Today, we will explore one of the seven deadly sins of marketing – stealing content. But, wait… isn’t that a black hat tactic? Why are we discussing theft in a place like this? Well, it is time for a revelation. In truth, there is one way to steal content in a purely white hat fashion: steal it from yourself.
All of us have published interesting infographics, blog posts, videos, and emails that stand out from the rest and receive significant engagement (we secretly wish all of our content could bless us this way). If only we could reuse the content that shines a little brighter, without negatively affecting SEO… Well, we can, and here is how.
Why Wouldn’t We Want to Reuse Content?
Before we begin “repurposing” our online content, we need to understand what can go wrong. Duplicate content can have a detrimental effect on SEO. Even if we copy content from ourselves, this can appear deceptive in the eyes of search engines. Though it won’t get our content banned, having duplicate or very similar information at more than one URL will force Google to choose only one page to index. If the search engine happens to pick an externally-hosted piece, our websites can lose page rank. Losing our page rank position is what we want to avoid at all costs.
What About Content Format?
Content repurposing relates to article writing and blogging. Repurposing content is much more than just spinning out new blog posts. As a matter of fact, unless the original content is very old, we do not want to post even flawlessly spun articles on the same blog or website. There are a couple of options that work much better.
- Repurpose articles for guest blogging opportunities – by posting your fresh perspective on external blogs, you can earn backlinks to your website(s) and build brand authority across the web.
- Publish your content in another format – several old blog posts become an ebook, a stellar email campaign becomes an explainer video, or a slideshow becomes a social media campaign.
How to Approach the Publication of a Guest Post
Rather than post the same information on our blogs over and over, we can post on someone else’s authority site, from a new point of view. This gives us instant access to new readers. Additionally, the search engines see backlinks to our website and relate the subject matter of this content to our brand. Here are the steps to get repurposed articles published on an external website.
- Determine your goal/ strategy.
- Find a website in your niche that accepts guest articles or blog posts.
- Interact on the website you’re targeting with comments, likes, and post shares.
- Read the guest post guidelines.
- Pitch your guest post to the editor (include more than one idea).
- Wait for approval of one of your ideas.
- Write your post, formatted like others on the site.
- Submit your post to the editor, and expect that they will want edits.
- Submit your final draft, along with a short bio that includes a link back
- to your website.
Monitor your post and respond to comments.
How to Publish Repurposed Content in a New Format
Obviously, blogging is not the only web content used to build a presence online. Here is a list of content formats to get the wheels turning:
- Blog posts
- Online articles
- Images/ memes
- Infographics
- Videos
- Slideshows
- Interactive maps
- Quizzes
- Newsletters
- Case studies
- Ebooks
- White papers
- Webinars
- Podcasts
- Tweets
- Pins
- Facebook posts
- Subreddits
- Quora/ Yahoo answers
- Apps/ games/ tools
Don’t forget that you can turn your web content into print as well:
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Local ad publications
- Billboards
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Books
Repurposing Ideas
The groundwork has been laid, and there is now an understanding of how to steal content from ourselves. The possibilities are truly limitless. Here are several ideas for rebirthing, old content that once generated engagement and sales.
- Turn an email campaign into a series of social media posts.
- Take notes on a hand full of blog posts to create a new podcast.
- Compile a magazine article from a few blog posts.
- Use internal analytics reports to write a case study.
- Shine up Quora or Yahoo Answers to create a blog post.
- Create an infographic based on an explainer video.
- Publish several memes based on ebook info.
- Harvest popular blog comments to start a Reddit conversation.
- Build upon an engaging tweet to write a new whitepaper.
- Generate a newsletter based on a highly shared article.
- Make a new slideshow based on a case study.
- Construct a webinar based on data from ebooks.
- Build an app with data researched for a white paper.
The Rewriting Process
What if you’re having a hard time rewriting your content in a new format? You can always hire a professional writer, using services like Freelancer, Upwork or Essay Writer Pro. The author will guide you through the process so that next time around you will feel more comfortable with this format.
Tools to Help Re-create Fresh Content
Stealing content wouldn’t be possible without tools to help you with the transformation. When you’re ready to start repurposing content, check out these helpful platforms to make your work easier.
Canva
Create stunning images with no Photoshop skills. Canva is known to be the easiest design tool in the world. It enables anyone to become a designer with templates for social media posts, presentations, posters, infographics, and more. You can easily drag and drop images, text, and icons into your design and adjust the colour and transparency of individual items.
Teams can upload their brand fonts and set the default colours for professional designs. There is the option to show your work to team members, who can remix them, or keep them private. You can even download PNG’s with transparent backgrounds or PDFs for the company or personal use. Design like you’ve never designed before.
Piktochart
Take your infographic creation to the next level without hiring a designer. Piktochart is an easy-to-use infographic designer that allows you to choose a free or paid template, then make it your own. Change the colours, fonts, text, and images at-will and tell your story.
This tool works great for marketers, designers, and anyone looking to create infographics for personal or professional use quickly. The software is free to use, by default, but allows you to use all paid templates for just $15/ month. For $29/ month, you can leverage unlimited high-resolution downloads, watermark removal, increased storage, and integrate with various export platforms. Make your informative story visual.
SlideShare
Share what you know through presentations, slideshows, and more. You will have to design your slideshows on another platform – Canva works great – but, here, you have an excellent opportunity to cross-promote repurposed content and share with a new crowd.
By sharing on SlideShare (which also allows you to embed presentations on your site), you create the opportunity to cultivate new relationships, build brand authority, and boost search visibility. Business presentations have never been so much fun.
Stupeflix
Make amazing videos in no time at all. Upload images, video clips, and music (or use the mp3 library) to compile professional-looking videos quickly. Use text overlay to highlight important parts of your story.
You can even add maps, custom transitions, trim, set voiceover, adjust volumes, and leverage reverse videos and slow motion. Choose from one of 16 themes to set your video to, and enjoy churning out awesome videos. Then, host your finished products on YouTube, Vimeo, or your website. Creating videos doesn’t get easier.
PodBean
Leverage an easy, powerful way to start podcasting. PodBean has everything you need to begin creating your own podcasts without the need to learn multiple technologies. Podcast hosting is free.
There are solutions for individuals, enterprise, organisations, and even radio stations. There is also a payment option to allow recurring payments from your subscribers, who can then access your shows from mobile or PC. Your blog posts become audio candy for new followers.
Qzzr
Create, share, and embed your own quizzes. Qzzr will help you drive social traffic and generate leads with customised, entertaining quizzes. Features include grading, checklists, and outcome-design.
Create a quiz for anything. Help build your brand while entertaining people with your repurposed content in any way you can imagine – with your own tailored questions and outcomes. Design cover pages and configurations to suit your needs. Your branded quizzes may even go viral on Facebook.
AppyPie
Make your own app, easy as pie. Select a template, customise the design, then add your content. You can create for iOS and the Android market.
Take advantage of features such as the prototyping tool, augmented reality, and e-commerce/ m-commerce readiness. You can even integrate the app with your blog to keep users informed of your latest content. Integrate with WordPress, Blogger, or Tumblr.
Conclusion
Stealing content isn’t as bad as you thought. As a matter of fact, it can be one of the most valuable strategies you employ – as long as you’re stealing from yourself. Rather than post your repurposed content on your own website, start looking for guest blogging opportunities or create new formats to host externally or share on social media.
Use the ideas above to help you churn out a ton of content with just a little bit of work. Use helpful tools to make this task even simpler. How are you stealing from yourself to generate new content? Let us know in the comments!
Janice Kersh is a writer with vast content marketing experience. Apart from writing, Janice loves reading/watching sci-fi, surfing the Internet, and drinking cocoa with cupcakes. She also occasionally writes on her blog – Janice Writing.
