How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Blog

How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Blog

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Actual statistics from my blog.

Why Pinterest?

Pinterest is KING for bloggers.

While it gets lumped in with other social media platforms, it’s actually a search engine and has more in common with Google than Facebook or Instagram.

People are on Pinterest to search for something specific, not socialize.

The majority of businesses are on Facebook paying out the wazoo for ads, fighting the algorithm, while Pinterest has untapped potential.

Many people don’t understand how to use Pinterest and can’t be bothered with it.

Therefore, the platform is underutilized, making it much less competitive.

It’s much, much easier for your content to be seen on Pinterest vs. a social media platform.

The half-life of a viral pin is several months, vs. the blink-and-you’ll-miss-it half-life of content posted on social media platforms.

You can promote pins on Pinterest to get more eyes on them, but if you are diligent in your strategy, you won’t need to.

Another fun fact about Pinterest is that half of its users make $50k+ a year, with many users perusing Pinterest with the intention of buying something.

For more interesting Pinterest demographics, check out this article.

All that said, how does a blogger, or business, drive organic traffic to their website?

Pinterest Profile Optimization

Pinterest Profile

First things first. Your Pinterest profile has to be set up for optimization.

When I was getting started with my blog, I already had a Pinterest profile and converted it to a business profile.

If you already have a personal profile, do not delete it or start a separate business profile. Otherwise, you’ll start out with 0 followers, and it will be that much harder to grow.

If you already have a follower base, it makes a big difference when you’re just getting started.

You already have eyes on your content!

People are more likely to follow you when you already have followers.  Also, the more followers you have, the more likely you’ll be accepted into group boards (more on that later).

It’s important to “claim” your profile with Pinterest once you create a business account.  This will give you the checkmark next to your name that makes you “official.”

Also, state clearly in the profile description what your blog is about, and include your URL and a professional photo of yourself or your logo.

Pinterest Boards

Set up your boards accordingly. You don’t want boards that have nothing to do with your niche.

If you converted your personal profile to a business one, don’t delete your old boards or pins. Pinterest’s algorithm punishes you for mass-deleting.  Just make them secret boards if necessary.

It also looks better to have a “cover” for each board. Some people create cover boards in Canva; others just select a specific pin as the cover.

When you create a board, select the board topic from the drop-down menu that closely relates to the board topic, and fill out the board description as well.

This all helps with optimization.

Pin Design & Optimization

I love, love Canva for creating pins.  You can use it for free.

It’s a drag-and-drop, easy to master program. I am by no means creative, and if I can create pins on there, you can, too.

I actually enjoy designing pins, and it’s become one of my favorite blog-related tasks.  And this is coming from someone who is not a remotely creative person.

Make several different pin designs per blog post. This is so you have more content to pin to all your different boards.  I currently create 5 pins per post.

Another reason to create several pin designs per post is because you may have one pin design that doesn’t do very well, while another pin design from the same article ends up going viral.

For tips on creating pins that go viral, check out this article.

It’s important to include a description and URL on your pins.  I use the description from my SEO description on my actual blog post. This helps optimize your pin and ties it to your blog post.

Master the Platform

Strategy, and mastering the platform, are everything.

Master the Platform

I wanted to truly master Pinterest, so I took Create & Go’s Pinterest Traffic Avalanche course.  They are continually updating it any time Pinterest makes changes, making it extremely invaluable.

If you want to maximize the optimization of your Pinterest profile and strategy, get this course. It’s the best course on Pinterest out there.

You must stay updated on Pinterest and any changes they make, or you’re likely to see a dip in your traffic or other consequences.

Find Your Strategy

My personal strategy for Pinterest is to pin 10-15x a day.  I post 80% of my own content and 20% other people’s content.

Group Boards

There are also group boards, where you can pin your content and have it seen by a new set of eyes who may not be following you.

I’m personally not a huge fan of group boards.  You have to ask the board owner to join, and many times your request will fall on deaf ears.

For every 20 boards you request to join, you may hear back from 3-5 of them, if that.

There is a way to rate how well group boards do (more on that below) and most of the boards I’ve been accepted into don’t rate well, so I end up leaving them.

One way you can gauge how well a group board does is by checking how many members it has and how many followers those members have.

If the board has under 100 members who have a large number of followers, there’s a good chance that board rates well.

Unfortunately, most of the boards that I’ve come across that rate well have a note that they aren’t currently accepting new members.  You can still send a request, but it’s not likely you’ll be accepted in.

I tend to do better with my own boards, so group boards aren’t much of a priority for me, but they work well for some people.

Pin Scheduling

Tailwind

Unless you want to be on Pinterest 24 hours a day to pin your posts, you need a pin scheduler.

I use Tailwind and it rocks!

You can try it for free and schedule out 100 pins before taking the plunge.

Paid plans start as low as $10 a month, and it’s 100% worth every penny.

It’s the only 3^rd party scheduler approved by Pinterest.  Using any other scheduler will hurt your standing with Pinterest.

Furthermore, Tailwind and Pinterest’s reps work together on Pinterest updates and host routine webinars.

They truly go hand-in-hand, making Tailwind that much more of a reliable tool for all things Pinterest.

Tailwind has made pin scheduling a breeze.  They give you the time slots that are most popular among your audience, and you can mass-schedule your pins out.

It saves so much time, and time is money in the blogging world.

There’s also a feature called SmartLoop, where you can schedule your pins to be pinned continuously over time. For example, scheduling a popular pin to pin to a specific board once every 6 months.

Another valuable feature I rely on is their insights tab.  It allows you to see how your boards rate, as well as your group boards.

If your group boards are below a “1”, they will harm your overall score and it’s best to leave them or archive them.

The consequence to group boards is, if they aren’t faring well, it ultimately hurts your profile’s overall score if you’re pinning on them.

Seeing how your own boards hold up using the insights tab lets you know which boards are the most popular.

When I’m scheduling pins, I try to schedule to the most popular boards with my most popular pins first.

Sometimes I’ll post brand new pins to my most popular boards because I know it gives them the best chance of being seen and going viral.

Tailwind Tribes

Similar to group boards, Tailwind also has Tailwind Tribes.  Depending on what type of account you sign up for with Tailwind, your number of allowed Tribes will vary.  I’m allowed up to 5 with my plan.

They do have what are called “Power Ups” which allow you to add more Tribes than what your plan allows.

I definitely prefer Tribes to group boards.  I’ve seen more re-pins and engagement with Tribes vs. group boards.

You can also see how your Tribes rate and always leave them if you’re not getting the engagement you’d like.  But unlike group boards, a poorly performing Tribe won’t hurt your Pinterest account’s engagement.

Before You Go

Pinterest rocks for driving traffic to your blog.

I haven’t paid one cent for Facebook Ads or Google Ads.

Other than my posts being shared by others on Facebook, I haven’t even bothered trying to master any social media platforms to drive traffic to my website.

It’s best to master one platform before moving on to another, and for me, that’s Pinterest.

The Pinterest Traffic Avalanche course is great to learn and master the platform and find your Pinterest strategy.

Tailwind is an invaluable tool to drive traffic to your blog with its pin scheduling and insights.  It saves you time and maximizes your strategy.

Master the platform, find your strategy, and drive traffic to your blog.

What are your best tips for driving traffic to your website via Pinterest? Let me know in the comments below!

Read Next:

• An Honest Review of Pinterest Traffic Avalanche
• Are You Blogging Legally?
• 7 Blogging Mistakes You Need to Stop Making
• How Blogging Changed My Life
• How Much Does it Cost to Start A Blog?