Episode 3: Repurposing & Recycling Content
Ever wonder how you can continue to leverage the content you've created? Robbie and Tim discuss what you can do to repurpose and recycle content over time through different deliverables.
“Great marketing isn’t always about having more resources, it’s about being more resourceful.”
Transcript
Tim Lowry:
[00:00:00] Ooh, wait—those emails make how much every time you send out a piece of content?
Robbie Fitzwater:
Tim, if I told you that, I’d have to kill you.
This week, we’re diving into recycling and repurposing content—how to keep it relevant and how to leverage it as efficiently as possible. So let’s dive into it.
[Intro]
Everybody, welcome to the Content, Community, and Commerce podcast. I’m Robbie Fitzwater and I’m here with—
Tim Lowry:
I am Tim Lowry.
Robbie Fitzwater:
The one and only Tim Lowry. And today, what are we talking about?
Tim Lowry:
We’re going to be talking about recycling and repurposing, which I’m really excited about because it’s often overlooked. Everyone knows how to create a blog post—maybe it’s great, maybe it’s okay—but they write it, post it to the site, and say “My work here is done.” Then it’s forgotten, just floating out there like a beautiful piece of content no one touched again.
Today we’re saying, “Pump the brakes.” You likely have great stuff in your archives that deserves another life. We're going to show you how to recycle it, repurpose it, and why that matters.
As an SEO, I create a lot of content for clients—but I probably spend just as much time going back, recycling, and repurposing it in different ways to maximize its lifetime value. There are a lot of ways to do that, and we’ll walk through some of them. But first—what is recycling and repurposing content?
From an SEO perspective, recycling is often about updates. You’ve got a post like “Best of 2021”? Well, now it’s 2022. A simple repurpose would be updating that post for the new year: change the title, add fresh info, maybe swap a few things out. That’s the most basic version.
If you want to go deeper, you look at what’s changed: is there new context? Did something major happen in the space you haven’t covered yet? Are there new gaps to fill? Every post might need something different, but it’s more than just updating a date.
And this brings me to a line you’ve used a bunch over the years—your favorite analogy. I’ll let you say it because it just sounds better coming from you.
Robbie Fitzwater:
I say it all the time: “Use the whole buffalo.”
That’s been a thing for years on every team I’ve led. People probably get sick of hearing it. But when I was Director of Social at Clemson, this was critical. In social, you’re publishing every single day. You need content constantly—but you don’t always have time or resources to create something new every time.
So the idea is: how do you take what you’ve already created and make the most of it? Then, working in email now, this idea takes on a whole new meaning. With automations, you can use that content forever. Your welcome series can introduce people to great content that adds value, educates, and builds trust—and it’s just working for you constantly.
You get to play the hits. It becomes part of your customer journey. It’s helping people and making you money 24/7. That’s high-value content, and it’s fully leveraged.
Tim Lowry:
So wait—you’re saying the content created for the blog or SEO can also live in email? That we’re not creating different pieces for each?
Robbie Fitzwater:
Yes! That’s exactly it. You’re not creating one hub for SEO and another for email. You’re using that same content across channels. Of course you’ll still create unique content for certain email flows, but the whole idea behind “using the whole buffalo” is to maximize what you’ve already created.
And here’s one of my favorite marketing hacks: if you’re publishing content for SEO, you might not see traffic or results from that for weeks or months. But if you plug it into email, you can monetize it immediately. You can drive thousands of dollars in revenue before it ever ranks. So it basically pays for itself right away.
That’s why I always say: SEOs and email marketers need to be best friends. What one creates, the other can amplify.
Tim Lowry:
Here’s a real-world example we both know well—a client we both work on. We created a “Best Equestrian Colleges” guide. At first, it blew up on social. Now it ranks well in SEO. But you’ve used that in email, too—how many times?
Robbie Fitzwater:
I’m not going to say we “beat a dead horse”—because it’s an equestrian client and I don’t want to get a call from them. But yeah, we’ve used it five or six times, minimum. Each time, it drives incredible engagement—thousands of clicks, tens of thousands in revenue.
And here’s the thing: you’re never reaching 100% of your audience with a single send. People miss emails, skip over content, or maybe didn’t care the first time. But maybe they’re ready now. So you change the subject line, frame it differently, use a different hook—it’s fresh again.
Plus, your list is always growing. New subscribers come in who haven’t seen it yet. You’re not repeating yourself; you’re helping new people.
Tim Lowry:
And from the SEO side, we’re watching performance. If we notice it’s slipping in rankings or getting fewer visits per day, we know it’s time to refresh.
So in that case, we’ll look at things like:
Are these still the top programs?
Have new schools popped up with better facilities or offerings?
Have existing programs changed?
That refresh becomes an opportunity. I’ll even reach out to the schools again, ask for updates. And when we did that last time, a few schools re-shared the post, and we saw 10–15,000 visits in 24 hours.
And remember—other sites will try to one-up you. You publish “Top 15,” someone else publishes “Top 20.” You’ve got to stay ahead by keeping your content better and more up to date.
And here’s the secret sauce: if you change about 20% of a post, you can update the publish date. Google sees it as fresh content again—but you still keep all your backlinks. That combo can push you right back up in rankings.
Robbie Fitzwater:
You’re not recreating the wheel—you’re adding on top of what you already know works. You’ve learned from the performance, you’ve evolved as a marketer, and you’re improving the content just like software updates. And your audience’s behavior is evolving too. Their expectations change—your content has to meet those changes.
Tim Lowry:
Exactly. And if you’re investing in content, you want that ROI. It’s not just about getting a post up. You’re creating a business asset. So maintain it. Improve it. And keep it generating value.
Robbie Fitzwater:
This idea applies to every channel. Social, too. We had a research video about turtles—yes, turtles—that we posted a couple times. The third time we posted it, boom: 45,000 views in two hours. Same content. Just different timing, different context.
So whether it’s social, email, or SEO, you’re rarely reaching the exact same audience every time. If you send it once on a Tuesday morning and then again a month later on a Thursday night, you’re probably hitting different segments. And people aren’t going to be mad. If they see it twice, that’s not a problem. Honestly, they probably won’t even notice.
Tim Lowry:
Exactly. One-and-done content is a missed opportunity. Whether it’s a blog post or something in a welcome flow, use the whole buffalo.
You can move it around in email—maybe it’s the feature one week, then it’s a supporting piece in another. Different people will engage with it in different ways.
And selfishly, as the SEO guy, I love it when the email team gets wins from the content I wrote. It makes both sides look great. It drives revenue, engagement, and gives clients the confidence to invest more.
Robbie Fitzwater:
Right. And having that SEO insight helps everyone. Because if people are already searching for something, there’s a good chance they’ll find value in it during the customer journey. Then, in automations, we can align the content with what stage of the journey they’re in.
Say someone’s browsing breeches—we can serve them a breech style and fitting guide halfway through their welcome series. Super relevant, super helpful, and it builds trust and authority at the perfect moment.
Tim Lowry:
And it all comes back to planning. If you’re putting effort into the content, think ahead: how else can we use this? Where can it live? How can we atomize it into other formats?
Robbie Fitzwater:
Great marketing isn’t always about having more resources—it’s about being more resourceful. That’s what repurposing is all about. You’ve already put in the work. Maximize it. Stretch it. Get the full value out of it.
Tim Lowry:
And speaking of maximizing value—should we start planning how to repurpose this podcast episode?
Robbie Fitzwater:
Absolutely. Atomize it, slice it up, distribute it everywhere. We’re going to practice what we preach.
Tim Lowry:
Also, quick shoutout to our unofficial sponsor...
Robbie Fitzwater:
Nespresso! Sponsored by George Clooney and caffeine.
Tim Lowry:
It keeps the content flowing all day long.
Robbie Fitzwater:
50% better content per cup. That’s not marketing. That’s science.
Thanks for listening, everyone. Hopefully this got the wheels turning on how to recycle, repurpose, and rethink the way you use your content.
Tim Lowry:
And if you liked it—leave us a review!
Robbie Fitzwater:
Seriously. Five stars. Or at least three and a half. We’ll take it.
[Outro]
