Step 1
Agree the format set
Which formats, for which channels, for this kind of source. Decided once rather than negotiated per piece.
AI-assisted workflows · Multi-format repurposing · Sydney
Multi-format repurposing
Repurposing has a bad name because most of it is reposting. Adapting a piece for a different channel means rewriting it for a different reader in a different mood, which is work, and it is worth it.
Grab the snowball. Give it a spin, and watch it grow as you scroll. Just like the reach.
1substantial piece as the source
9formats it can become
Adaptednot reposted with a new crop
Sydneywriters, editors and designers
The short answer
What is repurposing, and when is it just reposting?
Repurposing is taking one substantial piece of work and remaking it for other channels: an article becomes a video script, a carousel, a newsletter, a set of clips and a talk. Done properly each version is written for the reader of that channel.
It becomes reposting, which is what gives it a bad name, when the same text is pasted into four places with different image dimensions. That is not cheaper reach, it is the same message ignored in four places.
The test is whether somebody who saw the original would get anything from the second version. If not, it is a repost. Tools help with the mechanical conversion; the judgement about what changes per channel is a person's. It sits inside our wider AI-assisted workflows service, and because our Snowball SEO platform automates the search heavy lifting other agencies bill by the hour, more of your budget goes into the adapting.
The difference
What can one substantial piece actually become?
More than most businesses attempt, and the reason they do not is that nobody has ever written the list down. It is the same list every time.
What makes a version worth making
- It is written for that channel's reader, not resized for its dimensions
- It stands alone, so somebody who missed the original still gets value
- It links back to the source, so the effort compounds somewhere you own
- It says one thing, because a channel version carrying five ideas carries none
What makes it a repost
- The same text with a different image size
- An excerpt that stops mid-argument to force a click
- A carousel that is the article's headings screenshotted
- Anything a person who read the original would gain nothing from
On the strategy of what to publish where, our guide to content repurposing covers the argument; this page is the doing of it.
The cost
What drives the price of repurposing?
How many formats and how different they are from the source. Turning an article into a newsletter is close work; turning it into a video script is a rewrite.
A format set
Per source
One substantial piece adapted into an agreed set of formats, which is the usual arrangement and the easiest to judge.
A standing arrangement
Monthly
Every substantial piece you publish adapted as a matter of course, so the step after publishing stops being the one nobody owns.
Back catalogue
One-off
Your best existing pieces adapted, which is usually the fastest available return because the expensive part already happened.
We quote per source and format set after a free consult and a look at what you have published. See content repurposing for the strategy.
What moves the number, in order
- How many formats, and how far each is from the source
- Whether any of them need design or video production rather than writing
- Whether the source is written, recorded or a live session
- How many channels each format has to be sized and toned for
- Whether a person appears on camera in the video versions
- Whether we schedule and publish or hand over files
Start with the back catalogue
Almost every business sitting on three years of published work has more value in adapting the best twenty pieces than in producing anything new this quarter.
The research is done, the argument is made, the facts are checked. What remains is the part nobody got to, and it is the cheap part.
We will usually recommend that before a standing arrangement, because it produces a faster answer about whether repurposing works for your audience at all.
The scope
What you receive
Each version written for its channel, delivered ready to publish.
The adapted versions
Each one written for that channel's reader rather than resized for its dimensions, and each standing alone.
Correctly sized assets
Every format at the dimensions and lengths its channel actually enforces, which is dull and is where most repurposing falls over.
A publishing order
What goes out when, since publishing five versions on one day is the most common way to waste all of them.
Distinct openings
Each version with its own first line, because the opening is the whole audition and a shared one signals a repost.
Links back to the source
So attention lands somewhere you own rather than accumulating on a platform you rent.
What worked
Which formats earned their production time, so the next set is shaped by evidence rather than by habit.
The return
How much of the value is in the versions?
More than most people expect. The original usually reaches the smallest audience of any version made from it, which is a strange fact and a consistent one.
The step after publishing has no owner
Almost every content programme has somebody responsible for producing and nobody responsible for what happens next. The piece goes live, everyone moves to the next one, and eighty per cent of the available reach is left unclaimed.
It is not a skills problem or a budget problem. It is an ownership problem, and the fix is to make adaptation part of the definition of finished rather than a separate project somebody might get to.
So we build the format list into the brief at the start, which costs nothing and changes what gets made: a piece written knowing it will become nine things is structured differently.
The process
How repurposing runs
A week per source once the format set is agreed, faster on a standing arrangement.
Step 2
Read for the pull-outs
The arguments, moments and lines worth building a version around, which is a judgement about the audience rather than an extraction.
Step 3
Adapt, do not excerpt
Each version rewritten for its reader, with its own opening and its own single point.
Step 4
Produce the assets
Design and video where the format needs it, at the dimensions the channel enforces.
Step 5
Sequence
A publishing order over weeks, because releasing everything at once wastes most of it.
Step 6
Read the results
Which formats earned their time, so the next set is shaped by what happened rather than by the list.
The brief
What to ask before you buy repurposing
Repurposing is sold by volume of outputs, which is precisely the wrong measure.
Will each version be rewritten or excerpted?
Excerpts that stop mid-argument to force a click are the most disliked format on any channel. Ask to see one version written properly.
Does each one stand alone?
Somebody who missed the original should get value from the version. If not, it is a trailer, and trailers do not build much.
What is the publishing order?
Releasing nine versions on one day wastes eight of them. Ask for a sequence over weeks and be suspicious if the answer is a single delivery date.
Should we start with the back catalogue?
For most businesses, yes, and a supplier who suggests it before a standing arrangement is telling you something useful about their priorities.
We are happy to answer all four and to look at what you have already published. See content repurposing for the strategy behind it.
Start here
Ready to use what you already made?
Send us the best thing you published this year. The free consult is a working session, not a sales call, and you leave with three things whether or not you book us.
- The format list that piece could realistically become, with the ones not worth it removed
- One version written properly, so you can judge adapting against reposting
- A fixed price per source, and an honest read on whether the back catalogue comes first
Good questions
Repurposing FAQs
What is content repurposing?
Taking one substantial piece and remaking it for other channels: an article becomes a newsletter, a carousel, clips, a talk and a set of posts. Done properly each version is written for that channel's reader rather than resized for its dimensions.
When is repurposing just reposting?
When the same text appears in four places with different image sizes. The test is whether somebody who saw the original would get anything from the second version. If not, it is a repost, and it is why the practice has a poor reputation.
How much does repurposing cost?
We quote per source and format set. What moves it is how many formats and how far each is from the source, whether any need design or video rather than writing, and whether we schedule and publish or hand over files.
How many formats can one piece become?
Nine is a realistic list for a substantial article or recorded session, and the list barely changes between businesses. What changes is how many anyone actually makes, which is usually two.
Should we start with new work or the back catalogue?
The back catalogue, for most businesses. The research is done, the argument is made and the facts are checked, so what remains is the cheap part, and it produces a faster answer about whether this works for your audience.
Do you use tools for this?
For the mechanical conversion and for finding the pull-outs, yes. The judgement about what changes for each channel's reader is a person's, and it is the only part that separates adapting from reposting.
When should each version be published?
Sequenced over weeks rather than released together. Publishing nine versions on one day is the single most common way to waste eight of them, and it happens because delivery and publishing get confused.
How do we know which formats are worth it?
Read the results and drop the ones that did not earn their production time. Most businesses keep making a format because it is on the list rather than because anybody engaged with it.