5 ways to help you get fresh ideas from your old blog content

Let’s talk about how to collect content ideas from things you have written before. One process of doing that is easy and works for almost any type of online content.

Start with a popular post: there was a reason it resonated with your audience. Tap into that. If you can get in the habit of mining and storing your ideas soon after a post becomes popular, you are one step ahead.

Step 1: Check the comments

Whenever possible, go the extra mile and get feedback from your readers on your post. Ask them what they liked and were particularly interested in. Note down their feedback because chances are it may lead to a new topic for a post or following up the original one with different information.

Step 2: Get a new perspective

Read through the whole thing again. Is there something you can add? We mention a lot of concepts, tools and ideas in our work without really giving them full attention because we want them to serve as a bridge to the point we're making with those particular sentences. Every single time you do that, you are opening a door to another post.

Step 3: Pick one Subhead That Could Become an Entire Post

Expand on the information and provide more detail. If you talk about the most popular marketing tactics for Shopify stores, a follow-up post could be all about one of the best tips few people know about.

Sometimes, your work just might not resonate with the audience or search engines ranking your pages. However, if you think that there was something of value and can rethink it from a fresh angle without compromising the quality of your work, try again. If you think your article is a dud, there’s no point in putting lipstick on a pig; make your peace and move on.

Step 1: walk a mile in your current reader’s shoes

Our ideal reader changes over time, it’s a natural progression of what you’ve shared with them and the changes in your own writing skills.

What about this older piece might pique the interest of the audience you write for today? Pick one or two tidbits and start from scratch, writing in the style and voice your readers expect from you now.

Step 2: Build a rabbit hole

Get visibility and traction for less popular content by writing a companion piece linking back to your original content. Wait a few months then resurrect your content by building a companion piece. To know more about this, check out theWriting Cooperative’s content.

Building your idea list is by mining ideas from your previous posts works even if you don’t have a deep catalog of content. Mine your posts! If you're writing a blog post, there's almost always something that you can improve or change. The easiest way to think of this is keeping the audience in mind, and making sure that you're delivering the information in a way that they would best understand it in your next articles.

"Content marketing professional Giacomo Rotella suggests getting started by auditing your existing content. You can use a spreadsheet to put together your content, along with URL, headline, and description. Then, try to find evergreen pieces that will be relevant for years to come without the need for constant upgrades. As a final tip, to find content that will likely succeed again, look for pieces with the highest traffic and engagement. That's a sign that the information resonates with your audience and will likely perform well again if you repurpose it into a different format."