Revenue Ideas from the Boneyard

1963 Cadillac Sedan DeVille. Photo by Jain Lemos.

Chances are, you have invested countless creative hours into several important projects. Some of these may have been published, licensed or sold; others are most likely buried deep in a file directory on a mass-storage drive, never to surface on a desktop again… unless you take some action today.

Revamping, recycling and recirculating materials already “in the can” is a practice that successful artists utilize. How long ago you developed the material is inconsequential. Think of it this way: If the project was important enough then, it still is. Knowing when and how to repackage your work is invaluable. Here are a few points to keep in mind:

• If you can link your work to any trending topic, you have a ready audience.
• Search again for outtakes or chapters eliminated in editing and start building the sequel.
  
• Refresh the content with new, unexpected design direction appealing to a different (and wider) demographic.
• Remember that beautiful-but-static hummingbird calendar? Now, use 100 images of the birds and assemble them into a 4-minute video with narration, graphics, hip music and sprinkle in amusing factoids.
  
• Use behind-the-scenes techniques to convey the excitement and emotion you had when creating the project.
  
• Don’t be afraid to be bold! Leave plenty of room for collaboration and be open to changing your original vision.