A great way to drive consistent traffic to your website is to produce evergreen content. We’ve talked about evergreen content before: it’s relevant, on-brand content that your target audience will always want and ask for. As opposed to trending content that’s topical or viral.

Evergreen content is cool and all, but it takes much more time and energy creating it. (Things that business owners always seem to lack.) So, how can you create more content for your business without getting overwhelmed by content creation? 

You use what you already got. You refresh and repost content that already exists for your business.

Why should you reuse existing content?

No, refreshing and reposting your content is not cheating. It’s actually a smart, budget-friendly marketing move. By updating and republishing your old content, you enjoy the same benefits that you would if you created a brand new piece of content. Let’s talk about those benefits, shall we?

Boosts your traffic

This is a no-brainer. Update your old content, and you’ll see a spike in website traffic. 

Google likes fresh, relevant content — the more up-to-date, the better. You can’t get around this by simply changing your publish date or headline to the most recent year. Google’s algorithm knows that trick. Don’t worry, we’ll dig into the right changes to make in a minute!

Keeps your content on brand

Are your blog posts from five years ago still on-brand? Even if the majority of them are, we’re betting some of them could use some brand voice tweaks and edits to URLs. (More on that later.) 

Your brand, offers, and business have likely evolved a little bit. Refreshing your content periodically ensures that all of your content pieces, no matter how old, align with your brand guidelines.

Gives old content pieces another chance

Speaking of old content pieces, we know there are some old blogs, videos, or social posts that you were really proud of when you created them…but didn’t do so well with your audience. Why not give them another shot? 

Make a few edits and updates, then send them out into the world. You might be surprised to find that they perform better on their second go around.

Helps you stay relevant

Think about the last time you Googled something. You found a few results to help with your question, both from trustworthy, authoritative sources. One result was from the current year, while the other was published three years ago. 

You probably chose the more recent result, right? If so, you’re not alone. Many people look for more recent content over old pieces, especially in industries where timeliness matters. (Like online marketing tools or social media practices.)  

Are there any evergreen topics that will never need a refresh and repost from time to time? We can’t think of any.

5 ways to refresh your content

Now that you know why you should refresh and repost your content, let’s talk about a few quick ways to do that.

Choose the right content pieces

How do you pick the right pieces of content to update first? That all depends on what you have going on already. 

If you have thousands of blog posts under your belt, starting with the oldest posts may feel too daunting. In that case, you may want to pinpoint blogs that no longer fit your current content strategy and update those first.

Another way to approach a content refresh is to look for content that has potential to perform really well. It could be podcast show notes that rank on the second page, or a blog that competes against another one of your blogs for the same keywords.

Oh, and when should you update your content? Try reviewing it once a quarter, and aim to refresh before a launch or rebrand so your website is looking its best.

Update the visuals

Maybe you have an amazing new graphic designer on your team and you want to show off their skills. Why not update some old pieces by including new visuals to tell your story? 

Don’t limit yourself to just graphics. A fun GIF, a photo of yourself or your team, or a video can work, too, as long as they make sense for the topic and support your content.

Change up the format

Would your podcast show notes hold their own as a separate blog post? Can you turn a popular email newsletter into a case study? Can you transform a blog into a step-by-step tutorial or video series? Yes, yes, and yes. Why the hell not?

Presenting your existing content in a new medium is like giving it a hot new makeover that may appeal to a different part of your target audience. It breathes life into older content and lets it shine. 

Rewrite the copy

Updating your content may take a few small edits and changes, or may turn into a longer rewriting process. It really depends. 

From quickest to slowest, here are some tips for rewriting content pieces that need a refresh:

• Change your CTAs. Get rid of that old freebie or offer. Check that your contact info is up to date. If your CTAs aren’t recent and relevant, you’ll frustrate readers who click on them.
• Update links, sources, and statistics. Look for percentages, numbers, and URLs that could use a refresh. And definitely take out any old, broken links.
• Edit for brand voice. If your writing sounds unnatural, off-brand, or just plain wonky, edit words and phrases so they sound more like “you.”
• Eliminate fluff. Are there any parts in your content piece that go off on a tangent, string your readers along, or don’t give your audience what they want? Get rid of ‘em. Then reread your piece again to ensure that everything makes sense and flows well.
• Write some more. Expand on your opinion, add more steps in your tutorial, or include newer information. It’s totally okay — and sometimes necessary — to refresh your content by adding more to it.

Here’s a quick bonus tip: always tell your audience when you update a piece of content so that they’re not confused by what you’ve written. Transparency is important. You don’t wanna lose your audience’s trust over something as small as that.

Keep it fresh

Always coming up with new and exciting content ideas is damn near impossible if you’ve been in the business for more than a few years. It’s totally normal to feel like you’re tapped out on creativity, or you’re writing the same shit over and over and over.

So, give yourself a break by refreshing and reposting your content. In fact, make it a regular part of your content strategy. You’re not taking the easy way out; you’re getting the most mileage out of your existing content that you’ve already worked hard on. (Haha, hard on. Sorry.)

And if you’re too stressed to even look at your backlog of blog posts? We can handle it. We’ll help you refresh your content so that it’s on-brand and helps you reach your biz goals. Give us a ring and let’s get started.