winning Pinterest account Archives - Social Media Just for Writers

Last week I received the following message from Pinterest:

Naturally, I was excited but I also wondered which board had impressed the team at Pinterest. As of this writing, I still don’t know, and it’s difficult to determine which of the 61 boards (with 3,711 pins) I’ve created so far is being featured.

This unexpected email from Pinterest prompted me to review by account. I would never describe myself as a rabid pinner similar to those fictional characters in some of those Somee cards who are drinking wine while pinning and are unable to pry themselves away from their computers.

But I am a steady user, and I’ve created a variety of boards.

Pinterest Statistics to Blow Your Mind

Since Pinterest launched in March 2010, it has acquired users at a quick clip. According an April 2014 report by Digital Marketing Ramblings:

The total number of users reached 70 million in July of 2013.
As of April 24, 2014, there are 750 million boards and 30 billion pins.
Women still outrank men and remain 80% of the user base.
An estimated 35% of users access Pinterest only with their mobile device. However, As of February 6, 2014, 75% of Pinterest daily traffic arrived via mobile applications.
There were 500,000 business accounts on Pinterest as of July 1, 2013.
This is an interesting fact if you want to sell more books: Pinterest’s growth in web traffic referrals between September 13 and October 13, 2013 was 30.06%.
Pinterest is becoming more popular across the pond, as well. Pinterest’s growth in international traffic is a whopping 125%.
The percentage of social referrals to commerce sites, such as Amazon, was 20% as of September 16, 2013. You know that the number has increased since then.

8-Point Strategy to a Winning Pinterest Account

If you haven’t opened a Pinterest account, you may want to sign up for my free Pinterest Just for Writers eBook. Whether you’re a Pinterest novice or a regular user, you may want to consider a strategy I use.

Create topical boards that reflect your book’s theme or genre. I write books about social media, so I have twelve pinboards related to social media. Let’s say that you wrote a historical romance novel. You might want to create pinboards under the following categories: romance, romantic meals, quotes about love, Western romance, Western jewelry, cowgirl boots, and examples of fashion and carriages used in the era you depict.
As a writer, you might want to create boards filled with visual writing prompts.
If you love to read, you can create pinboards in these categories: your favorite books, your affection for reading, images of bookstores and libraries, and favorite fictional characters from books you’ve read.
Create a pinboard that supports other Indie authors.
Are there certain quotes from authors that help to get your creative juices flowing? Create a pinboard for them.
Create pinboards that will attract other users, especially those who almost exclusively pin images of food and DIY projects.
If you speak Spanish, create some pinboards using Spanish titles.
Support other authors. I’ve created pinboards for two friends of mine that focus entirely on their books.

What has been your experience with Pinterest?

photo credit: mkhmarketing via photopin cc

About the Author: Frances Caballo is a social media manager for writers and author of Avoid Social Media Time Suck: A Blueprint for Writers to Create Online Buzz for Their Books and Still Have Time to Write, Social Media Just for Writers: The Best Online Marketing Tips for Selling Your Books and Blogging Just for Writers. Presently, she is the Social Media Manager for the Women’s National Book Association-SF Chapter, the San Francisco Writers Conference, and the Bay Area Independent Publishers Association. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Google+.