How to Break Up a Blog Post So You Can Market Like an Expert
- Tori McElwain
- Dec 5, 2025
- 4 min read
Tori McElwain
A few years ago, I remember sitting at my desk staring at a half-written blog post about color theory. My afternoon coffee had gone cold. My kid was about to wake up from a nap. And I remember thinking:
“Why am I even writing this? One blog post isn’t going to grow my business.”
It felt pointless… because I didn’t realize what I had.
I didn’t know that a single, well-written blog post could become:
multiple reels,
a week of social posts,
an email,
Pinterest pins,
teaching content,
and a repeatable system I could use again and again.
Once I learned how to break it up, something clicked. Marketing became lighter. Content became faster. And showing up online finally felt manageable.
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by content creation, this simple method will change everything.
Many creative business owners write a blog, hit publish, and let it sit there like a beautiful quilt folded up in a closet. It exists, but it’s not doing any of the work it could be doing for your marketing.
But here’s the truth:
Experts don’t create more content. Experts reuse content better.
This is the foundation of how I teach marketing - especially inside frameworks like Break It Up, where your blog becomes the starting point for an entire, sustainable marketing system.
I’m going to show you exactly how to turn ONE blog post into multiple weeks of content across social media, email, and video… without feeling overwhelmed.
Let’s break it down.
In this post, I will be referencing:
I've also focused this blog post on Instagram-specific strategy, but it can be a great way to understand how a blog post can be used on other social media platforms.
Identify the Big Ideas in Your Blog
Every blog post has 3-5 “anchors” - the core lessons, tips, examples, or stories that make the content valuable.
Take this example from a blog on color and emotion in quilting:
Color influences mood like emotional nutrition
Different colors evoke specific feelings
Classic quilts show this in action
Quilters can choose colors intentionally to support the quilt’s message
Or take this example from a blog on adding borders without distortion:
Why borders can stretch a quilt
How to fix distortion by sewing from the center out
How to choose the right border width
How border color affects design
A real panel quilt tutorial
Once you’ve identified these anchors, you have the raw material for all your additional marketing.
Think of it like cutting fabric: one yard gives you multiple pieces, and each piece becomes part of a larger design.
Turn Those Ideas Into Carousels (Swipe Posts)
Carousels are one of the easiest and most effective types of content because they teach something quickly and spark engagement.
Using our color example, a carousel might look like:
Slide 1: How Colors Shape the Mood of Your Quilt
Slides 2–6:
Red → passion
Blue → calm
Yellow → joy
Green → renewal
Purple → creativity
Orange → warmth
Slide 7: See classic quilt examples on my blog.
Or from the border blog:
Slide 1: 3 Border Mistakes That Make Your Quilt Crooked
Slide 2: Sewing corner-to-corner
Slide 3: Borders wider than blocks
Slide 4: Border colors overpowering the quilt
Slide 5: Full tutorial on the blog.
Boom. One blog → teaching carousel → visibility.
Create Reels and Shorts from the Same Anchors
Short-form video doesn’t have to be intimidating. It can be as simple as:
From the color blog:
“Choose your quilt’s mood in 5 seconds.”
Warm vs. cool palette comparison.
“Famous quilts show color psychology—here are three examples.”
From the border blog:
“Stop sewing borders like this” (corner-to-corner vs. center-out).
“The fastest border color trick: frame with your darkest shade.”
Panel quilt glow-up reel.
Each one takes less time to record than making a cup of coffee.
Turn a Single Idea Into Graphics
Not everything needs to be video.
You can pull quotes, tips, or simple definitions and turn them into static posts.
Examples:
“Color is emotional nutrition for your quilt.”
“Sew borders from the center out to keep your quilt square.”
Poll: What mood are you quilting today? Calm • Cozy • Bold • Romantic
These are easy to create, easy to read, and easy to share.
Use It In or As an Email That Links Back to Your Blog
You don’t need a giant newsletter to stay consistent.
Just one story + one link = a complete, nurturing email.
From the color blog:
Subject: Choosing the Mood of Your Next Quilt
Body: Use your opening paragraph as the story, add one or two color examples, then link back.
From the border blog:
Subject: Why Your Borders Might Be Crooked
Body: Explain the mistake, give the quick fix, link to the full tutorial.
Or if you send a Newsletter with multiple subjects, you can include the title and a summary or snippet of the blog and link to the full post for them to keep reading.
The key is to make your blog work for you—not the other way around.
Use a Weekly Posting Plan to Stay Consistent
Here’s a simple cycle example you can repeat every time you publish a blog:
Day | Content |
Mon | Email to your list |
Tue | Carousel |
Wed | Reel / Short |
Thu | Graphic |
Fri | Evaluate Reactions: Note Any Future Blog Post Ideas |
Sat | Bonus post (optional) |
Sun | Rest |
You’ve now built a full week of marketing…from something you already created.
Want Help Doing This With Your Own Blog?
I created a free fillable worksheet + examples to walk you through this entire process step-by-step.
It includes:
✔ The exact prompts from this blog
✔ Space to map out your carousels, reels, graphics, and email
✔ Real examples from quilting content
✔ A repeatable template you can use every time you write a blog
Download the “Break It Up: Market Like an Expert Worksheet” here:
And if you'd like help working through the worksheet or building a marketing system around your content, I’m offering a free 30-minute consultation where we’ll:
Break down one of your blog posts
Build your repurposing strategy
Map out your next week of content
Talk through what comes next for your business
Book your free 30-minute session here[Insert booking link]
You don’t need more ideas - you just need a simple system. And once you learn to “break up” your content, marketing becomes a lot easier… and a lot more fun.
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