4 Strategies to Help You Expand the Lifespan of Your Content

Any good marketer and business owner worth their salt will tell you that when it comes to success, it’s all about being efficient. This includes everything, from developing and manufacturing products, to customer service and yes, even marketing. Getting the most mileage possible out of content you’ve created is a true challenge professionals are facing every day.

As if marketers didn’t have it bad enough already! I have personally experienced that heart palpitations that come with staring at an empty editorial calendar, so when I heard about repurposing content, I was ecstatic!

Did you even know you can do that? Now you can (and should) use clever strategies (that cost you nearly nothing) to increase your content’s shelf life. Think about long-term, even lifetime value. Now that’s being efficient!

So without further ado, here they are, the 4 strategies to help you expand the lifespan of your content.

#1 Evergreen content

What is evergreen content – According to the Entrepreneur

Evergreen content stands the test of time, reinforcing your business-related goals. Example: You own a local coffee shop and you notice a trend toward siphon brewing individual cups of coffee. You write a blog post called Siphon Brewing 101 and three years from now it’s still relevant and drawing upon search results.

Sounds good? So how do you create timeless pieces of content? It’s quite easy actually. Think about the following categories:

• Tutorials
• Testimonials
• How to explainers
• Resource lists etc.

These types of posts tend to be relevant and ‘fresh forever’ as the name implies. Regardless of how fast time passes by, some things always remain the same and some advice is always applicable. So think about aspects of your own business that you can created content around. Spend some time on it, as it will be around for a while.

Tip: Evergreen content is amazing but it may still need updating every now and then. Depending on the type, topic and business, you may need to have to go back to the post every so often and update it.
Tip: Don’t give your content a title that is smart or funny, but one that is focused on a specific keyword. This is not the time for clever puns or witty remarks – it may sound boring, but the title should be something that is search-friendly.

#2 Share your posts to directories

Remember those resource lists we mentioned earlier? Well there are all over the internet. You must have stumbled upon them at some point. A page that lists a number of resources on a particular topic. Here is one for example.

Well, isn’t that a great way to give your content a second life? Simply find these resource list pages (a simple Google search should get you plenty of websites you can work with), email the author and offer that they add a link to your content to their list. It can go like this:

Hi #Name of the Author#,

I saw your list of resources on #the subject matter# and I think it’s great. I have a post that I believe would be a valuable to your list #insert link here#.

Have a look and tell me what you think!
Thank you!

That’s not that hard, is it? And 9 out of 10 times the author would add your link to their list since their goal is to have an exhaustive and up-to-date resources. This will be a great way to not only give your content a second chance, but also benefit from some link building for your SEO strategy. Talk about efficiency!

Tip: Keep it short and sweet. Don’t be too formal.
Tip: Always begin by complimenting the author’s list. They must have spend hours looking for the right resources, make sure you show you appreciate their effort. A good word, goes a long way!

#3 Create an eBook

Any Sex and the City fans out there? Just me?

For those of you who missed out on this hit show, here is the gist. Carrie Bradshaw (the protagonist) is a columnist for a New York newspaper. In her weekly articles she discusses relationships, trendy restaurants and her friends. She is approached by a publisher and offered to create a book out of the best articles she’s written over the years. It takes her a total of a few days to select the ones that she wants to be featured and there you go, she’s got a book!

See where I’m going with this? If you have a number of good articles on a certain topic, why not repurpose them by bundling them together in a book? You’ve written extensively about a certain topic, simply compile the content, arrange it in an order of difficulty for example and voila. You have an eBook!

You can later on use the eBook as part of your on-boarding and nurturing process or offer it as an incentive for people to sign up for your emails. Give us your email and get your free copy of our amazing new eBook.

#4 Change formats

The beauty of content is that it comes in many forms and it can morph from one form into another. You’ve got a detailed blog post? Why not use it as a foundation to a video!

You’ve created a great infographic, use it as a guide to a new blog post and vice versa. Keep content fresh by changing its format and there are so many formats to choose from – PDFs, podcasts, webinars, SlideShare presentation, articles, videos, infographics etc.

Tip: The more varied your content, the better. Offer readers to chose their prefered method of absorbing content.
Creating amazing content is just the first half of the digital marketing battle. Extending the lifespan of your content and making it work for you even long after it’s been written is the other half and hopefully now you will better equipped to do just that!