Evergreen… what’s that? Not Everclear.. that’s a WHOLE ‘nother blog. J Anyways, when we marketers talk about creating evergreen content – we are talking about content that will be good, for a long time. It’s the stuff that you can share over and over. Are you getting where I am going with this?
Why do I need evergreen content
Content marketing is about creating valuable content for your consumer. When you have valuable content, people tend to flock to it and you’ll have better chances getting engagement, comments and then the likelihood of it being shared. Can you see the huge value there?
I think that the majority of my content is evergreen because it will always be valuable. Sure, search engines will have rule (algorithm) changes and social media will continue to make their changes but for the most part the principles for my industry will be the same.
What to do when your ‘evergreen’ content changes
Like I just said, most of my content is evergreen and yours might be too, however there might be times when they do change. So, when they do, you can always go back in and make an update to the post… or better yet, write a whole another post referring back to the old.
You could do something like this – in a new blog summarize what the old blog was stating… like this is what search engines were pushing 5 years ago and while these points are still valid, I wanted to update you on this one point. Then, I’d suggest going back to the old post and add a note that this was updated and link to the revised one. Wow… killer idea right.. now I have two posts versus just one on the same type of topic and both hold accurate information, or a link to it. SCORE!
So you have evergreen content – now share it – OFTEN
I write a blog once a week but when I post on social media, I post from my blog once a day. Okay, let’s do the math there…. if I blog once a week (52/yr) but post on social from my blog daily (365/yr) then where are those other blogs coming from? YESSS, you got it now, I repost them. And if you use different text prior to your blog link, I betcha nobody would know the difference.
Seriously, you aren’t going to bore your following, they likely didn’t see it the last time! Think about it, if you have a
year’s worth of blogs (52) and post once a day, you will cycle through the same blog once every 1-2 months, but you are still adding another 6 or so blogs in that same time. Do you think your followers remember what you posted yesterday, let alone last week or 2 months ago? Good, I think we drove that one home, so now what are you going to do? Write more content and share it regularly. Good, my job here is done then. lol
Oh wait… keep in mind that I am posting this one blog/day as part of my other 5 or so posts so my social media strategy isn’t me me me, so please note that if you are only posting once a day (which you shouldn’t be anyhow) that maybe you cycle in your blogs versus being your only social media post for the day, every day. Got it?
This should go without saying – make it easy to comment & share
I just have to cover this one, even though I wrote a blog about it recently – check it out >> ‘Make it Easy for Readers to Comment & Share your Content’.. and please… you spent the time to curate great content, be sure you make it easy for folks to comment and share. I’m telling you, if you get someone on your page and they are ready to comment or share and they have to hunt down that feature, you have already lost them. Seriously, please make it easy! If you use WordPress.org, there are many plugins that can be used for this.
Should you have any questions about evergreen content, why you need it or making your blog more reader friendly to where they can comment or share easily, please contact me as I will be happy to help.
~Kristen
Hi Kristen,
The sense of evergreen content can be a bit tricky. Most of the bloggers or business blogs wouldn’t be posting if they didn’t believe on how valuable is the content. I believe what makes the difference is the audience and why they find the content interesting and worth sharing. Thank you for this article and all the tips!
Zaria
Yes, so very true.. need to be sure the content, evergreen or not, is value to your target market. Thank you Zaria!
Funny story. So I was reviewing this week’s tutorial by Jeff on our blog, and I was following the steps he included. I went to the URL and couldn’t find any of the stuff he referred to on the web page! Long story short, in the period of a week or so, the tool he reviewed for the blog article had re-launched their website, and all of what he wrote was wrong. The point is that certain content can get outdated quickly (even in a week, dang!). Evergreen content is definitely the best investment since it continues to provide value long after it’s first introduced to the public. I like the idea of updating older blog posts with new information as needed. My understanding is that Google likes it too! Sharing is key too. Great reminders. 😉
Aiieee! How awful. But it happens, Meghan. It’s always a good idea to go back every so often and check to make sure you’re not promoting an event (for example) that’s long past. And Kristen — you always do good stuff. Thanks for your ongoing contributions to the general knowledge pool. 😉 xxoo
Why thank you Jackie. 🙂
OH no Meghan, I hate when that happens.. you go through a click thru and then you move it… so that would be ideal to revise that one, for sure. Google likes when we keep our stuff fresh, for sure!
Love this, Kristen! My blogging coach has recently started having me refresh old editorial blogs, then repost them. While those are indeed pretty evergreen (love the term!), they’ve really benefited from bringing them more up to date.
I use co-schedule to repost older blogs, and that’s really been helpful too.
Whew. This article makes me feel better–as if I’m actually doing something right! Thank you!
Oh how awesome Susan, glad to hear others are pushing this issue and that you are working on your older blogs. I’m glad you feel better! 🙂
Yeah, I am doing this now and loving it. I guess I was doing it before to in regards to writing evergreen but not really knowing it. However, I was not re-sharing and that is great advice that I am going to do more of and more often. Thanks a bunch.
YAY Teresa, so glad that you are.. and you didn’t even know it. But now that you know.. yes, reshare too!
I think Im correct when I say, do not republish an evergreen unless it is really rewritten cause Google doesn’t like that. It’s more about posting & sharing. I like doing this because most of our blogs take many hours of preparation- sometimes days of research, however with reach down on FB, people are not noticing them, twitter- people in a hurry so they dont read, Pinterest -folks like food & kid fun stuff. Feeling discouraged by all the effort that goes into social marketing. Even with great blogs, posts & products. Thats just whats so.
Google doesn’t like you to copy the same article (duplicate content).. and sharing it is just sharing, not the same thing. Then, summarizing an old blog still isn’t the same thing… However, I really feel you with the organic reach on social media… keeps slipping and unless you are a Kim or Peg, we just aren’t getting the same reach. Hang in there Roz!
Valuable post. I have many clients that just want to post once a day. I tell them the same thing- they need to do more than just the one post I posted. I think I will share this with them. Thank you for the reminder.
Oh yes.. once a day, just doesn’t cut it.. they don’t understand.. hopefully they will.. thanks and we will continue to press on that Sabrina.
When I first started writing articles/blogs, I didn’t realize how evergreen the majority of them would be. Because I write about topics that are part of the current cultural conversation, I find all I have to do is to update any research, make sure the original links are still viable and share it again. I usually post on the Huffington Post first and am able to then put it on my blog and also share on another site who isn’t concerned if the content has been published before. As I’ve been writing since 2011, I have a lot of posts and only a very few are dated and cannot be reworked to be more current. I am going to take your suggestion and share older blog posts more frequently too, Kristen, as now I only share them on Twitter Tuesdays and rotate 3 or 4 throughout the day. Great tips as always and I agree with you 100% on making your blog easy to comment and share. Still so many people who haven’t set up even their twitter button! If you are going to write it, make it easy to be shared and seen.
Thank you Bev.. on the Twitter share button.. I know you feel me there. One thing concerned me on your blogging to Huffington Post and then put on your blog or another site. Are you rewriting it or posting as is? If so, you might be losing SEO juice if you aren’t summarizing…especially if it went to Huffington first.
This is great advice and the tip rewriting a new post which summarizes an old one, and then linking the old to the new is genius. Thank you for sharing these ideas.
Why thank you Tamuria.. glad you understand my genius. lol
I had never heard the term Evergreen used in this way before until today, and I actually heard it used in a meeting with a potential business partner, and then this article. I have a strong feeling this is no accident. Thank you for the clarity!
Oh wow… then that is awesome Melanie.. get on your evergreen girl! 😉
Last week, I made the decision to increase my posting and tweeting of my blog posts from twice a week to four times a week. Yay for evergreen content! Recently, my niche became more focused and I needed to decide which posts were currently evergreen for me. Some, like holiday-themed posts, weren’t going to cut it. Sometimes, you have to be brutal and cut what isn’t serving you anymore.
OH awesome Carol.. and you are right.. holiday ones won’t be.. however, they would be over the holidays. 😉
This is brilliant. Now that I have enough blog posts, I have started to repost them on social media. It really does seem to work. I am working on making it easy to comment so will check out that link as well.
YAY Karen, glad you are recycling your posts. YAY!
When I was blogging consistently, I might have 80 percent evergreen and 20 percent hot topics in order to put some new information into the mix and keep the readers excited. I may have to play with different percentages to see what works best for my niche. One thing that I notice with bloggers who use evergreen content is that forget that they may eventually have to update and freshen up their evergreen topics. And, of course, we can’t freshen hot topics up. As soon as they’ve expired their shelf life, they’re just content that’s basically taking up space.
And I do see how a well-timed hot topic post will be shared more immediately with friends across social media and are great for when you just can’t think of anything to write about.
I’m interested in what hot topics you are covering Rachel? I get news, but usually that isn’t something you are blogging about, maybe?
I’ve just begun my blog and my business, so I don’t have that great wealth of content just yet. My biggest take-away is your suggestion to go back to an old post and add a note that this was updated and link to the revised one. At this point I definitely am not posting from my blog once a day. But I am looking to fit the idea into my social media plan.
You will Jane… you will… but I’m glad you gathered what I was explaining. To clarify.. if an old post has changed.. you can either… revise the old one… OR create a new one stating this old blog changed, summarize it and explain the change. Then, on the other part.. share often.
This is excellent advice. I keep making the same mistake of wanting to create new content over and over and over again. As you can imagine, this is time-consuming, exhausting and at times, mind-boggling. Thanks to you, I will remember to share my evergreen content. Thanks!
Create new stuff all the time Christie, but always remember to share it often… not just once.
Much to think about here, that I had not considered before. In re-posting your blogs, do you recommend removing the date? I’m wondering if readers would be turned off by an older dated post.
You are revising it Joyce.. or creating new stuff and summarizing the old stuff.. you’d have updated at the top anyhow.. no need to remove the date.
Hi Kristen,
Tons of awesome value you shared!! Yes, I 100% agree with you that it is very important to “repurpose” your content and making it “evergreen”, and to always make sure it is shareable. I see so many posts online that DO NOT have share buttons, do not understand that logic, especially if you are a blogger lol……Anyway, love these tips for making sure you have some sort of “evergreen” content going out 🙂
Thanks for the fantastic share!
I feel you Joan.. it’s like, you do the work, why don’t you want folks to help you share it?
Great advice Kristen. And I have to follow it. Especially the sharing more than once. I’m building my blogging muscle and value this tip!
Yes Audrey, please do.. share and blog away!
Words of wisdom. Blogs take a lot of work and you should maximize your return. You hit the nail on the head by saying that you can’t assume your audience saw the post the first time. Or the second, or the third 😉 If they did see it, it might not have landed with them at that moment. This time they might really need that information. You just never know.
Yes, they sure do.. and just because you posted it on social media, doesn’t mean they saw it.. let alone clicked through to read it. Thanks Christy!
The perfect blog for me to be reading for my new business. Thank you for another great post, it’s given me inspiration for blog posts myself.
Awesome Sonya, glad to help and welcome back into the biz realm! lol
Good points, always good to have a lot of evergreen material and to post often…not only once every now and then. ☺
Yes.. plus we’d run out of content to share on social.. other than posting other folks stuff, right Kata?
Great advice, Kristen! If you’re going to put the work in, might as well get as much mileage out of it as possible!
I couldn’t agree more Mindy.. thanks!
One type of evergreen content that works great for me is — RECIPES!! 😀
Great tips, and I agree about making it easy to comment and share. By the way, what plugin is this, that you’re using?? Social Warfare? I’m always on the prowl for something I like better!
Yes Natalie.. Recipes will always be evergreen.. and super easy. I am using AddToAny share buttons. I also use Comment Luv
Wow, have I not been maximizing any return on the investments I’ve made on my blog. I need to post, repost, & repost. Especially for articles that I hope really speak to my ideal clients. Thanks for the pointers!
No ma’am, you haven’t Joan, especially if you are only posting once and done! 😉
As always great info. I’ve got one question though; How do you keep track of what you’ve posted when so you don’t re-post the same thing too many times? I know I am not posting enough; write a blog, post it everywhere after it’s written and forget about it… time to step up my game!
Great question Lisa… just like how do you keep track of which shirt you wear.. rotate them. lol. I actually track all of my blogs with a bit.ly (but the goo.gl one) and keep a spreadsheet so I just go through them, pick the ones that apply to what I am wanting to share… and when I made it through the list of Evergreen content… unmark them and start over. 🙂 Yep.. step it up girl.
Kisten.
It is a good article that came right in time. I need my posts to be updated from two years ago they can make a huge difference. Thanks for the great tips.
Lori English
That is true Lori and be sure to push out a call to action… whatever your business is.