I’m writing this blog post, not necessarily because I’m a blogging expert. But more because I have many blogging friends who have WAY more followers than I do. And yet they don’t use Pinterest as a blog marketing tool. And for my blogger friends who have a larger following, I know many of them would like to not only keep, but continue to grow their following. So, I thought I would share my experience with using Pinterest thus far, in the hopes that it inspires my fellow bloggers. It’s also one of the more fun blog marketing tools out there, so why not?!
SHOUT OUT TO STUART
The inspiration for this blog post came exclusively from reading a post by a blogger I’m newly following. Stuart Danker of Your Friendly Malaysian Writer, recently wrote a blog post called, “Why I Might Give Up Commenting On WordPress.” I actually love blog posts about blogging, written by my blogging friends. Because it’s a chance for us all to shamelessly geek out about blog-specific things that not everyone in the world gives two shits about. But we do! And in his blog post, he mentioned how he might want to give Pinterest a try. And so then I thought, okay, I’ve heard from too many awesome bloggers now, who don’t use Pinterest. That I think I just need to share about this. Because I really have enjoyed my results thus far.
LET’S BEGIN WITH CANVA
It really doesn’t make sense to waste your time with Pinterest marketing, if you aren’t using Canva as well. I won’t get too much into this. But I will say that if you aren’t familiar, Canva is a quick and easy graphic design program. And it’s all done online in your web browser, no software required. You no longer need Adobe Photoshop AND Illustrator in order to make pretty halfway decent designs. And Canva has a built-in upload feature to Pinterest. So, if you create all of your designs in Canva, which offers countless templates to choose from, you are set. And with just a few clicks, you can drop your design directly into Pinterest. It’s that easy!
A BIT ABOUT PINTEREST AND WHY IT’S AN AMAZING BLOG MARKETING TOOL
Many people slot Pinterest into the “social media” category. But it is not. Pinterest is actually a search engine, that just uses imagery, as well as words. If that doesn’t scream “blog marketing tool” right out the gate, I don’t know what does. So, as long as your Pinterest posts contain links to your blog articles, you’re setting yourself up beautifully to drive traffic quite easily to your blog.
I started listening to a podcast about this (there are many!) and it gave me the basic knowledge to get started. I recommend you listen to Cara Chase’s podcast, Pin Power Podcast. She no longer posts new episodes, but the episodes she does have posted are fairly evergreen and super helpful.
Cara lists some basic tips about pinning, and I will share some things here, from memory.
1. MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE TEXT (NOT JUST PICTURES) IN YOUR PIN DESIGNS. AND MAKE SURE THE TEXT MATCHES YOUR PIN TITLE AND/OR THE DESCRIPTIONS YOU USE WHEN POSTING YOUR PINS. THIS HELPS WITH SEARCH ENGINE TRUST.
To keep things simple, I just use the title of my blog post in the text of my design. And then I use the title of my blog post as the title of my pin. It keeps things super simple and allows you to just copy and paste.
2. POST FREQUENTLY AND CONSISTENTLY. CARA ACTUALLY RECOMMENDS 5 PER DAY! BUT I ONLY POST A PIN WHEN I RELEASE A NEW BLOG POST, WHICH IS TWICE A WEEK. IF I WAS PINNING MORE, I’D MOST LIKELY SEE THE RESULTS.
3. DON’T DO REPEAT POSTS BECAUSE SEARCH ENGINES WON’T LIKE IT. YOU CAN USE THE SAME IMAGE WITH A DIFFERENT DESIGN. OR THE SAME DESIGN TEMPLATE WITH A DIFFERENT IMAGE. BUT NOT BOTH.
4. DON’T USE TEXT THAT IS TOO SWIRLY AND CURSIVE-Y BECAUSE SEARCH ENGINES WILL NOT BE ABLE TO “SEE” THE WORDS AS CLEARLY.
5. AS WITH EVERYTHING, BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF FOLLOWERS ON PINTEREST IS HELPFUL. YOU CAN ALSO JOIN GROUP BOARDS AND BE SURE TO FOLLOW OTHERS. I DON’T DO ANY OF THIS BECAUSE I’M LAZY, BUT YOU CAN!
6. CREATING PINTEREST STORIES IS KIND OF LIKE CREATING INSTAGRAM REELS, AND IT DOES HELP TO INCREASE YOUR PINTEREST PRESENCE TO NEWCOMERS WHO HAVE NEVER SEEN YOUR BOARDS. SO, DO THIS ONCE IN AWHLE IF YOU FEEL INSPIRED.
7. CURRENTLY, PINTEREST PREFERS A VERTICAL RECTANGULAR FORMAT FOR POSTS. BUT I’M SURE IF THIS CHANGES, CANVA WILL UPDATE THEIR TEMPLATES AS WELL.
DEVELOP AN EASY ROUTINE AND JUST STICK TO IT
I put very little effort into my marketing. However, the effort I do put in, is really rather efficient. The day before, or a few days before I release a blog post, I create an Instagram design in Canva, which is typically a square format. I post this design on Instagram the day I release my post. Then, on the same day I release my post, I copy and paste the Instagram design into a blank Pinterest template in Canva, and adjust the spacing accordingly. So, the designing is already done and I just need to reformat the post for Pinterest. Then, I fill in the title, description, and link boxes, and upload it to Pinterest immediately.
Canva asks that you include the title of your Pin (I just copy and past the title of my blog post straight from my blog). As well as the link to the post. And you also have the option to include a short description. Again, I just find one of my blog paragraphs and copy and paste that. Once Canva uploads this to Pinterest, it gives you the option to “check out your post.” DO THIS!
From here, you want to click on the triple dot icon of the pin and select Edit Pin. And from here, I just copy and paste the title of the Pin into the Alt text box. You really want to make sure the Alt text box is not blank so search engines can find it more easily. And the default when you upload from Canva is blank. So just do a quick copy and paste, and then you’re done!
I FEEL KIND OF NAKED SHOWING YOU MY STATS
I value my followers more than anything! So, when it sounds like I’m complaining about my small following, I’m certainly not meaning to discount the beautiful following that I have. However, compared to other, larger blogs, my stats are a bit teensy. And my Pinterest stats are even teensier. However, if you look at my Pinterest traffic compared to the rest of my traffic, it’s definitely noteworthy. And keep in mind, I’ve only been using Pinterest as a blog marketing tool for about a year now.
Also, keep in mind, I’m pretty rebellious when it comes to marketing. Meaning, I HATE doing exactly what I’m supposed to do. And I tend to kind of fudge things and half-ass my attempts. So, as I mentioned above, these stats are a reflection of me posting only twice a week. I can almost guarantee they would be more if I posted more often.
So, are you ready to give Pinterest a try?
THANK YOU FOR READING!
I’m actually so excited to hear what others have to say about this. Because maybe there are many of you out there who have been using Pinterest as a blog marketing tool. If so, what has been your results? Have you come up against any obstacles? And if you haven’t ever used it, what do you think of this? Does it sound like something you could add to your marketing routine? I can’t wait to hear from you!
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I don’t use Pinterest at all. But I also don’t use a lot of social media in general to promote my blog. I literally just started my IG page (2 years into blogging) but I’ll probably give it a try. I do want to get more organic and search engine views. But arghhhhh, I’m lazy! 😭
Ha I know the feeling! I think I just like Pinterest because it appeals to my visually creative side so it’s fun to make designs. But you couldn’t pay me to do that daily! Ha well actually you could and I totally would 🤣 But honestly, I’m lazy too 😬
I’m trying with Pinterest, and I am starting to see encouraging results…but sometimes I feel like- is it worth it? I’ll try and stick with it, I suspect it’s a long term game and I’ve never stuck with it long enough or consistently enough.
Here’s a side question I’d be interested to get other opinions on; even if Pinterest isn’t driving vast amounts of traffic to a blog, is it worth nurturing to add to stats/ media kit? Do brands like to see a healthy pin presence?
Hm all good thoughts! Can I ask are you pinning every day? What’s you’re level of commitment and how long have u been doing it? I’m not sure about your other question but I don’t think brands care about a Pin presence. Rather I do think the more we pin, just like blogging, the more search engines begin to trust us. And so I think the growth can become exponential at a certain point (maybe?). The more pins we have out there, the more and more we’re giving search engines, so I think it’s worth it in terms of potential increased traffic. What do you think? And I’m curious do you hate the process of doing it?
I’m not a daily pinner, I try to deal with social media/SEO related tasks 2-3 times a week in a block of time but honestly, it slips! I’ve been using Pinterest seriously for about a year related to blogging but in a very off and on fashion. I suppose it’s like exercise, the more consistently you do it the stronger and more consistent the result. But I’m off-and-on with exercise too so maybe its just me haha!
I wouldn’t say I hate it, but I do find it a bit tedious at times and just can’t get excited about it the way some bloggers and content creators do.
Yeah I totally get that. Everything you said I totally get. Thanks for sharing your process with me, I love chatting with other bloggers about blogging 😬💖🦋
Okay, this is so helpful! I have been toying with the idea of incorporating Pintrest but could never understand how it worked and was (ssp*) lazy to figure it out myself… I have saved this post and will go back to it on a day off to see if I can figure it out with your guidance! Thanks so much!!
Sounds great Jen! And feel free to email me if you have questions, I love this stuff, so I don’t mind! ☺️
Ohhhh thanks 🙂 I probably will bug you hehe but I promise I will compile all my questions in one email lol
Omg repeat emails aren’t a problem for me. Bug away! 🤣😊🦋
Wow, what a post! Judging by the other commenters’ replies, you really are onto something here, Libby. People really need knowledge like this, and I thank you for being so generous with your time (and mention too).
I will need time to process this, and will definitely give it a go, but like all new platforms, it’s going to require lotsa trial and error. Will definitely re-viist this post once I give Pinterest a whirl.
I suspect that this can even be turned into a PDF to be turned into a lead magnet for your newsletter.
Anyway, this is great content right here!
Thanks so much Stuart, I’m glad you find it helpful! Good luck with the process, it might not be as painful as you think. 😬🤷🏼♀️And thank you for the pdf idea, I’ll think about that!!
Thanks for the info, Libby. I’ve never considered using Pinterest as a marketing tool. I will check out Canva.com.
Oh great! Let me know how it goes for you, I’m definitely interested to hear from other bloggers about this 💖