Old blog posts
sit in the background
collecting dust
rarely seeing traffic
and frankly,
they’re lonely.
How old is your blog?
You have some ancient posts, right?
Do you look at those posts?
Do your readers?
As you grow, your blog grows, and so does your focus.
Inside you’ll learn:
- What to include in your content refresh
When I started this blog, I wrote about a number of topics. Not all fit what I do now.
If you weren’t around in 2015, you might not know How to Use PLR Articles or 5 Ways to Get Content Without Writing it Yourself.
In 2016 I did a traffic experiment. I tried all sorts of tactics to see which worked.
I don’t get much traffic to those posts anymore because I don’t promote them.
What if I refreshed these posts or merged the entire series into one pillar post?
Would traffic and shares increase?
Would my blog promotion client base increase?
BuzzSumo analyzed over 100 million articles and found that shares across all social networks decrease by 96% after 3 days. They also found that if you continue to share your post, traffic increases. Read more in my post 9 Things to Do After Your Blog Post Goes Live.
Over time, posts get dry or out-of-date. New research is out or maybe the way you write changes. Links break or keyword phrases you chose a few years ago didn’t work as well as you hoped.
Grab This Post as a Checklist
Free Download: Save a copy of this checklist I made:
Content Refresh Checklist
Whatever the case, your old blog posts need a spa day. ^_^ 
25 Ways to Update Your Old Blog Posts
1. Formatting - headings, bold, italics, bullets, numbered lists, white space, short paragraphs
2. Images - update images for the social networks bringing the most traffic and sales (Pinterest, facebook, twitter)
3. Keywords - what is the post currently ranking for? Can you improve it? Read Janice’s post on 5 free tools to help improve your keywords
4. Title - SEO rich titles. Use a tool like Hookline Dynamic to create emotional and powerful headlines.
5. Click to Tweets - use a plugin or make your own. You can use clicktotweet.com for this too.
6. Comments and Tips from readers - read what your readers shared and add it to the post. Janice of MostlyBlogging.com does this beautifully in her post on How to see 566 Pageviews in One Day.
7. New research and stats - did the stats change? Something in 2012 probably needs to be updated for 2017.
8. Interviews - did you mention an expert? Why not interview them? Send a quick question via email or Twitter or use MyBlogU to request collaborations.
9. Quotes - add a few quotes from experts (images or text)
10. Video - create a blog trailer. I’ve been using Lumen5. Denise Wakemen shares how to make your own.
11. Audio - audio blog post like this one from Convince and convert podcast
12. Gif - share an emotion. Simply visit Google and search “topic + GIF” (my cute Pomeranian having a spa day)
13. Content Upgrade - how can you one up this post to get your reader on your list? Learn more about how to use them effectively from Convert Kit’s Blog.
14. Clean up your copy - edit and edit some more. I use Grammarly to help edit my posts.
15. Promote or recommend products and services - what services can you recommend?
16. Call to Action - transition into your recommendation or subscriber invite. Ann Smarty did extensive research on this, read about CTA wording, colors, and placement.
17. Transitions - can you improve the introduction, transitions, and conclusions?
18. SEO (alt tags, descriptions) - add alt tags, improve SEO, and meta descriptions for SERPs using Yoast SEO Plugin
19. Social sharing graphics (buttons) - I use Social Warfare Plugin for this. Read Dustin’s post on the psychology of sharing to learn which social buttons to include.
20. Add examples - don’t just tell how to do something, show them by example
21. Giving more details - add a small walkthrough, screenshot, or video
22. Add stories - Ryan of BloggingFromParadise.com tells a good story. How can your life experiences add to your content? For example, in his latest post, he shares…
“If you feel I succeeded with blogging because I was lucky or popped out of the womb with live broadcast video charisma, playing for the camera while I shed my placenta, you instantly believe that an element of luck or some pre-existing, intrinsic talent made me who I am today. Meaning you believe that YOU will only succeed with blogging if you are lucky or have “it”. (“It” meaning being born with some fully-developed talent, which is quite asinine, when you think about it.)”
23. Interlinking old posts with new - give your new posts some of the new traffic too by adding them to those old blog posts. You can also link to your old posts in your new content.
24. Check bad links - broken links hurt your reader’s experience as well as your SEO. Use a plugin or a site like W3C link checker.
25. Add an opt-in form - grow your list by adding a subscription form to your old blog post.
But, Sara, Isn’t this just repurposing content?
Yes, some of the above updates are simply repurposing the content you already have. BUT, these little additions significantly improve traffic, sales, and subscribers.
Neil Patel says of blog posts in Data Driven Repurposing Content article…
“textual blog content or blog posts might not be the most appropriate medium for every content piece.”
Keep this in mind as you create new content. Additional resources and ideas to help you update and reuse your content:
- 25 Actionable Ideas to Smartly Reuse Your Old Content to Get You Busy Right Now by Ann Smarty
- How to Repurpose Content for Social Media by HootSuite
- 7 Killer Ways to Repurpose Blog Content [Cheat Sheet]
Would you like to learn how to do your own content refresh? Or better yet, why not send your virtual assistant?
Join me September 26 @ 11 am PST as I share how to update your old blog posts.
I’m hosting a Giveaway! Comment below to enter to win your very own Content Refresh for 1 old blog post from yours truly a $40 value. 3 Winners will be announced in class.
Free Training - Tuesday, September 26, 2017, @ 8 am EST. Can’t make it live? Sign up to receive the replay link.
Oh, wow, this post was featured on Blogger’s Pit Stop. ^_^ Thanks, everyone.
This is such a great idea. I habe many posts that need to see the light of day again. I’m PST so I’ll be awaiting the reply. 🙂
Hi, Val. A spa day is a nice way to put it, isn’t it? If I have to do tedious but necessary work, I like to add a bit of fun to it.
I’ve updated and even re-published old blog post several times. Not as often as I probably should though 🙂 I’ve been blogging since 2003 and I have over 1800 posts to choose from
Linda, that is quite a bit of blogging. 😉 I’ve been blogging since 2007 but not on the same blog. I’ll have to check out some of your older stuff. Thanks for stopping in. ^_^
Thanks for these great tips. It’s a helpful reminder that we should all go back and fix up/improve our earlier posts.
It is, Nicole. Oftentimes, I blog and forget. That shouldn’t happen in a business. ^_^
Hi Sara,
I’m excited to see my link here. I’m honored too. Thanks for your thoughtfulness. I liked your page in the bottom right. Is it a chatbot? I have a lonely chatbot.
Thanks again. Great ideas, by the way in this post.
Janice
Hi, Janice. Of course, I’ve learned so much from following your blog. So much great stuff, it takes time to implement it all.
Yes, I’m experimenting with the chatbot. I’ll let you know how (if it works) it works out later. ^_^
Hi Sara,
Congrats on having this post featured at the Bloggers Pit Stop!
I wonder why people don’t talk to Chatbots. Sounds like a study is needed.
Janice
Hi, Janice. Aw, thank you.
Chatbots are fairly new and maybe people are unsure about using them.
Also, personally, if I find it to be a chatbot, I step away.
I’m not too big on filling up my messenger with marketing.
It’s like my messenger is MY space, unlike my email which seems to be a marketers haven. ^_^
Folks like John Lee Dumas and of course Facebook use chatbots well.
I’d give it time. I did use one here for about a month. I took it down as it was not effective. (for a real test I should have kept it up for at least 3-months)
WOW! What a gold mine of practical blogging ideas and wisdom! Totally pinning this for when I’ve had more than 5 hours’ sleep. 😉 Stopping by from Blogger’s Pit Stop! 🙂
Hi, Elizabeth. Thank you for stopping in. I can relate to the lack of sleep, blog hopping. ^_^
I do this with holiday posts, but I’m sure there are some posts gathering dust that should see daylight again.
Hi, Michele. Holiday posts are a great example of posts that need to be updated. I’m sure if you look in your archives or even in your analytics, you can refresh some to give it a bit more reader attention.
Thank you for the great ideas. I seriously need to do this. I’ve removed posts from several sites that recently closed or that probably will soon. I will be redoing them for my own sites and these ideas will certainly be useful as I work.
Barbara, yes, sites close down and blog content needs to be redone. Posting guest content on your own site may give your blog a little boost. Did you grab the checklist? It’s free to use online or you can download the PDF version. ^_^
That is a whole lot of great ideas for old post that we all have heaps of. The Blogger’s Pit Stop is going to FEATURE this post.
Kathleen
Oh, Kathleen! Fantastic. Can’t wait until Thursday/Friday to visit more lovely bloggers in the Blogger’s Pit Stop. ^_^ p.s. thanks for the tip on the little messenger chat box.
That is a great ideas for old post . nice and very informative sharing. keep it up.
Hi, Rana. Thanks for stopping in. Which task do you think you’ll start with?
Great info! I actually repurposed a 2-yr post today for Breast Cancer Awareness month and shared it in today’s link up. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
Terri, that is a perfect example. Update and republish a seasonal post (even if 2-years old). ^_^ Thanks for stopping in.
Hey, you were at WordCamp-Sac, right?
Missed you. ^_^ I intended to go, but something came up.
There are a lot of useful ideas here. I know I need to do more with updating and repurposing the content I have created. I do get overwhelmed at the enormity of the task.
Michele, I know what you mean. There is so much to blogging. If we did every little thing, it’d be massively overwhelming.
I try to add it as a weekly task to my overall blogging plan. ^_^
Great advice, Sara, thanks for sharing these cool ideas on #BloggersPitStop - thanks to bloggers like you, we don’t have to sweat over new posts. lol 😉
Hope this weekend treats you kindly. 🙂 Off to share so others can find this! 🙂
Hi, Donna. So true, right? Sometimes we get so busy, writing a new post just makes us so stressed. Updating an older (yet good) post is an option. Thanks for stopping in and for sharing.