Your Best Content Is Already Written
Let’s pull back the curtain on The EO Report for a minute.
The other day, I was combing through our Google Analytics to get a clearer picture of what content you—our curious, discerning readers—are actually engaging with. Why? Partly because I needed to fill our social content calendar. But mostly because I wanted to know what’s connecting.
What I found wasn’t surprising. A handful of articles give us a nice little spike in traffic every time we post them. Every time.
Why?
I have a few theories.
Sometimes it’s because it’s about a colleague many of us know.
Sometimes it’s because the piece includes highly tactical and actionable actions.
And sometimes (let’s be honest) it’s because there’s a little drama or behind-the-scenes commentary that people can’t resist.
Whatever the reason, the result is the same: engagement goes up. So what do I do with that information?
I keep using those pieces. Again. And again. And again. And I’ll keep using them until they stop working or stop being relevant.
Could I create new content instead? Of course—and I do. A lot of it. But here’s the nugget I want you to take away from this:
If something is working, keep doing it.
We see it all the time: organizations tying themselves in knots trying to churn out new content and falling into the trap of thinking content is going to be stale right after posting it. But new content is time-consuming and resource-intensive. What if you worked smarter instead of harder?
That blog post you wrote that blew up the first (or second) time you posted it? It’s not stale. It’s a wealth of future content for you.
All of these can be separate pieces of content based on one link:
Share an intro post.
Pull out a great quote and turn it into a graphic.
Break the main points into a carousel.
Ask your audience for their perspective.
Dive deeper into one angle of the piece.
Tie it to something in the news (even months later).
Repost it as an “in case you missed it.”
That same blog post could also become a video, a newsletter feature, a webinar, a podcast episode, or even an op-ed. The possibilities are endless.
But isn’t that… cheating?
Nope. And your audience won’t get bored. Here’s why:
Most people didn’t see it the first time. They weren’t online that day, or they scrolled past without registering it. You’re giving them another chance to engage with something valuable.
People forget. You live and breathe your content. Your audience doesn’t. A fresh headline or visual can make old content feel brand new.
Repetition is a good thing. People revisit their favorite books and podcasts. Why shouldn’t your content get the same treatment? Think of that article or video you pull up every once in awhile because it was useful or made you laugh.
Different angles reach different people. What didn’t resonate the first time might hit differently the second (or third) time around.
Your audience has grown. Don’t keep your best work from new followers just because they showed up late to the party.
Give the people what they want. If you had a dinner party, and the guests raved about the dessert you made, you wouldn’t thank them and then throw away the recipe, never to be made again. Think of your content the same way.
In short? If the content is good, relevant, and keeps getting you engagement, don’t stop using it.