Learn how to use Pinterest for your blog or business!
You’ve probably heard about bloggers using Pinterest for their blogs.
Maybe you’ve noticed Pinterest buttons or graphics in blog posts.
What’s that all about?
Traffic, that’s what the big deal is.
Bloggers are using Pinterest to get traffic to their blogs. And when they’re intentional about it, they see incredible results!
You see, Pinterest is a place that people go to plan and dream about their lives. They are looking for ideas.
When people are browsing Pinterest and find an idea they like, they click on the Pin and go to the site that it came from.
That’s where the magic starts happening.
How do bloggers use Pinterest to grow their blog business?
Let’s talk about the big picture of how Pinterest works for bloggers and then I’ll go over the steps to getting started and on your way!
As I mentioned, Pinterest is good for traffic.
Bloggers add their content to Pinterest.
The people that follow the blogger on Pinterest could see the Pin while they’re browsing on Pinterest.
When they see the Pin they could pass over it, save it to one of their boards, or click on the Pin to go to the blogger’s site.
The latter two are what bloggers hope for!
When a Pinner sees your Pin and wants to know more, they’ll click over to check out your post. In this scenario you get more traffic and the opportunity to make a forever fan.
Or maybe they’ll save the Pin to one of their own Pinterest boards for later. This is good too! Now that they’ve saved it to their Pinterest account, the people that follow them could see your Pin also!
As this happens, the number of people that can see and click over to your site grows exponentially!
After some time, Pins to blog posts could start showing up when people search on Pinterest – getting even more eyes on the content.
That’s where the significant, consistent traffic from Pinterest starts to roll in!
But first, you need to get set up for Pinterest.
Pinterest for Dummies.
To be clear, I don’t think you’re a dummy. But it turns out that a lot of people use “for dummies” in their search when looking to learn something new.
I don’t want you to feel that way! I want you to be confident and capable on Pinterest – which is why I’m providing this section. To help you understand what the heck everyone is talking about.
Pinterest has its own set of words and terminology. To an outsider, the words might seem a bit odd…
The Pinterest dictionary, according to Kristie Hill
- Pin (n) – an idea on Pinterest; comprised of an image, a description and a link back to the image’s source online.
- Pinterest (n) – an online app and website that helps people discover and save things online that interest them.
- Pinnable (adj) – content that is worth saving to Pinterest, sometimes referenced when best practices are involved, sometimes pinnable is subjective.
- Pinner (n) – a person who uses Pinterest
- Save (v) – the act of creating a Pin, this is referenced when content is saved directly from a website URL or from inside Pinterest on an existing Pin.
- Repin (n) – a pin that is created from existing Pinterest content, not the Pin URL source.
- Boards (n) – the place Pins are saved. Boards are a group or cluster of related Pins. Boards are usually topical and reflect the tastes and interests of the Pinner.
- Group Boards (n) – boards where multiple people are contributors and save Pins
- Rich Pins (n) – Pins with extra information (metadata) right on the Pin. There are four types of rich Pins: Article, Recipe, Product, and App Rich Pins.
- Promoted Pins (n) – these Pins are ads that businesses pay to be displayed on Pinterest.
(psst… make sure to save this blog post to Pinterest so you can reference often!)
How to use Pinterest for your blog.
Now that we’ve gone over how awesome Pinterest is and basic terminology let’s get your blog set up for Pinterest!
We are going to get you on Pinterest in 5 steps.
- Create your Pinterest business account
- Claim your website
- Create boards for your blog account
- Design Pin images for your blog posts
- Post your blog to Pinterest
Step One: Create a Pinterest business account
To use Pinterest for your blog, you’ll need a Pinterest business account. You can either convert a personal account you are already using, or you can start a brand new account.
There are pros and cons to both.
Your account might already have followers so that could give you a boost. That is if they are followers interested in your blog content.
An existing account might already have established boards related to your blog topic – that’s a good thing too!
On the flip side, your boards might be messy and unorganized, or you might be saving things to Pinterest that your target audience isn’t interested in.
There’s no right or wrong answer. Do what you feel is best for your brand, audience, and time. If you do use an existing personal account, you might need to spend time cleaning up your Pinterest account.
Either way, head to pinterest.com/business/create to get your business account. Pinterest will walk you through all of the necessary steps to creating your business account.
There are four main reasons you need to use a Pinterest Business Account:
- Pinterest’s terms of services require us to use a Business Account Anyone that uses Pinterest for work or promoting their brand needs to use a business account.
- Business accounts get access to analytics and Pin stats
- Business accounts get access to ads, known as Promoted Pins
- Business accounts can claim their website.
Step Two: Claim your website
Part of setting up your business account is claiming your site.
Claiming your website connects your Pinterest account to your blog. Here are the benefits of claiming your blog on Pinterest:
- Pinterest recommends claimed sites to relevant audiences
- The algorithm prioritizes your Pins because they know you are the creator of them and best understand the context of the Pins.
- Claimed business accounts attach your user profile to all of the Pins saved from your website.
You can also claim your Etsy, Instagram, or Youtube if you use those and get all of the same benefits above, but for those accounts.
To claim your website head to pinterest.com/settings while logged into your Pinterest Business account.
Scroll down to the Profile section and look for Claim Website
Add your URL and then click Claim. You will be prompted to choose a method for claiming your site. For most of us, Add HTML tag is the easier option.
Copy the HTML tag and head your WordPress dashboard.
If you use a Genesis theme, this is easy to add to your site. Navigate to Genesis > Themes settings > and scroll down to the Header Footer Scripts, paste your copied code there.
Click save.
Head back to your Pinterest account and click next, and then Submit.
Pinterest bots will crawl your site to make sure your tag is there.
If you do not use a Genesis theme, and your theme doesn’t have a header script box, you have two options:
- Install a header/footer script box plugin
- Use the Yoast plugin
Install a Header/Footer Script plugin.
I like the Insert Headers and Footers plugin by WP beginner. Install the plugin and then paste Pinterest code into the header script box, just as mentioned above.
Other things this plugin is useful for: installing Google Analytics, adding the script for Pinterest widgets and buttons, adding FB tags, or any other necessary script.
Use Yoast to claim your site to Pinterest
To use Yoast to claim and verify your Pinterest account to your blog head to Yoast SEO > Social > Pinterest and in the box that says Pinterest Confirmation paste your copied tag from your Pinterest dashboard.
Note: you do not need to do all three methods, just pick the one that is easiest for you!
Step Three: Create boards for your Pinterest account
Okay, you’re on your way to using Pinterest for your blog. Now you need to create Pinterest boards related to your blog topics and categories.
If you write about parenting, motherhood, kid activities, and family travel then you should have Pinterest boards for those categories.
Starting with one board for each category you have a is a solid place to start. You don’t need to worry about creating a bunch of Pinterest boards. Start with the basic topics of your blog and work on building those up.o
Take your time adding Pins to these new boards. They do not need to be filled up when you first create them. In fact, don’t mass add Pins to new boards. Also, make sure not to follow other people or boards in mass. They’re risky moves on Pinterest.
Add a couple or few Pins every day. These Pins will be a mix of your blog posts and other inspiring ideas you find online or on Pinterest that are related to your board category.
We are going to go over how to create Pins for your posts and how to save your posts to these boards in the next two steps.
Step Four: Design Pin images for your blog posts
Every single post you publish needs to have a “pinnable” image associated with it. You get to put on your designer hat to create these graphics!
Pinterest images usually include a relevant photograph, a text overlay with post title or words describing the blog post, and a small logo or URL.
Here are some examples from blogger’s designing beautiful Pin graphics:
These beautiful graphics from Arabah Joy utilize stock photos and text that stands out!
Design, Eat, Repeat frequently ads fun elements to her Pin graphics like arrows, video play buttons, and sticker call outs!
Simple as That uses clean and simple graphics for their Pin designs. They have a mix of shadowed graphics and full color.
Succulents and Sunshine always does a good job letting the image do the talking with clean text giving more details!
Pinterest images are vertical, beautiful, helpful, and actionable. You want to capture the attention of Pinner’s scrolling through Pinterest and encourage them to click on your Pin to head to your site! The ideal Pinterest image size is a 2:3 ratio. Example sizes are 600×900, 800×1200, or 1000×1500 pixels.
If you are savvy and own programs like Photoshop or Illustrator, you can use those to design your Pin graphics.
Otherwise, you can use free programs such as Befunky, Picmonkey, Canva, or even Google Slides to design your Pin graphics. (that link is a totally free template to get you started)
Step 5: Post your blog to Pinterest
You have a Pinterest business account, your website is claimed and connected, you’ve designed an image for your blog post, and now it is time to save your blog post to Pinterest!
There are three ways you can post your blog to Pinterest
- Add your Pinterest image to your blog post, and then save it to Pinterest from there
- Directly upload your picture to Pinterest and link it to your blog post
- Use a third party scheduling tool
I’ll go over all three, so you can do what works best for you! Or a mix of all three.
How to post your blog on Pinterest
Saving your blog post to Pinterest by inserting the Pinnable image to your blog post is my favorite method because it makes it possible for your existing readers to save your post to Pinterest as well! (aka: more potential growth)
For this method, take your newly created Pinterest image and head to your blog post. Insert the image somewhere inside the blog post and then publish the article.
Pro Tip: before you save the post, make sure to auto-populate a Pinterest description for the image.
Next, open up the blog post – it’s crucial that you are inside the post and not just on your home page.
You’ll need to have the Pinterest browser button installed for the next step. If you haven’t done that yet go install the Pinterest button for your browser.
(that link is super smart – it knows which browser you have and will give instructions on how to install. If you already have the Pinterest browser button installed it will provide you with instructions on how to use it. neat!)
With the Pinterest button installed, all you need to do is click the Pinterest browser button, and you’re image will be there.
When prompted, save it to a relevant board (one that matches the post’s topic).
How to add your blog post directly on Pinterest
Another option is to add your image and blog link directly on Pinterest. Head to Pinterest.com, making sure you’re logged into your business account.
In the top right corner, click the big PLUS icon button and select the Create Pin option.
Upload your image and then add a title and description. Make sure to add your blog post URL and then choose a board to save it to.
Click save, and this Pin to your blog post is now on Pinterest!
How to use a scheduling tool to save articles to Pinterest
The third option is to use a scheduling tool to save your articles to Pinterest. A scheduling tool makes it so you don’t have to spend all of your time on Pinterest. It also helps you space out your Pins so that you’re not flooding your followers with your content all at once.
It works like Pinterest does in the two methods discussed above, but you go through the scheduler first. I sit down once a week and schedule all of my Pins for that given week on one day.
Then I work on other things for my blog. It’s great.
I use Tailwind to schedule my Pins (aff link), but there are a few other scheduling tools. Tailwind works just like Pinterest – you can use the browser button to save directly from the blog post or you can add the blog post URL and image directly from the Tailwind dashboard.
Bonus tip: Turn your Pins into Rich Pins
Currently, your blog posts are probably being saved as regular Pins. Rich Pins add a little bit more context to Pins (like your title and SEO description). These details make for a better user experience and encourage Pinners to click over to your site. Learn how to set up Rich Pins for your blog!
Pinterest for blogging in a nutshell:
Well, are you ready to get the wheels turning on Pinterest so that you can get more traffic?
Now that you know the basics, you can use Pinterest for your blog!
Once you have your Pinterest business account set up and your core boards created focus your efforts on making sure every single post you publish has a Pinnable image.
Once your article is published, you’ll save the blog post image to a relevant board on Pinterest. As the ripple effect happens (it takes time at first) you’ll start to see more and more traffic from Pinterest.
You too will be able to grow your blog with the help of Pinterest!
Happing Pinning friends! Let me know if you have any questions about using Pinterest in the comments. I’ll do my best to answer them for you! Here are a few I frequently hear:
Pinterest 101 FAQ
Who will see my Pin?
At first, only the people that follow you will potentially see your Pin. I say potentially because it will depend on how many people they follow, the time they log in vs the time you Pinned, and other algorithmic matters. But as they see your Pin and save it, others will see it too!
I saved a Pin with the right words, but it’s not showing up anywhere when I search. What did I do wrong?
Most likely, nothing! It takes time to rank and show up in Pinterest search. Keep at it, don’t get discouraged if you aren’t seeing immediate results. You have to keep saving to Pinterest. As others enjoy your content and save it, you’ll start to see more traction.
Can I save my blog post more than once?
Yes, you can! Just make sure not to save the same blog post multiple times in a row. Break it up with other posts of yours and content from other people.
How do I get people to follow my Pinterest account?
Tell them! Your existing audience (no matter the size) is a great place to start. Once you’ve got your Pinterest account and main boards set up, let your email list and/or social channels know you’re on Pinterest now.
Grab this guide for when you’re ready to learn more and go deeper into Pinterest:
Hi! So I’m a fresh blogger I actually just created my website and have yet to post my blogs, what I’m here wondering is if i don’t have any blogs posted is there still a way to drive traffic to my website and not only that but how can i post pins to drive traffic to my Pinterest if i don’t have any blog posts or any photos that i have taken to pin? Do the pins have to be your own photos? And linked to your own website or can u simply post a pin from something you find and create online and link to another website to grow your Pinterest?
You can start building your Pinterest account before you have any content, by saving other people’s blog posts to your Pinterest boards. You will not get traffic from these though. You will just be building up your Pinterest account and niche.
To get traffic to your own site from Pinterest, you will need to have blog posts and images you create just for those posts.
Have fun creating blog posts!
I had a question I haven’t been able to find an answer to very easily. I get why pinning your own blog post content and links helps grow traffic to your blog, but how does pinning other people’s pins help? I know somehow it does, and you should do it. I’d just like to understand how and why. Hope you can help! Thanks!
Great question Joanne!
3 main ways Pinning other people content helps you:
1 – Board co-occurrence. Saving relevant content helps Pinterest understand the context of your board, and the Pins on that board.
2 – Helps keep boards active if you do not have enough content to do so yourself (the more content you have, the less you need to save others)
3 – Karma and Reciprocity. You want other bloggers Pinning your content! Pin theirs so they’ll pin yours.
Thank you for providing such a basic, straightforward post about Pinterest! I feel like a lot of resources out there don’t assume that they need to start alllllll the way back at the beginning, which is really what I needed! I can’t wait to dive into your Pillars of Pinterest Guide!
Yay! I’m glad this helped you Anna. I tried to break it down so anyone could get started with Pinterest. Good luck!
Hi, if I have on a blog post with three images for example , can I post to pinterest more than three pins that links to exact same post ? or exactly how many pictures I have per blog post I should updated to pinterest ?
Yes, you can post more than one image per blog post. There’s no right or wrong answer to how many. Just make sure to space them apart when you Pin and don’t do it all at once.
Cheers!
Hi Kristie,
Fantastic tips to set a perfect Pinterest account. I appreciate your hard work and Research to create such a good article. Explained everything very nicely even everyone can understand it.
Thank You
Swaran
Kristie,
I have been trying to claim my site with Pinterest and have follow the directions to a tee. I must have tried 3 times over the last 3-4 days and keep getting an email saying Trouble Claiming Website – says can not fine the meta tag. I have done the copy and paste thing too and it is in my site – seo yoast – pinterest account. Also, have been trying to get a hold of Pinterest via email for days but no response from them. Does my site have to be live with Bluehost/Wordpress to claim the site ?
Do you know of any way to contact Pinterest. Looking for some guidance and direction.
Yes, your site does need to be live in order for PInterest to crawl it. if you have a coming soon page up, it could be blocking Pinterest from reading the meta tag.
Hi Kristie,
First of all, I love your blog. It’s so nice. Thanks for writing this beginner’s guide on Pinterest. I just got back to Pinterest and using it for my blog too. I can say it’s so cool. It’s a great tool.
Again, thanks for doing this. It’s really very helpful.
Valerie
“For this method, take your newly created Pinterest image and head to your blog post. Insert the image somewhere inside the blog post and then publish the article.”
Hey Kristie, Could you explain this step. Do you mean the pinned image? Should I use the “embed” button to do that?
I am stuck here..
Hi! Great question. What I mean is uploading the image you’ve designed for Pinterest directly inside your blog post. Is your blog on WordPress? If so just Add Image > Upload to find the image you’ve created.
Once the images is in the post (and you’ve saved it) you can Pin the blog post to Pinterest by using your browser Pin button.
Hi Kristie, I have always wanted to know more about how to use pinterest to promote my blog. I would start reading up an article and get put off by the length and the style in which it was written. I read this entire article and also made my account into a business account as I was reading it. I have deleted some old pins and am working on crating new boards. Thank you for writing this article.
Having an original pinnable image is the key and I will work on it.
Deepa, I’m so glad to hear this article helped you get your business account set up and it didn’t turn you away like past articles. Can’t wait to see where you blog goes now that you’re focusing on Pinterest. 🙂
Best of luck.
Thank you! I was looking for some basic information and this helped me immensely! I love the way you laid it all out so clearly. ❤️
Hi Kristie,
Amazing tips! Really appreciate the way you explained each and every point of setting a perfect Pinterest account. Thankyou for sharing such a nice blog. keep sharing…
Omg, Christie! I’m very active on pinterest and I can authoritatively say you’ve given this post all it takes to set up pinterest and win it. Carefully laid out guideline for any new blogger to master pinterest.
Keep up the great work, Christie.
Thank you Eki! I really appreciate that. 🙂