Cooking Up A Podcast With Leftovers

You’ve poured your heart into creating amazing podcast episodes. But after the initial buzz, does it sometimes feel like they disappear into the digital void? This is where the magic of repurposing comes in. By strategically reusing your existing content, you’ll extend its reach, find new listeners, and make the most out of all your hard work. And the best part? Your podcast data holds the key to doing this effectively.

1. Digging into the Data: Your Repurposing Roadmap

It’s tempting to focus solely on download numbers, but your analytics dashboard offers much more:

• Downloads/Listens: Don’t just look at top performers. Are there episodes that continue to draw consistent, albeit smaller, audiences? These might be ripe for repurposing. Also, identify commonalities among your most popular episodes – is it the format, topic, or guest type?
• Engagement: Social shares are great, but don’t forget about your website. Did a particular episode drive traffic spikes? Are specific topics generating a lot of listener comments? This shows you what resonates deeply.
• Audience demographics: Knowing your listener’s age, location, and interests helps you tailor repurposed content. For example, a younger audience might love snappy TikTok clips, while an older demographic might prefer detailed blog posts.

Tools:  Popular platforms like Chartable and Podtrac offer in-depth insights. However, don’t overlook your hosting service’s built-in analytics as a starting point.

2. Finding the Golden Nuggets: What to Repurpose

Within every episode, there’s a hidden treasure just waiting to be rediscovered:

• High-engagement moments: Tools like Descript can create a visual “map” of your audio. Look for spikes in the waveform – that could indicate a moment of laughter, a heated debate, or a particularly profound statement.
• Powerful quotes: Your transcript is your best friend. But not every quote works in isolation. What’s instantly shareable – funny, thought-provoking, or highly relatable?
• Standalone Segments: Some portions of your show might function perfectly. Interviews are obvious choices but don’t discount a well-delivered solo rant, a moving listener Q&A, or an in-depth tutorial.

3. The Formats for Success: Breathe New Life into Your Work

Now you’ve got the best bits, it’s time to transform them:

• Short-form video clips: TikTok, Instagram Reels, and YouTube Shorts are huge, but success requires more than just posting audio. Good lighting, clear captions, and an enticing hook in the first few seconds are crucial.
• Audiograms: Apps like Headliner and Wavve simplify the process. Choose fonts, colors, and animation styles that align with your podcast’s overall branding.
• Blog posts: Transcripts are your starting point, but expand! Add your commentary, dive deeper into the topic, or provide links to relevant resources. This also boosts your SEO!
• Social carousels or image quotes: Stay on top of what quote formats are trending to give your content a professional, share-worthy look. Tools like Canva are invaluable.

4. The Secret Ingredient: Going Beyond the Obvious

Repurposing offers benefits beyond individual content pieces:

• Email newsletters: Embed short video links to relevant blog posts. It keeps your subscribers engaged between episodes.
• Show Notes Enhancements: Turn mentions of resources or past guests into clickable links. This enriches the experience for new and returning listeners.
• Guest pitches: High-quality repurposed clips demonstrate your value to other podcasts or blogs that might feature you.
• Refinement: Data isn’t just about finding what works and what doesn’t. If a specific repurposed style consistently falls flat, it tells you where your audience isn’t spending time.

Conclusion

By taking a data-driven approach to repurposing, you’ll save time, reach a wider audience, and develop a deeper understanding of your listeners. Think of it not as recycling old material but as refining the valuable content you’ve already created into its most impactful form.