I’m sure you’ve been hearing a lot about Pinterest eh? It’s a powerful visual search engine that can help grow your traffic and email list.
Well, when I started this new blog, I knew one of the quickest ways to bring traffic to my blog was to start pinning.
But, I had no idea that I would get so many followers too. Every month since starting to grow this blog I’ve been steadily gaining on average 500-800 new subscribers each month.
>>If you’re interested in starting your own blog, check out my easy step-by-step tutorial on how to start a blog in 10 minutes!<<
And what’s even more cray-cray is that I really didn’t do anything to get those followers.
Wha-what?
Okay.
I don’t mean I didn’t do ANYTHING, but what I did didn’t take much effort. I’m a busy mompreneur here.
I don’t have time to grow my social media followers. Heck, I don’t have time to cut my hair! Ouch! That hurt saying that.
If I can find a way to supercharge my productivity and use my time better, I’ll do it.
And I know there are other mamas and bloggers out there that just don’t have the time to spend hours trying to grow their Pinterest followers.
In my short time using a Pinterest strategy, I’ve analyzed six things that I know have helped me generate followers.
But, before I get into that, let me show you how I got form point A to point B.
My Pinterest Follower Progression
Earlier this year I decided to grow this new blog. It’s a new niche and a new blog and I’m even blogging about my growth too.
When I started I only had around 600 followers.
My Pinterest profile was for my other blog about freelance writing. I decided that instead of signing up to a new Pinterest account, I’ll just share my current one.
My profile wasn’t used much since I started freelance writing. I had a couple of boards about freelance writing and the rest were hobby type boards. So it was like a fresh start.
Within two months of actively being on Pinterest, I had over 1k followers. And by my third month, I almost gained another 1k followers.
And you want to know something?
I wasn’t following many people. In fact, I stopped following people – unless they were my blogger friend – and I still gained more followers.
Now, six months later, I had 4.8k followers.
I did all of this and didn’t spend much time doing it.
If you’re struggling to gain Pinterest followers or playing the, “if you follow me, I’ll follow you” game and unfollow those that don’t follow you, here are the six things I did to help me grow my followers.
1. Join Pinterest Groups
In light of all the new Pinterest updates that’s been going around, are group boards still worth it?
Yes and no. For brand new bloggers group boards are the way to go.
What’s great about them is that your pins can reach thousands or millions more pinners than they could if they were on your own boards. And this helps establish your profile if you’re a new pinner.
I belong to over 60 group boards and when I first started promoting my new blog, I used them frequently. From mom groups to growing your blog groups to social media groups and to freelance groups, if it’s related to being a mom blogger I’m in it.
If you don’t belong to many group boards, pick up my absolutely free promo list of over 60+ FB and Pinterest groups.
2. Start Using Tailwind
Tailwind is truly my BFF. Without her, I’d be a wreck. Seriously 🙂
But please understand, these are my personal results. Tailwind also publishes the Typical Results of Tailwind for Pinterest Members every year, so you can see exactly what the average growth rate looks like for their members.
Tailwind is a Pinterest automation schedule – say that 3x fast. It lets you schedule any pin you want – from a blog post, on Pinterest or within Tailwind – to any Pinterest board you have.
It even lets you know the optimal time to schedule your pins and you know what that means? All the hard stuff is taken care of.
With Tailwind, each time your pin is sent out, it’s when your audience is on Pinterest. One thing I like about Tailwind is their board lists.
Like I mentioned, I have over 60 boards and before I knew about board lists, whenever I scheduled my pins, I had to manually put each board in for the queue. Can I say time waster?
Well, the board list is a template. So you make a list of all the relevant boards you want your pins to go to. Since I have two blogs, I have my Elna Cain blog list for freelancers and working from home and I have my Twins Mommy list for blogging, making money, and moms (some boards overlap).
I could also make a list for social media posts or just for twins or for blogging tips. It’s up to you how you categorize your lists.
Once you make a template, when it’s time to schedule your pins – I schedule mine on Pinterest – I just have to click one time to schedule hundreds of times.
If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is mamas!
If you’re interested in using Tailwind, you can schedule up to 100 pins absolutely free! There’s no time limit either! Just click on the image below to get started!
Check out my YouTube video on how I use Tailwind to schedule my pins!
3. Have a Compelling Headline
I’ve been hearing from other bloggers that they’re active on Pinterest or they are scheduling their pins but they have a small conversion rate, i.e. no one is clicking through.
Now, why should you be concerned about click-through rates when all you want is more Pinterest followers?
Because no one’s going to follow you if you have poor content. While it’s also a great idea to have a visually appealing blog design, that’s not going to help you grow your social media followers.
And one of the first things a pinner is going to read is your headline. You have about two seconds for them to decide if that pin is worthy of their time.
I found that one of the best headlines to use on Pinterest are personal ones. Using “I” or “my” seem to generate more repins and click-throughs for me.
Your headline should also show a benefit for reading your post. Will your pin help them blog better? Earn more money? Save them time? Have the best chocolate chip cookies ever?
If you can show a benefit for the reader in your headline, they are more likely to click through to your post.
And if you have an engaging introduction that hooks them, they’ll remember your content and not only subscribe to your list, but also follow you on Pinterest.
A lot of my subscribers found me via Pinterest!
4. Create Awesome Images
I L-O-V-E looking at images. Don’t we all?
They’re so pretty and I’m always wanting to know what font you all are using!!
I love fonts, stock photos, and colors and Pinterest is a goldmine for awesome images. I’m not the BEST at images, but I try.
Here are some tips I picked up from blogging:
Optimal Pin Size
I use 600x900px for most of my pins and alternate pins. There’s a lot of talk on social media about what size your pin image should be. While many have different sizes, they all agree that your pin image must be longer than it is wide.
A taller version I use is 600x1260px.
Easy to Read Font
Your font must be large enough to read.
I use two fonts on my images. A sans-serif font called Futura, which is included on Mac computers, but you can grab this paid font and others with a subscription to Typekit (for Windows too).
I also use Madina that I got at Creative Market. If you’re bootstrapping it all, you can definitely use Google fonts – they’re totally free.
Beautiful Images
It goes without saying that a picture is worth a thousand words…and repins!
There are a ton of places to grab free images that are beautiful!
I made a blog post on it here, but here are some more places:
5. Brand Your Boards
While most pinners view your pins on mobile and rarely go to your profile to look at your boards, you can brand them with a cohesive look.
I feel that branding my profile helped me grow my followers quickly. It showed some of my overall brand scheme and made me stand out from other pinners.
You may not agree with me, but ever since I started branding my images and my Pinterest board covers, I noticed more people following me.
I used Photoshop to create my board covers, but you can use Canva too!
6. Have an Optimized Bio
One of the first things I did with my profile was make sure my bio had keywords in my niche and told people what I do and where to find me..
When pinners go to my profile they know exactly who I am – I help moms and writers create a business and where to find me.
You can also state who you are – freelance writer, blogger, Pinterest manager etc. in your bio.
Make your bio value driven so that people have a reason to follow you.
Little Effort Overall
As you can see, I didn’t try to grow my followers on Pinterest. Tailwind helped me schedule my pins out to more people, which helped me gain more followers.
And what about now? After two years of using Pinterest and Tailwind?
I have over 17k followers and it grows every day.
The only effort for me is writing my blog posts and creating my images.
That’s it.
Want Help Planning Your Pinterest Pinning Strategy?
Don’t forget to grab my FREE Pin Promote Planner! You get a weekly planner, monthly planner and yearly planner! This is what helped me triple my traffic, list and followers in only three months of starting Twins Mommy!
Let me know in the comments what you plan on doing first to help you grow your Pinterest followers!
When I stopped following people and just focused on pinning my follower rate increased significantly. I get anywhere from 1 to 10 new followers a day when before I was lucky to get a few a week. After the death of BB I focused on manually pinning so I could better learn Pinterest. We are going on vacation soon and I think I might need to join TW for fear that the traffic I took so long to build will die. I also hope that it will give me the boost I need to finally hit 25k sessions and join Mediavine. Thanks for the tips! I’ll be implementing them as well 🙂
Hey Monica!
There are so many Pinterest strategies and it all comes down to what works for you! Good luck using TW!
Great info. Since I never used Pinterest before, as a newbie blogger it looks like a foreign language to me. However, your blog posts has been helping me, I’m sure I’ll get better. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Sheereen,
That’s great to hear! Pinterest is really great for bloggers in general!
Hi Elna!
Just bought your Ready Set Blog course and I am loving it! You mentioned in this post that your pin sizes are 600 x 900px with a tall pin at 600 x 1260px.
You mention some other sizes in the course. Which is the most current sizes?
Thanks!
Hey Jenn,
Yeah, back in the day my pin sizes were larger but since Pinterest changed the sizes, my new size is 600×900 and 600×1260. I will be updating the traffic course this summer and fall!
Lately I am stumbling on a lot of courses that talk about Pinterest as a great way to get free traffic, and I your article has filled in a lot of blanks on how to do it well and successfully.
I am definitely going to start right now and follow some people and join groups. Thanks for sharing this
Hey!
Thanks so much! Glad you found some tips to help you grow your Pinterest followers and traffic! Good luck!
Great tips Elna, I was expecting something totally different. Thanks for sharing.
Hey Alvern,
You’re welcome! Glad to surprise you about Pinterest followers!
This information is awesome! I so appreciate you sharing all of this with us! I am still trying to build up my social media and I need to remember to keep joining group boards!
Hi Brooke!
Thanks so much! Yes, growing your social media followers on Pinterest can be a challenge. For my other profiles it’s taking time to get to my first 1k followers! But, just keep being consistent!
Awesome tips! I’ve used Pinterest personally forever, but am just “learning the ropes” when it comes to growing my business account. I can’t wait to start implementing these ideas, especially Tailwind. Thank you!!
Hi Julie!
Yes, Pinterest is a great tool to market your new blog! Glad you enjoyed this post! Good luck with growing your blog traffic with Pinterest!
Hi Elna! These Pinterest tips are awesome. I’m also using Tailwind and I can say that it’s a pretty cool Pinterest pins scheduler, such a great help for me too.
Hey Dustin!
Love your blog and writing style 🙂 Thanks for stopping by and thanks so much. Tailwind for Pinterest marketing is awesome! It has totally helped grow ALL my blogs 🙂
Awesome post! I can’t stop reading your posts Elna, all of them are so great and helpful. I started blogging in March 2018 and using all your tips I gained so many readers and followers. Now it’s time to kick off Pinterest 🙂
Hey Gabi!
Thanks so much!!! Congrats on your blog and yay! Kick Pinterest for you!!!
I was using Boardbooster but have recently tried Tailwind and I prefer it. Both are great but Tailwind I find easier to use.
I have to admit that I always went for Google search results but I am fast seeing that Pinterest is a much better strategy for building traffic.
Great post!
Valeria
I’m still trying to figure out Pinterest and this is super helpful! Thanks!
Hi Phoebe!
You’re welcome! Glad this helped!
Hi Elna, Great information. I am planning to start a blog …and for that grabbing the information as much as I can . This post is very useful and encouraging for new bloggers like me. Thank you!
That’s great to know! Good luck on starting your blog and getting on Pinterest!
Thanks Elna for some great tips! This gives me hope. ☺
You’re welcome!
You can do it. Just be consistent on Pinterest and Tailwind really has helped me. I put my new blog Smart Mom Ideas, on the Tailwind automation and my followers grow daily!
This was so helpful! As a new blogger I’m trying to learn as much as I can. Thank you so much for this
Hi Vanessa,
You’re welcome! So happy you found some tips to help you increase your Pinterest followers!
Amazing post! I follow your advice and try to increase more traffic! Hope it will work for me! Thanks.
Hi Simona
Good luck! I know you can do this!
This question might seem confusing but I’m confused about repinning your own pins. Do you mean that you repin your original post pin or do you create new pins and post those over and over again?
Thanks!
Hi Gabby!
When you publish your post, you pin that post to Pinterest. Usually people pin that first pin from their blog to their own board. Then you go to THAT board and pin THAT pin. You don’t make a new pin or go back to your blog and pin it again. You want to establish repins, or shares, on that ONE pin. So repin that ONE pin over and over again and others will repin that pin for you!
Thank you so much for these tips!! I just started a Pinterest page for my blog (https://happilyunboxing.wordpress.com/) and have only been able to get three followers (after spending hours trying to figure out how to get more! I am looking forward to implementing your tips into my Pinterest strategy. If anyone wants to do a follow for follow I would love to help your Pinterest page grow as well!! @HappilyUnboxing 🙂
Hi!
So glad you have tips to help you grow your Pinterest followers! It is a challenge but it takes time for sure! Good luck!
These were so helpful. This will help me alot! Thanks so much for this!
Hi Kelsey,
Thank you so much! Growing your Pinterest Followers can be a challenge now, but this plan in the post is what I still do! And I have almost 15k followers now! You can do it!
Hey Elna,
Great Post, I’m a 17 year old who has recently started blogging and I’m trying to get traffic through pinterest but I’ve been finding it really hard to get on group boards. People don’t reply to my messages, comments or email. I was just wondering what method do you use to get on group boards. Your advice would be really appreciated. Keep up the great work 🙂
B.P
Hi!
I wouldn’t worry too much about not getting a response. I sometimes don’t respond to my emails; I just let people in the group. Make sure to check your Pinterest notifications! I would also try lower tiered group boards with a lower reach to get in. These group owners are more than happy to let you in because they are trying to grow your followers.
Also, make sure you have appealing pins too!
Wow Elna, thanks for sharing! 60 Group Boards is a whole lot of boards. I use board list in Tailwind as well but how on earth do you schedule to those group boards? Is it 1 pin per group board per day using the pin interval?
Hi!
With Tailwind, I schedule my pins on Pinterest and put them in the board lists and Tailwind does the rest. I have more group boards than the pins I share so I’m not duping any pins.
Thanks Elna,
So my next obvious question. What is the secret to getting into 60 group boards? I am already in 15. I probably sent requests already to 30 group board owners. What is the conversion ratio for the acceptance rate? 100 requests to join 25 accepted?
There is no secret into getting group boards. As long as you follow the blogger, are friendly in the request you just wait! You can grab my free resource on FB and Pinterest groups https://twinsmommy.com/facebook-pinterest-promo-list/
Thanks so much for this!
I’m a newer blogger and feel stuck with Pinterest, but this has finally given me the courage to start Tailwind and get on some group boards.
You’re an inspiration!
Hi Ashley,
That’s awesome! Happy to hear you’re going to do Pinterest! Yay! Have fun!
I simply love all of your content! Coming across this has been a huge help, thank you so much 🙂 Do you have any Pinterest boards I could join?
xx Lena | https://lenadeexo.com
Hi Lena,
Check out my Pinterest profile for group boards you want to join!
Thanks for the advice! I’m new to Pinterest. I don’t have any followers yet and just started my boards but will definitely try your strategies.
Thanks so much!
Glad you found some tips to get you started on Pinterest marketing strategies!
Hi Elna
Thank you for this great post and your planner, i have been working at optimising my pinterest but have been puzzled by how long things take ..looking forward to using the planner. I do have a question, in one section you mention ‘Look at your notifications of pinners that pinned your pin. Go to the board they pinned
your pin and repin it. Do this at least 5 times’ –
does this mean repining my own pin for 5 times in my own boards and how would this help, is it to get the persons attention so they would follow me? Also do you have suggestions as to how to find great niche groups?(am more on the diy/craft/design) and is there much point in joining groups not in your niche but more popular?. Thank you!
Hi!
Thanks for downloading the Pin Promote Planner! With the notification pining. The idea is that the person who pinned your content will get notified that you pinned from their boards. This can be a way to grow your followers. It’s not 100% but it’s something!
Wow..This is just the Pinterest strategy that I’m looking for! I’m at a similar amount of followers to where you started so I’m definitely going to implement the different strategies that you recommend and hopefully start using Pinterest to drive more traffic to my blog. I’ve already optimize my bio and I started creating some really good looking images so I’m going to head over and pick up Tailwind right now and start applying for group boards.
Thanks so much for this, Elna. It really is amazing information for us bloggers looking to take advantage of Pinterest!
Hey Stefan,
Thanks so much! Good luck with finding group boards! Remember to list the group board you want to join in your email and give your Pinterest URL so they can view your profile!
This was super helpful, I went back to my profile and tweaked it after reading your tips! Thanks for sharing! I am pinning this post on my pinerest !
That’s great! I hope you start gaining more Pinterest followers!
Hi Elna,
Thanks for sharing your success. The only two things that I am not doing fully are group boards and board covers. However, I heard that board covers are not necessary for the updated Pinterest November 2017? Is that the case?
Hi!
Board covers are still a good idea but not necessary. They just make your brand known a little better and since they have the carousel feature before your boards, having a niche branded picture there looks professional!
Thanks Elna!
🙂
I am a new blogger and your article has SO much great information! I started my Pinterest page about 2 weeks ago and have over 4,000 views on it but no followers! Do you have any advice for not just getting views but also getting people to follow you? Thank you!
Hi Karen,
Try using Facebook! You can drop your profile link to get followers on promo days or social media days!
Hi Elna,
First I want to say thank you for your amazing work on creating so many Pinterest useful Boards about how to succeed on blogging. I love every tip you gave on the “How I Managed to gain 4.8k Pinterest Followers with Little Effort”
I found your boards when I was so discouraged. I lost my job recently and I am trying very hard to have some income to help my family with my blog, which is basically new.
I created my Blog in July but, had to take a break from working on it as I am pregnant and you probably know how suffering and difficult the first trimester can be. Now that I have completed this period I am back to work but, sometimes I feel that I am not getting anywhere and feel like an idiot dreaming with something that it will never come to be true. I don’t have any money to invest on professional help, SEO, etc.
But, after reading your post I went to sleep with a little bit more of hope in my heart and I am ready to try harder and see what life will bring to me. Thanks for that!
https://www.pinterest.com/marieavenueblog
http://www.marieavenue.com
Marie Avenue
Lana!
Can I give you a hug! From helping others bloggers, I know you can do it! Congrats on your new pregnancy! I suggest you ignore all the others preaching and focus on your strategy!
I’m taking a Pinterest course, and this article was a great supplement to what I’m learning now. The stock photo links you provided were super helpful! I also use CreateHer Stock Photos for stock photos featuring women of color. Thanks for the helpful tips, as always!
Hey Megan,
Awesome! There are lots of great Pinterest courses out there. Which course are you taking?
There really are. I’m taking the Pinterest Traffic Avalanche course.
Nice!
Create and Go is an awesome site!
Are you pinning 100 times a day… every day :O ?
Hey Mia!
No I don’t I only pinned that amount in the beginning of growing my blog. I wrote that post a while ago when I started Twins Mommy. I now only pin around 30 times a day. My Pinterest followers are over 12k so I don’t need to post in group boards that often!
Thank you for this information. I found this while at work so I will begin to implement these things once I get home. Also, I am just getting started blogging on my Senior website/blog to bring in more traffic…do you have any suggestions to gaining my target clients to read my blog? My website is http://www.missaraebia.com and I welcome any suggestions. I am also a mom blogger. I have 6 children, (1) just got married last week. Thank you so much and I am super excited to have bumped into your blog!
Thanks so much!
I took a look at your blog! Amazing! Love it. Your blog, though, is localized, which means it’s harder to get blog traffic. If you want to extend your brand, I highly suggest you sell stock images for bloggers. You can grow your email list by providing free stock photos.
We are using tailwind and it is great. Your article is amazing, thanks for sharing 🙂
Is the “board list template” you refer to in this article actually a tailwind tribe? I can’t seem to find where to create this list of group boards in Pinterest or tailwind. I have several group boards I am in and would like to save some time. Thanks!
Hi Eileen,
Yes, it’s in Tailwind on the side. I think it’s under Publishing 🙂
Hi Elna
Why haven’t you placed adsense ads on your site? Are you just earning on sales?
Hey!
Because I value white space and my content more 🙂
Hi Elna,
I just want to say that I LOVE your content and your course. I just signed up for it through all of the courses I’ve completed, I have to admit I’m finding yours to be one of the most impressive.
Taking your advice about blogging more often!
Love your stuff.
Nicole
Hey Nicole!
Thanks so much <3 Enjoy the course (which one might I ask?) and have fun growing your Pinterest following!
Ready, Set, Blog for Traffic. Loving it! 🙂
Thanks so much Nicole!
RSBT is my baby!!
Took notes. Lots of them. Thanks so much for sharing–as a new blogger, these tips are super helpful!! 🙂
Hi Kristel,
Thanks so much! And yes, taking notes is essential. Right now, I have four notebooks on my desk 😛
Your blog is just what I needed today. Looking to get my new adventure off the ground, and your site is perfect. Thanks so much for taking the time to curate all these resources!
Aww, hugs and kisses! Thank you so much!
You made my day. So glad you found some tips to help you grow your Pinterest followers!
Thank you so much for sharing. I started my blog a few months ago and it has been a slow process for me to setup and grow my blog. I haven’t had the traffic needed so I read your article to see if you had any tips. You have definitely added insight so I will try to implement tailwind to more followers. I am so excited and ready to see my blog grow and my followers increase.
Hey Rhonda,
Thanks so much! Yes, Pinterest is a great driver for traffic and when bundled with Tailwind, they make the perfect pair!
Hi Elna,
I started to try and focus more on Pinterest and Facebook rather than Instagram. I feel I am on the right path. I optimized my board covers and I’ve been typing in detailed descriptions on each post. I guess next thing to do is really get pinning. Thanks for the advice.
Hey Edgar,
That’s great to know. Pinterest is really a powerful platform to drive traffic and sales. Enjoy the visual search engine!
Fantastic tips, thanks for the post! I’ve been doing my best to grow my Pinterest following as well – just got my first 100 followers – actually took me quite a lot of work, so I hope, that using your tips, I will be able to get more followers faster!
Great post and keep up amazing work!
Hey Damjan,
That’s great. For newer accounts it will take you longer. Aged Pinterest accounts can grow a bit faster! Good luck!
Thanks Elna, off to brand my boards & optimise my bio 😉
Thank you so much for this!
Hi Elna,
A great post! This is Misato from https://fitwirr.com/. When I initially started, I grew my followers the very similar ways as yours – group boards, long images, Tailwind, etc.. One thing I really appreciated Tailwind was they give you stats on each boards’ ROI. The boards with most followers, activities, etc.. were all there, and it helped me narrow my focus and really understand what people are interested in and wanted to see more of.
Anyhow, I just wanted to say I’m happy I came across your blog, and it was a great read!
Hi Misato!
Good to know. Yes, I love group boards to help me boost my traffic for sure!
Hi there, I want to start using Tailwind and have already used the free 100 pins, but with the amount that people say to pin, it’s very expensive. People are telling me to pin hundreds of times a day and Tailwind charges per 50! How much should I be expecting to spend on Pinterest automation?
Thank you!
Victoria
http://www.strungingold.com
Hey Victoria,
Tailwind is budget friendly when you pay annually. You can have unlimited pins for only $9.99 a month (when you pay annually, which I recommend doing to save the most).
Thank you for sharing! This was very informative. How do you join groups since Pinterest just recently changed the format?
Hey Anna,
Just go to a group board and read the instructions on how to invite yourself!
Great post! I find it very insightful. Building my followers on my personal blog and on Pinterest have been very tasking for me though I feel I’ve not been giving much attention to it as I should.
Thank you for this post. I will like to get directions to more insights.
So wait, you had 600 followers to start with? That was already a ridiculously advantageous position. Most of us have to grow our boards with 0 followers. When people see someone with 0 followers, they are unlikely to follow that person.
Ronan,
Those 600 followers were from my personal account and was over 2 years old. So basically, I had to start from scratch. I removed a lot of those followers as I was growing my Pinterest account since I wanted targeted followers.
How do you remove followers?
How to gain more followers on Instagram? it was a problem to me for a long time. I’d read a lot of blogs and forums about promotion on social media, used hashtags in every posts. Then I found a list of promotions, and checked one by one. There were a good promotions such like instagress.com and massplanner.com and instanobel.com . Unfortunately two of aforcited was closed, so I’m using instanobel now. Good service
Thank you for some great information. I have been blogging for a short while now and am trying to maximize my Pinterest account to it’s full potential. Right now I’m working on branding my blog/profile to make it stand out a little bit more and get my Pinterest boards organized. Thanks again for some great tips!
Hi Elna
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You—AMAZING! My name is Cassandra Hughes. I’ve been on Pinterest for awhile now, I appreciate you and how you’ve guided others through your journey of blogging and boarding. I look forward to viewing more suggestions from you. The name of my Board is Simply Dvine Events and Creations.
Thanks so much Cassandra!
Glad you are doing great with Pinterest!
Thank you for such a nicely laid out, thought out way to up your Pinterest game. I really appreciate the info and ideas. I love your blog!
Hey Jenna!
Thanks so much! Glad you found the steps helpful for your Pinterest strategy!
Hi, Elna!
First of all, congrats on your fast Pinterest follower growth. It’s amaze-balls, really! 🙂
I am glad you mentioned about Tailwind because the Tribes feature has really upped my game on Pinterest!
Thanks.
Owen,
Thanks and yes it is amaze-balls for sure 😉
This is extremely helpful especially to newbies that are just getting started on their blogs. Really looking forward to applying some of these tips – thanks a bunch!
Hi Sotiria,
You’re welcome! My Pinterest followers is up to 10k now! This approach is still working!
Elna, this is a GREAT post and I love your blog. I have a question… my website doesn’t have many group boards… do you have some suggestions for me? My niche is dealing with Chronic Migraines (not fun or colorful!) and I don’t know where to start. Any help is welcome. I also have a course with a free bit, but I feel uneasy putting it in my bio…. I will have to think about that…
Hey Holly,
Go to PinGroupie and search there! Here’s the result for groups with the keyword migraine http://pingroupie.com/?cat=&order=0&sort=desc&tq=&dq=migraine
Hi Elna,
Thanks for the great tips! I’ve been blogging in the Wellness niche (I’m a L.Ac. & yoga instructor) for ~ 9 months now, ramped up from 2x/mo to 1x/week halfway through, and am still having difficulty getting subscribers. I’ve turned to Pinterest to help, but I’m new to it as well.
Your growth story is very inspiring. You already had over 600 followers though! That’s a lot compared to my measly 30. Do you think your strategies help from the very beginning? I’m probably still too new to contribute to group pages, though I feel I have valuable content. If you have advice for beginners that is different from what you’ve already mentioned, I’d really appreciate hearing it!
Gratefully yours,
Brandy
Hey Brandy,
Since you’re new, try Facebook groups. Many have social media threads where you can post your social media account you want to grow. You can get like an extra 60+ likes or follows doing this each week!
Great post Elna, I’ve been dealing with traffic for my blog for a while without many success. Definitely, I am going to work your tips.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, Elna,
Is it ok to pin images representing your blog and the corresponding sales page for the same bunch of pins (w/different images)? Thanks.
Hi Michelle,
Yes!
Great, thank you! 🙂
I am trying to build a Pinterest following currently and these tips definitely seem more useful than many I have found this far! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Brittany!
Thanks so much! Pinterest is a great platform to grow your blog!
Thank you so much for all this information! So vital. XO, Ellese
Rock.Paper.Glam.
Elna,
Thank you for the detailed info. Joining Groups makes so much more sense. Great advice! I am a new blogger, http://www.justordinarymom.com, and still learning all the in’s and out’s of getting it started. Needless to say, it has been a challenge. I just posted my FIRST Pinterest post and I am just excited I was able to do it! Now just getting it seen.
I already joined Tailwind. I have only been using it for about a day now. LOVE IT! Sounds like you and many others just had to try different approaches and that is what I need to do. Thanks again!
Hey!
That’s awesome! So happy you started a blog and are on Pinterest! Have fun using Tailwind!
Thank you for covering board lists! I had never discovered that feature of Tailwind before. You just saved me so much time! Especially since it covered how I can space them out…I was originally worried it would hit all the boards at the same time.
This is so helpful, thank you! 🙂 <3
Hello! This blog post was amazing. It was super informative, unlike a lot of articles i read in search of advice on how to start making money on Pinterest, your page actually explains in detail. I run a mommy blog http://www.thelearningmama.com and I also have my Pinterest connected to it, but I’m having a hard time understanding the whole ‘making money with Pinterest’ concept. Im extremely new to the whole idea. Any tips and tricks for people who are just starting would be well appreciated. (:
Hi Priscilla!
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment! I’m humbled by your warm words. As for making money on Pinterest, I think you need to focus on list building via Pinterest first. From there you can start creating pins to landing pages and then upsell once they are on your email list. You can also create pins that direct to Amazon or to your digital product. I hope this helps!
I absolutely LOVE Tailwind!! It has helped me extend my reach for my blog.
Thank you for your article. It was great. So a total newbie question here-
Do you use tailwind to schedule pins for your own website or others pins?
Hi Jaclyn,
I use Tailwind to schedule my pins to group boards. I use Board Booster to loop my pins to my boards. I occasionally schedule other people’s pins on Tailwind by using Tailwind Tribes!
Hi Elna,
May I ask why you use 2 different scheduling companies to schedule pins ? I’m using boardbooster to schedule my content to group boards and my own boards and also pinning others’ pins on my own boards. 70 % are others pins and 30% my own. Im pinning about 60 to 70 pins/day and the follower growth has been miserable. I’m also on group boards (currently about 10+ group boards.working on joining more). I’m trying to understand if it helps to use tailwind too vs just board booster
Hi Marvellina,
For me, it’s more budget friendly when I use Tailwind to pin to my group boards. With Tailwind I pin around 50-100 a day. I only pay $9.99 a month for unlimited pins. With Board Booster, I’d have to pay something like $84/month! So with Board Booster, I only pin 45 pins a day which is only $10/month. It’s just more cost effective for me. It may not be for you. Also, I would change that ratio to more pins of YOUR blog and less of other ones. As for follower growth, I don’t suspect a scheduling tool would help; getting more on group boards yes, making your blog Pinterest friendly and your pins Pin friendly.
Hi Elna, this an easy awesome article, I very new to pinterest; I am a small youtuber ( braid, home remedies, makeup reviews) I joined pinterst today because I want to grow my channel. I am lost here lol, everything is new and a bit confusing, I have just posted three videos ( how to do a french braid, how to cornrow and how to do african stretching hairstyle) can you please check my pinterest page and please give me feedback I really need it. Yes I hate follow me I follow you back, that method is big on youtube, I did that when I first started and it’s not good at all.
Welcome’s House
This is awesome! Thanks for all the amazing tips 😀
How do you go about getting onto group boards? I’m on a few but was invited.
Hi Vicki,
You have to go to the group board you want to be in and look at the requirements. They may ask to email them or follow them. Good luck!
Great info! I have been trying to join group boards on Pinterest but no one will invite me even though I follow the directions. I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Any thoughts?
Hi Christie,
It could be your pin graphics, your profile, your website or your followers. If you look too new, they many not accept you; if your pins aren’t suitable for their audience, they my not invite you. Look at those elements and try to boost those! Good luck!
Thanks for the helpful article! I will definitely have to try these!
Thank you for this very helpful article. Your clever ideas really are easy! Best wishes for continued success! I am going to implement these principles for my life coaching and pet sitting businesses.
Hi Lycia!
You’re welcome and thanks so much! Please update me on your progress in those niches 🙂 I’d like to see if these tips help you out!
I loved your blog post on Pinterest. I agree there is a way to manage Pinterest that can work for you better. Also thanks for suggesting those photography websites I especially like pexels .com
Hi Brittany,
Thank you so much!I love Pinterest and it’s the perfect social media tool!
Great post, Thanks! I’m definitely going to join more group boards and give Tailwind a try. 🙂
Hi Jo!
Awesome! You should see a boost in your traffic when you do that! Good luck!
Elna, thank you for your reply.
Erm, let me explain:
Our original Poster from South Island – New Zealand has been saved/pinned over 2.1k times. But when using Tailwind, we don’t seem to be able to get more Pins to the original poster.
Which means, we still have the original at 2.1k, but the same Poster that was scheduled looks like a “new” one only showing 47 pins now.
We have downloaded the original Poster directly from Pinterest to Tailwind. So it should be adding the extra pins right?
Are we doing anything wrong? 🙂
Hi Telma,
If you have the 2.1k pin in your board and then use Tailwind to schedule from that board, just click on that pin and Tailwind will schedule that pin 🙂
I think I have figured it out 🙂
Hi Elna!
Came across your article…just in time! 🙂
I signed up to Tailwind, so really trying to understand it.
Yesterday scheduled up to 100 pins for the next 5 days. So today I am having a look at it, and the pins that were scheduled came up as “new” Pins. But when looking at our board, we have Pins that have been quite successful, that have been pinned 200/300 and one even 2.000 times before using Tailwind.
So why when we schedule the Pins through Tailwind it looks like it’s new Pins?
Does my question makes any sense?
Thanks
Hi Telma,
Not sure what you mean by “new pins?” You have to schedule the pin with all those saves if you want that to circulate. If you schedule right from your blog or use another circulating pin then it may look ‘new.’
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve been doing exactly what you’re doing here for months and am not seeing much growth. I’m guessing that your Tailwind system must be different from mine then. Do you have a blog post or place where you share in detail how you post to Tailwind? I can share what I use if that helps you compare yours to mine.
Hi Heidi,
Sorry to hear that. I do have this post where I talk more about Tailwind, but not sure if I dive deep into what I do on Tailwind since all I do is schedule via board lists to my group boards. https://twinsmommy.com/tailwind-skyrocketed-traffic/
This is an excellent summary of all the things you need to do to get exponentially more followers in Pinterest! It’s clear and do-able. Thank you.
I’m so new to all of this. I’m a wedding music looking to engage with brides and grooms. On my website I’ve included a few blog posts so far, but absolutely need to make the content better and with more images. I’m just at a loss sometimes for inspiration on what to write about. On my business Pinterest account, I’ve included boards to help inspire brides and grooms. Pretty much the only ones that redirect back to my website/blog are on my Texas Harmony board. What in the world should I do to change the number of conversions from people clicking to actually visiting my blog for wedding ideas? And do you have articles on brainstorming what to blog about??? I know there are tons of pins out there but I’m pinned out for the night. Lol
Thanks in advance,
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer!
Thank you for commenting. Yes, blogging can be an uphill battle for sure. What I find that helps is planning out and having a strategy to do it all 🙂 I think you need to create more pins that direct back to your blog as well as join group boards related to your niche. I also feel you need to guest post to get your blog out there!
As for content ideas, I don’t have a post on that yet (but might later), for now look at your competition or look on social to find topics!
Good luck!
Excellent post, thank you for sharing!! I’m just getting started on Pinterest and Tailwind…learning as I go. I’ve joined several groups which it has been nice to pin more per day but I need to join a lot more in order to drive traffic to my TPT store. 🙂
Hi Belinda!
Thanks so much. Yeah, join more group boards to grow your brand and reach for your blog! Pay attention to the followers. You want to join groups with a lot of followers 🙂
thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. i am just thinking about getting started with social media and driving viewers to my sites.
Hey Karen,
That’s great and good luck 🙂
How do you track which group board you are pinning what to? I’m so worried I’m accidentally going to spam a group or break the rules by mistake, but with writing the blog, promoting it and working full time I don’t seem to have enough time.
Hi Vicky,
Set your schedule pins a day based on how many group boards or boards you want to pin to. If you only have 10 boards and three of them are group boards, you can’t set your schedule to 100 pins a day! You might get by with 20 but there will be duplicates.
The more boards you have, the more pins your can schedule. It also depends on the group board you belong to. If there are only 10 contributors, your pins may flood their feed. If that’s the case you just have to pop in to your boards and not put those types of boards in your schedule. I belong to over a 100 group boards, but not all of them are in my Tailwind schedule. Many of them only have 5 or 10 contributors, so I don’t pin to them or have stopped pinning to them until they get more contributors.
Play around with the amount of pins you schedule. In the beginning, I did get kicked out of some boards, but I just joined more…I now found a good balance between my group boards and Tailwind schedule. In fact, I can even pin more than 100 since I have more than 100 boards to pin to!
Hi Elna! Thanks for the great info. I plan on checking out Tailwind today! I have two pinterest accounts and they both have approximately 100,000 followers on each. I am also on several group boards. I generally avoid pinning images that link to my website on them, as I’m not sure if board owners would be bothered by this. I’d love to know your thoughts on this.
Hi Tracy!
Thanks so much and that’s great you have a lot of followers!
Thanks for all the tips here. I’ve been growing on pinterest, too, but still need to accelerate things. I’ve been finding it challenging to get into more of the top decor boards (I do flooring) as many are closed to new pinners). I’ve also been collaborating with a friend of mine who has a larger following and more group boards, and we are helping each other.
Hi Debbie!
Thanks for commenting on this post! That’s great that you are still growing on Pinterest! Good luck!
Thank you Elna,
I finally get it. I’ve BEEN trying to find a way to promote my blog post on Pinterest, but never thought about joining groups.
You’re amazing xo
Hi Keshia!
You’re welcome! Yeah, groups were a new thing for me too. Now, it’s all I think about 🙂
Hi Elna
Sorry I guess I am not so smart after all…Lol Lol
I was trying to ring where to follow you ? I see others do it with me but I have never done it before?
Thanks again!
Lynn
I have never done anything like this before…thank you so much! Now I get it!
I am a middle aged momwho has a chronic illness and I pin (mostly art) to pass the time. Next thing I know I have over 20K pins!
If I am going to do this I may as well make a little money right? Sure could use it..
Thank you again. I promise you one thing…when I have many followers I will contact you again.
Lynn
Hi Lynn!
That’s great and I’m sure if you use affiliate link in Pinterest you will make some income! Good luck.
Hey Elna,
Great post, very helpful. I’ve been using Tailwind for a couple weeks now, pinning around 30 pins/day, but pinning mostly other people’s content. I’m in 10-15 group boards.
Question for you: How often are you re-pinning the same thing to the same boards? Or once you pin a post to a given board, is that the last time you pin to that board?
My blog is relatively new..around 20 posts. So once I’ve scheduled these 20 post pins across all my group boards, I’ve essentially run out of my own content to pin (aside from when I write new posts).
How often are you re-pinning the same stuff in the same place?
Thanks so much in advance for any help on this! 🙂
– Eric (yes, a dad blogger who is very involved with the mommy blogging realm)
Hi Eric!
Congrats on your new blog 🙂 That’s awesome you’re using Tailwind. For your questions:
1. I repin the same content all the time. I have set posts (with content upgrades) that I always schedule. Then I schedule my new pins from new posts, then any alternate graphics that I created for popular posts and then other people’s posts. The ratio is something like 80% me and 20% others.
2. I don’t know how often I’m repinning to the same board, since in Tailwind, I shuffle my schedule and it just pins to whichever board. But, I belong to a ton of group boards (70+) so one pin to one group board probably is pinned once a week or less.
Thank you so much for your resources! They are appreciated
Hi Cintrena!
You’re welcome so much! So happy you found some great tips to help you grow your Pinterest followers.
Hello Elna,
this is a very helpful post, I was searching for half an hour finally found an actionable post, will implement from today
thanks for sharing
Hey Rajiv!
Thanks so much for letting me know. I hope these tips will help you grow your Pinterest followers!
Awesome post Elna.
Tailwind is probably the best Pinterest scheduling tool and it takes care of almost all the difficult stuff.
Even I have started being active on Pinterest and current have around 800 followers. Let’s see if I can grow it to 2K in three months following the tips you’ve mentioned.
Good luck Shafi!
Why are the best Pinterest advices always given on women blogs ? Is that a conspiracy ? You want to rule the pinterest world without us ? 😀
Hi! Great post! I’ve only just gotten back to Pinterest after ignoring it (I know, I know) and just started using Tailwind. What do you mean about dripping your posts over the course of a week or month? What exactly is the strategy there, and how do you do it? Also, how do you get 100 recommended optimal times with the free tailwind? They only offered me three optimal times to start. Did you just add to that general time period manually, or am I missing something? Thanks!
Hi Dawn,
When I signed up to Tailwind they were offering 100 free pins to schedule. That’s what I mean. When you create you schedule Tailwind learns when your optimal times are and will let you know in your schedule by outlining it in green those times.
Dripping just means using their Interval option. When you schedule a pin, at the bottom is their Interval option. I hope that makes sense?
I’m doing most of these, and seeing some success already. I’ve only just started that account though (for my travel blog). Fingers crossed it’ll look as good as your Pinterest profile in a few months’ time! Thanks for the encouragement and inspiration!
Anne,
That’s awesome! So glad you are using these tips. Keep me updated on your progress!
Thanks for the information and tips. I’ve pinned this:).
Looks like it’s time to start using Tailwind.
Hey Stacy,
YES! Tailwind rocks and it’s so easy to work. I have no time to stay on social media to promote my blogs. It’s enough that I have to do that for my FB promotes on FB groups.
I do really like Pinterest but I have yet to put in the time and effort into making it more active with more followers. I have followed a few of these steps already and I noticed a difference right away with the name changing. Thanks for this post. I will be pinning it for future reference.
Hey Amy,
Yeah, I don’t spend ANY time trying to grow my following. Just being on group boards and using Tailwind is enough to generate followers 🙂
Tailwind is awesome, thanks for sharing the list of great pics!
Jen!
You’re welcome. Tailwind does rock and I LOVE it. It’s totally helped me put my blog “on the map” so to speak. Now the issue is to keep growing 🙂
Got it . Thank you Elna! 🙂
Hi Elna! Really useful article, like usual 🙂 . I have a few questions though : Do you use Tailwind to re-pin other people’s pins as well? Or just to repin your own? A lot of the group boards have rules about repinning a lot, and of course that is nice to do! But I imagine with over 60 group boards, you have a lot of repinning to do!
Also, how do you create the group board list template? I just upgraded for the Pro version of Tailwind and I love it, but I thought you have to manually add each group board to the pins you want to be repinned.
Hi Delia!
Thank so much. Yes, with Tailwind I do repin other people’s content. I also pin my guest posts and blogger friends’ content 🙂 So far, I’m not spamming group boards. Tailwind does a good job at dripping my pins across all my boards.
In Tailwind, on the side bar go down to “Board List” I think it’s called. From here you create a new list and just add all the group boards in a similar category. So, if you want to break up blog growth into social media, blog traffic, make money, freelance then you would put the appropriate group boards (and yours too) under those corresponding lists.
Thank you so much! Awesome tips. I’m right at the point where I need to up my pinterest game. This is really valuable to me 🙂
That’s great!
Pinterest is awesome for bringing traffic back to your blog! Good luck!
Awesome post! I’m in desperate need of some Pinterest help. I currently have 616 followers and have been stuck there for months now. It’s horrible. I’ve used Tailwind a handful of times, but nothing super serious. Same with Pinterest groups. I’m in a couple but not many. I think I just need to really hone in on it and find a way to stay focused.
xo, Keating | Why Hello Lovely
http://www.whyhellolovely.com
Hey Keating,
Thanks for commenting. Yeah, it all depends on your schedule, your pins and then your content. If these don’t work around each other, it might be hard to grow your followers. Try changing up your pins and increasing your scheduling!
Sup interesting and handy tips, I am using boardbooster now, but once I increase my income I think I might make the switch!
Hey Allyson!
Sup yourself! 😛
Yeah, Tailwind rocks! I love it and it’s super easy to use. I only check Pinterest once a day (for fun) but schedule once every two weeks now (since I lowered my schedule from 200 pins a day to 100 pins a day).
Wow, this is great! I’ve been trying to get more traffic to my blog, primarily with Pinterest, and I haven’t been having much luck. I’m definitely going to try branding and Tailwind! Thank you for sharing!
Hey Samantha!
Thanks so much. So happy you found some inspiration for your blog and traffic. Yes Pinterest is the gateway to get tons of traffic and subscribers. Good luck!
great post! Pinterest is where I’m really trying to grow 🙂 I just started on tailwind, it looks like you can really automate that yes? I’ll have to look more into that (I’m on the free trial) worth the $9.99 per month?
Hey Bekah!
Yeah Tailwind rocks. And it’s totally worth it to pin like 100 pins a day or more. You get traffic and subscribers by the boatload 🙂
Hi Elna. I haven’t used Tailwind, but I use Board Booster. Do you have a side by side comparison of those two tools? I’d like to see the pros and cons of each.
Hi Sarah,
Board Booster isn’t officially a tool for Pinterest (i.e. Pinterest hasn’t approved BoardBooster for scheduling pins). There is a risk then, of your profile being taken down. But, I haven’t heard anything yet about that.
I personally like the dashboard of Tailwind. It’s a drag and drop function and it’s easy to schedule my pins. I found BoardBooster harder to work and I really didn’t like the dashboard.
I think it boils down to preference?
Amazing tips, as always, Elna! I need to get on the group board boat – stat!
Hi Jill!
Thanks so much. YES! The group boards have really accelerated my growth quickly. Good luck and check out my profile first 🙂
Hi Elna:
Great post (as always)!
I can’t seem to figure out how to find Group Boards on Pinterest. Is there a way to search for them on Pinterest?
Hi Kirstie!
The easiest way I find Pinterest group boards is to go to other profiles in your niche and check out what groups they are in! Click on the group and see the guidelines. 🙂 You can also go on Facebook and catch threads on new Pinterest groups. Or you can ask if any one has a Pinterest group to join.
This is awesome. I used up my free trial of Tailwind and switched to Boardbooster, but I do find I am missing Tailwind. I may have to switch back!
Hey Megan!
Good luck with Tailwind. I love it!
I love all of your tips and resources! I joined Abby’s group board and scheduled some pins for it. Thank you so much!
Hey Niki!
Awesome girl. Abby is the BEST isn’t she? Love her group board and blogs. Thanks for stopping by.
Great tips Elna!
I need to get on the ball with Pinterest. Even though it is one of my top traffic drivers, if I spent time on groups like you suggested it would probably be better.
I’m definitely going to try Tailwind. I’ve read posts about Tailwind but I cannot remember if it ever mentioned that pins based on when our followers are on Pinterest…that right there has me sold. 🙂
Way to go on your followers Elna! Thanks for the tips. Hope all is well hun. 🙂
Cori
Hey Cori!
That’s great that you’re going to give Tailwind a try. It really helped me grow my traffic and followers. Of course, you need group board to pin to maximize your Tailwind strategy. Thanks for coming over and leaving a comment! Good luck!
Wow Elna, you’ve really gained a lot of followers! I think I might need to join more group boards or something – my followers are growing very slowly.
Do you use the interval function to drip out your pins over time to your group boards at all? I was doing this to get my pins to drip out over 1 month, but then I read something on Lady Boss League about dripping them out over a week. So I’m giving that a go. So long as I publish a new post once a week, I’ll have fresh content going out to my group boards consistently.
Hey Cath!
Thanks for stopping by and commenting! Yes! Join more group boards! But, I thought you were already on a lot? Oh, maybe that’s FB 🙂 As for the interval function, I had no idea that was an option in Tailwind. I honestly don’t stay in the dashboard of Tailwind so I’m learning as I go. How is that different from scheduling them based on your schedule? Is this so you don’t “spam” a group board? So far I haven’t had that happened even when I was scheduling 200 pins a day. I’ll go over to Lady Boss League and find that post! Thanks
Yeah I’m only on about 30 group boards on Pinterest. I’m in waaay too many FB groups… XD
I started using interval because I was hugely paranoid about spamming group boards (it took me ages to even get up the courage to post anything to the first one, lol) and mainly because I thought it would be good to drip the content out over time rather than in one big rush. Initially I thought that I could just keep each pin cycling through my group board list indefinitely, but that doesn’t take into account that as I make more pins, they start to stack and I might overwhelm the boards.
Does that make sense? It seemed like a good idea at the time!
Hey Cath,
Yeah it makes sense. Maybe with not a lot of group boards that can be a problem. Since I think I have like 70, my 200 pins weren’t overloading any one group board. I’ve dropped to 100 and when I go to various group boards I can scroll A LOT before I see my pin. Is that a good thing? Not sure yet.. Only time will tell.
I have a question about group boards.
On the one hand, I’ve heard that unless they’re “good” group boards, don’t bother. This came from someone who grew her Pinterest from 6k to 80k+ in one year, and hit $100k+ income 1st year.
But then I see successful peeps such as yourself, who joined tons of boards, and I know some of them have less than 1% virality & engagement scores.
So my question is, do you think the virality & engagement scores matter?
My Pinterest acct (pinterest.com/HerCountryMusic/) is only growing 10% a month and I really want to light a fire under it!
Look forward to hearing your take on the group boards. Thx!
Hi!
That’s a great point. Of course, you can just focus on group boards with a lot of followers, and that’s what I do, but I also belong to smaller group boards. I think any group board is a great group board since you’re growing your reach!
Hi Elna,
Great post! I think I definitely need to re-do my Pinterest bio. The other thing is that I want to join some more groups. This building my followers has been quite challenging but it’s a work in progress that I won’t give up on.
Now that I’m starting to find my way on what I want to specialize in I can definitely input some keywords that focus in on a specific niche. I have been using Tailwind for about a month and really like it.
Thank you for sharing. It’s a good reference to come back to.
Hey Lorin!
That’s great you found some tips to help you optimize your Pinterest profile. Keywords are important as well as having a good presence on the platform! Good luck.