4 of the Most Effective Ways to Repurpose Blog Content

Hey, if recycling is important for the environment, it should be just as important for your old blog posts, right? Well, not so much, but you get the idea. 

Simply put, there’s a better use for old blog content than to just sit in a dark, clammy corner of the World Wide Web. 

Dust off those blog posts of yours and repurpose them. Seriously, it’s not a hard thing to do and the resurgence in driven traffic you’re certain to see will make the small sacrifice a worthwhile one. 

Still a bit lost? The following four ways are some of the most efficient for reusing old blog material:

Transform Old Blog Posts Into Guides and E-Books

Any booming site worth its proverbial salt makes a point of selling something. That way, there’s yet another source of income for their owners, in addition to any offered professional services. 

More often than not, digital guides and e-books are what they’re pushing.

If you don’t have the time to sit down and hammer out a 30-page e-book on something you’re passionate about, reorganize some of your old blog posts into something worth offering valued customers. 

Charge a few bucks and—voila! You’ve got a bit of extra money for Disneyland in your pocket and an ever-expanding email list. Pretty sweet gig, if you ask me.

Internal Blog Data Can Make for a Nice Case Study

You can hop on SurveyMonkey and pay $100 to collect new data for a personalized case study, or you can revert back to data you’d collected a few months prior for a blog post.

Using the same data, produce an awesome case study with a new spin on things. 

However, just a word to the wise—seeing as how the communicative fields of copywriting, content marketing, social media management and digital public relations are constantly changing, make certain your data is still relevant to what’s going on.

Otherwise, you might come off as a bit out of touch.

Whip Up a Slideshare Presentation From Old Entries

If you thought infographics were awesome, you’ve clearly never flipped through a slideshare presentation. 

These days, most content comes in the form of some sort of quantitative list. Because of this, transferring a blog post to a sleek slideshare presentation is fairly easy.

Though you might need the help of a graphic designer to make this an aesthetically appealing project, if you can get one, it’ll be well worth the extra effort on your part.

Q&A Sites With Meaningful Backlinks

No, Yahoo Answers isn’t only the biggest trailer park [seriously, check this out if you haven’t already done so] on the Internet; it’s also a great place to push links. 

The whole point of content marketing is to interact with the masses, all while providing valuable information, right? What better place to do just that than on a Q&A site. 

Though Yahoo Answers has been around for quite some time, the best place to repurpose blog content on a Q&A site is currently Quora. Quora has an incredible community of users from all over the world who are passionate about everything you could ever imagine.

Obviously, this is by no means a comprehensive list of ways to repurpose content. In reality, these are just a few of the methods I’ve used throughout my career to squeeze as much life out of each and every blog post as is humanly possible.

Now the time is yours—what methods do you use to repurpose old blog content? If you’ve yet to have commented on a blog post of mine, take this opportunity to get involved for the first time. Rest assured, all comments will be met with a prompt response.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

5 Lifelong Lessons Learned From Blogging

Blogging. It seems everyone is doing it these days. From stay-at-home soccer moms to college professors, anyone can hop online, build a site and blog until their hearts are fully content. 

That said, blogging is much more than simply a way to put digital pen to paper. Moreover, it’s an outlet through which many of life’s greatest lessons can be learned. Here are a few of them:

1) It Requires a Self-Starter Mentality

Truthfully, blogs are pretty easy to create; however, they don’t start themselves. The self-starter mentality of everything comes into play once an account has been made and it’s time for actual content to be up and running. 

If you lack the ability to motivate yourself, your blog is likely to crumble in a matter of weeks. The best bloggers realize this and continuously publish.

2) Work Is Never Finished

In high school or college, it’s possible to have finally checked everything off of an agenda’s daily to-do list. Blogging is different. There’s no end to production. 

Even more intimidating, once you’ve finished a day’s work, the mental wheels must keep turning so as to keep an ideation bottleneck from occurring. Blogging, believe it or not, is more of job than anything else.

3) Practice Makes Perfect

This famous adage is said with such a frequency that its core truth is often weakened. It’s really quite simple—if you want to get good at something, you’ve got to stick with it. During a blog’s initial weeks and months, driven traffic can be fairly weak. 

Also, if completely honest, you’re writing could probably be better. Give things time and keep working. The results will come.

4) Consistency Is Key

There’s a reason behind why there are so many abandoned blogs out in the darkest catacombs of the World Wide Web—their creators gave up. Sure, it’s easy to publish a post or two when blog motivation is fresh, but—in time—that will fade. 

It’s at that point you’ve got to decide what you want to do. Regardless of inspiration level, keep publishing. There’s no excuse for not doing so.

5) Efficiency In All Things

If you’re going to brainstorm, write, publish, promote and engage, time will need to be properly managed. While taking things to the extreme is certainly frowned upon, if you don’t feel that you’re stretching your editorial capabilities, you’re going about blogging incorrectly. 

Don’t enjoy that feeling? Minimize it through disciplined time management.

Blogging is an incredible pastime. It’s a great tool for building an identity, communicating with others and obtaining more knowledge on a regular basis. If you don’t have a blog, strongly consider making one. If you do, keep at it. 

Before long, as production continues, you’ll most assuredly start to notice that blogging has become more than a journal of sorts; rather, a great channel for constant learning.

Now, let’s hear from you—what do you think? As a blogger, what sort of struggles do you frequently encounter? More importantly, how have you managed to learn from them? Tweet to @EchelonCopy to share your opinions. Also, while here, share a few words with everyone in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

4 Bloggers Who’ve Proven Real Money Can Be Made Through Blogging

These days, especially with the advent of the Internet, money can be made doing just about anything. In recent years, blogging has become yet another outlet through which cold, hard cash can be acquired. 

No, I’m not talking about the kind of money that’ll have you and your parents splurging on pizza in the basement every other weekend, but the stuff that can provide you with a comfortable lifestyle. 

You know, the kind of money traditional journalists will never see. Pretty crazy stuff, huh?

Obviously, this isn’t a reality for most blogger, yet to deny that its’ a real possibility would be completely false. Looking for a bit of inspiration? The following bloggers are a few of the wealthiest in the world:

1) Vitaly Friedman, $150,000 - $190,000 per month

Ever heard of SmashingMagazine? If you have, you have Vitaly Friedman to thank. 

Largely built to provide website designers with the the latest of industry trends, groundbreaking news and helpful tips, SmashingMagazine has made Friedman an extremely wealthy man. 

Reportedly, the majority of Friedman’s money comes from banner ads and has little to do with affiliate revenues. In its own right, that’s an impressive feat.

2) Mario Lavanderia, $200,000 - $400,000 per month

More commonly known as “Perez Hilton,” Mario quickly managed to become one of the Internet’s most powerful bloggers since launching PerezHilton in 2005. 

Though many respected writers absolutely loathe Lavanderia’s loose journalistic tactics, there’s no denying the fact that it’s brought him some serious coin. 

From Kim Kardashian to the actual Paris Hilton, if your guilty pleasure involves knowing far too much about the lives of Hollywood’s rich and famous, PerezHilton might be just for you.

3) Pete Cashmore, $560,000 - $600,000 per month

Not only does Pete Cashmore have a great beard, but he’s the sole founder of one of the world’s most famous blogs: Mashable. Seriously, what more could a guy ask for?

Mashable’s a bit of a hybrid blog of sorts. Covering anything from tech and social media to lifestyle and entertainment, Mashable’s network of readers is a fairly extensive one. 

If you hope to make Mashable-esque money through your blog, Cashmore’s story should serve as a point of inspiration. Basically, he started Mashable as a 19-year-old punk in his bedroom in Scotland. Currently, he’s one of the richest bloggers in the world.

4) Michael Arrington, $500,000 - $800,000 per month

Generally speaking, if you work in PR, you’re more than familiar with Arrington’s blog. Yup, he’s the guy who started Tech Crunch.

So in-tune with the tech industry is TechCrunch that the site publishes minute-by-minute updates on what’s taking place in the global tech industry. 

Simply put, there’s a reason he’s widely known as the “Prophet of Silicon Valley.” It’s a fitting title.

Needless to say, keep writing. Whatever your blogging goals may be, with the help of a wide variety of digital marketing tactics, you too can make a name for yourself out on the World Wide Web. Oh, and there’s also that whole money thing. That’s an added bonus.

The time is now yours to pipe up and have your thoughts and feelings heard by an ever-expanding body of readers. Is there a deserving blogger who’s wrongfully been left off of the aforementioned list? If so, drop a name or two in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

Is Syndication a Good or Bad Thing for Your Blog?

“To syndicate, or not to syndicate? That is the question.” Sure, Bill Shakespeare didn’t ever ask anything similar, but countless bloggers have done just that while attempting to drive more traffic back to their respective sites. 

Depending on the content marketer with whom you speak, you’re bound to get a wide variety of differing responses. Some feel strongly about the promotional powers of blog syndication, while others insist that the practice is doomed to fail.

I’m not one of the latter. I believe in blog syndication and feel it’s a worthwhile means by which a blog can grow and experience a heavy bump in traffic.

However, as far as the naysayers are concerned, generally speaking, at least one of the following is cited as a reason for why syndication should be avoided at all costs:

• Google is incredibly opposed to the publication of duplicate content.
• Instead of dragging readers back to your site, they’ll remain on a host site.
• Author authority is weakened due to content being published on many networks.

Needless to say, let the cross-examination begin:

Dealing With Duplicate Content

Any reputable syndication network will include a link at the bottom of the post to the very page on which an article was originally published. 

Fortunately, in today’s day and age, Google’s ever-evolving algorithm is sophisticated enough to know where a piece was originally published. Ranking authority is awarded accordingly.

Driven Site Traffic

Studies have shown that blog syndication does in fact lead to higher traffic. As long as there’s a link at the foot of a republished post pointing readers in the right direction, there’s nothing to worry about. 

Additionally, assuming that what you’ve written is both informative and engaging, through the aforementioned link, readers are immediately provided with a channel through which more of your editorial work can be consumed. 

That alone is reason enough to strongly think about blog syndication as a viable digital marketing practice.

Hindered Expert Reputation

If your blog is just getting started, there’s no real reputation that’s taking a hit. More often than not, this is why bloggers choose to syndicate their content.

However, even if you’ve already built a name for yourself and are worried about what syndication might do to the expert status you’ve worked so hard to achieve as a digital publisher, consider Buffer’s take on the matter:

“We feel that the benefits of syndication outweigh the downsides … It should also be mentioned that part of our joy with syndication is in getting to share our content with anyone who might find value in it. In some ways, we feel that keeping content only at Buffer is a rather selfish act. If others can use it, then we don't want to stand in the way.”

Simply put, few are the content creators who don’t stand to benefit from blog syndication.

From Business2Community and Social Media Today to BizSugar and AllBusiness, make it a priority to syndicate your blog. By so doing, your content will be seen by more eyes than ever before. In the end, that’s what’s most important. 

After all, it’s the quality of your content that will drive permanent, long-lasting traffic. Success or failure is yours and yours alone

Convinced yet? If not, I’d love to hear why. Agree with me or take me to the proverbial cleaners in the comments section below. Or, if you’d rather share your thoughts through a different medium, take to Twitter and tweet at @EchelonCopy to make your reaction to this piece public.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

How to Compose an Awesome Blog Post In Under 60 Minutes

Blogging isn’t easy to do. It requires a great deal of patience, determination, relentlessness and, more than just about anything, editorial prowess. That being said, just about anybody can blog. Once a topic has been chosen and a blog created, all that’s left to do is produce awesome content, right? Well, not so much. 

Yes, in the end, stellar posts are going to make or break your blog, but there’s yet another aspect which is ofter overlooked: posting consistency. Yup, this is the not-so-sexy side of things which new bloggers often forget about. If you’re not posting with any sort of regularity, your blog is destined to fail with both readers and search engines. 

However, regular piece production and publishing doesn’t have to be a trying matter. Truthfully, when done correctly, it shouldn’t take any longer than an hour to produce something worthy of your readers’ time and attention. Here’s how:

Brainstorm Long Before Writing

The only hiccup in this 60-minutes-or-less process is having great ideas on hand. Everyone’s brains work differently, but as far as mine is concerned, the best of post ideas come at the most random of times. 

I might be in the shower, playing pickup basketball, watching a movie or doing some reading when, low and behold, something exciting pops into my head. Then, I’ll either jot it down on a spare napkin, scratch piece of paper or my phone for safekeeping. 

As soon as I come within reach of my laptop computer, any and all ideas are immediately funneled into a neatly organized spreadsheet. Later on, when I’m pressed for time, there’s no need to hunt for things to write about, because I’ve already created a lengthy list. 

The real trick with this one is to constantly be adding to this spreadsheet. The last thing you want to do is run out of ideas when you need them the most.

Research Using No More Than Three Solid Sources

People often erroneously think that you need a minimum of 10 sources when composing a blog post. Honestly, that’s ridiculous. Listen, this isn’t me saying that you shouldn’t be investigating your topics as thoroughly as possible. 

All I’m getting at is that you don’t need to take this to an extreme. Find two or three strong, reputable sources, do your reading and get to writing. What’s great about blogging is that the more you write, the more you learn.

The more you learn, the more knowledge your able to impart. Read until your eyeballs turn to mush, but there’s no better substitute for learning how to blog quickly than simply blogging.

Include Plenty of Your Own Commentary

This tip meshes nicely with the one that precedes it. More than just about anything, what I love most about blogging is the readability of the medium’s content. Sure, you could hop online and find a multitude of great academic entries, white papers and case studies on PR, but will you really enjoy reading them? 

The luxury of reading blog material is that it’s easy to digest and implement. In order to make a post happen in under and hour, you’ve got to write as if you were speaking. When you engage in conversation with another human being, rarely do you have to think much about what you’re going to say.

Look at blogging the exact same way. With this mentality present, you’re not only bound to write quicker, but it’s sure-fire that you’ll see more of yourself in your writing. At the end of the day, that’s a very cool thing.

Don’t Stress Over Perfect Grammar

I grew up in one of those homes where mom and dad were always calling their kids out for their grammar mistakes. Because of such an environment, to this day, I’m a bit of a grammar Nazi and, quite frankly, a bit obsessive compulsive, also. Trust me, this isn’t something I’m proud of. 

As such, when I first started blogging, I had to read over my posts multiple times before blasting them out for all of the Internet to both see and criticize. After a few months of doing this, I had a mental breakthrough. 

I was reading over something that I’d published a few months prior and found a couple of basic, editorial mistakes. Instead of letting this eat at me, I decided to just let it be. That’s right, following in the footsteps of The Beatles, I just “Let It Be.” 

In that moment, I realized that—no matter how hard I sought perfection—I wasn’t going to find it. So, once you’re done writing, read through your piece one or two times. After that, it’s time to move on.

Hit the ‘Publish’ Button

You’ve successfully completed each of the aforementioned steps. Things are finally done. Now what? It’s time to hit the “publish” button—confidently, mind you. Ya know that mini thrill you get when you hop on Facebook or any other social media network and see that you’ve got a few notifications? I’m ashamed to admit that I get that feeling when I publish a new post, but I’d be lying if I said otherwise. Simply put, for a blogger, there’s no better feeling.

The entirety of this post was written without a single source [gasps]. I know—crazy, right? I do enough blogging to know what works and what doesn’t, though by no means have I perfected the process or even come close to it. I’ve also spoken with enough people about blogging to know what to say. 

I’ve simply taken that and converted it into written text. This post, though approaching 950 words, took me just under 40 minutes to write. As previously made mention, I’m no expert, but there’s no reason an awesome blog post should take any longer than an hour to write. The evidence? The very thing you just read.

Yeah, it’s true that I tooted my own horn there a little bit at the end. If it bothered you, let me have it in the comments section. Seriously, don’t hold back with the words of praise or criticism. I welcome anything and everything. Needless to say, I look forward to interacting with each and every one of you.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.