Five Tips for Serving up Old Content Without Being Stale

Winter is here, and with it, we can all expect a few weeks of the doldrums. So what does a savvy blogger do when she doesn’t feel like making a whole new post but doesn’t want to completely drop the ball? We’ve got a few ideas.

Convert an old post into a new video.

If you’re a food blogger or a DIY blogger, this is an especially effective way to give old content a fresh new life. Turn a recipe post into a short video tutorial a la Tasty or clarify a complicated DIY craft project with a walk-through video.

Publish related posts in an ebook format.

If you’ve been wanting to create a beautiful lead magnet to grow your email list but you don’t have the time, look to your favorite old posts to save the day. How about a collection of your most popular holiday recipes if you’re a food blogger? Fashion bloggers could create a mini-lookbook to showcase the versatility of a particular article of clothing – or get artsy with a series of lookbooks based on color palettes.

Let old post comments inspire a wellspring of new post ideas.

Take a look at old post comments with new eyes. Today, some of those long-forgotten questions and comments might generate a whole new list of blog post ideas. Be sure to tag the original commenter in the new post if possible to thank them for acting as your muse.

Divide longer posts into several shorter posts or combine shorter ones into a Best Of post.

If you’ve got a few lengthy posts, cut them up into bite-size blog posts that address more specific issues. It makes good use of SEO keywords, and it thrills readers with short attention spans. On the flip side, you could take several shorter posts and combine them into a best of post that’ll generate new traffic to the older posts, which also helps SEO.

Freshen up old posts with new technology.

If you’ve been blogging a while, you’ve probably got plenty of posts that you published before Google Rich Cards and Pinterest Rich Pins were even a thing. Now’s a perfect time to freshen up those oldie but goodies with new photos and brand, spanking new schema tags. Re-post and let visitors make old posts new again on social media!

What’s the most interesting blog post revamp you’ve ever seen?