How to Triple your Traffic with Pinterest (plus Free Pinning Planner)

The chances are you’ve heard how amazing Pinterest can be for bringing huge amounts of new traffic to your blog or your website. You’ve seen others, like me perhaps, talking about how they’ve massively increased their readership, or grown their sales, or boosted their email list from just using Pinterest properly. If you have then great, you’re in the right place to find out more and learn exactly how you can do this too.

If this is news to you, let me tell you that Pinterest will be great for your blog or business, no matter what your niche or what you’re trying to sell. There’s a space for everyone over there now, and it’s not just about food, crafts and travel. I promise you.

So, in this post I’m going to talk you through some of the key elements you need to ensure you see success over on Pinterest. And don’t worry, I’ve broken it down into 3 easy steps that are straight forward to follow and super simple to achieve.

Plus, I’ve got not 1, but 3 free resources for you at the end of the post that will really help you triple your Pinterest traffic. Keep reading to the end of the post to get your hands on them.

Step 1 – Back to Basics
If you’re going to have any kind of success on Pinterest you need to get all the basics covered. This means tackling the setup and ensuring you’re all legal and legit.

1. Get a business account. This isn’t only for businesses but anyone who makes any kind of money from their blog, or even if you don’t and think you might at some stage, convert to a Business Account. It’s free and you won’t lose followers or pins. And you get access to Pinterest Analytics.
2. Get your website verified. If you look in your settings, you’ll see the spot where you add your website, this should have a tick next to it. If not, your site needs verification. Add the relevant code to your website or blog and then get it verified on Pinterest. It means your site is better valued on the platform.
3. Apply for rich pins. This is the big one that really freaks everyone out but don’t worry, it’s much easier than you think. If you’re on WordPress or Blogger, or have a Shopify site, it’s a no brainer. And if you run your blog on Squarespace, or a shop on Etsy, it’s all done for you.

Step 2 – Powerful Pins
Right so now you’ve got all the basics covered, you need to make sure you are making and sharing the right kind of pins. Like any visual platform the types of images you share can make or break your strategy. And they need to resonate with your content and with the Pinterest audience. So, what the heck do they need to look like? Here are some of my top tips for making powerful pins.

1. Make your pins portrait in style, so long and thin, ideally around 750 pixels wide x 1000 tall.
2. Use images that are copyright free or that you’ve taken with your own camera or phone. Don’t lift images off the internet nor from Pinterest itself.
3. Make your pin feel stylish, on brand, inspiring and eye catching. Colours like orange, red and browns often do much better than blues and greens.
4. Don’t use any faces in your pins. They won’t help you connect with the audience and will actually perform worse that non-face content pins.
5. Try adding some overlay text onto the image to help sell your message. This can simply relay the post/page title, or you can adjust it a little to attract a wider audience.
6. Use a program like Canva, where you can build a Pin template to use time and again. Canva also has a ready-made Pinterest graphic which you can modify easily to be your own. This is a great way to ensure you stay on brand when you’re making your pins.

Step 3 – Making it Routine
Now you’ve cracked the setup and are making awesome looking pins, you’ll need to start pinning in earnest and building a clever strategy. There are key actions that help you build that strategy, particularly if you want to be consistent with your pinning and see long-term results.

1. Pin at least 10 pins per day including some of your own and a lot from other people.
2. Spread those pins across a 24 hour period where possible, 7 days a week.
3. Do what you can in the time that you have. Make your strategy fit with your schedule and don’t over commit yourself.
4. Use a scheduler to help spread your pins across the days and weeks, and to allow you to share your pins in a more organised way. There are huge benefits to using a scheduler, and I would highly recommend a Pinterest approved application, like Tailwind.
5. Be consistent. Pinterest rewards pinners that pin regularly and consistently, engaging other pinners, sharing content this is well liked and saved lots. Do this, and you’ll find your own pins getting more likes and saves too.

Want some extra help?

Building a strategy isn’t always easy and it’s hard to know where to start, which is why I’ve put together the Pinning Planner, a guide to help you focus on what you need to pin and when. It’s completely free and you can grab your copy from the Resources Hub HERE.

Got any questions about using Pinterest for tripling your traffic? Hit me with them in the comments below.