Every piece of content starts with your newsletter.
This is one of the biggest mistake creators make when starting out.
Most creators who haven't yet started a newsletter and/or fully formed a content system want to start by creating social content (Discovery Platforms), and then repurpose to their newsletter (which is a Relationship Platform).
Let me repeat: This is a mistake.
We have seen my breakdown on the different ways creators repurpose their newsletter content, but I think this breakdown is going to be a big eye opener for many.
In this one we're breaking down Dan Koe's repurposing strategy.
But the big lesson isn't necessarily something that is specific to Dan Koe.
The world's top creators lead with their newsletter, and then repurpose out to other platforms.
We're talking about newsletter creators like:
- Dan Koe
- Jay Clouse
- Justin Welsh
- Matt McGarry
- Chenell Basilio
And so many more.
Here's what Justin Welsh said:
"Nothing is easier than writing a newsletter and then looking back at the newsletter and easily, inside of it, seeing 5-7 pieces of content.”
Both Justin Welsh and Dan Koe are masters of this, but we're going to be looking at how Dan Koe has really taken it to a whole new level.
Here's what Dan Koe says about his newsletter repurposing strategy:
“When I focus on writing my newsletter for 30 minutes every morning, all of my other content is handled. It's as simple as deconstructing the newsletter and repurposing it everywhere in less than 10 minutes a day (once you have the process down)."
THIS is what we're going to be learning about.
The Dan Koe Content Strategy:
This is a direct quote from Dan Koe's Twitter feed:
"How I turn 1 piece of writing into content for all platforms:
- Write a quality newsletter.
- Use it as a YouTube script.
- Condense it into a thread & carousel.
- Write tweet from big ideas.
- Copy / paste to IG and LI.
- Read the tweets for reels."
So sit back and get ready, because I'm showing you exactly how he does it.
Step One: Newsletter To Blog
Step one is the most simple.
I even almost thought about skipping it, but then I realized it is actually a difference between some typical email marketing style and newsletters - and therefore something I definitely need to cover.
I have analyzed hundreds of newsletters at this point (many of which I share deeper breakdowns for inside my 6-Figure Creator Newsletter Blueprint course), and the top Creator Newsletters generally have one thing in common:
Their newsletter also ends up on their website as a blog.
This can be done in a few different ways, but there are two that are most popular:
- The exact newsletter that is written in the email also gets posted to the blog.
- The newsletter is posted as a blog on the website, and then included within the blog as a main link to read on the website only.
The first example is what you'll find from creators like Justin Welsh, Dan Koe, and a good handful of others.
The second example is how I structure my own newsletter, and what you see from creators like Chenell Basilio (Growth In Reverse), Jay Clouse [kind of] (Creator Science) and a bunch of others.
In most cases, if your newsletter articles aren't massive deep dives like mine and Chenell's, it may be better to go with the first method.
BUT, if you teach with a lot of visuals (like I do; as you can tell from this article), AND it's much longer, then it's almost always a good idea to structure it the second way.
Note: This step and the next step are both extremely important steps because they both act as big ways that Dan practices his passive selling tactics.
Bonus Note: Dan's Passive Selling Strategy
Dan's entire selling strategy relies on:
- Promoting in his newsletter.
- Promoting his newsletter on his timelines (blog post).
- Promoting with links in the description of his YouTube videos.
Every once in a while you'll also hear him mention his products in the video; which he also does inside his newsletter.
It's a tactic Justin Welsh refers to as "Recommended Selling"; and it's a gentle nudge towards products that will help you achieve the things that both Justin and Dan teach in their newsletters (and brands overall).
So DO NOT overlook this part of the repurposing strategy!
Step #2: Newsletter To YouTube Script
After Dan writes his newsletter he also uses it directly as a YouTube script.
He adds visuals (which he also repurposes to places like Instagram, within the blog and newsletter, and Twitter/LinkedIn), and goes through the newsletter, sometimes expanding on bigger topics.
The one nuance I want to add here is that Dan actually also adds the YouTube video to the top of the blog content.
This means when you land on his website you have the option to either read through the newsletter/blog content, or watch the YouTube version of it.
Note: This does not happen immediately. First the newsletter/blog gets published, then when the YouTube video is published it is eventually added.
He's DEFINITELY not hiding any of this repurposing; which shows us just how simple, yet effective it really is.
Step #3: Newsletter to Podcast Script
Step 3 is even more simple.
Dan then takes that script and reads it as a Podcast script and posts it to The Koe Cast.
But, there are a few notes that I want to make here:
- There's no doubt that podcasts are powerful, but they are another relationship platform (like your newsletter), and do NOT act as a discovery platform (like your social media).
- Dan does not do this NEARLY as much as he repurposes to his other platforms; even YouTube, which is where the script would be coming from.
- We can assume that this methodology is not nearly as powerful as his other repurposing.
Note: I see some incredible creators who are repurposing their podcast interviews to their newsletter and tons of other places, and this could also be an incredible strategy - but that results in the PODCAST (also a relationship platform) being the starting point; which is a lot different than what we see Dan doing here.
Step #4: Newsletter to LinkedIn Carousel
Next up we start looking at how Dan repurposes his newsletter content to social platforms (discovery platforms).
For this one we're starting with a LinkedIn carousel, which you can see he takes the exact title of and plops it right onto the carousel.
He then uses the same image we'll eventually see on his Instagram repurposing, adds a hook and some text to the actual post, and posts it.
The carousels are usually short, 6-8 slides, which makes it extra easy for him to still fit them into an Instagram post (which restricts you to 10 slides).
Note: This is one of the reasons I haven't started repurposing to Instagram. My carousels are generally 12-20 slides; which has been optimal for reach.
Section #5: Newsletter to Twitter Threads
For the next section I wanted to use a different example when showing you some of the Twitter threads Dan repurposes to, because I didn't want you thinking this one newsletter we're examining in the rest of the article happens to be an anomaly.
It's not.
Dan uses this system for almost every single newsletter; and he doesn't hide his strategy at all.
Actually, it's the opposite. He shares it often.
The week after Dan's newsletter goes live he share images, threads, and links to that newsletter on his Twitter feed (which will also be repurposed at later dates and shared again).
This helps Dan's passive selling strategy by sending people to his blog, which is where he's optimizing for recommended selling and other CTAs that will actually convert readers into sales.
Step #6: Newsletter to Instagram
As I mentioned, Dan then takes the exact images from his LinkedIn carousel and repurposes them over to Instagram.
I'll reiterate that this is made even easier because he keeps his carousels shorter (usually 6-8 pages).
This may not be optimal for LinkedIn reach, but it makes it MUCH easier to post on Instagram being that they have a 10 image limit.
Some quick repurposing for optimal sizing, with a couple copy - paste clicks; and you have your next Instagram post going live as well.
Step #7: Newsletter to Short Form Content
Remember when I said this will all be repurposed to short form content at a later date as well?
Well I wasn't kidding.
Dan takes the text from his newsletter, which was repurposed into his carousel and Instagram posts, and posts it directly on Twitter (and sometimes even short LinkedIn posts as well).
As you can see in the image, he sometimes changes a couple words, but for the most part they are directly copy pasted.
Step #8: Newsletter to Reels
This last step is one of my favorite parts.
Dan takes Tweets (which are directly repurposed from his newsletter, which went to carousels, threads and Instagram posts) and reads them into a mic to be used as Instagram Reels (short form video content).
You can literally listen to exactly what he has already shared previously, multiple different times, in multiple variations (long form, short form, image backed, etc.), except this time in a short form video format, with his branded image style keeping you engaged throughout.
The Newsletter Comes First
The biggest lesson here is that your newsletter comes first.
A lot of creators start by assuming they should be creating social content and then using that to repurpose to their newsletter; but this is the exact OPPOSITE way you should be doing it.
We have seen this time and time again with some of the world's top creators: all their content stems from the newsletter.
So take some steps to launch your newsletter, and then you'll be off to the races with your repurposing (the right way):
- Understand your newsletter's business model.
- Develop your unique value proposition/differentiator.
- Build out the sections and content of your newsletter.
- Make the best Welcome Flow (and Landing Page).
- Launch!
And, if you need help with any of these steps, or want the proven tactics to launching, growing and monetizing a 6-figure creator newsletter, you can check out the 6-Figure Creator Newsletter Blueprint course to get you started.
Should I Start Repurposing This Much!?!
One thing I want to make clear is that you absolutely DO NOT need to repurpose this much to be a successful creator.
Many creators start with one platform, crush it, and then decide to expand onto other platforms.
Not just that, but a lot of these creators also decide they don't want to expand onto nearly as many platforms as Dan Koe is on.
Take Justin Welsh for example:
- He started with LinkedIn, grew his audience to over 100,000, was ONLY there for YEARS, and then decided to repurpose to Twitter.
- He has now added Threads and Instagram, but does not repurpose to platforms like YouTube, podcasts or even short form video.
So NO, you do not need to start repurposing like this.
And if anything you probably SHOULDN'T start repurposing this much until you have really honed in and mastered a specific platform.
BUT, then you'll have this in your arsenal to use for when you're ready.
The main takeaway, as I mentioned (probably more times than you'd like to hear so far), is that you should start by writing your newsletter content, and then use it to repurpose (and this includes even just on one platform, like I do on LinkedIn).
