Welcome to part 2 of the Worth it Blogging Tasks series, where I’m answering the question, “How should I spend my limited time as a blogger?” You can read part 1 here.
New bloggers often ask, “how do I get people besides my friends and family to read my blog?” When I started, I didn’t even have friends and family reading because I was too scared to share it with them. So, once I got the basics of writing and publishing blog posts figured out, I turned my attention to learning Pinterest for bloggers.
After all, Pinterest is how I stumbled into the world of Christian blogs. I was pinning Christian quotes and then Pinterest started showing me blog post pins. The more I pinned Christian content, the more Pinterest showed me. Therefore, Pinterest seemed like the quickest and easiest way to get eyes on my blog.
My instinct was right, and Pinterest was my top referral source for my first two years of blogging. Today it’s number two (Organic search being #1), which is why I consider Pinterest a worth it blogging task.
Worth it Blogging Task #2: Pinterest for Bloggers
Here are my three tips for making the most of Pinterest as a blogger
1. View Pinterest as a search engine.
Everything you publish needs a keyword-rich description. This includes the bio on your account, board descriptions, and pin descriptions.
A keyword-rich description clearly explains what the account, board, or blog post is about AND includes words people are using in Pinterest searches. These Keywords might be the same as the ones you used for SEO on your website, or they might be slightly different.
Bonus tip: You can use Pinterest to find great keywords! Just type your topic into the Pinterest search bar and Pinterest will suggest related keywords.
2. Use Pinterest as it’s intended to be used.
Gone are the days of pinning lots of pins to as many boards as possible. Pinterest now views this as spam and you’ll be in danger of getting your account shut down.
So instead, think of the average Pinterest user, how do they use the platform? Do they pin the exact same pin over and over again? Do they pin 100 pins a day? No, they carefully curate boards with very specific topics.
Therefore, as a blogger, you need to create specific boards and only pin relevant content to those boards. You should also keep your account active by pinning 5-20 pins a day.
Personally, I use Tailwind to schedule out all my own content using their interval feature. This allows me to spread out how often the same pin gets pinned. (Remember, your average Pinterest user isn’t pinning the same pin multiple times in one day.) With Tailwind, I can set up the schedule I want and then let it do all the work for me.
I also like to pin from my home feed and following feed occasionally because I believe that’s what most Pinterest users do. They either go on Pinterest to perform a search or they come on to scroll their feeds and find new content. Remember, that’s the key, think like a regular/non-blogger Pinterest user and base your pinning strategy on what they do.
3. Pin quality content.
Quality content is the key to success on every platform! On Pinterest, quality content starts with the blog post linked to the pin. The most beautiful pins won’t gain traction on Pinterest if people don’t find great content when they click through. (If you’ve ever had an “old ugly pin” continue to do well, this is why! It’s probably linked to one of your top blog posts.)
The pin itself is also very important. A beautiful (and relevant!) image, a bold, easy to read title, a keyword-rich description and a link back to the original content are all necessary. I recommend trying a few different styles of pins to see what performs best.
Note, these recommendations apply to both your personal pins and the pins you pin from your feed or from Tailwind tribes. So yes, you need to click through other people’s pins and check out the content before pinning. (Images linking to the wrong place are a huge issue on Pinterest, so watch out for those!).
One reason I view Pinterest as a worth it blogging task is because the return on investment is high. I can spend less than an hour a week creating pins, scheduling them with Tailwind, and manually pinning from my feed and see 20x the amount of traffic I get from spending an hour scheduling social media posts. I can also ignore Pinterest completely for a season and it will keep sending me traffic.
If you’re ready to up your Pinterest traffic, then I highly recommend getting Tailwind to save you time. And if you’d rather hire out your Pinterest management, I recommend the team at Silently Social (tell them I sent you).
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Great ideas! Thank you so much Kira. Pinterest has always been like a mystery to me. I am trying really hard to make a better effort when it comes to promoting my blog on Pinterest. How do you feel about Tribes? I am still trying to figure them out. Also, I hope you do not mind if I stalk your Pinterest page for a little bit just to try and get a better understanding.
I’m glad you found this helpful! I like Tribes but the effectiveness varies a lot by niche, and in the Christian blog niche you aren’t going to see the same explosive traffic boost from Tribes as a food blogger (for example) might. And yes, feel free check out my Pinterest page! Just be aware that my account plummented (for a variety of reasons) earlier this year, so I’m currently rebuilding. But it’s always a good idea to look at accounts doing well and even reach out to the blogger and ask about what they are doing. Most are happy to share.