Top Pinterest Tips to Attract Your Ideal Readers

 

Not long ago I wanted nothing to do with Pinterest. Another social media platform to keep up? No thank you.

Now Pinterest is consistently my top referrer of blog traffic:

Maybe you’re like I was. The last thing you want is more social media to worry about. I keep hearing how Pinterest is the best social media for getting clicks and sales. If you want more people to visit your blog or buy your books.

You’re missing out if you ignore Pinterest.

What is Pinterest? You create “boards” where you “pin” images. Remember when you were a teenager and you hung posters and pictures all over your walls and ceiling? It’s kind of like that, but on the computer.

How did I make Pinterest my top referrer?

One thing I don’t do: shout “buy my book!”

Pin things that my readers are interested in

Boards for my favorite shows that relate to my books. My published books are all paranormal romance (though that’s about to change) and my boards for shows like Supernatural, The Vampire Diaries, and Twilight attract people who are likely to enjoy my books.

A reading board. In this board, I post reading quotes and all kinds of other things that self-professed book nerds love.

Pin about my books (not buy my books)

I have a board called “My Books” where I post my covers and links to posts that have to with my books. Character interviews, my author interviews, excerpts and more. I also have a board where I “cast” characters for my upcoming series.

One of my boards is all about Iceland. In my Transformed series, Iceland is important. Not only that, but it provides me with the inspiration to write about it. What a beautiful country!

A board for writers

My writing board has over 1,000 writing-related pins. I get a lot of followers through that board. Many writers are also readers, but that’s not the only reason I pin writing inspiration. I love to encourage other authors. Sometimes giving with nothing expected in return is just a good thing to do.

Creativity

With a little creativity, authors can effectively use Pinterest as a marketing tool. It won’t happen overnight, but I think one of reasons I’ve had success is because I genuinely enjoy Pinterest. Sometimes when I’m stressed, pinning helps me relax. I love pinning stuff from my favorite shows. It’s fun and doesn’t feel like work.

I have tons of boards that seemingly have nothing to do with my books, writing, or reading. I pin my dream home, favorite fashions, hair styles, stuff I loved as a kid, humor, healthy living, homeschooling my kids, and so much more.  See all my boards.

Groups

Group boards are a great way to reach new audiences. It’s a little tricky, because there’s no way (that I’ve figured out) to request to join one. If you follow group boards, you can hope to be noticed and invited, but I’ve found that doesn’t usually work.

I do get invites, but not always for board topics that I’m interested in. I jump at the chance to join group boards for authors, writers, or book covers.

Do you know a way to request a group board membership? Leave a comment!

Be active

I’m active on Pinterest and as a result, Pinterest suggests others follow my boards. When I’m pinning, it suggests a lot of other active pinners to me. It turns in a cycle, and once you get rolling it really picks up speed.

How do you become active? I have a lot of boards, over nine thousand pins, I have over five thousand followers, and I’ve been re-pinned a lot. I have many pins that have been repinned over 200 times, including at least one that has been repinned over a thousand times!

Looking for more tips? Ana Hoffman from Traffic Generation Cafe conducted a really compelling Pinterest experiment. In that same post, she shares tips on optimising your Pinterest account.