How to Get 10 Posts Out of One Good Idea

Guest post by Dennis Fischman

It’s time to post to your blog. You scratch your head, pace up and down, drum your fingers, start several posts and delete them…and at last, you have it. It’s a good idea. You put the finishing touches on it and hit, “Post.”

“Uh-oh,” you say. “Now what am I going to use for Facebook?”

Save time and worry: take that one good idea and use it again. Here are ten ways you can re-purpose one good idea for blogs, social media, video, and print.

On your blog:

1. Go into detail. Your original post was a list like this one. Take each item on the list and explore it in depth. (If it’s a long list, you could get ten new posts just like that!)
2. Link to more resources. Your original post was a tip on how to get your kids to read this summer. Take a minute to find tips other people have written. Post links to them.

On social media:

3. Post the original article. Give a brief intro that makes your friends want to read it all.
4. Pull a telling quote from the article. Post that, either alone or as a graphic.
5. Find a picture that makes the same point as your original post. Put that up, with a very brief caption. The picture should say it all.
6. Ask a question that gets your readers thinking about the issues raised in the post.
7. Do a poll. Yes or no? This or that? People love answering - and even those who don’t answer are more likely to read, like, and share the post.

On video:

8. Talk to your phone. The easiest way to make a video is in your pocket. You can say the same thing that you wrote, in a more conversational way, and then post it on YouTube.

In print:

9. Pitch it to your local newspaper.  A good blog entry could be a good op-ed, too. Many local papers are strapped for staff and they’ll run almost anything you send them.
10. Use it in your own print materials. A good blog entry could be a good newsletter article, or (depending what’s in it) a fact sheet or FAQ.  It could even be the basis for your next sales letter or fundraising appeal.

“But won’t people get tired of seeing the same idea over and over again?”  The answer is no. Many people won’t see it the first time, or the second, or the fifth.  If they do see it, only after repetition, will they remember it.  Plus, you are going to say it in ten different ways, and it’s going to seem wiser each time.

Okay, let’s get started.  What’s your good idea?  How will you use it again and again?

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Dennis Fischman is the owner of Communicate! Consulting, where he helps nonprofits and local businesses win loyal friends through communications.

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