Creation vs. Curation – When to Recycle Content

Let’s face it – constantly creating new content can be demanding, and may sometimes seem impossible. With issues like writer’s block and imminent deadlines, it isn’t always realistic to create new content as often as you need it. That’s when it can come in handy to recycle content. Reusing that sweet recipe from last spring for a Mother’s Day treat, or that article about travel destinations can be lifesavers when it comes to curating content rather than creating content.

When do you recycle content?

Holidays

The first, and primary way to recycle content is for holidays. Is the Fourth of July coming up and you’ve got a niche article from four years ago about red, white, and blue fashion? If so, use it. Articles relevant to holidays come back into fashion each year on that specific day. Is it almost Halloween and you have a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes? By all means, recycle that content.  

Fashion Trends

It can be especially useful to recycle content that focuses on fashion trends. For example, espadrilles, made popular in the 70s, came back in summer 2018. If you happened to write an article about these lace-up wedges years prior, you’re in luck. By recycling fashion trend content, it’ll look like you were ahead of your time, and not in fact saving yourself time by curating recycled content.

Seasonal Pieces

Did you write a piece focusing on the best summer hairstyles? How about the best looks for winter? You can use that next summer, and next winter, respectively. And so the pattern continues seasonally…

Repurposing Content in a Different Format

Is there an article that is getting a lot of reads, and you want to promote it further? You can repurpose a blog post into an infographic or a video, transferring the content from one form to another.

Holidays, fashion trends, seasonal pieces, and repurposing into different formats are four ways we recommend for you to recycle content. So next time you are facing a time crunch or a mental block, turn to that content you wrote months, or even years prior; marvel at its brilliance, and recycle your content.