[convertkit form=2049862]
I started my latest blog a little over a year ago and I’ve been able to grow it to 40000 monthly page views and a passive income of $1000/month.
It wasn’t magic though, it was marketing.
The biggest problem that I faced when I started my travel blog was getting people to read it.
I remember writing on 20 different categories, only to realize that barely anyone was reading my blog. I was on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter, pretty much everywhere to try and grow my audience.
I did that for a few months until I came across a blogger who had started after me and she was doing 10 times my traffic.
Her secret? Pinterest!
For some reason, when we online creators try to grow our traffic we automatically assume that traditional social media is where our audience is at.
WRONG.
It took me over 2 years of blogging to realize that the reason why no one was reading my blog was because I was marketing to the WRONG audience.
In this post, I’m going to explain to you some of the Pinterest best practices that can help you take your marketing to the next level.
But first, let’s take a few steps back and see how my blogging journey evolved.
You’ll notice a strong correlation between my traffic and my income.
Before I discovered how to really use Pinterest, I was averaging $50/month on my blog in passive income.
After I started to utilize specific strategies and tactics, I was able to grow my passive income to over $2000/month.
And I wasn’t selling sponsored content or going on press trips or coaching others.
I was busy finishing my Master in Germany while at the same time interning to pay my bills and exploring Europe at the same time.
The reason I am telling you this is because I want you to know that I am not an exception.
My time is just as limited and I have the same amount of distractions to face on a daily basis.
I have just created a way that works to bring me sustainable high quality traffic and income on auto-pilot.
To drive this point further, you can see how my email list grew before and after I started to generate good amount of traffic.
So what changed?
Well, I discovered Pinterest.
And in this post, I will help you discover and make the most of this platform to grow your website’s traffic and audience.
Why Pinterest Matters
Before we do a deep dive into how to make Pinterest work for you.
Let’s take a moment to understand why this platform is a gold mine for bloggers and businesses alike.
Since I’m a numbers kinda girl, I’ll give you some interesting facts first-
- Pinterest has 265 million monthly viewers.
- Pinterest drives 33% more traffic to e-commerce and shopping sites than Facebook.
- 98% of ‘Pinners’ try out the ideas they find on Pinterest.
- Advertising on Pinterest earns a $2 profit for every $1 spent.
- Pins live for months, whereas an average tweet or FB post dies out in minutes.
- 59% of millennials have discovered products on Pinterest.
- Pinners spend 29% more on shopping than non-pinners do.
Alright, enough with the statistics Shruti, tell us how is this relevant for us?
I hear you!
Here’s why Pinterest is the most relevant platform for new bloggers:
1. Pinterest doesn’t discriminate.
Whether you have 2 followers or 2 million, the likelihood of your pins being organically found is just as HIGH as any other user.
Take that Instagram!
2. Pinterest users WANT to get inspired or buy.
While on Facebook people want to talk to their friends, on Instagram people want to see what influencers are up to, on Pinterest, Pinners are actually looking to PLAN life moments (this is statistically proven) AND buy products.
It doesn’t matter if you haven’t built a huge brand already. You have an audience that’s waiting for you to show them what you are up to. How amazing is that?
3. Pinterest users are growing world-wide.
If you are an Asian or African blogger and say, “but Pinterest is only popular in the US”, that’s not entirely true.
While it is more popular in the North-American market, 50% of last year’s growth came from outside the US driven my male users.
How’s that for a large global audience?
4. Pinterest users SHARE the love.
Which other platform allows people to mass share your content for months and even years. Did you know that 80% of pins are actually RE-pins?
This means that on this platform people are most likely to share, save and forward your pins (aka content) to new users helping you get found for free.
Well, if this is not enough to convince you why Pinterest should absolutely be at the TOP of your traffic and audience building strategy, I don’t know what is!
[convertkit form=2049862]
PINTEREST BEST PRACTICES
Recommended Pinning Schedule
A recommended pinning schedule can be(feel free to mix it up):
- Day 1: Upload to the most relevant board, “Best of” board, Add to a tribe
- Day 2: Schedule/Save the pin for 10 relevant personal and group boards, Add to a tribe
- Day 3: Schedule/Save the pin for 10 other relevant personal and group boards, Add to a tribe
- Day 4: Schedule/Save the pin for 10 other relevant personal and group boards, Add to a tribe
- Day 5: Schedule/Save the pin for 10 other relevant personal and group boards, Add to a tribe
- Day 6/7: Check performance, save to additional boards, create new pins if the pin is picking up and see if you want to schedule it again.
Please Note: Each time you upload a new pin with a new design and keywords, it is considered a NEW PIN even if the URL leads to the same blog post.
What to do if a pin goes viral?
Measure, repeat and recycle.
Take a note of the :
- Aesthetics
- Headline
- Board/Tribe where it may have gone viral (you’ll have to guess this one)
- The reason why it could have gone viral (you’ll have to guess this one)
Next step is to create a similar pin and pin using the same process as before.
- Add to the most relevant board first.
- Add to the most relevant tribe.
- Save, schedule, promote.
Do sharing threads help on FB?
Many new bloggers share their pins on sharing threads on FB which run specific days where they allow new pins to be shared.
This is a good way to quickly get some saves, but reciprocal threads where you have to save 150 pins so 150 people save yours can be VERY EXHAUSTING and can be considered a bit to spammy as they are click-outs from Facebook Groups.
I would still use promo threads especially as a new blogger, but would go out of my way to avoid reciprocal threads as I would rather not have my account flagged for spam.
Here’s a list of groups you can join that run blog or social media promo threads:
Here’s a list of 12 groups that you can start with right away-
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/681136371988524/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/1456208727792810/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/170139453515011/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/177513372802395/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/963272083763338/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/517883595061680/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/342549066192370/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/596045983784215/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/747613138719914/
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/blogbizbabes/
[convertkit form=2049862]
