Yep, another 2012 Top 10 list…well, sort of…
Lately I’ve been wondering…with all this blogging I’ve done pretty consistently since 2005, will I ever dip back into my archive to re-examine my views from, say, six years ago?
Does what I said, felt, thought, or opined about back then – either fluidly or herky-jerkily – actually have any bearing in the present or for the immediate future? And, moreover, even if this were true, does it even matter? Isn’t it just a glorified waste of time?
With the reams of content being produced by everyone these days– pro-ams and everyone in between those two poles — what role then does your personal archive play in your overall strategic direction?
I’ve considered this as I respond to queries from clients as to the reasons why I constantly ask them to create all this content. If it’s only going to be looked at by a few choice individuals, they quite logically ask, does the copious up-front time investment justify the scant ends, in terms of pay, ad revenue, or audience share?
So what are some of things you can do with your old archive to make it more worthwhile? How can we make the hoped-for blogging ends justify the blogging means?
Allow me to brainstorm:
- extract one month out of your, say, 2010 archive and rewrite the posts to reflect changes in the conditions on the ground or in the business landscape. Adopt a new voice as you rewrite it. Contact any old sources or people referred to in the then-post to see if they’d be willing to offer up a preface to the new post (if it’s worthwhile for them to do so?) and repost all as a brand-spanking-new piece of content.
- edit the piece for language, syntax, or style – adding a few flourishes – and gauge how it reads after. Repost the new entry for 2012, thereby churning out a brand new piece of content.
- tally up the words written over the course of a given week last year, average by the number of work days per week, and — #BOOM! — determine your average post length, a figure you can use as a pullaway statistic in any of your 2012 marketing collateral online, and then…
- …use this same stat as a new quota goal for 2012 post length, attempting to keep all anticipated 2012 blogs within this newly-determined reasonable length. Test your ability to keep posts within the new set length for maximum readability and efficiency, ensuring to time yourself on how long it takes you to whip out a post, minus the continual switchtasking lags from social media distractions. :-)
- repurpose blogs which haven’t lost any of their spark or luster over the ensuring months, repackaging them for 2012 release with minor changes and the like. Concentrate on writing 2012 blogs full of content that has timelessness and which has long-tail value built-in from inception. Spice up your older entries with new artwork/photos.
- the “transmedia” treatment: if something began in text, determine whether it’s worthwhile to extend the idea into the video or audio realms. I got this idea from Ike Pigott of Occam’s Razr, how Ike, in his signature TV-anchor’s style, reads along in about the same time it takes the average reader to complete one of his clever entries. Totally killer idea! Alternatively, you might wish to extract one theme or element from your blogpost, then shooting a video around it, embedding this clip in the old post, reblogging the entire thing for the New Year.
- tweak old posts for SEO and other key metrics: you might not be leveraging the power of your present archive to its max extent. Consider how I recently optimized my videos over at my long-existing (since 2006!) YouTube channel (@gtowna) so they’d be more easily discovered for “serendipitous search,” a happenstance finding of your stuff at the YouTube search engine (the world’s second largest, seeing as it’s owned by Google). This is an arduous process, so you might to want to hire/farm it out to someone, but it’s very worthwhile.
- ask other bloggers if it’s possible to get guest mention at their blogs. Utilize your old archive as proof-of-concept of your blogging savvy. The mere request might lead to traffic spikes at your present sites or outposts. Monitor closely.
- spin off an entire new blog: noticed how certain themes continued cropping up in your writing during 2011? Then perhaps consider channeling your personal brand to become known as the online maven in that particular subject area? Might even be better than continually mixing in your golden nuggets with other less precious gems, if you follow my metaphor…
- consider publishing an eBook with your best posts from 2011. String the choicest fruit from the past year into a, say, 50-100pp “Best of 2011” eBook. Use this as a glorified calling card to back up your professional bona fides at conferences, film festivals, or industry events. Consider, also, publishing a small run of these in hardcover and then gifting a limited number of these to special clients, colleagues, or friends for special occasions or in recognition of their stellar 2011 contributions (thanks again to Mitch Joel and Chris Brogan/Julien Smith for this winning tip!).
Anything I missed?
Adam Daniel Mezei, PMD | Producer of Marketing and Distribution
http://pmdforhire.com
Marketing and Distribution Services for Indie Films and Documentaries
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Two more:
(1) tease out rising hot themes and establish yourself as the arbiter/agenda driver. Dedicate a day of week on one, which culminates into a series. May include interviewing all the thought leaders in it. E-publish. Rinse. Repeat. (this is a variation on ‘top 10′, with a more topical edge)
(2) refresh a good piece by creating new supporting data for it and sticking this finding in the lede. Use flash-polling services (such as mine, HonestlyNow.com) to quantify or pressure test, or myth-bust. Do a series of micro-polls and create a hot infographic of them. Publishers love infographics and they can be rich w links back to your site.
PS — no DISQUS?