People keep asking me about how to pin, hence this post. If you missed it, you can read my post about the Biggest Mistakes to Make on Pinterest, as well as the Top Ten Tasks and Power Tips on Pinterest.

Clicking Through

You see pretty things, pins about creating lamps out of mason jars and building doghouses from used pallets. Why not simply pin them? You see that beautiful painting? Maybe it’s already sold, and you’re sending someone to something like the above message. You could update your pin by saying it’s sold under the pin (and recommend other works by the same artist), or you could remove the pin altogether. Why? Because it’s considerate of your audience, which you wish to grow on Pinterest. And it creates trust when they click on something and what you say is there is there. Here’s a snazzy article about “5 Things Not to Repin on Pinterest,” which I enjoyed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dead Links

Sometimes websites are updated and links change. Something might have moved. If you find one of these above two messages, you can go in and change the website that your pin points to by clicking on the little pencil. Your audience will appreciate not finding a 404: Not found error message behind that beautiful pin. Or, if you love the image, you can say “Image only” to let people know there’s nothing more. If you have a choice, though, choose the one with a permalink that goes to the actual thingamajig. For instance, if there’s a gorgeous cake, wouldn’t you like the recipe? What if someone leaves the cake out in the rain? Oh my goodness! I’m cracking myself up! Seriously, don’t make people dig around on a huge recipe site searching for that cake recipe. They will curse you as they drive to the store to buy a cake.

 

 Spam

You know that cute teddy bear party, where they’re all having tea in the meadow and the one in the tutu is pouring? Sometimes bad people put spam behind those cute pictures. Or porn. Please don’t send all the kids and their moms to those sites when they want more info about the teddy bear picnic. Instead, report those spammers! Kids want bears, not bares!

What to Say?

You know what not to pin, but what should you say? I like to think of Pinterest as a mini-Google. Actually, it’s better than Google, in my opinion, because it’s image-driven search. So think about your audience. What are they looking for? Say that!

Tell People What to Expect

If you click through and there’s only an image, tell people that. If there are lots of pictures on the site, say that. Describe the pin a little bit. Here’s an example.

If someone is searching for “tiny house with rooftop terrace,” chances are they’d find this pin. On the other hand, if you say “cute,” how many people are searching for the word “cute”? Odds are, not very many. So describe your pin and your chances of being found will be greater. I could even add the word “brick house,” or “wooden deck,” and more people would probably find this pin.

Add Context

Adding your own personality makes a pin much more attractive. You could cut and paste a description (better than nothing), but adding your perspective gives people another reason to follow you. For instance, the article above is all about bad examples of tiny homes (made out of pallets!), which I found funny, because personally I don’t understand the make-stuff-out-of-pallets craze, either.

How Do You Like to Pin?

Did I leave anything out? Please let me know in the comments below! Thanks!