Three Ways to Recycle Old Blog Posts


Recently I went through my old blog posts. Some of them were barely viewed since they were
posted when I first started my blog nearly ten years ago. As I looked through the posts, some were definite throwaways. However, many of the old posts were valuable. I was surprised to discover that I was sitting on years of material that could be recycled. It was time to bring those buried posts back to life!

In today’s Tuesday Tip, we’ll examine four ways to better recycle old posts.

1. Get rid of posts that aren’t worth keeping.

As you go through your old posts, delete those that have no value. This is a great way to fine
tune your blog. I deleted at least half of my first three years of blog posts. Once you’ve
narrowed it to the good stuff, you are ready to go!

2. Recycle a series of blog posts into a free Ebook, resource, or mini-series.

I had several posts about a topic that I’m passionate about. I scooped those up to create a mini-
series on forgiveness. My blog and social media community loved it! They had no idea it was old material, because I
updated them and added new images and interactive questions.
Ask these questions as you go through old blog posts:

    • Are there multiple posts that might make a great series?
    • What is the most compelling way to package this for my community?
    • Is it a potential Ebook?
    • A blog series?
    • What value might this bring to my current readership?
    • Can I make this blog post a printable? (These are great to use as giveaways, or
      lead magnets in a drip campaign.)

TIP: If I saw value in an old blog post (but didn’t have time to use them now), I made them
“private” rather than “public” blog posts. Rather than peruse hundreds of blog posts in the
future, I know that the old “private” blog posts are marked for future recycling.

3. Link to an old blog post

Maybe you wrote a blog post that still receives some traffic, but it’s buried. You don’t want to make it private or change the date, because people are still visiting it from time to time. You can still recycle it by linking it in social media as a microblog post. Before linking, refresh and revise as needed. When you link old blog posts, make certain they look like your current posts. If the older posts don’t have them, add a click-to-tweet or other easy ways to re-share.

4. Recycle as related content

The last way to recycle an old blog post is to link them in a current post as “Related Resources.”This was one of the most popular ways I recycled older content that still had value. Let’s say that I wrote a current post on “When My Assignment Feels Too Big.” At the end of the post, I share “If you loved this post, you might also find this helpful:”
URL (When God Says Go)
URL (When My Comfort Zone is also my Stuck Zone)
This is a win-win. It gives extra value to the reader, and brings older blog posts to life.

Your Turn

Are there any posts you plan on letting go or any posts you can package into a printable? Share your thoughts  on the COMPEL blog about how you plan on breathing new life into old content.

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Comments

  1. Denise Shumway: March 6, 2019 at 11:27 am

    What would you advise regarding using article content (your own) in your blog? My friend pitched an article to a magazine and would like to use some of the content in her blog. Is there a general rule for this? Of course, she has to go by that magazine’s guidelines, but I wondered what others do in this regard.

  2. This is neat information. I am a newer blogger but this is good to know now and to apply!

  3. I love the idea of turning old posts into an ebook; I immediately had an idea and can put it on my goal list for January writing. Thanks for the prod!

  4. I had a professional in the industry explain to me how terrible it was to remove, delete or mark as draft old blog posts. Her basis for this is why would you want to forget where you started, and why censor your own words? I argued the point, and took some of mine down anyway, re-wrote a few and saved a few to expand on as my experience grew in those areas. I have never regretted erasing a few of my words, especially if I wasn’t especially proud of the moments they were written or published. I never get rid of them forever, but I feel some things I may have had to say in the past weren’t relevant or warranted now. Some had terrible mistakes, some had insinuation I hadn’t intended and some were flat wrong for my blog space. I think each person has to be decisive and determine what is best for them. I have a few I love to repost because they are simply good for me to read, and I want to share them. I don’t think there is a right or wrong answer, but I do think it has to be an answer you are comfortable with.