I am going to be the first to admit that as a blogger, I neglected Pinterest for WAY too long. For ages, I have heard others talking about how Pinterest was their biggest source of traffic. Meanwhile, it was bringing me in like, 35 pageviews a day. Now it is one of my top referrers! I knew I had to step up my Pinterest game, but it just seemed like a really overwhelming task.
My problem was that even though I love social media, Pinterest is not very social. You don’t really talk to people, you just find ideas. Now don’t get me wrong I do LOVE Pinterest, I was one of the first of my friends to obsessively hop on the pinning bandwagon. But as far as promoting my blog post, I just didn’t think it was a good fit. I was wrong.
Now… I’m not a pinning pro and this post is just scratching the surface, but if you have been neglecting Pinterest like I know many bloggers are, this is for you.
Here are 3 things I did that has made a huge difference in my Pinterest referral traffic.
Apply for rich pins. This is insanely easy to do and for some reason I thought it was really hard. This easy step-by-step tutorial from Twitchetts is what finally convinced me to do it, by showing me how simple it really was! With rich pins, you give Pinterest information to verify your website. Since Pinterest knows you are pinning from a legit site now, they allow more information on each pin. (it is even added to your old pins, so be sure to go back and check them out) The extra info makes it look fancy and helps to get more repins.
Create VERTICAL pins for each blog post. For the longest time, I was just pinning my ‘hero’ image from my blog posts.. which was a square. This past year, I started using a more rectangular shaped hero image (1000px by 1200px) and those looked much better once pinned. However, after a little trial and error I found that the ‘infographic’ template from Canva (800px by 2000px) gets me the most repins. I now try to update one old pin a week to make it more pinworthy!
You can see the longer vertical pins are much more eye-catching than the “November Scopers” pin.
Pin more! I was not pinning close to as much as I should have been, and I didn’t know the best times to pin. After watching a few scopes on Tailwind, I decided to bite the bullet and give it a try. Tailwind is a pin scheduler. One of my biggest issues with Pinterest is that I would basically forget about it. I would pin once a week, if that! I knew I needed to be pinning more, but I just didn’t have time. Tailwind makes it so easy for me to schedule pins! I can schedule them out weeks in advance if I wanted to… but I usually do just a few days at a time. If you guys know me, you know I normally hate social media scheduling, however this one rocks.
The other 2 changes were important, however… Tailwind has by far made the biggest difference. It creates my pinning schedule around the best times to pin. Right now, I have it set to pin 15 times a day during the week, and a bit more on the weekend. I know some people pin up to 50 times a day, but I don’t have time to find that many pins! Obviously you don’t need Tailwind, if you have time to pin yourself throughout the day. I also like that this finds the optimal times to pin, since I don’t really research that stuff. I love that I can use the interval feature to schedule one pin to a number of boards. That way they aren’t all pinned at once, I can spread them out based on the time I choose. (example: I want them a day apart, at ‘optimal’ times)
If you want to try it out, you can get a 30 day trial using my affiliate link. (this will also give me extra months free.. but I already paid for the entire year since I was so obsessed, but use my code anyway. You know, so I can get free months next year) Also, Tailwind is the only pin scheduler ‘approved’ by Pinterest, so you won’t be penalized for scheduling.
I have a ton more awesome pinning tips from other bloggers on my social media board on (you guessed it) Pinterest.
Pinning this! Lol! I definitely think Rich Pins made a big difference in my pinning game.
You are the pinning pro for sure!!
Great tips! I love using Tailwind it’s helpful especially if your busy. Happy Pinning.
Yes that was my problem, Tailwind helps me make sure I never forget 🙂
Love these tips! And most definitely pinning and sharing on social media!
thank you! 🙂
Great tips. I’ve gotten so lazy with sharing my pins–but it really does produce more page views when you do it right. Thanks for sharing these great tips.
Yeah I was so lazy when it came to pinning, which is why I tried tailwind. I love it!
Great tips! I’ve been meaning to check out Tailwind for awhile and I think it may be time to do that. Pinterest can definitely be a game changer.
you should at least try the free 30 days.. to see if it works for you
I love Pinterest. I’m somewhat addicted to it. As a blogger, it is my number one referrer. I saw my analytics boost when I started using Tailwind.
me too, tailwind made a huge difference, I def was NOT pinning enough or at the right times.
here’s the comment area i didn’t see last time… girl you’re nailing it!
Great tips! Having rich pins is so important for getting your pins out there!
Yes! I was so clueless about how it worked for the longest time!
I really need to up my pinning game too. These are great tips and I’m going to go check out your Pinterest now 🙂
haha yeah I put it off for way too long! 🙂
Rich pins are awesome, and who knew they were so easy to set up?! I used the same tutorial. Need to keep working on my images. Great tips!
I felt so silly after I finally just DID it. I had been saying “Oh I need to take the time to set up rich pins” for so long.. and it took NO time!
I love these tips. I’ve also neglected Pinterest and need to step up my game!
I neglected it for so long!! Start small.. maybe update one pin a week and watch how well you start doing! It really IS worth it 🙂
Great tips… I need to create more lengthy vertical pins and I definitely did not realize I need to up my pinning. Thanks for the tips.
Yes, I was shocked when I started researching how much the serious pinners pin per day. That is where Tailwind helped me out, since there is no way I would remember to do that!
I have to get on board with Pinterest! We have a personal account but have been too busy to get motivated for KidC!
I started by creating one new vertical pin a week for old posts.. starting small helped me not to feel overwhelmed. 🙂
Nailed it!! Tailwind is my new favourite blogging tool! Totally taking a break at the moment but my tailwind keeps my blog alive!!
seriously, tailwind totally changed the game for me!
i am in the process of getting rich pins so i’m excited to see how it will impact pinterest. One of my pins is really starting to get some traction so hoping that continues.
It should go through pretty quickly! You will notice a difference after about 2 weeks or so.. maybe sooner!
Agree with all of these–I’ll also add that I have had good luck with promoting pins on Pinterest for traffic campaigns! I usually get a pretty decent ROI on those!
I have never tried that.. I will have to test out some promoted pins! 🙂
I’ve been using a free pinterest scheduler called Traffic Wonker, but I”m not sure if it’s working or not. I’m trying not to put any money into my blog until I am seeing at least a small income from it. Do you think Tailwind is worth it right now?
Thanks for the shout out!! You are going to Rock Pinterest!! It just keeps getting better and better, which is my favorite part of it. You views from old posts will go up and up and up!! There is such a wide range of content anyone can get going with these tips!
I am going do the rich pin now! I always thought it was hard too. Thanks for the great tips!
Great tips, Lauren! I too have always neglected Pinterest as a traffic source. Bah!
Love this! Thank you!
Thank you. I’m just now learning how to use pinterest for my blog!! <3
I am the same way and have been neglecting Pinterest too much! Time I jump on the bandwagon haha Thanks for the tips!
This is a GREAT post, Lauren. Pinterest is the one thing I’ve never been into because, like you said, I felt like it did nothing for me– but maybe I’ve just been doing it all wrong! I am, like you said, posting only a couple times a week (at best), but maybe if I upped my game I’d have better results. I just sometimes imagine what my pins would look like and who in their right mind would click on “KY LUBE: Not Just For Yo Momma & Papa” or “A Day in the Life of a Dinosaur”…. And so on.. LOL!! But hey– YA NEVER KNOW!!!
Yes yes yes! Pinterest is one of my absolute favorite places to get page views from!
Thank you for sharing this, I just did the Rich Pin process in the link you shared and it was stupidly easy (I gave up trying last week because another tutorial I looked at made it seem complicated. Now off to see about Tailwind!
Really good tips! And yes LONG pins do the best don’t they!
I have been in battle mode with Pinterest, trying to make it work for me. It’s slowly improving.
nice. really doc info. i really do suck at all social media. it is a huge problem of mine and i’m not sure i have the patience to change it. i’m just so not a promoter!!!
that’s really “GOOD” info
I will have to try this, I’m new to blogging so thanks for the great info!