Blog Posts Can Be Repurposed into eBooks and More

Blogging. I know. It feels like you’re supposed to write about how transformative the meal was at Brasserie Mon Chu Chu to your email list of 1,000 people. But don’t think of lifestyle blogging, unless you are one. You’re a small business. Everything you write and publish educates your current, past, and future clients. And blog posts can be reused. Listen in for more!

Timestamps

(00:03):
Welcome to the Launch With Words podcast, with your host, Bridget Willard. We're going to talk about all things, content, blogging, articles, videos, whatever has words and goes on your website.

(00:21):
Hey. Hey! We know you've seen those Netflix movies and situational dramas and comedies where the lifestyle blogger is writing about her experience at Brasserie Mon Chu Chu in San Antonio's historic Pearl District. And how, uh, eating the filet mignon was like an orgasm in her mouth and the senses the senses and the music took her back to her time in Paris in 2017. Uh, but enough about me. Blogging. Is it just something that 20 somethings do when they're trying to be a lifestyle blogger blogging? Is it just something that people do to express their feelings?

(01:11):
Blogging is publishing articles on your website. You're at episode nine of this ten-part series, season one of Launch With Words podcast. So, uh, maybe this is your first episode. Maybe you need to go back and listen to the rest.

(01:29):
But I hope that you understand that blogging shouldn't be taken lightly. It shouldn't be dismissed. And definitely you should not avoid publishing on your blog for fear of feeling childish or juvenile or silly or ridiculous. Why? Because your blog posts educate and inform past, current, and future clients. You know, it's so much easier to get a client back or to have return business from a client than to get a new one. You know? And you want to be seen as that person who is an expert in your field. That's why you started your business, right?

(02:11):
So here's the thing. Once you publish those blog posts, um, they're on the internet basically forever until you delete your site. And then still there's like the Way Back Machine, but that's another episode. Um, we talked about the internet having a long memory in a previous episode.

(02:30):
So another thing that you could do with your blog posts is make them into an eBook. So, uh, I, what I did, for example, is I took my Keys to Being Social series that was written over eight years. I took those blog posts, put them into a Google doc, spent about a year editing them with my friend, Sarah Pressler, and turned them into a book called Keys To Being Social on Amazon, available on Kindle and also paperback. I did this because I realized that I had a gift of teaching people how to use social media in a way that makes sense to them based upon what they already know: good manners. Good manners, right? And going through each thing, and then how that works itself out, right?

(03:27):
So maybe you are a mobile notary and your goal is to teach people that not every notary will do a self-proclaimed affidavit. Not every notary at The UPS Store will notarize something for a living will or the last will and Testament. That you specialize in this, uh, situation. That you will come to the home or office for loan signing docs. The UPS notary is not going to do that. That's not their main, that's not their main source of revenue. That's an extra service, that's a value add for The UPS Store. Right? But you as a mobile notary have that you as a yoga instructor, have your apparel have, um, the ways to modify for being plus-sized. Have like beginners -- a heart for beginners, right?

(04:29):
You as a general contractor, understand when people want to make their homes suitable for them not just to flip. Some people actually want to buy a home and live in it until they die. And that's a completely legitimate way of homeownership.

(04:47):
And so it makes sense then to customize the bathroom so that things are centered and the tile is perfect. And that there's a lot of natural light and things like that. Right? You have those options. And, and as that professional, as that small business owner, you can, you know, gain your audience. A lot of people say "Write for your audience." You know? "Figure out who your audience is."

(05:17):
You know, what? Write for you. Write for what you're passionate about. You know why? Because there's always going to be an audience to find out whatever you're passionate about.

(05:27):
I mean, if, if you, if you are a general contractor who's passion it is to make homes ADA compliant so that they, so that people can age in place, then write about the importance of being able to age in place. Write about the importance of having, you know, uh, wheelchair accessible bathrooms, ramps for your mother-in-law or your dad that you're going to have to take care of. Us gen X-ers we're taking care of our parents, baby boomers have already been taking care of their parents. Right?

(06:00):
So, so I know this is a little bit longer than some of the other episodes, but you have that content. Okay? Now repurpose it. Repurpose it as an ebook. So maybe you take those three to five articles you wrote about aging in place. Right? Combine them together. Use Canva or, you know, Google docs, whatever. And put it in as a PDF that people can download once they sign up to your email marketing list. Then you have a lead generation tool, right? You can go and contact them through, um, however you deal with leads in Salesforce or your proprietary software or email marketing with MailChimp. Right now, you have another way to capture people.

(06:48):
You can also repurpose your blog posts into videos. Right? You can, you can take those exact blog posts, copy the text, put them in lumen5.com and they will make a video for you. If you pay, then you can remove the watermark and get the colors, right? But for free, you can do a lot of those videos. Then you have them on YouTube. Then you can share them on social media, right? It's another way for people to consume your content.

(07:20):
You can make a podcast. It doesn't have to be a weekly podcast. For example, this podcast is going to be one season of ten episodes. And if I decide to do a second season, it will be ten episodes 'cause that's all I'm willing to commit to. Because I have other things to do, like write more content packs. Right? And handle client work.

(07:40):
So repurposing what you've already done is smart, efficient, and helps you cast a wider net for the people who have aligning passions with your business, your goals, and what makes you unique.

(08:00):
Thanks for listening to Launch With Words, a podcast by BridgetWillard.com. If you liked this podcast, why not go ahead and share it with your friends, small business owners, peers, your brother? Oh, I really appreciate your attention. If you have any ideas, contact me on my website. Follow me at @BridgetMWillard on Twitter. And I hope to see you on the next episode or the next season.

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