Content is king.
How many times have you heard that expression?
As Internet entrepreneurs, we’re told that great content is the pathway to fame and fortune.
But what happens when you write a killer blog post and nobody seems to care?
Or more importantly, how do you feel when your articles fail to grow your business?
Usually you feel frustrated and tempted to give up.
Fortunately there’s an easy solution to this problem. Rather than following the “one and done” publishing model for blogging, you can take ONE piece of content and use it to generate more traffic and income.
In today’s edition of the Authority Business Case Study, I’ll talk about how to take your “Most Valuable Posts” (MVPs) and leverage this content in a variety of unique ways. Specifically, I’ll talk about a how I’m using an article from my DevelopGoodHabits.com website (27 Strategies for Breaking ANY Bad Habit) to grow my audience.
The following is a list of 11 ways to reuse one blog post to grow your audience. Apply these strategies to your best articles and you won’t have to follow the constant cycle of creating content, hoping somebody will notice.
Let’s get to it.
#1 – Break Into Small Blog Posts
MVPs—especially lengthy numbered list posts—can seed dozens of individual blog posts, each targeting a high-traffic keyword.
Generally speaking, large articles gloss over specific topics. So, you can maximize the value of the content by fleshing them out and providing more detail.
For instance, in the “27 Strategies for Breaking ANY Bad Habit” article, I cover a variety of habit-related topics. Some can be expanded into their own blog posts. That’s why I’ve written (or plan to write) articles that cover:
- Ego depletion
- “What the hell” effect
- Incremental goal setting
- Habit loops
- Tracking habit triggers
- Hot-cold empathy gap
- Using accountability journals
- The power of forgiving yourself
To add more value to this tactic, I plan on linking the original MVP to each of these blog posts. That way a new reader will have more content to check out.
#2 – Add to an Autoresponder Sequence
It’s not easy to fill an email autoresponder sequence with quality content. Sometimes you don’t know what to write and other times you don’t want to be too promotional. (This is especially true if you’d like to start an “Authority Builder” campaign like I recommend in my book Email Marketing Blueprint.)
One solution is to write a short introduction about the MVP article and then directly link to it, which is a great way to generate traffic and strengthen your relationship with subscribers.
EXAMPLE:
The topic of the “27 strategies” article is perfect for new subscribers. Everyone has a bad habit they’d like to eliminate. So adding this type of autoresponder can help them while building a connection with a list member.
Adding an autoresponder is super easy. Simply write a short message (around 100 to 200 words) that describes the value of the article and then link to it. You can also ask for comments and feedback. That way you’re creating a dialogue with subscribers.
#3 – Turn Into a Lead Magnet
You can turn a longer piece of content into a lead magnet and use it to collect email addresses. This strategy is especially useful if it solves a very common problem that people have in your niche.
For instance, we just talked about how everyone wants to eliminate a bad habit. With the “27 strategies” article, I could add more content and then I’d have a freebie that’s worth joining my email list.
#4 – Generate Mobile App Email Subscribers
Mobile apps are hot right now. They’re a great way to promote a brand if you have an app that relates to a common problem in your market. One trick you can try is turn mobile app downloads into email subscribers. Simply add a tab that links to a free report (see #3) in exchange for a person’s email address.
EXAMPLE:
I’m currently using my Trigger Tracker app to build an email list. Since this app directly relates to “bad habits,” most users will be interested in my report. All they have to do is tap the “More” button and they can download a PDF version of the “27 strategies” article.
#5 – Expand Into a Kindle Book
It’s not hard to turn a long article into a Kindle book, especially if you didn’t thoroughly cover certain topics. Most are between 10,000 to 15,000 words. So you only need to double or triple the content to have a book that can be sold for $2.99 or more.
One important thing—you need to do a complete re-write if you plan on using Amazon’s KDP Select program. So if you’d like to give away for book for those five days, then you can’t have an exact copy on your website. With a heavy edit you can have the content on both your website and as part of a Kindle book.
EXAMPLE:
Currently the “27 strategies” article isn’t part of a Kindle book, but since it’s over 5,000 words in length, it wouldn’t be hard to double the content, add specific examples and do a simple re-write. Then I’d have another profit generator for my business.
#6 – Create a “Perma-Free” Book on Amazon
There’s an alternative to turning an article into a hot-selling Kindle book. Another option is to create a book, upload it to Smashwords, set the price at $0.00 and then add a duplicate book on Amazon. What this does is create a permanently free (or “perma-free”) listing on Amazon.
The major benefit of a perma-free book is you’ll get a steady stream of free traffic to your website. Also, you’ll get email subscribers if you include a lead magnet offer within the content.
It’s actually not that hard to create a perma-free listing on Amazon. Just follow this six-step process:
- Turn your article into a Kindle book (Remember to not sign up for KDP Select.)
- Set the price to $0.99 on Amazon.
- Create a Smashwords version of the same book (Use Mark Coker’s free guide to learn how.)
- Set the price to free on Smashwords.
- Find your book on Amazon and use the “tell us about a lower price” link to report the free price. (Here is a screenshot of what this looks like.)
- Wait a few weeks to a few months.
Having a perma-free book is a great way to get extra mileage from an existing piece of content. You can use it to promote your website, Kindle books and email list. This is something I’ve done with my “How to Start a Successful Blog in One Article” book, which generates over a hundred downloads a day.
#7 – Use as an Outreach Hook
Referral traffic is the best kind of traffic. Having someone share your content is a great way to get targeted, loyal readers. Plus every link from referral traffic will help your rankings in Google and other search engines.
How does this apply to an MVP article?
What you can do is leverage the article as part of a 200 Blog Outreach strategy like Neil Patel describes in his interview with Pat Flynn. The idea here is to target blogs in your niche and see if they’d be interested in sharing your quality content.
Building relationships is the key to this strategy. You want to help others first before asking anything in return. It’s like establishing a friendship. Your goal is to start by providing value to other bloggers. And then you ask if they’d be willing to share one of your killer pieces of content if they think their audience would like it.
For instance, I’m currently building contacts in the personal development niche. As I start connecting with others, I’m occasionally asking them to share the “27 strategies” post with their audience.
#8 – Build Quality Backlinks
Getting blog mentions isn’t the only way to build backlinks. You can also write quality, unique content on various web 2.0 sites. While these links aren’t that powerful, they can become an important part of your overall linking strategy.
The key to this strategy is to create a piece of content that’s at least 500 words long (or 1,000+ words for document sharing sites.) The strategy is to post a unique article and use this to generate a backlink to your website. What you can do with a MVP is take the content and turn them into individual articles for sites like:
EXAMPLE:
Each of the “27 strategies” could be a mini-blog post, which can be shared on different web 2.0 sites. Currently, I’m working with someone to re-write each tip and turn it into an individual article. In theory, this one post can generate 27 unique backlinks.
#9 – Rework into YouTube Videos
A variation on the above technique is to create simple videos from each strategy discussed in an MVP. Actionable videos are short and to the point—each can be two to three minutes in length. Just cover one tip in full detail and you’ll have a video worth watching.
YouTube works well if you use numbered lists on your blog. For instance, it wouldn’t be hard to take the content from each of the “27 strategies” and create 27 different videos. Each one would target a unique keyword phrase, which would generate traffic from both Google and YouTube.
#10 – Create Slideshare Presentations
Websites like Slideshare can generate a sizeable amount of target traffic. Your goal is to create a slideshow presentation on an engaging topic. Then you generate traffic by offering additional content or a free report (see #3.)
Numbered lists work well on Slideshare. So another way I’m leveraging the “27 strategies” article is to have a freelancer create a multimedia version of this article. Since the content is already written, all a person needs to do is summarize each strategy into a few bullet points and use an eye-catching graphic.
#11 – Use as a Press Release Angle
Publishing a great article is a newsworthy item—especially if it solves a problem that people regularly experience. Nowadays, you can’t wait around for people to discover your website. Instead, you should write a press release about your MVP and distribute it using the top news services (WebWire and PRWeb are my two favorites.)
There are a few benefits of writing press releases:
- Your site gets a quality backlink to increase search engine rankings
- You establish yourself as an authority on your niche topic
- You open the door for potential interviews and networking opportunities
Many people have trouble with press releases because they don’t know what to write. So one solution is to talk about a great article you’ve just released.
For instance, check out this press release I wrote for the 27 strategies article. As you can see, they’re not hard to write. All you have to do is write a description of the news item, include a few quotes, add some links and give a reason why it’s important to the reader.
Final Thoughts on Content Leverage
We all love to save time and money. When posting a piece of content, it’s important to think of additional ways it can be used. This is especially true if you plan on building an authority business that leverages multiple platforms.
While I detailed 11 strategies that can be immediately implemented, there are more ways you can maximize visibility without doing a lot of extra work. Whenever you hit the “publish” button, ask yourself how this article can be reused to grow and expand your business. Odds are, you’ll think of something creative that doesn’t take a lot of extra effort.
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