Question: How long does it take you to produce a blog post?

From the initial idea to the last line edits, creating a blog post worthy of readers takes hours of valuable time.

And then what happens?

You publish the content on your blog.

If you’re smart you’ll spend some time promoting your blog post.

But even with the best promotional efforts and top notch writing, it’s still just one content asset for your business.

What if you could multiply your one blog post into seven traffic-generating assets?

With a little extra effort, you can repurpose your blog post into several different formats. Each regeneration expands the reach of your content marketing to gain more exposure, traffic, backlinks, and social shares. In short, you’ll get an even more bang for your content marketing buck! Sounds great, right?

Let’s get started.  

Content #1: Blog Post

This is where it all begins. Your blog post is the foundation for all other content formats. So make sure it’s a good one! To get the most return on your efforts, choose a blog post to repurpose that’s already showing signs of success. Which blog post has resonated with your readers the most? Which has the most shares, traffic, or time on site? It’s also a good idea to choose a blog post on an evergreen topic. If you’re going to all the trouble to creating multiple forms of content, make sure it is timeless enough to keep bringing in traffic for months and years to come.  

Content #2: Content Syndication (Medium, et al.)

Content syndication is the process of using a larger publishing platform to share your content. Medium is one of the most popular content platforms that many bloggers, journalists, companies, and brands are using to to gain exposure to a larger audience. You can publish an article on Medium as an individual piece or contribute to collections of curated stories. Recently, Medium created a new publishing API that allows you to publish a post on Medium straight from WordPress. There are plenty of other content syndication websites you can utilize that are focused on specific industries or topics. For example, Small Biz Trends is great for small business advice or Business2Community has just about everything. Research the best opportunities in your area of business, or check out this huge list of 500 places you can syndicate your content.  

Content #3: Downloadable PDF, Ebook, or White Paper

Your blog post may be the perfect reference article on a particular topic. By packaging the information into a well-designed ebook, guide, or white paper, you are creating a new and valuable content asset. Additionally, by asking for an email address in exchange for the downloadable file, you can build your email list with a great incentive to join. You can also upload your PDF document to a large number of content directories. This can lead to a lot of backlink opportunities, but don’t just submit everywhere without consideration. Scribd and Docstoc are a couple of the best directories, but there are plenty to choose from.  

Content #4: SlideShare

Slideshows are another form of content that really resonate with people. They communicate information in a more visually appealing way than simple text. Public speakers aren’t the only ones using slideshows anymore. Thanks to platforms like Slideshare, slide decks can be created and shared by everyone publishing online. It’s easy to turn blog posts into slide deck presentations, as they’re normally well-outlined and formatted into sections and sub-sections. Take the bones of your blog post and have a designer create a beautiful slide deck. By submitting your slide deck to Slideshare and similar websites, you can get more exposure, traffic, and shares from your content. You can also embed your slide decks on your own website.

Content #5: Infographic

If you haven’t seen an infographic online in the past three years, you’ve been living under a digital rock. Infographics are everywhere and for good reason. They break down information into easily digestible bits of visual content and are rather enjoyable to read. Infographics aren’t just great content, they’re great content marketing tools. Due to their visual nature, they’re more likely to be shared and viewed than text alone. Publishers who use infographics grow in traffic 12% more than those who don’t. Plus, you can create coding that allows others to embed infographics on their websites with a link back to yours. Yay backlinks!  

Content #6: Audio

Ready to really step up your content marketing game? How about turning your blog post into an audio format? You can read your blog post word-for-word, or you can discuss the topic and points it covers in a more conversational manner. Your recording doesn’t need to be fancy necessarily. Most computers have built-in microphones and simple audio software. You can upload your audio to websites like SoundCloud. Though you may not get many direct listens from the platform, it’s a nice backlink and you can embed the audio file on your blog too. If you’re really interested in audio, consider starting a podcast. Podcasts are becoming a fantastic medium to reach new audiences and amplify content marketing efforts.  

Content #7: Video

Lastly, consider repurposing your blog post into video format. If you already have a SlideShare presentation or an infographic, you’re more than halfway done! Video is one of the most popular content mediums on the web. It’s a great driver of traffic, but it’s also a more personal way to connect with viewers. Obviously you should upload your video to YouTube, but don’t forget about Facebook video or embedding your video within your blog post too.

Get More Out Of Your Blog Posts

Just because you’ve published your blog post doesn’t mean it’s done. Extend its reach and impact by repurposing your fantastic post into multiple forms of content. With a little extra effort, you can get more exposure for your brand and grow your audience.

You never know how far your content will go!