There’s always another lane to explore in internet marketing. Lately, mine has been Pinterest.
It takes a lot of mental preparation to embark on exploring yet another marketing avenue. There is always so much work to do, and so much to learn. If you run off half-cocked, you make all sorts of boo-boos that you then have to correct, adding even more work. So I take my time, read, read, read, and then act.
Pinterest is really the perfect venue for my baking site, Baking Naturally. A pin is really much like those old recipe cards you used to subscribe to back in the day – a nice photo of the finished dish on front, with a short description telling you how delicious it is. So it was inevitable that I would have to add Pinterest to my arsenal. And I’m really glad I did.
There is a ton of free Pinterest training available both on Wealthy Affiliate and on the web in general. I find that I need a good foundation on the basic philosophy of a platform before I rush into it. And Pinterest is a totally different animal from anything else.
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Pinterest doesn’t seem to penalize you for “re-pinning” the same content, as long as you have a fresh photo attached. And with a supplemental service like Tailwind, you can set up pins to post during certain seasons (I just set up all my St. Patrick’s Day pins last week, and now they’ll run every year during the same time period). So you can really take advantage of your existing content, repackaging it over and over again.
The idea of competition is not the same on Pinterest, either. On the web in general, you want to be very aware of how many sites are providing content very similar to yours, and you certainly don’t want to help direct traffic to them.
On Pinterest, though, it’s more like “bookstore row.” You know . . . you’re walking along and suddenly you’re in an area loaded with used bookstores, all right next to each other.
It works, because people know if they go to this area, they are sure to find the book they are looking for. And the booksellers know each other, and know that this store specializes in books on architecture, while you focus on autobiographies. They actually help each other be more successful. It’s the same on Pinterest. I can pin others’ recipes on my board, because that makes my board more popular, and others may see my own pins (that I highlight, of course).
But lordy, learning all of this took weeks of study and effort and gathering all the right tools to create nice-looking pins with minimal effort. I’m now in the process of revising all the pins I’ve already made to make them more attractive and dynamic. It’s been a labor of love.
Has it been worth it? Oh yes. My traffic to Baking Naturally has jumped dramatically because of Pinterest. And the traffic is higher quality. People are going to my site specifically because they know what they are going to find. That helps every possible metric, including sales.
My advice?
- Be aware of all the new avenues out there for casting your net (Instagram, Tic Tok, YouTube, and more)
- Select the right avenue for your niche (Pinterest is perfect for recipes).
- Study first; act later when you’ve got a firm grasp on how it works.
- Then go for it. Make your mistakes and learn from them. Take advantage of free training and tools.
- Have fun!
One Last Thing – I Mentioned Tailwind
Tailwind is a website community that can take your Pinterest account into the stratosphere! The community creates various “tribes” and each tribe is committed to helping you circulate your pins, while you help them circulate theirs. Join a few tribes, contribute some content, and the next thing you know, your website hits are going through the roof!
What’s more, Tailwind can help you schedule your pins to drop and relevant times, according to the content. For example, I have a number of recipes for Irish food (gathered from a trip to Ireland). I set up a calendar on Tailwind, and it drops those pins at just the right time to maximize exposure. I don’t have to do anything after the initial setup!
Personally, I’ve found it to be an invaluable service, so I highly recommend Tailwind. If you want to check them out, just click on the logo below, or follow this link.
