The ultimate guide to repurposing your podcast content in 2020

Here’s how to do it.

Benefits of repurposing podcast content

First, you need to understand the logic behind content repurposing.

Podcast episodes are already rich with content

Chances are, each episode you create touches on a variety of topics and may even include multiple formats. Locked inside of your episode, all of that content is reaching only your existing dedicated listeners. You need to unlock it so casual listeners and new converts can hear it.

Find out what your audience cares about

If an episode has multiple topics and formats within it, how do you determine which one your audience loves (and which it doesn’t like at all)? By breaking up episodes you can independently test every aspect of your podcast to see what resonates with your audience. Armed with that knowledge, you can iterate for a better show.

Repurpose with that context in mind

When you’re in the process of repurposing content, always have your goals at the front of mind. Structure tests so you can gather valuable data and learn lessons. Don’t just throw content around without a plan.

Create less, promote more

If you’re like most podcasters, 90% or more of your time goes into the creation of each episode. Take a lesson from the world of content marketing, where the rule is 20% creation and 80% promotion. Even if you go 50/50, you’ll be getting a lot more value out of each episode and out-promoting the competition.

It’s harder to compete with you

If you’re churning out repurposed microcontent regularly, competition is going to have a hard time keeping up. Even if they put out double the number of actual episodes, they’ll still have far less content out there.

Never run out of material

Even if the time between episodes is a few weeks to a month, spacing out the release of repurposed microcontent means your social media channels can always be active and your audience always engaged.

Build a following faster

When there’s more content for your followers to engage with and share, more people will find you. It’s a simple formula that’s at the core of podcast success.

Anyone can start anything, the hard part is consistency

Let’s face it, the early days of creating a podcast when you’re pouring your heart into content few people are seeing are brutal. The faster you can pick up some momentum, the easier it is to build a growth engine that works. Content repurposing narrows that gap so you can find your success faster.

Your audience will expect and get used to seeing you often and you will build thought leadership

Businesses have all kinds of reasons to start podcasts, but thought leadership is one of the most common. Relying on people to listen to each episode to make an impression on them is going to take too long. Creating dozens of smaller quality content pieces means you’ll make more impressions and build an audience faster.

How to actually repurpose content

Okay, now that you’re sold on the idea, what are the practical steps you need to succeed?

Ask What does your audience care about

This is the fundamental question you should be asking about your podcast as a whole. The answer should drive the content you produce and then the format it’s in.

Content

You should begin by creating content you believe your audience will find compelling. But, keep in mind that you should try small experiments as you go to test whether other topics might work as well. Never rest on your laurels, you should always be testing ideas.

Format

Similar to your approach on content, you should test formats. Granted, you’ll probably want to test these less frequently but you can’t pass up a chance to learn more about what resonates with your audience. For example, try creating an episode that includes an interview, a monologue, and questions from the audience.

Ask “Which segments can add value to my audience?"

This is a fundamental question you need to be asking yourself each time you repurpose content. You should always be testing hypotheses.

Practical or actionable advice

Sometimes an audience is looking for someone who can cut through everything and deliver practical advice. Try repurposing content around both topics and see what resonates. You might not get enough feedback early on and your audience will evolve, so keep experimenting as time passes.

Statistics

If your podcast had some interest statistic (or better yet produced a statistic by crowd sourcing or something similar), you should be turning that into content. This could be a simple image or even a meme which helps drive home the point made by the statistic.

Ask “Which segments can be entertaining or engaging?"

Value doesn’t mean much if it’s not engaging, so you’ll also need to experiment with answering this key question. Here are some tips:

Humour

If you’re not funny, don’t try to be. But, if you’ve got a knack for it a bit of humor can do wonders for your engagements. Even if you’re not “laugh out loud” funny, once you have an audience little inside jokes can help build a sense of community and loyalty to the podcast.

Personal anecdotes/examples

This is a great way to build a sense of connection with your audience (something podcasts are uniquely adept at) and your own thought leadership. After all, speaking from experience is always going to be more engaging than throwing around hypotheticals. If you don’t have any relevant experience, interview someone who does.

Questions

Your audience will always be a great source of ideas if you just know how to listen. Ask for questions, feedback, ideas, etc. whenever possible. Make it clear that you’re building this podcast with your audience and that being dedicated to answering their questions is a part of that mission.

Lessons

Be open with your audience. Talk about the lessons you’re learning as you go. The podcast Startup from Gimlet Media can provide a nice example of how to do this (it’s a podcast/documentary about starting a startup). This kind of openness will also help build show loyalty by making them feel they’re a part of something and not just a passive audience.

Content Formats

You need to be creating your podcast with an eye on answering the question: what types of content can I repurpose? Here are some ideas.

Video podcast content

Podcasts may be a largely audio medium, but if you’re going to be repurposing content you need to have a video version. Platforms like Facebook, and LinkedIn heavily favor video content (not to mention Youtube). It pays to get even a basic office setup so you can get video out of your podcast recordings.

Audiograms

Because most videos on social media are viewed without audio, audiograms are videos with the text transcribed on the image. This makes the content far easier to consume while scrolling. However, it also obscured the images themselves, so it’s worth experimenting to see whether these perform better with your audiences.

Trailers

Much in the way a movie trailer throws together some of the most compelling moments from a movie to convince you to see it, a podcast trailer can convince potential listeners or viewers that you’re worth subscribing to. It’s a fantastic way to stand out and drive interest back to your full episodes.

Written podcast content

Beyond cutting up and repurposing the audio and video content of your podcast, writing about each episode can greatly enhance the value it provides.

Summary articles

Whether you’re trying to get them to rank and bring in organic content or simply give your audience an easy way to refer to the main points made, summary articles offer a lot of value. They also make it easier for you to link back to points made in future articles, meaning new audience members can rediscover older content that’s still valuable.

In-depth articles

Maybe you touched on a topic that your audience really responded to. An in-depth article can be another way to dive deeper into a topic or conversation and see how your audience reacts. Done right, it can then serve as inspiration for new content.

Highlight articles

If you’ve got a long and in-depth episode on a topic, highlight videos are a useful way to pull the main ideas out and turn them into a shorter video. This is a fantastic way to reach potential viewers who aren’t ready to commit to watching a full episode until they’ve been convinced it will be valuable for them.

Image podcast content

Another easy way to repurpose podcast content is with images. While not as favored on social media sites as video, they still offer sharable content that can spread your message to a wider audience.

Quotes

Probably the easiest content to create and share is an image with a quote. If a guest (or yourself) said something too good not to share, then share it. The image could be a screenshot or something simple like a branded background with your podcast logo.

Statistics

Images with eye-popping statistics can be created and shared in much the same way as quotes. A chart or graph can also help make sure they will catch someone’s eye when scrolling through social media.

Anecdotes

Here, a single image or even a series of images can tell a funny or unexpected story from the show. Or, you can use an image with an anecdote to make an important point or share a lesson. Like with the other examples, this is a chance to show what your podcast is all about to new potential audience members, so put yourself in their shoes and consider what will be compelling.

Conclusion

Phew, there’s a lot to say about repurposing content, but that’s the beauty of it. There are so many ways to go about it. Even if your first attempts don’t yield great results, there are nearly limitless combinations of format and content to experiment with. If it feels overwhelming, try just starting with one and seeing how it goes.

That said, even for seasoned podcasters who repurpose their content will need to try something new. Whether you’re looking for new ideas or just getting started, we’ve got the deep knowledge and expertise to help you find success. Book a brainstorming session to learn how we can make things happen.