Writing a blog takes dedication and perseverance. Knowing what you want to write about and what your readers like comes with practice. So, as you continue to build a backlog of blog posts you might want to consider repurposing them to extend your reach and grow your audience. Why do you ask? People might not know that your blog exists, but if you can appeal to them through other outlets they may be more inclined to subscribe to your site. By repurposing your content you can breathe new life into your words and showcase them in a variety of formats to give your blog additional exposure.
1. Document Sharing Sites
Using sites like Scribd and DocStoc are where you can repurpose your blog post into a PDF, slideshow or Word document for millions of people to access, download and enjoy. These sites allow you to include images and links in your file, both of which make your content more engaging and SEO-worthy. If you're interested in cashing in on your repurposed posts you can choose between selling them on DocStoc, as well as giving them away for free. Just remember to include a sentence or two about yourself, your email address and URL so that people know how to get to your blog.
In addition to making it very easy to repurpose your content, Scribd and DocStoc also make it super easy to promote your new document creations with an embedding option. You can use this feature to embed and share your document and also give others the opportunity to pass along to others with the simple click of a button.
2. Newsletters
A newsletter is an excellent way to provide readers with an opportunity to receive exclusive articles, information and tips that aren't necessarily available through your main blog. You can easily transform older blog posts into modern pieces by updating their content and summarizing key points. This will make your posts easy to digest and it also highlights relevant details that readers will appreciate having in a consolidated format.
3. Squidoo
One of the leading social community sites and Seth Godin's brainchild, Squidoo in the top 500 most visited and 300 most viewed websites in the United States. Users build custom pages, known as lenses, which are actually much more like single blog posts on a specific subject. You can easily gather a collection of blog posts that have been written on a particular topic and then create a lens from them.
Squidoo is very simple to use and employs a CMS (content management system) that requires little to no knowledge of HTML. This is a bonus for some of us that are technically challenged when it comes to assembling aesthetically pleasing online pieces. Another nice to know is that 5% of Squidoo's revenue is donated to charity and nearly half of all lensmasters donate their royalties to one of 65 featured charities on Squidoo. Definitely a pay-it-forward kinda place.
4. Article Directories
Probably one of the best ways to whip up some attention for you content is through one of the thousands of online article directories available. The toughest part of your job is trying to determine which article directory to use. Two of the most popular and most reputable are ezinearticle.com and articlesbase.com. Depending on which site you utilize, you'll want to include a few links and your byline. When you repurpose your blog post on an article site try to keep it less about you and more about your reader. In other words, too much "me-me-me" may delay or prohibit approval of your posting.