3 Ways to Repurpose Long-Form Content into Even Longer-Form Content

With time and attention spans limited, it may seem counter-intuitive to extend your long-form content into something even longer.

Besides, we often think of repurposing as taking long-form content and turning it into brilliant short-form content, like those impactful social media quotes, hilarious memes and memorable Reels and TikToks that we love so much.

But this isn’t the only option because longer content gives you the unique opportunity to delve deeper into your topic and expound on your ideas and theories. Plus, it provides a way to reach a wider audience and help to further establish you as an industry leader.

Here, we look at 3 ways you can extend your blog posts, videos, webinars or podcasts into something with even deeper, higher impact.

We’ll take a look at repurposing:

• Blog posts into a book
• Blog posts into a white paper, guide or report
• Long-form content like blog posts, videos and podcast episodes into an online course

In a previous podcast episode and blog post on the best way to repurpose content — long-form to short form or vice versa we looked at how, if we shift our mindset around content repurposing then anything is possible and I really believe that.

So let’s shift our mindset around long-form content and ask ourselves, why would we want even longer content, such as books, eBooks, white papers, reports and epic articles for example?

Because, they provide the unique opportunity to satisfy your established audience that wants more. You can go deeper into topics, share even more of your expertise and reach a broader audience.

So here are three ways to turn your long-form content into even longer-form content:

1. Turn your blog into a book

The blog-to-book trend shows no sign of abating, as many bloggers see it as a way to breathe new life into their blog, reach a wider audience, and establish themselves as industry leaders.

Now, of course, in order to do this you need to produce a well-planned, well-edited book.

In a previous episode and blog post, we touch on ways to go about repurposing your content into a book. At that point the Content 10x book was well underway and we were full of all the excitement and anticipation that comes with pulling off such an epic undertaking… and it is epic!

We had a large bank of content, but we still needed to repurpose it into a cohesive manuscript that made sense and offered the reader real value. The below helped:

Now, you may look at your book outline/plan and think your book is pretty much there. Excellent! But the likelihood is there will be content gaps that need to be filled. This is the perfect opportunity to tailor upcoming content to plug these gaps — also, ask your audience for feedback. Their input is invaluable and will provide some excellent content for your book.

You may have so much excellent content that you’re faced with the dilemma of what to exclude. If this is the case, stick to your book outline/plan so you don’t lose sight of the end goal — and don’t try to fit content in just because you have it… You can always write another book!

Another important decision is the format you want for your finished book, because this will dictate the content. Are you going to publish an eBook so your reader can download and access it anywhere on any device or, do you feel a traditional, published book suits your content best?

Who knows, maybe you will do both. Our book is available in hard copy, audiobook, and on Kindle because it works in all formats. You will know what will work best for your content — and if in doubt, ask your loyal followers!

2. Repurpose blog posts into a white paper, guide or report

Another way to turn your long-form content into even longer-form content, is to repurpose blog posts into a white paper, guide or report.

These long-form, comprehensive documents and downloads are fantastic marketing tools.

While the definition of white papers varies from industry to industry, they are generally accepted to be advanced problem-solving guides, and are a fantastic way to showcase the depth of your expertise. Their main purpose is to educate your audience about a particular issue and present solutions.

Guides and reports provide the opportunity to develop authority, while providing your audience with content that is really useful. Plus, if you’ve been creating blog posts for a while, you may already have the content you need to write one.

Remember, a white paper looks at the problem first and then follows with the solution, so focus on repurposing solution-based blog posts. Guides and reports generally dive into a solution right away.

Also, a formal document needs credible sources, so if there is anything that can’t be backed up, don’t include it.

3. Long-form content repurposed into an online course

The third and final suggestion is to turn long-form content into an online course.

If you’re an educator, influencer or expert who’s sitting on well-researched, informative content that your audience keeps coming back for, why not package it into an online course?

There are various ways you can deliver your online course, depending on the type of content you have to repurpose. It could be created from repurposed:

… But why restrict yourself to one? You could combine them and pull together a truly fantastic multimedia course!

The important thing is to choose the right content and package it to be consumed in the right order, with any additional commentary needed to tie it all together, and a specific end goal. For example, a step-by-step course on how to repurpose a virtual event.

The last piece of advice on turning your long-form content into an online course is this…start simple, start small and ask yourself, ‘what am I being asked over and over again? ‘ Because that is what you need to do your course on.

In conclusion

While chopping up long-form content into short-form content and vice versa are both excellent and worthwhile repurposing strategies, THEY ARE NOT THE ONLY OPTIONS!

Investing some time into extending your long-form content into even longer-form, longer lasting content is worthwhile because it:

• Breathes new life into old content
• Gives you the opportunity to go deeper into a topic
• Further establishes your expertise

If you have repurposed content in this way, or have any other ideas or suggestions we’d love to hear about them in the comment section below.

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Originally published at https://www.content10x.com on August 4, 2022.