amiyanandy
Hello fellow bloggers! Have you ever put forth great effort into writing a post only to see it end up gathering dust after its initial publishing? Unfortunately, this phenomenon is quite prevalent within the blogging world.
Time and effort go into writing new blog posts, yet we often overlook old posts which offer much value.
Instead of constantly searching for fresh ideas, why not spend a little time breathing new life into old blog posts? Revamping old posts can add excitement and brings visitors in new ways while engaging your existing readership in exciting ways.
In this article I’ll outline simple yet effective techniques that will help revive old blog posts. Let’s get going and transform our blogs’ past into their future!
Why You Should Revive Old Blog Content
Why revisit old blog posts? There are numerous valid reasons! First and foremost, information changes frequently and links become obsolete over time; you certainly don’t want to present outdated info to your readers! Even articles considered evergreen require periodic maintenance; there may always be opportunities for adding more insights – something search engines like Google particularly value!
Think about the quality of your writing as well. Over time, as your skills as a blogger have likely expanded significantly – perhaps as you found your unique voice or learned about audience demographics and SEO – so newer posts might be much superior than earlier ones written during earlier stages. By regularly updating old articles to reflect this best work you’re doing to stay compliant with Google’s ever-evolving quality standards and ensure every piece on your site reflects it perfectly.
Revamping existing content can often be easier than starting from scratch; and, it provides opportunities to add internal links that keep readers on your site longer.
Your blog archive represents a vast reservoir of potential waiting to be unlocked!
How to Revive Old Blog Content
Looking back at your old blog posts might seem a bit overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be! You just need a plan. Let’s break it down into three easy steps: choosing which content to update, adding fresh information and links, and promoting your updated articles.
1. Pick the Best Articles to Revive for Great Results
You don’t need to update every single post you’ve ever written. That would take forever! Instead, focus on the articles that can attract a lot of new readers.
How do you find these gems? Check your website traffic! If you’ve been using Google Analytics (and you should!), you can see which posts have the most visitors. Look for the top ten posts, but make sure you check the “all time” views, not just the last week or month.
Take a good look at these articles and ask yourself:
- Are there any broken links in this post?
- Is the information outdated?
- Does the writing match the quality of your current work?
- Can I write a follow-up post that links back to this article?
- What new value will readers gain from the updated version?
As you go through this, make a second list of topics from your top ten that you can easily rewrite or expand. If you already have ideas on how to update a specific post, jot that down, too.
2. Revise and Update Those Articles
Updating and revising are both important, and most articles will need both.
Revisions are all about improving the quality and SEO of your writing. You might just make small tweaks or completely rewrite a post. Keep an eye out for things like:
- Long, complicated sentences
- Clarity and simplicity
- Spelling mistakes
- Bad grammar
- Weak SEO
Updates are about adding new information. This could be new research, additional links, or even an update about a project you’re working on. For example, if one of your most popular posts lists resources, you might want to fix any broken links.
Pro Tip: If you’re making big changes, think about creating a brand-new post and linking it to the old one. Even a quick post that says, “Check out my newly updated guide!” can help bring traffic to your archives.
3. Expand on Old Ideas with Follow-Up Posts
Writing follow-up posts is another great way to breathe new life into old content. They can be advertised as fresh articles, which is a bonus! Plus, follow-up posts help create a web of internal links that keep readers engaged on your site.
Go back to the list of topics you chose to expand on or rewrite and circle those that are better suited for follow-ups instead. List posts work well because you can turn each point into its own article.
Read your top articles carefully and note down any ideas for follow-up posts. You might want to move these ideas to a new document so you can keep track.
Once you have your ideas, expand on each one with a couple of bullet points. This can help you create outlines for a series of articles. You can decide to publish them all at once or spread them out over time to keep attracting readers.
I’ve done this with some of my articles, creating a series I plan to release monthly.
You might also want to update the original article at the same time, especially if your writing style has improved since you first published it.
How to Market Your Revived Blog Posts
Marketing your revived posts will be pretty similar to how you promote new ones, but there are some specific strategies for older content that can work wonders, even if it hasn’t been updated as long as it’s still valuable.
Start by creating a round-up post. This works best if you’ve done one or more follow-up posts so all the content is linked together. You can choose anywhere from five to 50 of your best articles on a topic, making sure to highlight any that have been recently updated.
After that, keep promoting your content even after it’s launched. You can do this manually using a scheduling app like Buffer or CoSchedule, or automate it with a plugin like Revive Old Post.
Final Advice
Reviving your old blog content is one of the easiest and most effective ways to enhance your website and attract new visitors. Start with your top ten posts and consider expanding to your top 20 or 30. Revise and update as needed, write follow-up articles when you can, and build new marketing strategies around your refreshed content.
How do you go about breathing new life into your old blog posts? Are you doing enough?
