[IMGCAP(1)]Marketing and sales are time-consuming but necessary to getting more business. For most CPAs with whom I work, time is always a challenge. Most think doing more is the answer, but not always. Instead, I focus on how to help firms and partners get more mileage out of what they are currently doing before adding more to their plate. Here are three ways to get more from your efforts:
1. Speaking. Speaking is a great way to gain exposure and build credibility. We spend so much time preparing, but very rarely do we think about how to leverage that information after the fact. A few ways to get more mileage from your efforts are:
a. Deliver the presentation again. If one group is interested, it’s likely another group will be, too. Most topics can be tweaked slightly to appeal to general audiences. For example, a topic on bookkeeping can be easily modified to apply to different industries and redelivered in other venues.
b. Record your presentation. Whether you deliver this online or not, you have already spent the time to prepare the presentation. In your preparation for the event, record a version of this you can turn into a video to post on your website or shorten and upload to SlideShare.
c. Write an article. You already have the content. Writing an article or two on the same topic is a great way to leverage the content. Don’t have time? Take your recorded presentation above and give it to a writer or another staff member to listen to and draft an article you can edit.
2. Internal training. Internal trainings are often a great jumping-off point for articles and blog posts. They most likely will need a little tweaking to be more prospect/client friendly, but if you’re addressing it with your staff, there is a big likelihood it would also be beneficial to your clients.
3. Converting written content. Most CPA firms have a newsletter and many are now blogging. However, most aren’t doing much else with their content. Consider repurposing that content into:
a. Articles for publication. Often much longer than a blog posts, articles for publication can include a couple blog posts. You can also reverse this if you have long print articles by turning them into short blog posts.
b. SlideShare presentations. For those really hot topics, consider turning these articles or blog posts into a SlideShare presentation.
c. Update previously written content. Have articles from a couple years ago? Rather than write something new, simply review and update it.
The final piece of advice is to promote, promote, promote. Once is not nearly enough. Don’t be afraid to share your content or bring back more evergreen topics periodically. We all consume content differently and most people won’t remember what you wrote a year ago.
Want more ideas for repurposing your content? Check out these
Sarah Johnson is the chief growth strategist with
