The Veg-O-Matic approach to SEO copy development
Earlier this month, I was honored to speak at SMX West. I was originally going to chat about how content strategies have changed over the last year. Then, Chris Sherman (one of the conference organizers) said, “I really like your Tweets and how your firm repurposes content. Can you talk about that?”
Sure thing!
My slides were based on this 2011 blog post. When I originally wrote this, Google+ wasn’t even on the radar. Now, it’s yet another platform that marketers have to use and measure.
Feeling overwhelmed? Relax. Take a peek at my slides, and then read how the Veg-O-Matic approach to SEO copywriting can make your life easier than before. Really!
One of the areas where many site owners get “stuck” is content creation. There are more SEO copy opportunities than ever before, including:
- Tweets
- Facebook posts
- Product/service pages – new pages, as well as updates to existing pages
- Case studies
- Blog posts
- White papers
- Videos
- Webinars
(I’m sure you could add more to the list.)
The challenge with “content overload” is that nothing gets done. Planning an editorial calendar seems impossible. There’s too much to write in too little time.
That’s when you bring in the SEO content Veg-O-Matic to slice and dice your content into little bits.
For those not familiar with Ron Popeil’s Veg-O-Matic, it was a hand held appliance that made slicing and dicing vegetables easy. You could cut a carrot into small pieces. You could shred it. You could even create thin julienne slices. Cutting it up was effortless – and one carrot could take many different final forms.
You can do the same thing when you plan your SEO content. Rather than thinking, “Oh, man. I have a month’s worth of tweets to plan,” think of how you can “slice and dice” existing content many different ways. Here’s what I mean:
Say that your company creates one white paper a month. Once the white paper is complete, you could:
- Pull out tasty 140 character tidbits and use them as tweets
- Transform some of the main topics into 500 word blog posts. Each week, send out an email newsletter featuring the posts.
- Create a video based on a white paper topic (I’ve been creating YouTube SEO copywriting video tips, and they’re pulling in great traffic.)
You see? You’re taking existing content and working backwards. You’re doing what you can with what you already have. Granted, you’ll still want to plan bigger projects (like another white paper or a product page revamp.) But, finding time for big projects is much easier when you’re not reinventing the content wheel every time.
Instead of looking at your editorial calendar and thinking, “It’s mid-March, what do I write/tweet/blog about for the next 30 days,”it shifts to, “We just completed a blog post/case study/video. In what ways can we slice and dice it into tasty content tidbits?”
Once you’ve figured out how to leverage what you have, the content creation process seems much more effortless.
You can accomplish the same goal even if you don’t have one “big” content piece a month. For instance, say that your company blogs five times a week. You could probably pull a couple – maybe more – good tweets out of every post. You could track popular blog topics and develop a Webinar (which could even be an additional profit center.) Heck you could even produce a monthly “Twitter tips” list that you could offer as a downloadable .pdf. The possibilities are endless.
You don’t need to solely focus on existing Web content, either. Do you have an old how-to guide that you could dust off and transform into blog posts or tweets? Did you write an article years ago that you could repurpose? Have you written a book? As long as the content is updated and valid, looking to “old” content sources is a smart idea. Recycling is good for the environment, and it’s great for your content, too!
Consider taking a cue from Ron Pompeil and see how you can Veg-O-Matic your content. You may find that you’re releasing more quality content than ever before – and creating your monthly editorial calendar is easier than ever before.
Great post Heather!
I think too many people get confused about the difference between creating duplicate copy and repurposing content.
Taking slices (or even concepts) from other projects you have written can help immensely when it comes to filling the copywriting void.
Thanks for the reminder and tips.
Thanks, Amy!
It’s true that folks are often confused. I know that I’ve chatted with people who would say, “Oh, I already do that – I submit my blog posts to X Y and Z.” In their heads, “repurposing” meant “duplicate.”
Writers have been repurposing content for ages. You’d write an article, rewrite it slightly, and then sell it to another publication. If you wanted to maximize your income, that was the best way to do it. It’s the same in the online world (although, sadly, we aren’t getting paid for sending out a tweet based on something we already wrote!) :)
Thanks for the advice Heather, the business of content creation can be a bit overwhelming at times and your idea to break it down in to slices is much more manageable. Interesting to hear to that your youtube videos are pulling in extra traffic too.
Thanks, Jacqueline! Glad you enjoyed the post! :)
Good post, but doesn’t Google penalise duplicated content? Or is it only duplicated content on the same site that is affected?
I’m having a “duh” moment. I rarely tweet … like once a week. And I have almost 200 blog posts I could pull quotes from … Thanks, Heather!
@Katherine – that is FANTASTIC! Happy tweeting! :)