itself.
Create a newsletter “spotlight”
For instance, re-share all your recipes with red ingredients or chocolate as part of a Valentine’s Day spotlight.
Transform old blog posts, images, or videos and create an FAQ section on your website
Use the material to answer frequently asked questions about your professional services. It will be SEO-friendly and might reduce repetitive inquiries.
Create a roundup post
For example, if you have a collection of articles or videos about Atlantic Canada that aren’t getting much traffic, it’s time to repackage them. Create a roundup blog post that packages all those one-off pieces as a one-stop shop for information.
Take an old post off your blog, update it, and then have a friend post it on their site (with a lovely bio showcasing you as the author)
You, in turn, do the same for them. Now you both have fresh content that will reach a new audience, complete with valuable backlinks. (You can do the same thing with stories that just haven’t sold.)
Sell your underperforming blog stories
Just because the article on your website isn’t doing anything for you doesn’t mean you can’t take it down, freshen it up, and sell it to another site. Many publications want exclusive, just-for-them material, so make sure your draft has been thoroughly updated.
Create an e-book
Maybe those under-used interviews and research materials can be transformed into a mini-book. How about old articles you retain the rights to but can’t rehome? E-book!
Reuse old research material as new teaching material
People love to learn, and that desire is not limited by subject matter or style. Do you give presentations or tutorials? You can repurpose your research and create new teaching with it!
You can also use old research material to create videos for social media
Your how-to instructions can become mini video lessons. Your funny stories will come alive when people hear you tell them in your voice!
Tweak an old story draft to give it a new direction
For instance, an article about what to see and do in Paris (with accompanying restaurant suggestions) might resonate more with editors if it was an article on where to eat in Paris (with accompanying tips on what to see and do).
Use that old story, photo series, or interview to inspire a one-act play, a novella, or a script
Why not? When was the last time you took a creative flight of fancy?
Ask AI tools like ChatGPT to suggest ideas
We often don’t see the potential in old material because we are used to considering it in one specific way. Take a step back and have things analyzed through an unemotional lens. If you aren’t comfortable with AI tools, consider brainstorming ideas with a colleague.