We blog and we blog and we blog. But what happens to all of those archived posts? Do we look at them ever again? Do they simply disappear or end up where that missing sock from the dryer ends up? Some bloggers blog every day, and having those hours of blogging sit there, never to be seen again is such a disservice to your great wisdom.
Ignoring your archived content is not only a waste of your time, but its also a disservice to your readers. Your archived posts are valuable and can even help you drive more traffic to your blog. Since you spent all that time on making those posts, it’s only fair that you make them all pay you back. Here are three ways to capitalize on your collection of archived posts for fun and profit.
- Give Your New Posts a Blast From the Past – Whenever I blog, I always try to add links to related posts that I’ve made in the past. By doing that, you not only draw attention to your library of archived content, but you also give your readers more content to read in case they want more. Matched with the related posts plugin mentioned in an earlier post, you’ll have people reading for hours.
For those of you that have a full RSS feed, sprinkling those links into your posts means that visitors that have been mooching off your feed, now have a reason to visit your blog and get off that free ride. This of course increases your traffic. Once you get them to your blog, they might see something else they like too and stick around.
- Highlight Your Top Posts – Pulling your top posts from your archives, and creating a place for them to shine is a great way to show people your best or most popular content. You can also do this with series of posts on a particular subject.
For example, on my Top Posts page, I highlight my series of posts on my Isagenix Cleanse that lost me over 11 lbs in 11 days, and ironically enough, I also list all my fine dining experiences as well as the not so fine. Since I’ve done that, I’ve noticed increased traffic to that page, and all the posts within it. Most importantly, the content was free and waiting, so it only cost me the time to put up the links.
- Talk About Yourself Through Your Archived Posts – There are readers that may be visiting your blog for the very first time. Unlike your dear and faithful readers that have been with you since the beginning (THANK YOU!) your new readers don’t know you like they do. It’s kind of like when you start to watch a TV Series from the middle. You simply can’t get into it, and then you just stop watching. Sometimes a recap is in order. That’s why series recap shows have become so popular: They draw new viewers.
You can do your own recap show too by leveraging your archived content. Bring up old posts that define who you are. For example, I’m pretty horrified by Roller Coasters. It doesn’t help that I’m afraid of heights. Maybe talk about your disdain for drivers that don’t use turn signals. I bet you there’s a few people in the audience that can relate to that. People tend to relate to someone they know and trust instead of someone they don’t know, and you can do that by bringing back your archived posts.
Next time you’re stuck for ideas on what to blog about, you only have to look as far as dusty archived posts. Ressurrect them for a walk down memory lane, inspiration for a new post, or to just to get your new readers up to date on your story thus far. Give these ideas a try, and let me know how they work out for you.