What is Content Remixing?

When I left in-house content marketing work in 2017 to consult and teach other marketers, I hadn't really figured out my big business plan yet.

However, I did know two things:

1. I wanted to focus on helping people with things like repurposing content and getting new results from old content
2. I did NOT want to be known solely as "a content repurposer" or "the content repurposing person."

Why?

I do love repurposing content, and I like to think I'm pretty well known for talking about it, having spoken about it for INBOUND, Forget the Funnel, and more.

But I DON'T love the conversation usually happening around content repurposing.

And I didn't want to contribute to this problem of focusing on the wrong problem and wrong solution.

So I didn't want to be Brittany Berger: Content Repurposer.

Instead, I created my own term, and created my own methodology.

That methodology is minimalist content marketing, the overall mindset of getting results from as little content as possible.

And the tactics you use? The actual actions you take in minimalist content marketing?

That, my friend, is what I call content remixing.

What is content remixing?

I define content remixing as anything that gets new results from old content.

So it INCLUDES, but is not limited to, content repurposing, or adapting content from one channel on another.

That might also be something like creating a new social media campaign based on messaging from a past promotion.

Or it might be repromoting a blog post from two years ago.

And it's definitely things like creating a new blog post from a customer support video that's been sitting in your help docs. You know the one. The video that's super helpful, that customers have actually complimented you on, but that no one wasn't already searching for it has ever seen.

It's leveraging ALL of your existing content assets in new ways, before creating totally new content.

How it's different from repurposing content

You know that saying, "every thumb is a finger, but not every finger's a thumb?"

That's how you can think about content repurposing and content remixing.

All content repurposing is content remixing, but not all content remixing is content repurposing.

Because as I said earlier, over-focusing on content repurposing distances you from the actual problems you're having.

Are they actually problems that more content will solve? My guess is no.

By zooming out from one specific tactic, you have more flexibility to create the best solution for whatever problem you're facing.

Content repurposing is just one tool in the bigger remixing toolkit.

It's there when you need it, but there are other options for when you don't.

Because repurposing content isn't a cure-all.

Why should you remix content?

So, why isn't just creating enough? And why isn't creating and then repurposing content much better?

More isn't better

First of all, both creating and repurposing content are focusing on putting out MORE.

Having more content for people to consume, just maybe on different platforms or websites. But like I said before, that doesn't work unless every piece of content you create is perfectly on point in terms of strategy.

Additionally, repurposing and putting out more can really only solve the problem of reach.

If your content is already converting to customers at great rates, and you just want to expand the audience you're inviting into that journey, then great! Please proceed.

But if the rest of your content marketing funnels, the journey taking someone from content consumer to customer, isn't amazing already? 😬

Then just increasing your reach or audience size won't help much.

Evergreen isn't immortal

While we're busting content marketing myths today, let's address another: that evergreen content is basically immortal. It's easy to think that the topic is all it takes to make a piece of content evergreen, and if you pick the right ones, they'll be good forever.

Wrong.

I like to recommend thinking of the plant evergreen content is named after. A lot of people hear "evergreen plant" and think "hard to kill" or "always alive."

But all plants still need nurturing and care, even evergreen ones.

And so does your evergreen content.

Remixing content includes refreshing, re-optimizing, and redistributing content, which is required for evergreen content to "stay alive" and keep bringing in results.

New isn't needed

Finally, you want to remix content because it keeps putting content in front of potential audiences without creating multiple pieces on the same topic.

Because when you prioritize your publishing schedule and "consistency" over the customer journey on the other end of the content, here's what tends to happen:

You stick to your consistent publishing schedule for awhile, covering new topics that you need to build out that customer content journey. And for awhile, all's well and you have plenty of important, needed topics to talk about.

Then, however, once you're a year or so into weekly posts, ideas that are both new and relevant are harder to come by. Everything you NEED to have content on, you already do.

So you either start repeating the same topics with just slightly different angles (creating a confusing experience), or you start reaching for less relevant and strategic topics (which won't serve your overall goals as effectively).

I've seen it happen over, and over, and over.

Instead of tripping up on the new content, more content treadmill, you can remix to make the most of what you already have.

How can you remix content?

So, you're ready to start content remixing. What can you do to get new results from old content?

There are so many options, depending on what your specific marketing goals are and what your content strategy looks like.

Here's just a sampling of them:

Refresh old content regularly

"Evergreen" does not mean "needs no maintenance."

Believe me. It didn't work with my succulents and it won't work for your content.

I beat on this drum frequently, but I refuse to stop until there are no more blog posts on page 1 for highly competitive keywords that haven't been updated years!

Fellow marketers, I ask you, as a friend and a peer:

WHYYYYY?! 😂

Refreshing old content should be a regular part of your content marketing routines.

For example, two of my "deep work" blocks per week are dedicated to content remixing in general, and during that time I work on any content refreshes I'm rolling out that month. In The Content Habit, I show you how to build your own similar content cycles that include remixing and refreshing.

Reuse content assets

From product messaging and mockups to social media copy and emails, your team likely creates dozens, if not hundreds, of assets for each marketing campaign or promotion you run. At least, you do if you're starting from scratch every time.

But you should be repeating and adapting campaigns that work. And when you do, reuse any assets that were previously effective and still current.

For example, once or twice a year I run a promotion on a bundle of all the products in the Content Remix Resource Shop. Now that I've run the same promotion on the same products at least four times now, I have a handful of different emails, graphics, social media copy, and more.

So now whenever it's time to plan another sale, I pull and update about 4 day's worth of assets. Since I have way more than that, each round of the promotion still ends up being slightly unique, along with more optimized and refined.

This pulling, mixing, and matching can be used to create new campaigns from old ones, as well. It's not just for rerunning the same campaign.

Reformat content from its original medium

Another great, although less important, option to remix content is repurposing it from one medium to another.

This is what's most popular, but despite what certain beanie-wearing thought leaders say, it's not the be-all-end-all. When you prioritize this above things like content refreshing or remastering, you can end up reformatting low quality content.

I've made this mistake in the past, and regret wasting so much time pushing out more versions of content that wasn't that effective in the first place.

BUT, once you do know a piece of content performs or converts successfully, reformat it from say a podcast to a video or blog post, or a blog post to an email sequence. Double down on your greatest hits as much as possible, yes, but don't create 20 pieces of repurposed content from EVERY original piece.

Reinterpret the ideas for other pieces

Another great way to remix content is to remix the ideas in the content, in addition to the full piece itself. Remixing on a more atomic level.

It's like sampling the original content in other content. Sampling gave Girls5eva their second chance, and it could do the same for your content.

In the case of content marketing, this might mean:

• Referencing and quoting old content in newer stuff
• Talking about the ideas in a podcast interview
• Breaking it down into a series of social posts or emails
• Mentioning it in guest posts about related topics

All with a backlink to promote the original stuff, naturally. 💁🏻‍♀️

Reshare old content that's still evergreen

If you're refreshing and remixing content so it's TRULY evergreen and alive, you can and should be resharing it on all your distribution channels like email and social media.

Reach on social media is notoriously fickle, plus your email and social media audiences are consistently growing (hopefully). This means only a small portion of it sees any given post.

So as long as a piece of long-form content is evergreen, you should be resharing it at least once every few months.

For example, every week when I schedule Instagram posts for the Work Brighter Instagram, I start by choosing a few old posts to reshare. The balance I aim for on the platform is 60% new content, 40% remixed.

And the Content Remix Planner even reminds you when you've gone too long without sharing a specific social post that's added to your Remix Library.

Remaster previously successful content

Finally, think about ways you can "bundle" together multiple successful pieces of content into a remastered album. For musicians, remastering means upping the audio quality of old hits.

It takes a group of things that were popular on their own, improving them, and letting Gestalt theory (the whole is greater and different from the sum of its parts) take hold from there.

You could remaster a group of related email broadcasts into an automated campaign, edit related posts to form a cohesive series, or turn social media posts into series to drive people from one post to others and your overall profile.i

Start remixing now

If you're ready to start remixing with me, there are a few ways you can get started.

Check out my free remixing strategy worksheet if you need to come up with a plan to remix your content.

If you have some ideas and are ready to take action, the Content Remix Planner is the only content planner that's not just for content creation - it helps you track and manage all of your content remixing.

Want my personal help? You can see if any of my content remixing services fit what you need. 😀

If you liked this post, you might also like:

• How to Work Your Greatest Hits Like Cher
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• How I Remix Content in My Own Business