diff --git a/src/parser.js b/src/parser.js
index f255ec4..f1291ab 100644
--- a/src/parser.js
+++ b/src/parser.js
@@ -52,15 +52,12 @@ function getItemsOfType(channelData, type) {
 }
 
 function collectPosts(channelData, postTypes) {
-	// this is passed into getPostContent() for the markdown conversion
-	const turndownService = translator.initTurndownService();
-
 	let allPosts = [];
 	postTypes.forEach(postType => {
 		const postsForType = getItemsOfType(channelData, postType)
 			.filter(postData => postData.status[0] !== 'trash')
 			.filter(postData => !(postType === 'page' && postData.post_name[0] === 'sample-page'))
-			.map(postData => buildPost(postData, turndownService));
+			.map(postData => buildPost(postData));
 
 		if (postsForType.length > 0) {
 			console.log(`${postsForType.length} posts of type "${postType}" found.`);
@@ -72,13 +69,13 @@ function collectPosts(channelData, postTypes) {
 	return allPosts;
 }
 
-function buildPost(data, turndownService) {
+function buildPost(data) {
 	return {
 		// full raw post data
 		data,
 
 		// contents of the post in markdown
-		content: translator.getPostContent(data, turndownService),
+		content: translator.getPostContent(data.encoded[0]),
 
 		// these are not written to file, but help with other things
 		type: data.post_type[0],
diff --git a/src/translator.js b/src/translator.js
index 3b727ea..a4f3bb1 100644
--- a/src/translator.js
+++ b/src/translator.js
@@ -2,7 +2,10 @@ import turndownPluginGfm from '@guyplusplus/turndown-plugin-gfm';
 import turndown from 'turndown';
 import * as shared from './shared.js';
 
-export function initTurndownService() {
+// init single reusable turndown service object upon import
+const turndownService = initTurndownService();
+
+function initTurndownService() {
 	const turndownService = new turndown({
 		headingStyle: 'atx',
 		bulletListMarker: '-',
@@ -95,9 +98,7 @@ export function initTurndownService() {
 	return turndownService;
 }
 
-export function getPostContent(postData, turndownService) {
-	let content = postData.encoded[0];
-
+export function getPostContent(content) {
 	// insert an empty div element between double line breaks
 	// this nifty trick causes turndown to keep adjacent paragraphs separated
 	// without mucking up content inside of other elements (like <code> blocks)