Making Old Blog Posts Popular – Without Rewriting Them
Most bloggers have a stockpile of old blog posts languishing in the cellar, all dusty and cobwebby. Here are five ways to make your old blog posts popular again – without rewriting them!
Before the tips, a quip:
“Genius is the art of taking pains.” – Claude Hopkins.
Isn’t that great? Taking pains will make you a successful writer – if not a genuine genius! I found Hopkins’ quip in Web Content Rx: A Quick and Handy Guide for Writers, Webmasters, Ebayers, and Business People by Wayne English. Click on it for more info on blogging and writing, and read on for five ways to make old blog posts popular without rewriting them…
Making Old Blog Posts Popular – Without Rewriting Them
If you’re interested in rewriting your past articles to make them popular again, read Tips for Repurposing Old Blog Content.
1. Update in the comments section. On my other Quips and Tips blogs, I’ve started using my comments form on old blog posts to describe related research, press releases, etc. For instance, on The Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet Plan, I added an excerpt of a current press release describing why this diet is so healthy. Commenting on your old posts pulls the post to the front page of your blog, where readers can find it. Plus, extra comments make the post more “weighty” in Google’s eyes, which makes it easier for readers to find.
2. Ask friends and fellow bloggers to comment. I talk about my blog posts to my friends, spouse, writer’s group, book club, etc – and people often share their opinions! So not only do I ask them to comment online, I actually send them the link to make it easy for them. This is a great way to make old blog posts popular and involve people from your “real” life.
3. Ask a question on an old guest post. One of my favorite posts here on Quips & Tips for Successful Writers is 10 Tips for Achieving Your Writing Goals, by guest author Mark Richard Webb. To make that old blog post popular again, I could ask a question in the comment section, send Mark the link, and ask him to respond. This way, I get two new comments – and I increase the potential for the post to be found by readers.
4. Tweet it. I’m revitalizing some of my old blog posts on Quips & Tips for Achieving Goals, and I found one I love — 10 Tips for Improving Your Luck. So, I tweeted it as one of my “oldies but goodies” (another Twitter benefit for writers). Unfortunately no readers commented on it – I’m chalking it up to July 4th holiday absenteeism – but a Twitter friend did RT it! (thanks, @suzannelilly of TeacherWriter.net!).
5. Submit old articles as guest posts. Dig up a favorite old blog post and ask someone in your blogging community if he or she is interested in posting it (don’t have a blogging community yet? Read 5 Tips for Building a Strong Writers’ Network!). Make it clear that you’ve already posted it on your blog, and give the blogger a reason to post it. Why would his/her readers like your old blog post? Learning to sell your writing by explaining why readers might benefit is an important habit for successful writers; it’ll keep your skills strong for pitching article ideas to magazine editors or book proposals to agents or publishers.
By the way – I welcome guest posts on Quips & Tips for Successful Writers — and my other three blogs! If you have old blog posts that are tips-related and 400-600 words long, email me at lauriekienlen at yahoo dot ca.
Phew, finding new ways to make old blog posts popular without rewriting them is hard work! Do you have any ideas? Please comment below…
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Ana | Jul 5, 2009 | Reply
From the list on Making old blog posts popular I act on 1, 3 and 4 from time to time. I do find that I am bringing them back to life in a sense, and it helps to point them out to users too.
Ana´s last blog post ..Choices of energy in rhythm
Laurie PK | Jul 5, 2009 | Reply
Thanks for your comment, Ana! And here I thought I was coming up with new stuff
Here’s another way to make old posts popular: When I first started blogging, I didn’t respond to comments readers made. Now, I’ll stumble across an old post with a comment that I didn’t acknowledge, and will respond immediately with a comment. Now, I rarely let a comment go without speaking to it — but I was more lax at the beginning.
Laurie PK´s last blog post ..Traveling Teens, Rocky Roads – Query Letter
Tumblemoose | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Laurie,
Recently I’ve had newcomers to the blog comment on some older posts. It’s been a while since I’ve reviewed my archives and I’ve realized there is some stuff there from my early days that apply even today!
Thanks for these tips, I’m going to work on this today!
George
Tumblemoose´s last blog post ..Inspired Writing for any Writing Project
Vicky | Jul 13, 2009 | Reply
Hi Laurie!
I am part of a “community” of bloggers and one of our last initiatives is exactly to revive old posts. Bloggers will send me the link for the post of their preference, saying why we would like to read them. This information form a new post in our list-blog.
We work as a meeting point for people who once had their blogs reunited in a newspaper that decided to disolve the community. The solution we found for not to be disconected from each other was to leave links from our blogs in a list-blog http://enjeitadosdogo.blogspot.com/. It is in Portuguese, but you can get an ideia.
I’m loving your blogs!
Vicky´s last blog post ..On Babysitting and screaming babies