writing Archives - Denise Riches

8 Ways to Repurpose Your Content

Ever heard of the mystical art of “repurposing content”? It’s like the magical recycling bin of the digital world. You’re probably thinking, “Wait, I can do the work ONCE and then hit the repeat button, right?” Well, not exactly. The heavy lifting comes first, usually in the form of a brilliantly crafted blog post or newsletter.

But here’s the reality check – just sending it out into the wild won’t make it an instant superstar. To ensure your content gets the spotlight it deserves, you need to work some repurposing magic. Here are some ways to do just that:

1. Craft Captivating Social Media Posts:

If your original piece is a content treasure trove (and it probably is), you can break it into at least 3-4 bite-sized social media posts. Each post should be sprinkled with a CTA (call to action) urging readers to dive deeper on your website or check out the newsletter (with a link, of course). But don’t toss them all out at once; sprinkle them over a month.

2. The Carousel of Wisdom:

If Instagram is your playground (and it should be if your audience hangs out there), consider a carousel. It’s like a PowerPoint presentation with style. For example, if you’ve got 5 life-changing tips, create 7 “slides” – a dazzling intro, 5 slides with your golden nuggets, and a final slide with a CTA and contact info. Don’t forget to shout, “SWIPE!” with an arrow, because not everyone is a mind-reader.

3. LinkedIn Article Extravaganza:

If LinkedIn is your jam, there are two approaches. You can tease your content with a snippet and a link to the full feast (your blog post or newsletter). But be warned, this can be a bit of a hide-and-seek game. Alternatively, you can go all in and share the whole thing. Still, link back to the original for those curious souls.

4. The Magic of Infographics:

Infographics are like content’s stylish cousin. They condense heaps of information into eye-catching visuals. Perfect for Pinterest, where tall images reign supreme. Canva has loads of templates; just swap text for your blog/newsletter wisdom.

5. Lights, Camera, Action – Video!

Not everyone is born for the silver screen, and that’s where Lumen5 comes to your rescue. It transforms your precious content into engaging video snippets. Share them across your social realm and store them on YouTube, where they can bask in the limelight.

6. Turn the Page with Audio:

If you’re camera-shy like me (who isn’t?), Canva has a nifty audio feature. Read your content aloud, add some snazzy images, and maybe a touch of music. A client of mine even records meditations using it. Namaste!

7. E-book Extravaganza:

Got a series of blog or newsletter gems? Merge them into an e-book. Canva makes it easy! E-books are fantastic digital treats or magnets for newsletter sign-ups. You can even take it a step further and self-publish on Amazon.

8. PDF Perfection:

If e-books seem too fancy, just whip up a PDF. It’s like the casual cousin of e-books and works wonderfully as a free gift or lead magnet.

And there you have it – 8 amazing ways to breathe new life into your content. So, wave your content magic wand and let the repurposing adventure begin! ✨🚀

Love the idea of repurposing your stuff but are not keen on spending the time doing it? Let’s talk about how I can help you with that! Book a free consultation call with me.

Product Review – The Rocketbook Fusion

I’ll start this blog post by saying – *I KNOW* how ironic it is that I sell printable planners and I’m about to talk to you about a reusable planner.

Yup, but I’ve just gotta talk about this amazing product because it’s saving me a TON of paper!

I received a Rocketbook Fusion as an early Christmas gift from my husband and I couldn’t be more thrilled…

So what IS a Rocketbook?

In short, it’s a reusable notebook.

The long answer? It’s a planner with various types of pages that can be written on with Frixion erasable pens (one is supplied). The notes are scanned and sent to your favourite cloud service via the app. Then the pages can be wiped clean with a little water and a microfiber cloth (supplied).

I’ve been using it since early November and I swear by it because I take a LOT of notes by hand while I’m in client meetings

How it works

The Rocketbook comes in many formats, so be sure to view them before purchasing if you’re considering buying one. You will want one that is best suited for your individual needs.

It only works with Frixion erasable pens. You can find these at most stationery stores or on Amazon.

You may have to wait a few moments for the ink to dry before closing the book.

There are several icons along the bottom, and QR codes on each page. The icons are used to tell the Rocketbook smartphone app where to send your page scans. When setting up your Rocketbook, you’ll also set up scan destinations. These could be Google Drive, Dropbox, etc. You can even set up a destination as an email address. So if you want to email your scans, you simply designate one of the icons to be your (or someone else’s) email address.

Each icon represents one of those destinations, and your scan will magically appear in the destination you’ve set up when you hit SEND.

How to erase a page

Rocketbook suggests keeping a small spray bottle filled with water close by so that you can erase as necessary. Just spray the microfiber cloth with a little water, wipe the page clean, then wipe with a dry area of the same cloth. The microfiber cloths are machine washable.

But wait, there’s more

Yes-sirree, there’s more. You can set up your scans to automatically be transcribed, so that when your notes reach their destination, you will have a copy of what you’ve written, exactly as you’ve written it, PLUS a transcribed version that is fully editable online. Handy!

Organizing your notes

While Rocketbook is always working to improve their product, this is something that’s pretty cool. While you could manually title your notes just before you send it to your destination, you can also use the double hashtag trick.

If you sandwich the title of your note between two sets of two hashtags, your note will be titled whatever is in between the double hashtags. The hashtags disappear when the scan reaches its destination! For example: ##This is my awesome title##

Some of the downsides

I read a lot of reviews before deciding to ask Santa for this notebook. One of the major complaints folks had was the length of time it takes for the ink to dry. I haven’t personally been bothered by this but I can see how it could be a problem if you’re taking a lot of notes in one sitting..

Other complaints were about having no way to conveniently tote the pen and cloth with the notebook. I think this is a simple fix – just buy a small pencil case and water bottle at the dollar store and toss the items into your bag or computer carrying case.

I am very happy with this notebook. It suits my needs and has already saved a lot of paper.

I hope you’ve found this blog post helpful – and I’d love to hear if you purchase one for yourself!

Need some help with your admin? Book a free consultation call with me and we can talk about your business needs.

4 Steps to Creating a Supply of Blog Content

When it comes to writing blog posts, do you often find yourself with writer’s block?

It’s not uncommon! Here are four easy steps to creating a wealth of blog content!

Determine Who Your Client Is

It’s an important but sometimes overlooked step – figuring out who your ideal client is. If you don’t know WHO you’re speaking to through your blog, how can you possibly come up with something they will want to read?

Let’s assume you’re a wellness coach, and you specialize in helping busy women to take care of themselves. Now let’s grab a piece of paper, and create 4 columns:

General

Specific

Pain Points

Needs

Use this simple chart to get a feel for who your ideal client is. Under “General”, you might put, “Female”, “Married”, or “Kids”.

Under “Specific”, you want to delve into this person a bit more. Let’s give our client the name “Janet”, and the age of “40”. Going beyond that, she “Owns her own business”.

Next comes your client’s “Pain Points”. Janet is B-U-S-Y. Between juggling family life and her business, she’s got her hands full. There’s one pain point: “Busy Schedule”. What’s keeping Janet awake at night? There’s one more pain point right there – “Can’t sleep”.

Last, but certainly not least, what does Janet need? Some help, obviously. Janet knows that self-care is important, but she often puts herself last. It’s important for Janet’s business that she takes care of herself too, because if she doesn’t, how can she teach them to take care of themselves? So your chart may look something like this:

General	Specific	Pain Points	Needs
Female	Janet/40	Busy schedule	Extra time
30-50 yrs.	Lives local to me	Can’t sleep	Help
Runs own business	Has kids		Self-care

Step one is complete – now what? Well, let’s delve into Janet’s lifestyle a bit more.

Lifestyle

Under your chart, write Janet’s name in the center, in a circle, and have 4-5 “spokes” coming out of the circle.

One “spoke” could lead to the words “wants to help other families”.

Another could be “wants to do it all”.

Another could be “runs both her home and business”.

Let’s not forget that she has children of her own.

What is your ideal client Googling?

Poor Janet. Time-strapped. Has a successful business, which could be more successful, if she had the right help. She’s like many moms and runs her household on top of that.

She’s likely Googling time-saving ideas. These could be from getting help with housework or household projects, to finding a productivity tool to help her manage her time. She could also be searching for ways she can apply self-care to her own life. Let’s be honest, sometimes the pros don’t take their own advice, right?

So, let’s turn to Google and see what search phrases come up, and we’re paying close attention to the phrases that come up in auto-fill:

Create blog headlines from these examples

If you’re writing blog posts based on these search phrases, both Google AND Janet are going to love you! Google’s going to rank you pretty high, and Janet’s going to find what she’s looking for.

I hope you’ve found this post helpful 🙂

Need some help with social media? Book a free consultation call with me and we can talk about your business needs.

My Newsletter Services

Throughout my VA career, I’ve worked with a variety of email marketing platforms:

MailChimp
Constant Contact
Drip
Active Campaign

While the platforms have differences, they generally all work the same way. (more…)

Using Online Document Templates

Most of us have used Microsoft Word at some point. Some might use it daily, while others only need it once in a while. Either way, it’s important to be aware of Word’s many built-in templates for document creation.

Have you ever noticed? Check it out: open Word on your computer, click New. A window will open with all the many templates that are free to use. From Christmas letters to marketing materials, Word has quite the selection. The best part? They are all editable. (more…)

5 Awesome (and FREE) Proofreading Tools

Spelling comes easily to some and not to others.

I cringe every time I see something online written by someone who’s unsure of they’re, their and there. It’s a common slip-up. I believe that if you’re writing something to share publicly, it should be near-perfect. Does it really matter that much? (more…)