An article can be repurposed a a variety of ways:
Create a flier which can be mailed or hand distributed.
Email the content directly as a pdf, white paper or report.
Insert the article in a newsletter which can be emailed or mailed.
Use it as a blog article which gets found in search engines online.
Offer it as a guest blog article which gets found in search engines and links back to your site.
Present it in a press release which can also get linked back to your site and be found in search engines.
Make the article a contribution in social media such as LinkedIn.
Use it as an outline for an in-person presentation. (Reference it online.)
Turn the article into a podcast or audio for distribution.
Reformat the article into a slide show or video.
(Note: It is not to your advantage to take the same exact article and distribute it. To do so increases the risk of duplicating content and may devalue it. Change the article as needed to meet the reader's needs.)
By taking action and moving beyond the traditional marketing, each of the above can:
- Be shared easily in digital form, clicks, links and social media.
- Give you more authority on the subject matter.
- Be permanent content which grows with time. vs. advertising which needs to be replaced.
- Be developed into a book or eBook with other articles.
- Give support to people who are searching for answers.
- Be linked to and referenced by other websites which improves your ranking.
- Offers a place to refer any time of day.
The emails you are writing which are turned into articles are considered content marketing. Content marketing can become permanent on the Internet and grows with time. Buying advertising spots is direct response related and needs replenishing.
A combination of the two creates a synergy but for the long term, content marketing via your articles can become a foundation for your reputation, referrals, and being found online via search engines.
Referrals are a first choice for growing business and the Internet offers more opportunity for others to refer and share.
Once upon a time, there was print as the primary marketing vehicle.
In the digital age, how people share and refer has changed. Print is helpful but digital has improved the convenience of storage, sharing and sending a message.
The entrepreneur and small business owner must start the ball rolling by creating the content.
You already have content.
You give thoughts, advice and counsel to others in emails... one by one. If you would take your email, give it minor tweaks to remove individual names and references, the world can benefit. While the world benefits, they will share and your business can grow.
By using the content you have already created, there is not a need to invest more hours into content creation. "I don't have the time" is no longer the issue.
For every entrepreneur who believes that they must know you, like you and trust you; turning emails into articles and using them for content marketing is a no brainer.