I’ve got an ebook sitting on my hard drive right now that took me three months to write. Proper work, too research, case studies, the lot. And you know what happened after I launched it?
Bugger all.
Well, not nothing. A few people downloaded it. Some of them probably even read it. But then it just… sat there like a lovely dinner party where everyone’s gone home and you’re left with the washing up.
That’s the problem with ebooks, isn’t it? You pour your soul into them, lock all that knowledge into a PDF, and then wonder why the world isn’t beating down your door. Turns out, PDFs are where content goes to die quietly.
So I started pulling mine apart. Not in a destructive way, more like dismantling a Lego set so you can build something new with the pieces. I turned each chapter into a blog post, rewrote them so they actually sounded like me, and watched what happened.
Traffic went up. Email subscribers went up. And weirdly, more people downloaded the full ebook because they’d read the blog posts first.
Here’s how you can do the same thing without making the mistakes I did.
Start by Actually Reading Your Own Bloody Ebook
I know, revolutionary advice. But when did you last read the thing cover to cover?
Sit down with it properly. Not to admire your own prose, but to see it with fresh eyes. Where are the natural breaks? Which bits could stand alone? Which chapters are secretly three blog posts held together with gaffer tape?
I mapped mine out on paper, old school, I know, and realised my chapter on email marketing was actually trying to do too much. It covered list building, automation, and copywriting all at once. That’s three posts, minimum. Probably four if I’m honest about it.
Don’t just think “one chapter equals one post.” Think about what each section is actually trying to say, and whether it deserves its own spotlight.
Rewrite Everything (Yes, Everything)
Here’s where most people cock it up. They copy and paste chunks from the ebook, maybe change a few words, and call it repurposing.
That’s not repurposing. That’s being lazy.
Ebooks and blog posts are different animals. Your ebook probably sounds more formal, more comprehensive, more “I’ve written a proper book and you should take me seriously.” That’s fine for an ebook. But on a blog? People want you to sound like you’re actually talking to them.
So I rewrote everything. Shorter paragraphs. Conversational tone. The kind of thing I’d actually say if we were having a pint and you asked me about this stuff.
I also updated bits that had gone stale. That statistic from 2022? Binned. That tool I recommended is now rubbish? Replaced. The example that made perfect sense when I wrote it, but now feels dated? Reworked.
This isn’t about tricking people into thinking it’s new content. It’s about making sure it’s actually useful content, right now, today.
Add Something New (Or People Will Wonder Why They’re Here)
The blog post can’t just be the ebook reheated. It needs something fresh.
Maybe it’s a new case study. Maybe it’s something you’ve learned since you published the ebook. Maybe it’s a contrarian take you’ve developed, or a mistake you made that you’re now willing to admit publicly.
When I repurposed my chapter on content calendars, I added a whole section about why I think most content calendars are performative nonsense that make you feel organised without actually helping you create better content. That wasn’t in the ebook. It was something I’d been thinking about for months but hadn’t had the guts to say out loud yet.
That section? Most commented-on part of the entire post.
People can smell reheated leftovers a mile off. Give them something worth showing up for.
Optimise for Search (But Don’t Be Weird About It)
Right, SEO. Everyone’s favourite topic (lol) that makes them feel simultaneously powerful and fraudulent.
Here’s the thing: you should absolutely think about keywords. Research what people are actually searching for. Put relevant terms in your title and headings. Write a meta description that doesn’t sound like it was generated by a robot having an existential crisis.
But for God’s sake, don’t sacrifice readability for the algorithm. I’ve seen too many blog posts that read like someone’s playing keyword bingo. “Are you looking for email marketing strategies? These email marketing strategies for email marketing success will help you with email marketing.”
Just… don’t.
Write for humans first. Then go back and make sure you’ve naturally included the terms people are searching for. If you have to force it, you’re doing it wrong.
Also, link to other stuff you’ve written. Link to the ebook landing page. Link to related posts. Create a little web of content that keeps people clicking around your site instead of buggering off to Twitter.
The Call to Action (Without Being a Salesy Nightmare)
At some point in your blog post, you need to mention the ebook. This is where it gets awkward for everyone.
Too subtle, and people won’t even know the ebook exists. Too pushy and you sound like you’re flogging timeshares in Málaga.
I usually drop it in naturally near the end. Something like: “This is obviously just scratching the surface – if you want the full system with templates and examples, the complete ebook covers all of this in way more detail.”
That’s it. No flashing lights. No countdown timers. No “limited time offer expires in 3… 2… 1…”
You’re not trying to trick people into downloading it. You’re just letting them know it exists and that it might be useful. If they want it, brilliant. If they don’t, they’ve still got a solid blog post out of the deal.
Don’t Dump Everything at Once
I made this mistake. Finished repurposing six chapters, got excited, and published them all in the same week.
Absolute shambles. Nobody could keep up. The social media promotion was chaotic. And by week two, I had nothing left to post about.
Space them out. One post every week or two. Build anticipation for the next one. Give each post room to breathe and actually get some traction before you’re already banging on about the next thing.
Think of it like a podcast series, not a box set you binge in one sitting.
Actually, Check if Any of This Worked
Here’s where you get to feel like a proper data analyst.
Check your traffic. See which posts are getting read and which are dying on arrival. Look at bounce rates. Track how many people are clicking through to the ebook landing page. Count email signups.
I found that my posts about beginner-level topics got way more traffic, but my advanced posts converted better to ebook downloads. That’s useful information. It meant I could adjust my strategy, write more beginner posts to get people in the door, then guide them to the advanced stuff.
Also, don’t be precious. If a post isn’t working, figure out why. Is the title rubbish? Is the topic less interesting than you thought? Did you bury the good bit six paragraphs down where nobody will ever see it?
Learn from it and do better next time.
The Bit Nobody Tells You
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: you can’t give away everything in the blog posts and still expect people to download the ebook.
You need to hold something back. Not in a manipulative way, but in a “here’s the appetiser, there’s a full meal if you want it” way.
I keep the frameworks, templates, and step-by-step walkthroughs in the ebook. The blog posts get the concepts, the case studies, the why-this-matters stuff. Enough to be genuinely useful, but not so much that the ebook becomes redundant.
It’s a balance. Get it wrong and you’ll either give away too much (nobody downloads the ebook) or too little (people feel cheated and don’t trust you).
Why This Actually Matters
Look, you spent ages writing that ebook. It deserves better than sitting in a folder somewhere, occasionally getting downloaded by someone who’ll never actually read it.
Repurposing it into blog posts isn’t about squeezing every last drop of value out of old content. It’s about making sure the work you’ve already done keeps working for you. It’s about reaching people who’d never download a PDF but will absolutely read a blog post. It’s about building a body of work that compounds over time instead of just evaporating into the void.
And honestly? It’s about not having to start from scratch every single time you need to publish something new.
So go on. Open up that ebook. See what’s hiding in there. Pull it apart and put it back together in a way that actually gets seen.
You’ll be surprised by what happens when you let your best work breathe a bit.
Until Next Time
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