NOTE: A lot has changed technically with Pinterest since this post was published. But there’s still some great philosophy stuff in here so keep reading!
Ahh, Pinterest! The newest site to take Social Media by storm. If for some reason you’re under a rock and haven’t heard of it, it’s a beautiful website that mimics a pinboard. You find cool images, posts, articles or websites online and pin them on your own boards.
I have boards for food (which I use as a cookbook about once a week), bloggy resources (links to my favorite photographers, tutorials, etc.), hairstyles (to show my stylist), kids crafts I want to do and even a purple board! It’s the only bookmarking site I’ve ever used with success.
Let’s talk about how I use Pinterest when I write a blog post…
To Pin Or Not To Pin?
I do not like to pin my own posts. It doesn’t feel right to me. Maybe that’s how old-skool folks on Twitter felt when people started adding their RSS feeds. But I’m standing firm. Pinterest is a board for ME. Pinning my posts feels spammy.
Pinterest even cautions against self-promotion, “Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.” (source)
Instead of pinning yourself, why not ask your golden rule group to pin it?
So, How Do I Make Pinterest Work For My Blog Posts?
1. Put a PIN IT button on my posts. If my post is something I think people will want to remember (one of those evergreen posts), I go to Pinterest and craft a personal Pin It button for your post. I made you a screencast, because they are fun. It’s under 58 seconds. Enjoy…
There are plug-ins that do this, too. But I haven’t had much success with them. Has anyone else?
2. Make my Photos Pinnable and Re-Pinnable. If you have a good post, people are going to pin it regardless of your pictures. If you have good pictures, even more people are going to pin it. But if you have a super-perfect photo people will REPIN it!
For example, my Little House on the Prairie party was pretty adorable. But the pictures alone, don’t pique any interest if there’s no context (ie. people browsing Pinterest). By adding graphics to one of my photos (the first photo in the post) it makes my post pinnable AND re-pinnable. Plus, it sets up a nice title for my post. See?
The only thing that would make this picture better is if I had put “ohamanda.com” in the bottom corner. No need to waste an opportunity to advertise my blog title, you know?
3. Pin My Own Posts. I thought you said you didn’t pin your own stuff?! Well, I don’t. Mostly.
Let’s go back to Lydia’s Little House party. When I first started planning the party, I made Lydia’s Little House on the Prairie Party board on Pinterest. I added all the ideas I found on etsy, via google and from Pinterest. Then once my party was finally done and my post up, I pinned it with a description like, “And here it is, Lydia’s party!”
My board is a fabulous resource for people who want to do a Little House Party (however small that audience might be) and I couldn’t NOT add my own post!
I’ve actually gone back and started boards for some of my old parties like Lydia’s Tangled Party because I still love the idea & have found fun ideas that go with it. Then I can pin my post on the board without being spammy.
I do this lots on my Impress Your Kids blog for series I’m doing. My Super Sunny Day, Advent Calendars and Super Hero board has tons of really fun links and then ONE link to my posts when I’ve published them. It’s a win-win for Pinners AND for folks reading my blog because they can see the extras I’ve found on Pinterest!
Another idea…
Some people do have boards titled, “MY BLOG POSTS” or “GREAT IDEAS BY ME” which is just a big RSS feed from their blog. And that’s fine because you can follow boards individually. If you don’t like seeing someone pin their own stuff, you can unfollow that board. I tried to do this. I just forget to pin my stuff.
Now. Let’s Talk About Being Nice On Pinterest.
There are so many blog posts about this right now. I was going to do my own little dissertation on permalinks, graphics and more. Instead, I’ll leave you with this: JUST CUZ YOU PIN SOMETHING DOESN’T MAKE IT YOURS. And on the other hand, IF SOMEONE PINS YOUR CONTENT THEY MIGHT THINK IT’S THEIRS. WHATCHOO GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
And now, to explain those awesome warnings, read these posts. Seriously. Pin them if you have to, they are that good:
Information for Bloggers & People Who Use Pinterest and Pinterest Is Changing How I Blog from Amy at Living Locurto. {If you’re getting traffic from Pinterest or WANT traffic from Pinterest, you MUST MUST read these two posts.}
The Ultimate List of Pinterest Tips at Blogging With Amy {Honestly, why am I even doing a series about blogging when Amy’s blog exists? She’s got her finger on pulse of blogging.}
I could honestly talk about Pinterest forever because it’s so interesting to me. I didn’t even touch on the insight I gain from watching my blog being pinned (see: http://pinterest.com/source/ohamanda.com). Talk about real time feedback!
But I’ll stop. You’re welcome.
How do you leverage Pinterest for your blog?
{And if you’re not on Pinterest and need an invite, let me know and I’ll send you one!}
Coming Soon: Miscellany {Part 10}
Catch up on the whole series…
I’ve started being a lot more intentional about the photos I use in my post – making them pin-able AND re-pin-able {descriptive text and whatnot}.
I personally don’t have issue with pinning my own posts, but I try to keep a MINIMUM of 1-to-10 rule in the back of my head {for every ONE of my posts I pin, I pin or repin 10 others}.
Great rule-of-thumb!
a
I really appreciate all of these tips! I am BLOWN AWAY at how Pinterest is changing the world of blogging and internet surfing in general. It is changing the way I look at blogging and how I organize my ideas online as well.
I feel odd about pinning my own things – I’ve heard conflicting opinions out there. I think if you OVER promote it is tacky – just like anything else in life.
I’ve been enjoying your whole series. Thanks!
Thanks, Mary!
I know, Pinterest has definitely changed blogging. I wonder if when twitter and facebook first boomed it felt like this, too?
a
Love this post! I am definitely subscribing to your blog. This has been so helpful. If you have any recommendations for my blog or Pinterest boards, I would love them
Thanks, Melanie!
I don’t have any specific suggestions but if you have any questions, I’d love to chat! 🙂
a
Great Post!! Stopping by from the blog hop!! 🙂
Thanks for hopping by and leaving a comment! 🙂
a
I have a board for my daughters party that I planning right now and I thought of pinning “the results” I would want to the see the outcome if I were following me. #3 settles it, I will pin the party blog post after it’s done 🙂 Thanks.
Do it! You’re creating a resource for others!
a
I love Pinterest. It’s such a fantastic way to keep track of all those incredible ideas I come across online but can’t do right away. Way more traffic generation than twitter.
I do pin my stuff sometimes, but only when I think it’s really good. I think the 10:1 ratio that Ashley mentioned is a great idea.
You can also check out what people are pinning stuff from your site by going to pinterest.com/source/yourwebsite.com. I find it fun to see who is pinning your posts and what they are saying. I try to say hello or add comments to their pins as well.
I love watching my posts being pinned. I almost look at that more than my real stats now. It’s addicting b/c I can see what people are saying about it and how many times it’s been repinned! It’s a real ego-stroker. 😉
But it’s also been helpful b/c if I see something pinned a lot, then I go back and tidy up the post, monetize it and make sure it’s got pinnable graphics, etc.
a
Pinterest is amazing!! I have pinned 2 or 3 of my own pictures, mostly to share with family who doesn’t read my blog.
When I first got started and had no idea about any of it I didn’t really care one way or the other, but now that I follow a wider variety of bloggers…some DO tend to get a bit spammy. So, I try hard not to replicate their actions.
I have linked up to a few Pinterest Parties and one of them went off like wild fire. I have over 500 page views just because I posted a picture of my favorite kitchen. That is awesome and wish I had lots more traffic like that!!
Thanks for all of your Inspiration and Information,
Alisha
Thanks for linking to my posts on Pinterest. There are a lot of things I’m still learning and discovering about. It’s funny, Pinterest’s terms say you should only Pin photos that you own or have permission to upload to their site, yet they encourage you to pin other’s BEST photos for great inspiration. I really will never understand it. So pinning your own things is actually pretty smart.
I think Pinterest is just one of those things that took off before Pinterest could figure it all out. Now we’re doing birthing pains right along with them!
And if we weren’t bloggers and people weren’t making money, etc. Pinterest (in it’s purest form—a virtual pinboard) would be easy. It’s the “intellectual property” (& all that goes w/it: ) that makes Pinterest confusing.
🙂
Thank you so much for this – happened to read it yesterday when I had finished a post for today that i knew would be “pinnable” – i went for it following your video and inserted the pin it button in 2 places on the post (beneath the key photo and beneath the spot where i had the downloadable printable) – it was pinned 50 times from my site alone today – BRILLIANT!
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I drop a leave a response whenever I appreciate a post on a site or I have something to valuable to contribute to the discussion. It is a result of the passion displayed in the article I looked at. And on this post Using Pinterest to Grow Your Blog: How I Write a Blog Post | ohamanda.com. I was excited enough to post a thought 😉 I actually do have a few questions for you if you do not mind. Is it simply me or does it look like a few of the remarks look as if they are written by brain dead folks? 😛 And, if you are posting on other social sites, I’d like to follow you. Would you make a list all of your community pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
Always glad to read amazing articles.. Will be back for more for sure! Thank you for sharing
You are so right! I love the way photos are there forever, with their provenance (I started pinning because there were photos of my driftwood headboard all over the internet and people obviously didn’t know where they were from. Hey ladies, it’s my bed!)
It is the easiest way to collate all the things which interest you – Pin away and suddenly realise you have a theme, so create a new board. Also I now have an inside track on people who share my love of Japanese boro, so I’m collecting lovely images from them, and sharing my own. Pictures from my website are up there too, I can let people know where they came from and keep Rough Linen images under my watchful eye. I can even see what grabs people’s imagination – market research!
Best of all, it is pleasurable. We Love Pinterest!
thank you so much for posting this! i’ve been wondering how to put a pin it button in my posts.
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