Once again, I’m super excited to share my Power Pinner interview with you today. I’ve loved this series, have you? I think it is so interesting to see how others use Pinterest for their blogs/businesses. I especially love hearing their success stories. Misty of Frosted Events is sharing hers with us today. You’re going to be impressed.
Pinterest Profile: Frosted Events
Boards: 316
Pins: 32,000
Followers: 25,000+
What is your Pinterest Success Story?
I would say one of my favorite Pinterest Successes is not the pin that drives the most traffic, but a pin that caught some attention locally and created some incredible opportunities. I pinned a pic from my blog on how to create an American Girl life size doll box DIY. I had created an American Girl party and designed all these cute things for it and thought it would be nice to share so I added the design and details to my blog.
It was a very popular pin and got lots of repins, but it wasn’t one of my most repinned. But it did catch the eye of the American Girl Fashion Show and they asked me to join their team and style their events. Then a few months later I was hired as the event planner for a major blog conference, BlogU. They told me they had come across me through my viral Pinterest pin as well.
On average, what percentage of traffic to your blog comes from Pinterest.
Sixty percent of the traffic to frostedevents.com comes from Pinterest.
Share one tip for bloggers wanting to be a successful pinner like you.
My advice would be to think of your Pinterest account like it’s a magazine and you are the editor. Visualize what your cover would be, what the different headlines would be, what articles would be inside every month. Plan your Pinterest boards around that concept and always aim to keep it fresh and aesthetically cohesive.
My Pinterest is somewhere between Parenting, Real Simple and Elle. My boards are built on what women want to know to make their everyday lives prettier, happier and a little easier. Follow my boards and you’re gonna know what you should wear to work, crafts to keep the kids busy, what you should make for dinner, how to plan an awesome party and how you’re gonna decorate your house this Christmas. It’s a healthy round-up of ideas and inspiration, especially for moms.
Do you or have you ever promoted pins? Was it worth it?
I have not yet, but I have noticed that the promoted pins popping up are getting tons and tons of repins so I’m curious.
Do you change the descriptions of pins before you pin them?
If the pin does not reflect what I feel like the image represents and what information would be valuable to someone searching then I’ll change it to something more descriptive.
On average, how many times do you pin a day?
I pin around 50 to 70 times a day using a scheduling tool. Less than 5% of these are to my own site. I don’t like to over promote. I want my followers to click on my site because they like my style and my curation of pins as a whole. I want them to want to know more about me because they identify with the things I’m pinning and visit my blog to see what it’s all about.
Do you use a scheduling tool?
I use Tailwind and Ahalogy
When you publish a new post on your blog, what is your Pinterest routine/strategy for that post?
I’m a very visual person so I want my first blog post image to tell you all about what you’re gonna read, what you’re gonna get from this post. Great images are key to success on Pinterest, you need big, bright pics to get someone to click over. I use the best image I have as the featured image, or I’ll make a collage of all the ones I love. I usually add some text to so that it’s very clear what the post is about and grabs their attention.
Do you mostly repin or do you pin from the actual website more?
I do both. I have a few favorite sites that I love and pin from regularly as I’m reading through them. I use Pinterest as my main bookmarking tool so I know that if I’m reading through Bloglovin’ and find something I like it’s probably not on Pinterest yet, so I’ll save it to one of my boards. I also like to scroll through some of my favorite Pinners boards and see what they are pinning.
What does your Pinterest day look like?
Being a work from home mom I have to carefully set parameters around the time that I schedule for blogging, social media and working with brands. My toddler is in that wonderful stage where he’s curious about everything and so full of energy, I love it! I’m all mommy while he’s awake and we stay busy with day trips and little adventures.
I schedule most all of my Pinterest pins at night. Before he wakes up I browse online and save things I want to add to my scheduler later. I’ve recently started consulting with brands and bloggers who want to build up their Pinterest followers and create content that is pin-friendly. Part of my Pinterest day is taking calls, creating visuals to market products and services for clients, and curating boards that attract new followers.
More Pinterest goodness from Misty
I’m very passionate about Pinterest so this interview was fun for me. The whole reason I started blogging was so that I could share my designs and ideas as a party stylist and children’s party planner, as well as creativity from others I came across and loved. I feel like I was pinning before there ever was a Pinterest really, lol! So when I joined Pinterest I was ecstatic to find something that allowed me to bookmark my favorite things and curate a collection of inspiring ideas in an easy, visual way.
I’m so excited about how much Pinterest has grown and I think it will only get bigger as more people learn how to use it. Pinterest is amazing for bookmarking content, marketing your business and best of all sharing the things that inspire you. In that way it becomes an incredible teaching tool with the ability to curate information and create a resource for people to learn about anything they can imagine.
Takeaways for your Pinterest strategy
I loved hearing about how Misty uses Pinterest! Isn’t her success story awesome? Pinterest not only generates traffic to her blog, but helped big names recognize her. I think most of us focus so much on getting traffic from Pinterest that we forget that it is also an extension of our brand. Pinterest is also about exposure. Think of ways you can use Pinterest to network and get more exposure to your blog.
Another big takeaway from Misty is scheduling. I love that Misty uses scheduling tools to allow her to spend quality time with her little one during the day. Don’t let Pinterest take over your life. Take advantage of handy dandy Pinterest scheduling tools like Tailwind* (I use Tailwind myself, which is saying a lot because I’m very frugal and only spend money when it’s really worth it.)
*denotes affiliate links.
Hi Kristie,
I popped over to your blog today to see if you had any tips about adding a shop/commerce area, but now I’m sidetracked and enjoying this Pinterest series instead. 🙂 Fantastic! Pinterest drives 65-75 percent of my traffic and is my favorite social media platform for business, by far! I hope you’ll continue sharing tips. Here’s my Pinterest board: https://www.pinterest.com/erinclarkson/ I haven’t switched to a business account yet, but I’m thinking about it. 🙂 XOXO, Erin
Hi Erin! A few things: I don’t have a post on setting up a shop (yet) but my friend Angie has a great one: How to Set Up a Shop on WordPress
Secondly, I highly recommend switching your Pinterest account to a business one. Nothing changes too much, it just means you have access to analytics and your pins will save if they are saved from your site. Nothing to lose, only some to gain! Glad you’re loving this series.
I love her tip about planning your Pinterest boards like a magazine! Such great advice. I can see how this would be helpful in growing your account.
What magazine would you say describes your Pinterest account?
Great Post! I have a love hate relationship with Pinterest. I can’t seem to keep my followers. One day I have 832 followers and literally the next day I only have 819 followers. This up and down goes on for weeks on end. I love the post and I keep trying what information is shared but alas success with Pinterest is still elusive. Always love your content can’t wait for the next post!
Hmm.. that is frustrating. I’ll have to go take a look at your boards and see if there’s a rhyme or reason.
P.S. LOVE that you have a landing page set up. Can’t WAIT for things to go LIVE. You got this! (let me know if you need help)
Kristie,
I credit you for the progress I have made thus far! I am following your posts and working step by step using the information you share. Can not say enough about you and your blog!!!
Any suggestions about my boards would be greatly appreciated!!
What a fantastic post!! Love to see others’ success and helpful tips. I was just wondering the other day about whether I should be posting from the site directly or repinning – and what she said is a great idea! SO MUCH of my traffic comes from Pinterest too – it’s probably my favorite social media platform.
I love mixing direct pins and repins. Another blogger, Jana talked about why she thinks it is important to pin directly from websites in her interview.
People have success in Pinterest and I don’t even have an account there) I should immediately create one just to see why it is so popular)
Yes, yes you should! Have fun pinning.
Hi Kristie,
I haven’t found a lot of success with Pinterest, but this was a very informative interview. Thanks for sharing.
It takes awhile for Pinterest success to start rolling. But once it start getting traction : boom! I just took a look at your boards, and there really isn’t a pinnable image on most of your post. Make sure to include a vertical image in every post.
So much helpful information! My Pinterest has been sadly neglected lately. Looks like it’s time to put some of these ideas to use and turn it around! Thanks for the advice!
Which of Misty’s tips do you on using to help turn your Pinterest ship around?
Thanks for the information. Just what I needed.
You’re welcome. What are you going to do differently on Pinterest now that you’ve read these tips?
What a great interview! When I met misty I did not understand Pinterest at all. I had 3 followers and one board. Misty carefully explained to me how to use Pinterest and learning from her was an amazing experience. It is now two months later and I am at 2100 followers and 65 boards. Misty is a great teacher and loves to share her awesome ideas with other bloggers. Thanks misty for all you do to help those of us who need it!
2000 + Followers in 2 months, that’s awesome!
Love love love these tips and the concept that, “My advice would be to think of your Pinterest account like it’s a magazine and you are the editor. “…life changing!
That’s my favorite part too! (Obviously, since I made a click to tweet for it.) It really does put things into a whole new perspective though!
How awesome! I haven’t been using Pinterest as much as I used to, although most of my traffic right now is from there. I need to clean up my boards to make everything look prettier!
Who has time to clean? Just make sure to pin prettier things going forward and you’ll be all good.
thanks Kristy! Pinterest has been on the back burner, so many platforms to keep up with..this is so helpful, so now I need to get back at it..!
It is hard to balance so many platforms. This one is worth it though!
Wow, what a great story! Thank you for sharing. I’m trying to work on growing my Pinterest and can only hope I will have half of the success that she has!
Maybe one day Disney will notice you on Pinterest. That would be cool.
I have to admit Pinterest is one social media forum that I just haven’t been able to get into much. I get most of my traffic from Pinterest so I probably should dedicate more time to it, but honestly the site is so overwhelming to me like a hoarders house.
Ha! Love the Hoarders House remark. It’s kind if true. I save a whole bunch of stuff because “one day” I might need it.
That’s cool that you get most of your traffic from Pinterest even though you haven’t gotten into it. Imagine what it could be like if you did dive in.
I love these interviews. My hope is to do something similar with case studies. Great inspiration! Always love your content.
Super helpful interview! Thank you so much! I am working hard on my pinterest following and this info is super helpful.
Your welcome. Which parts do you like best?
I’ve been hearing so much about Pinterest lately that I think I need to really dedicate time to it. Thanks for sharing! Definitely going to try and apply some of these tips to my blog.
Let me know how things go when you apply these tips to your blog. Check out this Pinterest post as well: https://kristiehill.com/best-size-for-pinterest/
So many great tips here. I am going to reread and re-reread it!
Isn’t Misty awesome? Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Very interesting. I have been wanting to do more with pinterest but wasnt sure if I should or not. Will definetly be rethinking things..
You should! Especially for your travel posts. They could do great on Pinterest.
What a great post. I’ve always struggled with pinterest and taking it to the next level. This is exactly what i needed to read.
Glad this is just what you needed. You should check out some of the other interviews too and let me know if you have any Pinterest questions. Good luck.
Pinterest is HUGE for us bloggers, if we can use it right
Yes it is Hayli! You’ve been showing up a lot lately in my Pinterest feed, keep it up!