Quantum Logic of Content Repurposing

It’s not cheating. It’s extra service and user-friendliness.

Content repurposing is republishing the same content on different platforms, in different formats, at different times.

Even though I create fresh content every day I also repurpose old content occasionally, for a very good reason.

Is It Cheating?

You might perhaps be thinking “that’s cheating — why rehash old content as if it were new?”

That’s an understandable ethical reflex with some merit. ?However, it betrays a misunderstanding of our busy, multi-channeled, overburdened information environment.

We are bombarded every day with messages and appeals of all kinds. We also don’t have much time to make sure we reach the solutions we want while we are coursing through the digital landscape like a kayak rider pedaling through a raging torrent just to keep our heads over this frothing deluge of data.

That means on any given day most of our readers who might well benefit from what we have to offer will simply miss it due to an unmanageable amount of information dumped on us nonstop. Our umbrellas are too small to stop the tsunami.

Thus even though some of our readers would love to reach our content, it’s very easy for them to miss it as they scroll down the endless Black Hole of offerings on the Internet. A phone rings, a baby cries, there’s a knock on the door, our attention splinters into a million irritants, and there goes the precious solution to your problem down the drain when life intervenes.

It’s a Disservice

That’s why I think it’s a disservice to your readers if you offer your content only once, in only one format, only one time.

Even though they may miss your stuff on Monday on Platform A in an article format, they may catch it on Tuesday on Platform B as an email course or an online puzzle. It’s more work on your part that will certainly be appreciated if you take the time to reach those readers with too many things happening around them to grab that first opportunity.

The Quantum Angle

This morning I had a related insight affirming the logic of repurposing from an unrelated field, that of quantum physics.

There is this principle called “The Uncertainty Principle” that we owe to the German theoretical physicist?Werner Karl?Heisenberg.

The Uncertainty Principle says we cannot determine precisely the momentum and position of an electron at the same time.

If we know exactly where it is, then we can’t know its momentum (or velocity) with 100% precision.

The reverse is also true: if we know exactly how fast an electron is traveling, then we can’t know 100% where it’s at. Weird but a fact verified many times by physics experiments.

Content is like Heisenberg’s electron...

If you know who is reading your content (location) you cannot be sure if the message gets across in that format at that time (velocity).

If on the other hand, you get great feedback from your readers (velocity), then you can’t be sure if it reached enough readers instead of a single lone appreciative one (location).

My solution to this dilemma is content repurposing.

Offer the same or similar content to cohorts of readers at different times, on different platforms, and in different formats to maximize your chances of both reaching enough number of readers and also make sure that what’s read is understood, implemented, and retained in one format or another.

My Take Away

Take your time, do the extra work, and repurpose your content. That way your solutions will reach those problem owners who were busy, traveling, asleep, sick, attending a proverbial personal fire, or handicapped with some other life situation to join your outreach during the first round. Give them a second and third chance if you can.

Content repurposing is an important and relatively little-spoken aspect of user-friendly (UX) content management for which your readers will ultimately be grateful.

P.S.?For more personal empowerment and communication solutions, please?visit my bookstore.

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