Pinterest & Blogging 101: Tips and Tricks

I decided to create a little mini-series on how to maximize your blog through Pinterest for all you fellow bloggers out there, particularly new bloggers. I never really realized how great Pinterest could be for my blog until I took a chance and decided to pin some of my recipes. I've been blogging for a year now, and let's look at my top 3 posts of all time, according to pageviews:

1. Crockpot Cocktail Weenies
2. Crescent Sausage Breakfast Casserole
3. 3 Ingredient Crockpot Pulled Pork Sliders

Each one of these posts has over 2000+ pageviews and counting, all because I decided to pin them to Pinterest. That may not be many pageviews for some bloggers, but it's pretty high for me! Pinterest can do a lot for your blog, especially if you like to post recipes, DIY ideas, cleaning and organization tips, etc. First I talked about how to verify your website on Pinterest. Last week, I taught you how to create the "Pin It" button. Today, let's wrap up this miniseries with a few tips and tricks I've learned along the way.

1. When you pin your content on Pinterest, upload a photo that is relevant to your blog post and highlights your offering. When browsing Pinterest, the image is what catches your eye, not the description. If you pin a blog post with no pictures, you will be forced to pin it under an image on your blog template, like your header. Nobody is going to click on your famous spaghetti recipe if it's a picture of your blog header, so make sure you have a picture of that fabulous spaghetti so people will get to pinning.

2. When you pin your content, use searchable, descriptive terms in the description box. This will help your content show up in search engines as well as searches within Pinterest. For example, if I were pinning my favorite pumpkin bread, I wouldn't describe it as "Parker's favorite meal ever" because that has no meaning to anyone but me. Instead, I would say "Pumpkin bread- delicious and easy".

3. Create multiple pin boards for different content. This will allow you to separate your content into categories so your pins will show up in those categories on Pinterest. For example, I have a separate pin board for diy and recipes, and I have another board where I have pinned all of my wedding posts. All pins are coming from the same website (my blog), but separating them into categories makes it easier for others to find and pin your content.

4. Repin old content when it is relevant. Sometimes, you will pin something only to have it get lost in a sea of other pins. It may get repinned once or twice, but that's it. This may happen, but there is no rule saying you can't repin it. I am not suggesting you repin your content every day or even very often at all (let's face it, that would be annoying), but repin it when it is relevant. For example, I might repin my DIY wedding invitation Christmas ornament again next December. It was a popular pin this Christmas season, and I think I can reintroduce it next Christmas as well. 

5. Pin your content during peak Pinterest times. Believe it or not, this is a real thing folks. According to a recent study, Pinterest has the most activity between 2-4 PM and 8:30PM-1AM. However, Saturday morning is by far the best time for pinning. If you can't pin during peak times, you can use an app called Pinwoot that allows you to pin content in bulk and schedule the pins in advance. Fancy, huh?

I hope this helps some of you fellow bloggers out there! Pinterest can be an amazing tool for your blog, so jump right in! I've enjoyed creating this miniseries and hope some of you have gotten something out of it. If you ever have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!

Dont' forget to follow me on Pinterest!