If you're a content creator who's constantly struggling to keep up with the demands of multiple platforms, you're not alone. The pressure to produce fresh content daily across various channels can be overwhelming. But what if I told you that you don't need to create 20 different pieces of content from scratch? What if one solid piece of content could transform into 20 different assets with the right approach?
That's exactly what we're diving into today. I'm going to walk you through how to turn one piece of content into 20 different pieces that you can use across all your platforms. This strategy has helped me and countless other creators save time, reach more people, and grow our audiences without burning out.
The secret lies in understanding that great content deserves to be seen in multiple formats by different audiences across various platforms. It's not about copying and pasting the same thing everywhere—it's about thoughtfully adapting your valuable insights for different contexts.
Why You Should Repurpose Your Content
Before we jump into the how-to, let's talk about why this approach is so powerful. When you create one piece of content and transform it into 20, you're:
Saving enormous amounts of time compared to creating everything from scratch. Instead of starting with a blank page 30 times, you're starting with rich material that just needs reshaping.
Reaching different audience segments who prefer different content formats. Some people love reading blogs, others prefer listening to podcasts during their commute, and some would rather watch a quick video.
Reinforcing your message through repetition across platforms. Marketing research shows people need to encounter your message multiple times before they take action.
Maximizing the return on the time and energy you invested in the original content. Why let a great piece of content only reach people once when it could continue working for you for weeks or months?
Getting more mileage out of your best ideas rather than constantly chasing new ones. Quality matters more than quantity, and this approach lets you focus on developing fewer, better ideas.
Now that you understand why this strategy is so valuable, let's get into the practical steps of how to implement it.
Start With a Strong Foundation: Creating Your Pillar Content
The first step in turning one piece of content into 20 is to create a substantial piece of foundation content—what many marketers call "pillar content." This should be comprehensive, valuable, and substantial enough to be broken down in multiple ways.
Your pillar content could be:
A long-form blog post or article that deeply explores a topic relevant to your audience. Think of something that's at least 1,500-2,000 words and covers multiple aspects of a subject.
A detailed video tutorial or presentation that walks through a process or explains a concept thoroughly. A 20-30 minute video gives you plenty of material to work with.
A podcast episode where you interview an expert or dive deep into a topic your audience cares about. Aim for a conversation that covers various angles and subtopics.
A comprehensive guide or ebook that serves as the definitive resource on a particular subject for your audience.
The key is to make this foundation piece as thorough and high-quality as possible. Put your best thinking and research into it. Make it something truly valuable that addresses your audience's biggest questions and challenges.
For example, if you're a fitness coach, your pillar content might be a comprehensive guide to strength training for beginners. If you're a financial advisor, it could be a detailed explanation of retirement planning strategies. If you're a food blogger, perhaps it's an in-depth exploration of cooking techniques for perfect pasta dishes.
Whatever your niche, choose a topic that's central to your expertise and your audience's interests. The more comprehensive and valuable this foundation piece is, the easier it will be to derive multiple content pieces from it.
How to Extract 20 Pieces from Your Pillar Content
Now comes the fun part—transforming that single piece of content into 20 different assets. I'll walk you through some practical ways to do this, organized by content type and platform.
Social Media Snippets (10 pieces)
Your pillar content likely contains numerous quotable moments, statistics, tips, or insights that can stand alone as social media posts. Here's how to extract them:
Read through your pillar content and highlight key sentences, statistics, or insights that would make impactful standalone statements. Look for parts that made you think "that's really important" or "people would find this surprising."
For each highlight, create a simple text-based social post. For example, if your pillar content about content marketing mentioned that "Consistent posting increases engagement by 88%," that statistic could become its own social media post with a brief comment from you about why that matters.
Transform some of those same highlights into image quotes using simple design tools like Canva. Use your brand colors and fonts to create visual consistency.
Create short-form videos explaining individual points from your pillar content. These could be talking-head videos where you explain one concept from your larger piece, or they could be text-overlay videos that highlight a key point.
Formulate thought-provoking questions based on points in your pillar content to encourage audience engagement. For instance, if your content discussed productivity techniques, you might ask, "What's your biggest productivity challenge? In my latest article, I shared how time-blocking helped me increase my output by 40%."
Take interesting data points or statistics from your pillar content and create simple infographics or data visualizations for social sharing.
Extract actionable tips or advice from your pillar content and share them as helpful how-to posts. For example, "One technique I cover in my latest video is the Pomodoro Method. Here's a quick way to try it: Set a timer for 25 minutes and focus solely on one task. Then take a 5-minute break. Repeat 4 times, then take a longer 30-minute break."
Share behind-the-scenes insights about how you researched or created the pillar content. People love seeing the process behind the finished product.
Create before-and-after scenarios based on the solutions or methods you presented in your pillar content.
Post a teaser highlighting the most surprising or counter-intuitive finding from your pillar content to generate curiosity.
Blog Content (5 pieces)
Your pillar content can spawn multiple blog posts that dive deeper into specific aspects:
Identify 3-5 subtopics or sections from your pillar content that deserve their own expanded explanation. Each of these can become a standalone blog post that links back to your pillar content.
Write a case study or success story that demonstrates the application of concepts from your pillar content. For example, if your pillar content was about Instagram growth strategies, write a blog post about how you or a client implemented those strategies with specific results.
Create a Q&A blog post addressing common questions related to your pillar content. You can source these questions from comments on the original piece, social media, or your own knowledge of what people typically ask about the topic.
Write a "mistakes to avoid" blog post that highlights common pitfalls related to the topic of your pillar content. This approach takes the information from your pillar content and looks at it from a different angle.
Develop a "resources and tools" blog post that complements your pillar content by recommending specific tools, apps, books, or other resources that help implement the strategies you discussed.
Video Content (5 pieces)
Videos are highly engaging and can be created in different formats based on your pillar content:
Create a summary video that highlights the main points from your pillar content in 3-5 minutes. This serves as a teaser for the full piece.
Record a deep-dive video on one specific aspect of your pillar content. For example, if your pillar content covered "10 Ways to Improve Your Photography," you might create a detailed video just about composition techniques.
Develop a tutorial or demonstration video that shows how to implement advice from your pillar content. This is especially powerful for how-to content.
Record a reaction or commentary video where you share additional thoughts, updates, or responses to feedback on your pillar content.
Create an animated explainer video that illustrates a concept or process from your pillar content in a visually engaging way.
Adapting Your Content for Different Platforms
When repurposing your content for different platforms, it's important to adapt it to fit the unique characteristics and audience expectations of each platform. Here's how to tailor your content effectively:
On Instagram, visuals are paramount. Transform key points from your pillar content into aesthetically pleasing graphics or carousel posts. Use shorter captions that capture attention quickly, but don't be afraid to tell a story in the caption—many Instagram users do read longer captions if the first line hooks them. Consider the emotional aspect of your content and how it can be conveyed visually.
For LinkedIn, take a more professional and educational approach. Highlight the data and insights from your pillar content that professionals would find valuable for their careers or businesses. Use a more formal tone than you might on other platforms, but still keep it conversational. LinkedIn articles can also be longer form, so you can go into more depth on specific aspects of your pillar content.
TikTok and Instagram Reels
For short-form video platforms, focus on creating quick, attention-grabbing content that delivers value in seconds. Consider breaking down complex ideas from your pillar content into single, digestible tips. Use trending sounds or formats when appropriate, but make sure your content still provides substance. The key here is to capture attention in the first 3 seconds and deliver your message clearly and concisely.
Twitter/X
Twitter/X requires extreme concision. Extract the most quotable and thought-provoking sentences from your pillar content. Create threads that break down complex ideas into digestible tweets. Use strong hooks at the beginning of your threads to encourage people to read the entire sequence. Don't forget to include relevant hashtags to increase discoverability.
YouTube
For YouTube, you can create more in-depth content. Consider how the visual medium can enhance the information from your pillar content—could you demonstrate concepts, use visual aids, or show examples? Pay special attention to your thumbnail and title, as these significantly impact click-through rates. Also, organize your content with clear sections to improve viewer retention.
Pinterest is all about inspiration and actionable ideas. Create visually appealing pins that highlight practical tips, how-tos, or inspirational quotes from your pillar content. Make sure your pin descriptions include relevant keywords and clearly explain the value people will get by clicking through to your full content.
Content Repurposing Workflow: Making the Process Efficient
To make content repurposing manageable, develop a systematic workflow:
First, create a content repurposing plan before you even create your pillar content. When planning your pillar piece, already have in mind how you'll break it down for various platforms. This forward-thinking approach makes the repurposing process much smoother.
Next, batch similar tasks together. Instead of completely finishing one repurposed piece before moving to the next, batch similar activities. For example, write all your social media captions at once, or record all your video content in one session, then edit them later.
Use templates whenever possible. Create templates for your graphics, social posts, and video intros/outros to maintain brand consistency and save time. Tools like Canva offer pre-made templates you can customize with your branding.
Consider working with a content calendar. Plan when each repurposed piece will be published to maintain a consistent schedule without overwhelming yourself or your audience. A content calendar helps you visualize your content distribution over time.
Leverage technology and tools. Use content management systems, scheduling tools, and repurposing apps to streamline your workflow. Tools like Repurpose.io, MeetEdgar, or even simple spreadsheets can help track your content across platforms.
When possible, engage a team or outsource certain aspects. If your budget allows, consider delegating some repurposing tasks. Perhaps you create the pillar content and outline the repurposing strategy, but a virtual assistant helps with the execution.
Maintaining Quality While Repurposing
While repurposing can be efficient, it's crucial not to sacrifice quality in the process:
Always add platform-specific value. Don't just copy and paste content between platforms. Consider what additional context, examples, or formatting would make the content more valuable for each specific platform and audience.
Keep your brand voice consistent across platforms while adapting to platform norms. Your content should always sound like you, even as you adjust your tone for different platforms.
Regularly analyze which repurposed content performs best on each platform and refine your approach accordingly. Use analytics to understand what resonates with your audience in different contexts.
Update your pillar content and its derivatives as information changes. When you make significant updates to your pillar content, cascade those changes to the repurposed pieces as needed.
Avoid publishing all 20 pieces at once. Space them out over time to maintain audience interest and avoid overwhelming your followers with the same information.
Getting Started: Your First Content Repurposing Project
If you're new to content repurposing, start small to build the habit:
Choose one existing piece of content that performed well with your audience. This indicates it contains valuable information worth spreading further.
Identify the three platforms where your audience is most active. Focus your initial repurposing efforts there rather than trying to be everywhere at once.
Set a goal to create just 5-10 repurposed pieces from your selected content. This is more manageable than immediately aiming for 30.
Block out dedicated time in your schedule specifically for repurposing. Many creators find it helpful to designate one day a week or month for this activity.
Create templates and systems as you go to make future repurposing easier. Document your process so you can repeat and refine it.
Ask for feedback from your audience about the repurposed content. This helps you understand which formats and platforms they find most valuable.
Conclusion: Work Smarter, Not Harder with Content Repurposing
Repurposing one piece of content into 20 isn't about cutting corners—it's about working intelligently and maximizing the value you provide to your audience. By creating high-quality pillar content and thoughtfully adapting it for different platforms and formats, you can:
Reach more people with your valuable insights Save time and energy compared to creating everything from scratch Maintain a consistent presence across platforms without burning out Reinforce your core messages through strategic repetition Focus on quality over quantity in your content creation
Remember that the goal isn't just to churn out more content—it's to make your best ideas more accessible to more people in the formats they prefer. When done well, content repurposing feels valuable to your audience, not repetitive.
Start small, develop your systems, and gradually expand your repurposing strategy. Over time, you'll find that this approach not only makes your content creation more sustainable but also more effective at growing your audience and achieving your goals as a creator.
What piece of content will you repurpose first? The best time to start implementing this strategy is now. Your future self—and your audience—will thank you.
