Content recycling

What is content recycling?

Content recycling (also known as content repurposing) is the practice of using and adapting existing content or parts of it to a new role. Reusing content you have already created can help reach new audiences, and it’s usually conducted using a new format. For instance, information from a blog post can be used to design a visually pleasing infographic.

Content recycling, content refresh, and content rewrite

• Content recycling – as stated above, the main idea behind it is producing new content based on already created one, but in a new form;
• Content refresh – think of it as more of an actualization of already existing content. You can add new facts, correct the outdated ones, or even change keyword structure so, for instance, your blog post will be easier to find in the search engines. For example, a common procedure is to update the article to make it current in a given year, for instance: “best holiday destinations for 2024” (of course, don’t change just the title, make sure that the presented information is up-to-date not to disappoint your readers). When performing an SEO update, consider changing titles or meta descriptions, improving readability, and much more. Importantly, checking whether the information you’ve given to your audience is still relevant and updating it when necessary is excellent for building your website’s credibility;
• Content rewrite – as the name implies, it’s a process that includes text rephrasing. It’s an excellent way to make your old work shine bright again and a good writing exercise. After revisiting a text you wrote some time ago, there is a high chance that you will get some new ideas on how to improve some things about it. For instance, you may try to change the order of paragraphs and use better synonyms or rephrase certain text elements or even headlines. Before working again on your text, analyze it, especially its style, tone, grammatical correctness, and coherency. Check whether you have cited the right source of information, if necessary.

Benefits of repurposing content

Many people mistakenly believe that once they’ve discussed a topic, they can’t reopen it. Creating new content based on the old one can actually bring many profits:

• It helps to save time, resources, and money;
• You have the possibility to reuse topics that have already proven successful but to show them from a new perspective or simply in a new light;
• This technique somehow “forces” you to diversify the forms of presenting your content, which can make it interesting to new audiences.

Content repurposing AI

Here, you will find tools powered by artificial intelligence that can support and accelerate your content recycling process:

• Otter.ai – a solution that helps to transcript audio. It may come in handy when producing videos or audio tracks based on your previous content to make it more accessible. The free version offers 300 minutes of transcription in a month but with a limit of half an hour for each one and the ability to import only 3 video or audio files per user. The Pro version costs around 17$ per month or 100$ a year, and you will be eligible to get 1200 minutes of transcription a month with a limit of 90 minutes for each conversation and the ability to import and transcribe 10 audio or video files each month. The Business version offers up to 6000 minutes monthly, with 4 hours per transcription and unlimited files import for around 240$ annually or 30$ monthly.;
• ChatGPT – useful for creating ideas on how you can recycle content but also, for example, rephrase the text. Remember that an adequate prompt is the key to a good answer! Right now, you can have unlimited access to the GPT-3.5 version and limited to GPT-4o for free. With a Plus plan, you will get, among others, more prompts for GPT-4o and access to DALL-E, a graphic generator, for around 20$ a month. There are also Team and Enterprise plans with even more advanced options;
• Lumen5 – a tool that assists in creating videos quickly thanks to its simple drag-and-drop editor. An advantage of this product is a vast library of images, music, and video footage and an AI feature that turns your written content into a more gripping form. You can check Lumen5 for free, but the videos will include a company watermark. The most affordable plan starts from around 230$ yearly or approximately 30$ monthly and has no video limits but only allows to export videos in 720p resolution. There are also Starter, Professional, and Enterprise plans with which you can export videos in 1080p resolution and access unlimited premium media.

Save content, save time, save money!

Creating valuable content can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. This is why employing content recycling techniques can often be worth implementing, as they offer significant benefits with minimal effort compared to producing new ones from scratch! Adding old-new ideas can help keep your website, social media accounts, or even YouTube channel alive!