How to re-use your old blog content

Having been blogging for nearly eleven years now, it's not always easy to come up with new content! I do write a lot about the things that I've been doing and places that I've been, but sometimes if I want to publish something and am really stuck for ideas I turn to the vast number of posts which I have published over the years.

I would never duplicate old content, or delete and republish, but there are lots of ways that old blog content can be repurposed into something new. You can also plan how to get the most out of the content that you are currently creating. 

Here are a few ideas:

Rewriting and publishing an old post

This is best for posts that are several years old, and any new post must be significantly different to the original content. Some examples of posts that you could look at rewriting:

* Posts from years back where your views have changed or you have more information that you can add to a subject. Maybe a parenting issue that you found a temporary solution for at the time but now you have more experience and can write about it in more detail.

* Craft or recipe posts where the photos aren't great, for example cluttered backgrounds or poor lighting. The aesthetics of blog posts weren't so important years ago but these days people are more likely to be drawn to a pretty image. See if there are any old posts that you could rewrite and add better photographs. 

* Come at an old tutorial, for example a craft post, with a new perspective. For example a craft or activity could be made more complex now that children are older. 

* Take an idea which you wrote about very briefly in the past and write a more expanded post on the same theme but with a different title or perspective. 

Photo credit Sincerely Media via Unsplash

Roundups

I love a good roundup post! Look back at old content and find something that you've written about many times. Maybe places to visit in your local area or in an area that you visit regularly, craft projects based around a certain theme, seasonal recipes. Put them all together in one themed post with a photo and a link back to the full tutorial.

Remember to link to your roundup post from all the original posts as well. 

Reviews

Write a review roundup if you have reviewed products with a similar theme, for example books, cooking utensils, garden equipment, toys and so on. Include a picture and brief summary along with a link back to the full review.

If you have an older review which is still doing well then you could write an update to see how you are still using an item and how your thoughts have changed over time. For example my post about our Stuva loft bed has always been very popular so I wrote an Updated review on the Ikea Stuva loft bed and linked to it from the original one and now it gets just as much traffic.

You can also write about any complementary products that you have gone on to buy that work well with a product that you have already reviewed. For example we bought a pizza oven a few years ago and have since purchased various accessories that I would like to share. You can then re-use photographs and some of the basic information from your original post.

Using content for more than one blog post

This is for blog content that you are currently working on. Instead of putting everything into one post, some content can be broken down across several posts.

For example if you are writing about a recent holiday you can break it down into sections which can each make a separate post - maybe a summary post about your trip, a more detailed review of the hotel or resort that you stayed in, a list of attractions in the local area, best places to eat, sharing some of your favourite photos, how you travelled around and so on.

If you have made a recipe, for example cookies, you could use the same base recipe with different variations at different times of year, like Mini Egg cookies for Easter and Chocolate Orange cookies for Christmas. 

If you have made a craft project, you might find that it lends itself to different crafts. For example I made Hama bead sugar skulls which I used in posts for Hama bead sugar skull bunting and A Halloween sugar skull picture. I also used my same designs but on a smaller scale to create some Mini Hama bead sugar skull earrings. 

Just make sure that each individual post has plenty of detail, and then link them all back to each other.

Using the same content across different social media

If you have taken several different photos for a blog post then they can also be shared on Instagram or Twitter. If they are seasonal then you could even save them for the following year e.g. a picture of your carved pumpkin or Christmas craft.

I hope that this has given you some ideas for making the most of the content that you create!