In content marketing, a constant and steady stream of content for incoming visitors is the number one thing to have. Good content interests the search engines, who are constantly crawling for good and solid new content. But, it also works for bringing repeat human visitors to your site.
If you get visitors from organic search, social media, or direct traffic, and you provide good content, it's possible that they will return looking for more. One possible way to continuously have new content is to draw from a reservoir of off-line content or older online content. It can then be redressed and updated to serve a new purpose.
Reusing content, though, can be a tricky business. If you have offline content that you yourself own, it’s fine to repurpose. However, not all old content is fantastic, as some of it is likely not “evergreen” or is time-sensitive. If it's concerning a topic people would still be interested in, then it’s a matter of seeing if it’s something people even still search. Using free keyword tools is especially helpful for this. Be sure to avoid filling up your site with too much stuff that doesn’t interest today's searchers.
Still, whether you run a business or are just running your own website, reusing old content is definitely worth investigating. Perhaps, you had something published in hard-copy years ago. Or, you have something that was once online somewhere, but it hasn’t been posted anywhere for a long time. These are great candidates for content that can be repurposed. As long as you still have rights to it, and give proper credit to others who may still have rights to it, you’re most likely safe.
Just be careful. Some online content publishers, even if your work no longer appears on their site, still will legally retain exclusive rights for online publishing of your work. If it’s in print, ask the editor or publisher know that you plan to repurpose it. Often, as long as you attribute where and when it was, you should probably be fine. They'll likely only ask for a link back to the publication's or publishers website, if they still exist.
It’s amazing how many works I've found in my own collection of digital documents that had the potential to be repurposed. Some were old journal entries that I’ve polished and posted because the topic was interesting and thought-provoking. I've had old grade school and college papers that discuss topics and review certain things that still garner interest today. They were never seen by anyone but my teachers, so why not give them a new audience? Surprisingly, a lot of my old school essays are well-written enough to need little polishing.
Content to reuse can be found in the oddest places! Even if it’s not a topic that will get much search engine traffic, as long as it’s relevant to your blog or website, it's likely worth posting. If it's interesting and something that over time will get traffic to trickle in. Worst case scenario, as long as you make sure your rights issues are resolved, it will get no views. It was going to gather digital dust sitting in a folder on some storage media anyway.
If you dig around a bit, you’d be surprised what might be worth putting online. You never know who might be interested in that topic, find your post, then become a life-long fan of your work! Content you never knew could get you found may be lurking in your files somewhere!
If you get visitors from organic search, social media, or direct traffic, and you provide good content, it's possible that they will return looking for more. One possible way to continuously have new content is to draw from a reservoir of off-line content or older online content. It can then be redressed and updated to serve a new purpose.
Reusing content, though, can be a tricky business. If you have offline content that you yourself own, it’s fine to repurpose. However, not all old content is fantastic, as some of it is likely not “evergreen” or is time-sensitive. If it's concerning a topic people would still be interested in, then it’s a matter of seeing if it’s something people even still search. Using free keyword tools is especially helpful for this. Be sure to avoid filling up your site with too much stuff that doesn’t interest today's searchers.
Still, whether you run a business or are just running your own website, reusing old content is definitely worth investigating. Perhaps, you had something published in hard-copy years ago. Or, you have something that was once online somewhere, but it hasn’t been posted anywhere for a long time. These are great candidates for content that can be repurposed. As long as you still have rights to it, and give proper credit to others who may still have rights to it, you’re most likely safe.
Just be careful. Some online content publishers, even if your work no longer appears on their site, still will legally retain exclusive rights for online publishing of your work. If it’s in print, ask the editor or publisher know that you plan to repurpose it. Often, as long as you attribute where and when it was, you should probably be fine. They'll likely only ask for a link back to the publication's or publishers website, if they still exist.
It’s amazing how many works I've found in my own collection of digital documents that had the potential to be repurposed. Some were old journal entries that I’ve polished and posted because the topic was interesting and thought-provoking. I've had old grade school and college papers that discuss topics and review certain things that still garner interest today. They were never seen by anyone but my teachers, so why not give them a new audience? Surprisingly, a lot of my old school essays are well-written enough to need little polishing.
Content to reuse can be found in the oddest places! Even if it’s not a topic that will get much search engine traffic, as long as it’s relevant to your blog or website, it's likely worth posting. If it's interesting and something that over time will get traffic to trickle in. Worst case scenario, as long as you make sure your rights issues are resolved, it will get no views. It was going to gather digital dust sitting in a folder on some storage media anyway.
If you dig around a bit, you’d be surprised what might be worth putting online. You never know who might be interested in that topic, find your post, then become a life-long fan of your work! Content you never knew could get you found may be lurking in your files somewhere!
RSS Feed
