Writing good quality content for your blog takes time and effort, and once published it can quickly disappear into the archives. Sure, some people will find it by searching, but why not take advantage of all that hard work and put your old content to good use? Let's look at some simple techniques for reusing and repurposing your old blog content for maximum impact.

1. Write a follow-up post

• Write an update: If something has changed since your original content was published then you can take your original post and rework it to include the latest up-to-date information. This is a great option if you are writing about a product that has changed, or if there is a new way to achieve what you have covered in your post.

• Expand on a topic or idea: There are times when you don’t have time to go into a lot of detail on a particular topic or idea that you have included in a post. Consider taking that individual element and expanding it into its own post.

• Provide alternatives: This is great if you have reviewed something, like a product or service in your original post, you can then use your original post as the starting point for a follow-up post that looks at alternative options.

• Create a list post: Summarising key points from a long-format blog post or turning a post into numbered steps is an easy way to reuse your old blog content. You might even find some additional points that you can quickly add to provide some extra value.

• ‘Now vs. then’ comparison: Since writing your posts things might have changed, so you can create a new post that compares what has changed. You could do this by quoting sections of your previous post or even creating a table that compares the differences.

2. Reuse the content in a new format

• Create a YouTube video: Taking your blog content and turning into a YouTube video can be a great way to use your content in a new format. You could turn your post into a script or use it as the basis of some talking points or questions that you answer in the video.

• Host a webinar or a Google+ Hangout: This is similar to the idea of creating a YouTube video, but instead you develop a presentation from your blog content that you deliver as a webinar or a Google+ Hangout. You could even invite additional people and host a joint session that covers the topic of your original post.

• Create a PDF white paper: Turning your post into a PDF white paper could be as simple as reformatting your post. For additional impact you can add some additional insights, quotes, statistics and images to provide additional information.

• Create a SlideShare presentation: Translating your post into a presentation format could help reach more people. This can be very effective if your original post includes steps, lists or multiple topics.

• Create an animated GIF: If your post is about a product or application, you could record a short video and turn it into an animated GIF to use on social networks. For example, if your post was about a piece of software you could use an animated GIF to help explain a particular concept or technique.

3. Review comments and use social

• Look for interesting questions in your comments section and write a new post that answers the questions that people have been asking.

• Repost the content on your social networks and ask for people to suggest future topics they would like covered.

4. Update the existing post

Sometimes a simple tweak or update to your old post can make it fresh. This is especially useful if you’re sharing an old post on social networks. Some quick options for updating posts include:

• Adding a new featured image or photo;

• Updating graphics and screenshots;

• Adding a current client case study or quote;

• Adding or updating charts and statistics; and

• Reformatting the content to use sub-headings and bullets.

5. Create a link post

• Write a post that lists your top posts. For example, you could write a post every month where you list the top posts. You can write a quick sentence or two, and then list the most popular posts for your readers to easily access.

• If you’ve written lots of posts on a particular topic then you can write a post that provides a brief summary of the topic and then includes a list of links to your best historical posts.

Have a suggestion you want to add? Let us know how you are reusing your content in the comments!