Writer to Author Series pt. 6|Getting Started on Pinterest

February 6, 2020

Out of all of the social platforms I use, I know the least about Pinterest.

I had to do a lot of research about using this platform as an author, because my own measly amount of knowledge just wasn’t enough. That being said, I learned a lot writing this part of the series, so I hope you enjoy it. 🙂

Your profile

Again, use your business email.
And your author headshot.
In your profile bio, keep it short, explain what you do, why you do it, and maybe a little about your personality. It may take a little experimenting and playing around to figure out how to include all that with limited character space. Try using some relevant keywords in your bio (for example, if you’re a Christian fantasy YA author, you would use words like “Christian”, “Fantasy”, “YA”, “Author”, “Fiction”, and things like that in your bio.)
Make your Pinterest account a business account. This doesn’t cost anything. Then you have available to you free analytics to see which of your pins are working best for you. You can use these analytics to do more of what people are liking seeing from you.

Boards

You definitely want to make a board for all the Pinterest graphics you make for your posts, and also another board for your WIPs. I’m pretty sure most of you have created boards for your stories or characters, am I right? 😉

In the future, these boards for your books will include things like covers and promotional graphics (maybe even fan art?) when you publish.

Want to create an aesthetically-pleasing Pinterest board for your story? Choose a color scheme and pin images that fit in that scheme. If you like to make character boards (like me), then you’d choose different color schemes and feels with each different character.

Some other ideas for boards…

Inspiration for your writing (like prompts, characters, settings, clothing, scenes, etc.)
Writing tips
Business tips for social platforms you use (i.e. facebook tips, instagram tips, pinterest tips, blogging, email list, etc.)
Boards for your fandoms! 😀 Which is, I think, a great way to connect with people.

I’m sure there will be no shortage for inspiration on what you want to pin.

You need to make at least one of your story boards and your blog board a featured board on your profile page.

Verify Your Website on Pinterest

By doing this, you’re just officially connecting your site to Pinterest. Your website link shows up on your profile. Since I’m awful at explaining these sorts of things, check out this tutorial on how to verify your website on Pinterest.

Install the pin it button on your site

Installing this button on your site for your images and graphics makes it more likely that people will save your graphic to their Pinterest boards. Go to this tutorial to learn how to do that.

Rich pins

Rich pins refers to pins that have your website and logo (if applicable) included in your pinterest graphic. Then people know where the pin came from, and if they see it on Pinterest, then they’ll know to go to your site to learn more. Visit this website here for all about getting rich pins.

Your Pinterest Graphics

Use vertical images. About 736 wide and 1104-2477 tall. But you won’t have to handle making those measurement if you use Canva’s pinterest graphic templates.
Write great descriptions for your graphics. Learn how to write inviting descriptions that have a lot of keywords related to you and what you do. If you don’t know where to write this description, the place will come up when you go to edit a photo. Check out this tutorial on how to write pin descriptions
Be consistent with your brand. If you’ve decided on a color theme and fonts for you author brand, incorporate those in designing your Pinterest graphics for your posts.

Posting on Pinterest

You can connect your Pinterest account to Canva and post your pin right from there, which makes things super easy and quick. This post by SEOPressor suggests posting at these times:

The best time to post to Pinterest is on the weekends, although engagement is solid from 8:00PM to 11:00 PM throughout the week.

50% of the population is in Eastern Time, so it’s usually best to go with that timezone. But, like always, it may take some experimenting to see what days and times get the best results for you.

Other tips

Be active, but don’t get sucked in! It’s so easy to get sucked into the black hole of Pinterest and not emerge until hours later. But you do need to be active on that social platform, pinning to your boards and such. Set timers for yourself for your Pinterest usage to make sure you stay on track.
Join group boards. Find other people like you while increasing your reach at the same time. Look for boards you’d be interested in requesting an invite, or just start your own with the topic of your choice (related to what you do, of course)!

Pinterest is something I don’t know as much about, but I hope today’s post gives you a good starting point for this social platform. 🙂 If you have your own Pinterest tips, then feel free to share them in the comments!