Is Pinterest a Legit Source of Traffic?
In case that’s your first question, yes! Pinterest is driving LOTS of traffic to sites all over the web.
Here’s a screenshot of my traffic refers according to my JetPack stats for this past Sunday (Friday and Saturday were pretty much the same):
Pinterest sent more traffic to my blog than Facebook, Twitter or StumbleUpon!
Important side note: It’s worth noting that a high percentage of my readers are female and otherwise similar to the demographic of Pinterest. If you’re after a different demographic entirely you may not get the same results from Pinterest. Know your ideal reader and go where they’re at.
Start With Your Profile
Get signed up with Pinterest (if you need an invite, leave me a note in the comments and I’ll send you one) and fill out your profile including your website and social networking profile links. You can also add a short bio.
Think “Pinnable” Images
Which images catch your eye on Pinterest? What kind of images can you create for your blog posts that are likely to not just get looked at, but clicked on to visit the source?
If you look at the image on top of this post, it’s intentionally designed as an image that will work on Pinterest to share this post and get clicks back to my website (because people want to see the answer to the question).
Watermark Your Images
Lots of images are shared without a link to their original source. Make it obvious where people can find you by adding a watermark to your images with your URL.
If you’re using WordPress, you can install the free plugin “Watermark Reloaded” and choose the font, size and color to add a watermark to any images you upload to your blog. See that small “michelleshaeffer.com” in the corner of the image above? That’s how I did it.
Add a “Pin It” Button
As Pinterest has soared in popularity, many of the popular social bookmarking plugins have added a “Pin It” button you can show. Check your plugin’s options and activate the Pinterest one.
This is important, especially as copyright concerns swirl. Let your readers know that you’re okay with them sharing your content on Pinterest by adding that button.
Now, the Ninja Tips!
Got the basics down? Great! Go check out this awesome article from the ever-fabulous Copyblogger for 56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest.
Oh, and Yes, You Can Promote Yourself
Here’s the scoop on what’s okay as far as promoting yourself on Pinterest, straight from their Etiquette page:
Pinterest is designed to curate and share things you love. If there is a photo or project you’re proud of, pin away! However, try not to use Pinterest purely as a tool for self-promotion.
So you can share your own stuff, just take it easy, like you do on any other social network. Remember to shoot for 80% other stuff / 20% your stuff, or better.
And do go check out that Copyblogger article because there are ways you can “promote” yourself without being “promotional.” For example, I’m sharing a recommended reading board–that’s not promoting me, but it is helping to establish my credibility as someone who’s doing my homework and keeping up with my industry, growing my own knowledgebase, etc.
Hi Michelle, Thanks for all the Pinterest info. I’m planning on getting started there soon, so I would appreciate an invite when you have time :-D
Sending you one now, Marianne. :)
Great into Michelle!
I am just loving Pinterest and it sure is addictive. Tough to get away from it, once you start!
I loved what you did with the image on top with “Watermark Reloaded” , but the image has to be credited to the site or place you got it from? And if that’s the case, how can we add our name to it? Or it’s a free image?
I know you had earlier written a post on free images, but most of them do need giving credit to the photographer or some kind of attribution. So, does one go about doing the needful?
Thanks for sharing :)
I’ve been using mostly royalty free images like the ones in this post so they didn’t require it. I am not sure though how exactly credit applies for the ones that require it, if on the post is sufficient or not. I’ll add that to my list to research.
I was going to ask the same question. Please keep us posted with your findings! :-)
Michelle,
Thanks for these great insights and links to the plug-in, etc. I’ve been knowing that I need to get involved more on Pinterest but haven’t put a ton of work into it. My cousin is a blogger and noticed the same thing–about traffic. One of her posts went viral there and she ended up getting like 11K visits one day (until that time had been her highest visit rating for a day). Now I think she’s up over 15K or something like that.
That’s awesome, Steve!! Thank you for sharing a success story. :)
I’ve just been studying up on Pinterest myself after experiencing the traffic it can bring you. Thanks for these tips, and I really love the tip on the free WordPress plugin for watermarking your images. Love using such helpful WP plugins.
WP plugins rock! :) Glad this was helpful for you, Rhonda.
Michelle,
That watermark plugin is the golden tip for me! Good post with great tips to be aware of when starting to use this new social media frontier.
Cindy
I ass happy to discover (and share) that one. :)
This is my first time to hear about Pinterest. Knowing this information is very interesting. I will look forward to study and apply your good advice Michelle.
It’s worth a look if your demographic is there, Farrel. It’s also a fun site to explore.
Thanks Michelle, that’s made it a bit clearer what it actually is, so might well go and have a look
Hey Sue, it makes more sense once you play with it a bit. It’s a neat concept.
It sounds like Pinterest is the social media source with the greatest social interaction…and positive social interaction is the goal!!! Seems like I am on my way to 56 Ways to Market Your Business…
So many options for online marketing. :)
I am totally clueless about Pinterest and am excited to learn about it and how I can use it.. Thanks for sharing.
I’m reading your post very carefully. All points are new for me. I must keep all the points in mind.
Michelle, I adore Pinterest. It is so creative, so inspirational and so perfect for us as designers. We can take inspiration directly from the catwalks in fashion weeks and use this in our maternity clothes collections. Where do you see Pinterest going next?
I was unaware of d fact that pinterest could be a better source of traffic than stumble upon……so now for sure i’ll start using it……………..thanks for d article……….!!
I’ve seen first hand that Pinterest is a top source of traffic. Wow!
I’ve used a number of tools previously but none were that great, a massive thank you for making life easier!
Happy Christmas
I’ve been trying to promote my blog on pinterest for a while but it’s pretty hard to get noticed because there are so many boards and endless amazing pictures. However, after reading this blog I realise that I probably been promoting my own stuff too much and will try to apply the 80/20 rule from this point on. Here is my pinterest page if anyone has feedback back:
https://www.pinterest.com/theluxedaily/
Also, if you have any tips on getting pinterest followers please do share!