
Promote Your Book with Pinterest: 5 Best Ways
As promised, here is the second in the series of about promoting on social media for authors. If you missed the first one, here is Promote Your Book on Social Media: Extend Your Reach. Keep your eyes open for more in the series soon!
Pinterest Basics
If you’ve never been on Pinterest, or need a refresher, here you go:
- How to Pin
- Five Things You’re Doing Wrong on Pinterest and How to Fix Them
- Pinterest: Top Ten Tasks and Power Tips
- For other articles about Pinterest, search my website.
- Master these basics before moving on and you’ll become proficient in advanced topics more easily.
Set Up a Business Account
Make sure that you have a Pinterest business account so that you can access the analytics. The analytics help you see which pins are getting the most traffic so you can duplicate your efforts later.

Master the Basics | Photo by Bengisu Kaya
Get Your Website Verified
The little red checkmark next to your website (see image below) gives you more credibility. Here’s how to claim your website from the folks at Pinterest.

Link your Pinterest to Facebook and Twitter
Link Your Pinterest to Your Twitter and Facebook
Pinterest defaults to your personal Facebook account, so you may want to put your business Facebook account in your profile somewhere (unless you’re using your personal Facebook account to promote).
Have a Book Board
Your book board could have lots of snippets from your book. Make sure you completely fill out each pin with a full description (this means key words). For instance, instead of “great chapter,” say something like “here are ways to sell your Avon products, in infographic format” (or whatever the chapter is about). You could create a simple and short hashtag, too, such as #DIY.

Create a Book Board with Favorite Authors
Make sure your book board is up at the top of your account. Most people are on mobile these days, so if your board is at the top of your account, others will see it first. Right next to your book board, put your most popular board. So if your board about tamale recipes is getting lots of repins, put that board next to your book board. Optimise your Pinterest board by telling people what the board is about.

Photo of Edward Gorey © 2004 Steve Marsel Studio Inc.
Create Boards of Your Favorite Authors
Create a variety of boards to interest your readers. For instance:
- pins of your favorite authors,
- how to edit, and
- how to write.
Reveal your personal interests on Pinterest to attract more potential readers.
Pinterest is about 80% women, so boards need to be beautiful and appeal to women. You could also include boards on humor, lifestyle, characters in your book, a place board in the location where your book takes place, etc. Be generous to other pinners by liking, commenting on and repinning their pins.
Has This Been Helpful?
Use some of these hints and let me know how you do with them!
Five Things You’re Doing Wrong on Pinterest and How to Fix Them
Five Things You’re Doing Wrong on Pinterest and How to Fix Them
If you’re a business on Pinterest, then you probably would like to get more business. Am I right about that? And if you’re not getting any engagement on Pinterest, chances are you’re making one or more of these mistakes.
Not Clicking Through
What that means is keep clicking until you get to the other side of that pin. Where does it lead? Personally, I hate a dead end. And Pinterest now makes it easier than ever to see where a pin leads. You can hover over a pin and see the source. But occasionally, you’ll still wind up on a porn site or one that’s been blocked. You don’t want that happening on your own account, however.
Fix: Check every pin. Here’s a basic primer on how to pin.
Not Answering Comments?
Not Answering Comments
When people talk to you, answer them. If someone says hello to you in real life, you say hello back, right? Do the same thing on Pinterest! Especially if you’re just starting out. That doesn’t mean you need a 300-word reply to every single person, but a “thanks for stopping by!” or “glad you enjoyed the pin” go a long way toward having a truly social account.
Fix: Answer the people who bother to comment on your pins if at all possible. And if you’d like to know how to get comments, Tailwind has written a good article. (I like their advice to comment on others’ pins and you’ll get comments back.)
Not Filling Out Your Profile
It really doesn’t take that long to fill out your profile. Write down a few things about you or your brand, put in your website and your interests, and upload a picture. Having the red pushpin as your profile picture is a lot like having the egg pic on Twitter (you know who you are!).
Fix: Spend the ten minutes to fill out your profile before you get started.
Not Following 10,000 Accounts
Not Following 10,000 Accounts
Yes, everyone desperately wants followers. But pinning good content will really be better in the long run. Have a little patience. Look for good stuff that people want to see.
Fix: Pin more good content and follow just a few people at a time.
Would You Follow You?
Would You Follow You?
I was thinking about this the other day, while fixated on a new DIY front door that I could make out of pallets and Mason jars (that’s a Pinterest joke). Would you follow you? That is, are you pinning high-quality articles, images, and videos that interest you? Are you putting in the time to craft great headlines that tell people what that article is about? If not, you might want to brush up on writing headlines.
Fix: Check out your competition. Could you do something that they do, if their Pinterest is getting more followers?