As an author, you’re pretty good at writing. What you’re often not as good at is finding the time to do all that writing. For many, that can include blogging, social media posts, press releases, requests to agents/publishers/reviewers and more. It’s often more than one person can handle.
Enter repurposing.
First, let’s define what repurposing actually means. According to the Oxford English dictionary, to repurpose means to adapt for use in a different purpose: (i.e. they’ve taken a product that was originally designed for a CD-ROM and repurposed it for the Microsoft Network)
I’ve been working in website content for a decade and a half. I’ve repurposed content in every which way. But it occurs to me that many authors may not be familiar with the concept or how to repurpose to save themselves time.
With that in mind, I am presenting … how authors can repurpose content on (or from) their author website.
1. Repurpose book excerpts/short stories as blog posts. Can’t think of anything to blog about? This is a common problem for fiction authors. Use your blog as a place to publicize your new short stories. Or cut and paste brief excerpts from your book as blog entries, and really use them to whet people’s appetites. Creative writing and a blog do not have to be oil and water!
2. Repurpose your blog posts for social media. Think you need to write an entire blog post and different status updates for Facebook, Twitter, etc…? Wrong! Put your time and energy into your blog posts, and then use social media as a vehicle for promoting them. Write brief teasers for each post, and put them (and links, of course) as status updates on all your social media presences to keep your accounts active.
3. Repurpose your website content as marketing material. Writing a bio for your website? Use it as part of your press kit? Creating a book discussion guide for your website (which I often recommend that authors do)? Include it as a free giveaway when you’re doing book signings. Writing promotional copy about the book for use on the website? Reprint it on a flyer that is distributed to local booksellers. You get the idea…
4. Repurpose your website videos. This is huge! Are you making any videos for your website? Are you creating a book trailer or doing a “welcome” video? These should be promoted everywhere. While their original intent may have been for your website, they should also be making the rounds on YouTube, Vimeo, etc… People love sharing videos, and these can become huge social sharers for you.
5. Repurpose any external press releases or articles. Did you (or your publicist) write any press releases about you or the book? How about articles or guest blog posts for other sites? Why should these only exist elsewhere (unless you signed a contract stipulating that, of course)? Use these as blurbs in the “news and events” or “media and press” segments of your website. Simply writing a brief update and linking to the full pieces makes your site look more current, and you more high-profile.
See what I mean? Tweaking, re-printing, sharing and more allow you to take one piece that you wrote and turn it into multiple pieces of content that serve different purposes for you; both on and off your author website.
Happy Repurposing!