<p>So, you've finally hired a writer to get all those projects off your desk (or spent 2 weeks doing them yourself). Getting these great ideas out of&nbsp; the "we really need to do that" pile and into the pile of "we've accomplished that and it's working for us" might seem like enough of a return on your investment.</p> <p>Think again. As long as it's well crafted and audience focused, that content you've just created can be a goldmine of source material that you can now leverage into your other marketing and PR efforts.</p> <p>The key to getting the best return on your marketing communications dollars is to think carefully about what you're creating-- and all the ways in which you might use it-- before you begin.</p> <p>Here's an example:</p> <p>You've created a new newsletter or upgraded an old one. This newsletter is not a chronicle of the inner workings of your business. Instead, its content has been strategically focused to address the things that keep your clients or customers up at night. It answers questions. It offers insight. It helps readers do their jobs or live their lives.</p> <p>If it's a print newsletter, you could condense that content into an email newsletter. If it's an email newsletter, you could expand it into a print version.</p> <p>If your content features the story of how you solved a problem for a client, that could be repackaged as a simple one-page case study for your web site.</p> <p>You might also have a print version to use as a leave-behind when meeting one-to-one, for use at trade shows and conferences, or in sales packages.</p> <p>If your content is newsworthy, you can repackage it into a news release, and then post that news release on your web site as well as sending out to the media.</p> <p>Perhaps it might spawn other, related ideas for future press releases?<br />&nbsp;<br />Maybe, in the course of conducting research on the newsletter, you hit on some interesting topics that merit a closer look. Would your audience benefit from a white paper or a report that helps them to make sense of this complex topic?<br />&nbsp;<br />What about further connecting with your audience by sending them a short survey to gather useful data on the topic and issuing a report on the results?<br />&nbsp;<br />Might there be a creative way to expand on the key messages in your newsletter by sending out a series of postcards that grab attention and showcase your company's solutions?<br />&nbsp;<br />Are you using social media? Can you translate some of this content into blog posts? Or use Twitter to send out some interesting tidbits and links related to the topic?</p> <p>Which conferences are you attending this year? Where can you draw from newsletter content to create compelling presentations that showcase your expertise?</p> <p>Has your writer interviewed your company's subject matter experts on a specific topic? Can this interview be used as the basis of an article and pitched to publications in your niche?</p> <p>The bottom line: The opportunities for repurposing your content are always expanding. You can maximize your dollars and the effectiveness of your message at the same time with smart repetition.</p> <p>Strategic thinking will get you there.</p> 2009-03-17T22:39:37Z -10.0318 168 3690 true 14 14951 10-simple-ways-to-re-purpose-your-content 0 2009-03-22T20:36:00Z 2009-03-22T20:36:00Z

Want to increase the return on investment in your marketing materials? Start brainstorming for ideas on how you can re-purpose, revise, and re-use the content. Here are 10 simple suggestions to get you started.

1 2009-03-22T20:36:00Z