In this Day 24 Pinterest Tips email, I'd like to talk about the timeline of a NEW pin.

Yes, we talked briefly about the timeline of a pin here in our Day 8 email...

But, as I was working today, I found myself doing things that, yet again, I realize I haven't talked about.

New Pins are great - and can provide an amazing boost to your traffic from Pinterest.

BUT - that does NOT happen right away.

As I was working today, I handwrote some notes that breakdown what happens "under the hood" when a NEW pin is made.

When you first pin a NEW pin

(ie, a NEW image to an EXISTING blog post),

Pinterest 'knows' NOTHING about that pin.

Now, I am NOT talking what you see when you're logged IN to Pinterest, ok?

I'm talking about EXTERNAL Pinterest -

Remember, Pinterest is a BUSINESS - just like you.

They want to rank well in Google and get more traffic - just like you.

And...

They want to make more money - just like you.

So what you see when you're logged in to Pinterest is the 'internal' stuff - and it's highly personalized and not a true representation of what EVERYONE sees.

We need to pay attention to the EXTERNAL stuff.

So, you make that New Pin and pin it.

It takes the Pinterest algorithm at LEAST 5-6 days to start assigning some keywords to it.

Nope, those New Pins don't go out directly to the Home Feed of your followers.

BUT they DO show up in the notifications area of the Pinterest app for those that follow you.

In short, Pinterest is hoping those that follow you will help give context to that New Pin.

Yes, give context by...

REpinning that pin to a board that helps Pinterest understand what that pin is about.

Also, Pinterest now uses those notifications as a 'test' of sorts - if that pin links to a cr@p site... pinners complain and Pinterest KNOWS this before EVER releasing it into the main Home Feed.

The good 'ol days of pinning a New Pin and it heading straight to the Home Feed of your followers for virtually INSTANT traffic are OVER.

Since Pinterest went public, they can't afford to do that anymore.

Let me rephrase...

They can't afford to RISK that anymore.

So - those first 5-6 days for your New Pin pass by.

Pinterest hopefully gains some understanding and context about your New Pin from other pinners.

But it STILL is not truly "released".

Pinterest is not going to show a darn thing to Google until the Pinterest algorithm is SURE it's "good", "safe" and relevant to the keywords it is being assigned.

At some point - usually about the 3-4 week mark - Pinterest will give your external Pin page a SEO title...

That title will most likely be the same as your blog post title (unless you work your Open Graph tags - hint).

Once that external Pin Page gets an SEO Title, that's when it's truly released... you can find it it external Pinterest search results... it will (hopefully) start sending traffic, etc.

But that whole process right there takes about a month.

As hard as I try, I cannot speed up that timeline.

All I can do is work hard to give Pinterest TONS of context ABOUT that New Pin so when that month-ish is up, my New Pin is a winner.

Yes, of course... if a New Pin is "found" via a pinners notifications, that pinner repins it and then suddenly those following THAT pinner starting repinning it, etc....

Sure, it COULD happen more quickly - but it's more "luck" than "skill".

As a general rule -

I learn all this by the source code of a Pin Page.

It tells a LOT.

I obsessively watch it and take notes that prove what a GEEK I am about all this.

But - it's the only way to learn what's REALLY happening.

For example, once those 30-ish days pass for a New Pin, that source code shows that they KNOW what the FIRST pin for that blog post url was.

How IMPORTANT they are?

They are UBER important.

- Learn the RIGHT way to search Pinterest for your Pins - Day 10 email

- Learn about First Pins - Day 19 email

- Q&A About First Pins - Day 20 email

There is SO much more about this that I could talk about - but it's really "geeky" and in-depth.

It's like a whole training guide alone - it's a LOT.

Just remember, those first 5-6 days of a NEW pin are crucial.

It'll take about a month for a New Pin to show you results.

(ie, HELLO EASTER PINS lol!)

Here we are - Day 22 - this has been the MOST fun - hope you're enjoying it as much as I am!

Today I want to talk about....

It's funny because tonight I was "doin' my thang" on Pinterest and realized I never really talked about this.

It feels weird and WRONG to repin your own pins, right?

"Everyone" says - don't do that!

Of course I do.

BUT... Not in the normal way.

I don't just open one of MY pins and REpin it.

I open my Pinterest Analytics -

and isolate the stats to the last 24 hours.

I LOOK at what pins people are clicking RIGHT NOW.

Then, I'll click thru the stats page TO that pin -

and click to see the pin analytics.

I'll look for that last board that pin was saved to...

OR...

The most recent board that is hella-good keyword-optimized...

For example...

Let's say the pin I'm working with is a Chocolate Cake recipe pin.

I look at the LAST board that pin was REpinned to AND...

the board name is...

{wait for it....}

A recipe pin was repinned to a board named 'architecture'

So NO - I do NOT repin from that board.

In that case, I went to the next board that pin was repinned to and it was named...

'Desserts'

Winner, winner!

I do NOT do this all the time.

About 3 times a week I will watch my 24 hour pin stats and do what I described above.

AND...

I have a LOT of other pins and New Pins and First Pins in-between.

The BEST repins you can get are from 'NORMAL' pinners - so work them without being 'too much'.

Actually, the BEST pins you can get are not your average 'repin'...

There is another type of pin/repin that is pretty amazing.

And it's what I noticed being a STRONG trend in my Viral Pin I talked about in Day 11.

I haven't talked about THAT yet -

BUT - now that my Viral Pin has calmed down just a bit, I think we'll talk about that tomorrow.

All day I find things I can't wait to share with you...

But it's in-depth.

AND

I forget this is an e-MAIL...

NOT an e-BOOK =)

Have a great day!

I'll be back tomorrow -

Pin Title Hacks and Secrets

Pin Design Rules To BREAK

Traffic-Driving Pinterest Pin Templates

Pinterest Niche Site Deep Dive

How To Get Pinterest 'Long Clicks'

(just an FYI - the pin templates ALONE are money)

Happy Day 21!For today's Pinterest Tips email we're going to do some Q&A and a Week 3 Recap.I know Recaps aren't that exciting, but it makes it a LOT easier for those that have missed emails...and a LOT easier for me =)Let's start with some quick Q&A

Q - Do You Ever DELETE Pins?A - Nope.The ONLY reason I would ever delete a pin is if I messed it up REALLY bad.really bad = messed up the url the pin links to.I have seen ugly pins and pins with typos and ALL kids of pins do well.Deleting pins, in my opinion, is a waste of time.Time that could be spent doing ANY of ALL the other things we bloggers need to be doing.

Q - Do You Ever Pin The SAME Blog Post URL Back To Back?A - Yes, I do.I don't do it OFTEN, but I do pin a url back-to-back when it makes sense to me.

Q - Do You ALWAYS Use ALL The Space Available For a Pin Description?A - No, not always.Sometimes, heck MANY times, my pin description will be a very specific longtail search phrase.

As they say - sometimes less is more.

You just gotta try all the things to find what works.Q - Is That "Very Specific Longtail Phrase" ON The Pin Image?A - Yes, if makes sense.

I DO try to make my pin title and words on my pin be very similar though.Q - Do You Think Pinterest Can Read WORDS On Pins?A - Yeah, I kinda do. I haven't run that theory though a really good test process to prove it, but I really feel that they can.We KNOW Pinterest can identify images - so to me, it just seems that they can also 'read' words, don't YOU think?

Q - Do You ALWAYS Change The Pin TITLE?A - Yes I do UNLESS I'm doing my special Hybrid Live Pinning thing I do - and then it's not an option for me to change the title.Q - Does It MATTER If You Change The Pin Title Or Not?A - In my opinion, yes.Remember, Pinterest plays the same SEO Game that we bloggers play. Our pin titles are the SEO Title Tag for those pin pages.Unique titles help Pinterest.and...Unique titles make it harder for Pintest to compete with YOUR blog post in Google search results.

Q - Is YOUR Pinterest Traffic DOWN Right Now?A - Oh yes, it's always down this specific time of year.We're in this "lull" after Valentine's Day but no real trend for St Patrick's Day, Easter or anything Spring-related YET.Not only is Pinterest traffic down, ALL traffic is kinda quiet -

and ad revenue is leaving a LOT to be desired right now.did I say that politely?

Q - What Do You DO When Pinterest Traffic is on a DOWN Trend?A - I pin my tail off for the next holidays / seasons etc.There is still a good 3 weeks for St Patrick's Day traffic and much more time for Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day and all the fun stuff to come.I also make note of what pinners ARE clicking and repinning right now to help me keep on point for potential trends at this time NEXT year.

Bottom Line When Things Feel YUCKY and SLOW Online...Don't sit there and stare at it -GET PINS OUT.Make New Posts.Do your blog 'busy work'.Get a blog Opt-In Going.Add new affiliate products to existing posts.You know, do ALL THE THINGS...Just do NOT sit and stare at it =)We simply can NOT force search trends or user behavior.

RECAP WEEK 3Here are the emails from our previous daily Pinterest Tips this past week:Day 16 Email Is HereDay 17 Email Is HereDay 18 Email Is HereDay 19 Email Is HereDay 20 Email is Here

I'll be back tomorrow -

Have a GREAT day!

Jennifer

~PotPieGirl

Pin Title Hacks and Secrets

Pin Design Rules To BREAK

Clickable Pinterest Pin Templates

Pinterest Niche Site Deep Dive

and

How To Get Pinterest 'Long Clicks'

Welcome to Day 19 of our Pinterest Tips emails.

Today we're talking about Pinterest and Google - and the threat to your blog posts.

We'll jump into that in just a moment.

Pin stats were like all dashes instead of numbers...

Pins weren't showing impressions - couldn't get into specific pin analytics...

Ugh!

The last time Pinterest acted up like this was because they were FINALLY going to update.

Well, they DID update.

And I thought we were safely back into this 'rolling update' type of thing they'd been doing for quite awhile.

Rolling Update = Instead of waiting weeks (or longer) for your pins to get keywords - Pinterest keeps a 'rolling update' going where pins get their keywords in DAYS all the time.

No big 'BULK' update - new pin out, pin gets updated with its keywords in 5-ish days or so.

Not a big deal for pretty much anyone BUT me haha!

If you tell me to 'sit and stay' and I *DO* what you asked...

I want my scooby snack right away =)

Ok - let's move on from me talking about Updates and Dog Treats -

And talk about Pinterest and Google.

The very FIRST pin made for that post url.

Pinterest LOVES "new".

Not just "fresh", but NEW.

Do you remember me telling you about my Viral Pin?

Well, that pin is still rocking along - it's been pretty amazing to watch.

The pin that went "Viral" for that post was...

The very FIRST PIN made for that new post about 5 months ago.

Yes...

As I've said MANY times...

I am a Pinterest Geek.

I'm just 'the cool chick that pins for other bloggers'

However, I AM a blogger, too...

So my thoughts are the same as ALL blogger's thoughts.

There is SO MUCH TO DO.

That said -

When bloggers make their FIRST pin for a NEW post with very little thought.

Trust me, I KNOW how much goes into a new post being "done".

Keywords, title tags, sub headings, images, alt text and on and on and ON.

By the time a post is 'done enough' to pin it, we bloggers are TIRED.

So, we grab some stock image, format it in a nice and neat 2:3 ratio size.... type some words on it... and -

Pin It.

Oh yes, it happens - a LOT.

You might want to consider something like my PIQ Strategy to find UNIQUE phrases for your PINS to take some pressure off your blog post (that you worked SO hard on optimizing).

In short, why... WHY would you give a beautiful title that you worked SO hard on to Pinterest?

Your pin image titles and descriptions do NOT have to match your targeted blog post keywords, ok?

One of my best performing pins ranks WAY BETTER than my blog post

Go figure haha!

Now, since Google has done this "swing" or whatever the heck they're doing - Pinterest does not rank as well as it used to for EVERYTHING...

But it still happens.

don't give all your hard work and potential organic traffic TO Pinterest.

Keywords for your post.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Welcome to Day 20!

I got THE best question today about "First Pins" -

and the best way to get those First Pins on Pinterest.

So that is going to be the topic of today's email.

My GOODNESS,

Stats are just useless - and I NEED stats to do what I do.

Between that, and a doctor's appointment, I can tell it's gonna be a long night.

Probably a long WEEKEND, but that's ok - I was off last weekend.

Alrighty, let's jump in and talk about 'First Pins'.

In yesterday's email, I said -

"Do you know what the MOST IMPORTANT PIN IS for a blog post?

The very FIRST pin made for that post url."

Meaning, the very first pin pinned for a brand NEW blog post.

The question I received today was GREAT!

(obviously, I'm writing an entire Tip email about it haha!)

M wrote in and asked this about First Pins...

Do you recommend manually creating that pin via Pinterest?

I've been in the habit of pinning directly from my blog post for the first pin.

But when I do that, it gives the pin the same title as the blog post -

and it sounds like you don't recommend that.

Alrighty -

In my experience, that First Pin needs to be pinned in a way that allows you, the blogger, the ability to control...

- the pin title

AND

- the pin description.

If you "Live Pin" from your blog, Pinterest will use your post title and the first bit of your blog post opening.

Pinterest uses OG Tags (Open Graph Tags) like Facebook does -

meaning, Pinterest pulls the same info that Facebook would pull if you shared your post on FB.

Now, if you use Yoast or a similar SEO plugin,

You CAN give a unique title and description for social sharing.

(ie, unique OG Tags)

For this email topic:

1 - Upload the image to Pinterest and pin it that way.

or

2 - Use Pinterest's option to 'Save From Site' on the Create Pin screen.

Enter your post url, pick which image, and then give it a unique title and description.

or

3 - Use Tailwind and change the pin title and description.

Again, in my experience...

If the first pin is "Live Pinned", the odds of your pin description being really GOOD are NOT good.

(unless you REALLY keyword stuff your opening paragraph haha!)

You want to give Pinterest the very best info you can about that specific pin image.

If you 'Live Pin' and that First Pin goes to a board that Google crawls often, you COULD have an issue with Pinterest outranking your new post.

Eventually, YES, pins from that post from you, or other pinners, will be just like Live Pins and have all your post info...

But HOPEFULLY, that won't happen until your new post has aged some and gained traction in Google.

No, of course not!

But I've found that it matters.

Ranking in Google is hard enough WITHOUT having to compete with your own pin on Pinterest.

Been there, done that...

and STILL dealing with that.

Once it happens, and Pinterest 'wins' in Google for your post title...

There is very little, if ANYTHING, you can do about it.

Tomorrow, February 18th is...

Just crazy...

16 years ago, my husband walked in to find me staring at a blank white screen on my computer.

He asked - "Whatcha doin'?"

I said - "I'm making a website"

insert a few moments of silence before he asked...

'Uh... WHY?'

My answer: 'Because I'm going to earn my living online'

queue MORE silence...

Then he carefully asked:

"Do you know HOW to do ANY of that?"

I turned around to him - looked him square in the eye and said.

"NO. But I WILL figure it out!"

Funny how confident I sounded when inside I doubted everything I was trying to learn and do.

But he never doubted me... says I'm a little 'scary' when I've got that determined look haha!

And he was right - it took me about 18 months of ALL the hours I could muster...

and I was earning a fulltime income online.

ALL self-taught.

In fact, I am constantly HUMBLED when I think back on these past 16 years.

Maybe YOU are at that point where YOU are doubting everything you do - wondering if it will ever come together.

I've been there.

You got this!

Hang in there - keep going.

I'm a little extra excited for this Day 17 Pinterest Tips email.

I've been pinning my fingers to the bone today - and I found myself doing something that is TOTALLY natural and a habit for me with NEW pins -

BUT...

I don't think I've talked about this technique with YOU before.

Let's talk...

Pin Descriptions.

Specifically -

So...

You've got an "old post" that you're making a NEW pin for.

YAY!

That makes me SUPER happy!

I take that NEW pin image and create the most detailed, keyword "thick", pin description that I can.

I want the first time Pinterest "sees" that new image to be FULL of context and information.

And full of... well, KEYWORDS =)

Then, I'll take that exact same NEW pin image and I will pin it again with more specific keywords and/or another 'angle' with keywords etc

And I'll do that a few times for a NEW pin image.

No, not back-to-back...

No, NOT repins.

However YOU get NEW pins on Pinterest, do that.

You must be able to control the pin title AND pin description for EACH time you pin it.

The first time Pinterest 'sees' that image, it has a LOT of context to work with to 'decide' what that pin image is about.

BUT, as a general rule, Pinterest does not COMPLETELY decide what a pin image is about until there is an Update.

I offer Pinterest that SAME image multiple times with MORE context and information.

The pin might be a chocolate cake...

The pin descriptions AFTER the first super detailed description might be...

Easy cake recipes with chocolate frosting... [expand on that keyword stream]

Simple desserts for those that HATE vanilla cake... [expand on that keyword stream]

Homemade chocolate birthday cakes for kids... [expand on that keyword stream]

The one Holiday dessert I take to ALL Christmas parties.... [expand on that keyword stream]

Bake sale dessert ideas that sell REALLY well... [expand on that keyword stream]

Now OBVIOUSLY I have not checked keywords here in those examples - I'm just brainstorming out loud (through my fingers haha!)

For a cake recipe... name a HOLIDAY... name an EVENT... name an INGREDIENT.

SO much to work with -

and SoOoOOooooo much context to give Pinterest!

(BEFORE Pinterest decides if your pin is a "Susan" or a "Kevin" - that's from our Day 14 email)

For lack of better wording, Pinterest kinda "merges" pin information for SAME pin image / url combinations when they Update.

Your pin could rank for TONS of searches on Pinterest.

Honestly, that's how you might see a rando chocolate cake pin rank for school fundraiser ideas.

By doing this with NEW pin images for existing posts - those OTHER 'old' pins for your post...

Yeah, they can get ranked for those NEW keywords too.

I see it happen with client's pins I make.

I create a NEW pin for an existing blog post with a new angle on keywords in the pin description and title.

And THEN I see their "old" best-performing pin for that post suddenly start ranking for those NEW keywords.

It's really very cool to watch -

But - I'm a Pinterest Geek - so there's that =)

NO - you do NOT pin these pins back-to-back on the same account.

NO - there is no "right" interval of time BETWEEN these pins

NO - you can NOT 'Live Pin' these - you have to be able to control the title and description.

YES - you use the EXACT SAME PIN IMAGE.

Don't confuse Pinterest lol!

As for what BOARDS to pin them to...

Usually I START with the MOST RELEVANT board I have available.

Again, giving Pinterest the best context I can.

And then, as additional versions of that pin image go out, I go a little wider in relevancy board-wise.

That's NOT a MUST DO "Rule" - just how *I* do it.

And YES - you could have MULTIPLE pins of the SAME image ranking ALL over the place for ALL kinds of keywords.

If that's a PROBLEM for you, then by all means - don't try this haha!

.................................................................................................................

Welcome back! Today is Day 18 of our Pinterest Tips emails.

In our last Pinterest Tips email I said....

(missed it? read Day 17 here)

That statement seemed to have caused some confusion so I thought I would go a little deeper into this strategy.

Since 'chocolate cake' seems to be my safe 'go to' Pin topic, let's just keep on with that.

Plus - I LOVE chocolate cake -

ESPECIALLY those chocolate Nothing Bundt cakes - heavenly!

So the concept involves choosing your 'seed keyword' and then adding in 'modifiers' and 'qualifiers'

An example 'seed keyword' would be:

chocolate cake ideas for

or

chocolate cake recipes

Example 'modifiers' would be words like:

easy

simple

moist

cheap

Example 'qualifiers' would be words/phrases like:

for men

for birthdays

using box mix

from scratch

Getting away from the chocolate cake example for just a minute...

Pin descriptions (or titles) are things like:

Easy [modifier] party decorations [seed keyword] for outdoor birthday parties [qualifier]

Blue [modifier] laundry room ideas [seed keyword] for small apartments [qualifier]

Inexpensive [modifier] desk organization ideas [seed keyword] for home office [qualifier]

Now, well-keyworded pin descriptions are not ALWAYS that way - but they usually DO include modifiers and qualifiers with their seed keyword.

Now, back to chocolate cake =)

How MANY different things (ie, pin dsecriptions) could a chocolate cake blog post target with keywords?

Well, let me just show you a quick list I found in a few minutes:

chocolate cake ideas for men [expand that keyword stream]

chocolate cake ideas for boys [expand that keyword stream]

chocolate cake ideas for kids [expand that keyword stream]

chocolate cake ideas for anniversary [expand]

chocolate birthday cake ideas for women awesome [expand]

aesthetic chocolate cake ideas [expand]

wedding anniversary chocolate cake ideas [expand]

chocolate cake ideas for boyfriend [expand]

Easter chocolate cake ideas [expand]

easy chocolate birthday cake ideas [expand]

chocolate cake ideas for husband birthday [expand]

chocolate cake recipes using box mix [expand]

chocolate cake recipes from scratch [expand]

chocolate cake recipes easy [expand]

chocolate cake recipes homemade [expand]

chocolate cake recipes for Christmas [expand]

chocolate cake recipes for kids [expand]

chocolate cake recipes for beginners [expand]

chocolate cake recipes for birthday [expand]

recipes for chocolate cake [expand]

best chocolate cake for decorating [expand]

best chocolate cake for stacking [expand]

retirement party cakes for men [expand]

retirement party cakes for teachers [expand]

80th chocolate birthday cakes for women [expand]

simple graduation cakes chocolate [expand]

chocolate cake and brownie mix together [expand]

chocolate cake eggless recipes [expand]

flourless chocolate cake [expand]

chocolate lovers birthday cake ideas [expand]

amazing chocolate cake recipe [expand]

high altitude chocolate cake recipe [expand]

one bowl chocolate cake recipe [expand]

dense chocolate cake recipe [expand]

easy moist chocolate cake recipe [expand]

best homemade chocolate cake recipe [expand]

Hmmmm... does anyone REALLY have "leftover" chocolate cake?

(not THIS girl lol!)

As you can see, Pinners KNOW what they want and they search for pretty specific things.

- Use them in your pin descriptions

- Have other cake recipes that you can use the modifiers and/or qualifiers for?

Pin multiple DIFFERENT cake recipes using those same modifiers/qualifiers in the pin descriptions to 'tie them together'

- "Round Up" your OWN posts.

That means, if you have MULTIPLE chocolate cake recipes on your blog and ALL of them offer a 'high altitude' recipe version - make a NEW blog post with 'High Altitude Chocolate Cake Recipes' in your post title AND in your pin description(s) for that new post.

- "Round Up" other chocolate cake recipes

If YOU only have ONE chocolate cake recipe, but know other bloggers who would love to be in your Round Up post, do that.

Don't know other bloggers to be able to use their post images?

Then just use your OWN one chocolate cake recipe image and then simply link OUT to other chocolate cake recipes that fit your modifier/qualifier post title.

Any of those keyword phrases in the list above are not only great pin descriptions, they are also EXCELLENT ideas for NEW posts that feature your main chocolate cake recipe.

I know, it sounds too simple to work...

Take a look at your best performing pins...

What ELSE could they be?

Whew - I'm late today for Day 15.I have been nose down working 90-to-nothing ALL day.I'll tell you about that in just a minute.First off, yes, the email subject DID say "Recap Week 2"In order to keep MYSELF organized, I like to do a Recap every 7 days.So -

If YOU missed a previous day of Pinterest Tips, here's where you can read them:

Day 1 - Day 7 Recap EmailThat email has links to each email from Week 1Day 8 is hereDay 9 is hereDay 10 is hereDay 11 is hereDay 12 is hereDay 13 is hereDay 14 is hereAs you can see, it's a LOT to keep up with, so Recap emails make things MUCH easier for all of us

Ok, let's talk Pinterest.As I said, I have been pinning like a mad woman today...But I'm NOT mad - I am EXCITED.Usually after a Pinterest Update, things get sluggish...slow...Just weird.But THIS time after THIS update?Oh no - not even close - it's been GREAT!

And I *think* I've figured out something a little new about Pinterest.Or perhaps I should say, "New AGAIN about Pinterest".If you have older (or just plain OLD) pins that haven't seen the light of day in awhile, see if you can get them back out there.I'm not here to have a "repinning" debate - use your own best judgment...I'm sorry, but this is one of my Tips where I am NOT going to tell you what to do...or HOW to do it.But I will say this - old forgotten pins are seeing new life and engagement if they're just put back out there again.That's what I've been working on all day.I've been digging DEEP into the Pinterest accounts of my clients and trying to resurface their older, probably forgotten, pins by exposing their pins to new followers.I've tested it on my own accounts and my results are very promising - so I want my clients to get the same treatment I give my own accounts.Yes, I'm being a bit 'cryptic' - and it's intentional.I'm not going to spell this out =)

Unlike an After Update Pin Audit, this is NOT a "If this, then do THAT" type of thing.This will take some creativity on your part.Isn't this business FUN?!??!??!Ok, I am flat out EXHAUSTED.I'll be back tomorrow -

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Today on Day 16 of our Pinterest Tips emails, I want to talk about pins.

Specifically, pin design.

I believe I encouraged you way back in Day 1 or Day 2 to download the Pinterest App to your phone and create a PERSONAL account.

If you REALLY want to 'learn Pinterest' - you gotta get OFF a business account, and OFF your desktop or laptop...

and use Pinterest on your phone like a 'normal pinner'.

I don't know the official stats, but I'd feel safe to guess that at LEAST 85% of "normal pinners" use Pinterest via the App on their phone.

You really need to experience it like THEY do.

On the App, the Home Feed is only 2 pins wide... and they scroll FAST.

AND -

your pins have to imply something in it for THEM.

First off, the days of having a common color palette and all our pins being "branded" - yeah.... not so much anymore.

If you are a BIG brand, a little logo will do it.

But for the rest of us, we need to stand out and stop the scroll.

For example, I made a pot roast the other night.

It was GOOD.

AND... it was easy.

It LOOKED good, too... almost 'Pinteresting' (if I was decent photographer lol!)

So, I COULD just pin a picture of my roast.

OR, I could take that picture and have the words 'Easy Pot Roast Recipe' on it

Or... I could try and appeal to the reader.

"The easiest pot roast recipe I've ever made with only THREE ingredients dumped in my crock pot"

"My Simple 'Dump and Go' Crockpot Pot Roast Recipe That's IMPOSSIBLE To Mess Up"

"The ONE Pot Roast Recipe My Family BEGS Me To Make (and it's only three ingredients!)"

Now, I am NOT a Food Blogger so my examples are weak.

If I were a food blogger, I'd know my audience and give them what THEY want.

I'm just trying to keep it generic here in my examples.

Your pins have to be more than:

(with a hard-to-read cursive font)

There has to be a benefit or 'draw' in it for THEM.

Something that makes YOUR pin NOT like every other pin on said topic.

Something that says TO THEM: Oh yeah, that's exactly what I want!

Every food blogger has a pot roast recipe - what makes YOURS different?

There's a thing in marketing called:

It stands for:

Attention. Interest. Desire. Action.

It's a copywriting technique that is about using your words to encourage readers towards a certain action.

First you grab their attention --- get their interest - then they start to "desire" said thing... then they take action to get/do said thing.

In the Pinterest App, the Home Feed is a blur of words and pictures and STUFF.

Many of the words ON pins are so muted or fancy-scrolly that you can't even read them.

Personally, on the App, I just scroll until a pin makes me STOP scrolling.

The pins that stop MY scroll are clean, CLEAR - and there's something in the wording that implies a benefit to ME.

It got my attention.

It got my Interest

It got my 'Desire'

It got my ACTION

If you get ME to click a pin - you DID something haha!

Today... I'd love to hear you surfed around a bit inside the Pinterest App as a 'normal pinner'.

Scroll the Home Feed.

Do some searches.

Heck, look for YOUR pins.

What pins DO stand out to you?

Now don't COPY other pins, but LEARN from them and apply those techniques to your own pins.

I know as bloggers, making pins is just ONE MORE T-H-I-N-G we have to do.

And many blogger's pins SHOW that it was just a "I gotta do this" type of effort.

When people just want ho-hum straight information, they just go to Google.

That's not what they want when they come to Pinterest.

Well, they might not ADMIT that's what they want...

BUT -

And you DO want CLICKS, right? =)

I WILL be right back here in your Inbox tomorrow.

BUT -

There is a National Holiday coming up and I will be out of office for a few days.

It's a BIG one...

Yeah, yeah, there's Valentine's Day and that little football game on Super Bowl Sunday -

but MY BIRTHDAY is officially (as of this moment) a National Holiday.

My birthday is Monday, the 13th... and my hubby and I always take a few days off for each other's birthdays.

SO - that means...

Pinterest tips - Day 13...

I'm in your Inbox EARLY today because...

- I talked about me "feeling" a Pinterest Update coming in our Day 6 email here

I felt it coming - that's why I was pinning a lot of 'Hybrid Pins' for the bloggers I pin for.

I wanted to get as many pins INCLUDED in this Update that I could.

This Pinterest Update included pretty much all pins that were pinned BEFORE the end of January.

In short, once Pinterest updates, any pins included in that update are already "decided".

Odds are good that those included pins will not do any better than they are at this moment.

NOTE: this does NOT apply to OFF-Season pins.

But this DOES apply to IN-Season pins.

Here's what *I'm* doing right now.

In short, I'm doing a:

My pin audit strategy is a simple IF / THEN workflow.

Easy enough, right?

I open my Pinterest account - look at my pins...

and look at the pin stats.

- If... the pin has a LOT of impressions, but low clicks (or NO clicks) -

-- Then - I redo the pin image while retaining the same keywords.

- If ... the pin has LOW impressions, but HIGH clicks...

-- Then - I keep a same version of that pin image, but rework my pin description keywords to go WIDER.

- If ... the pin has GOOD impressions and GOOD saves/repins, BUT a very low click through number...

-- Then - I try to rework that pin image to also include a reason to click through to the blog post.

- If.... the pin is a total FLOP - low impressions, no clicks, no NOTHIN'...

-- Then - That pin is a TOTAL do over.

New image - new keywords - new EVERYTHING.

That's pretty much "it" for my Pin Audit.

Eyeball pin stats - do my If Then Audit - and then DO what needs to be done.

Now, there are some 'nuances' to this.

For example, a really new pin that IS included in the update, BUT hasn't really had time to show it's potential...

In that case, if the starter pins stats LOOK promising, I *might* let it slide for now.

However, if I know that really new pin RANKS for the keywords I targeted,

but it's not getting the IMPRESSIONS I'd like -

I'll probably redo the pin to go 'wider' with my keywords.

Ranking high in Pinterest Search is GREAT - and a sign of a job well done.

BUT -

If your keywords are too 'narrow' or way too 'specific' - there's only so much potential traffic (impressions) you're going to get.

You can NOT make people search for what they do NOT search for.

In other words...

(and read the below in my Southern accent lol)

That's why SOME 'niches' are MUCH harder on Pinterest...

Pinners ain't searchin' for it.

Pinterest has TWO really cool aspects about it that both help US

(US = bloggers wanting traffic FROM Pinterest)

1 - Pinterest offers that grocery store line impulse 'magazine' clicks I talked about in this email.

That's pretty much people seeing pins in their Home Feed or UNDER other pins they've clicked - and they click them out of impulse and curiosity

(if it's not something they're actually LOOKING for at the moment)

2 - Pinterest is a Search Engine - they search, you rank... they click

(if the pin appeals to what they're looking for)

Those 2 cool aspects of Pinterest are what YOU need to focus on to get the Snowball Traffic from Pinterest.

Ok, that's it for now.

Get out there and Audit your pins =)

Pinning the same NON-working pins over and over just isn't gonna cut it.

)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Here we are - Day 14... I'm lovin' this!

In yesterday's email, I told you that Pinterest did an update.

That's a normal thing - nothing to freak out about.

It's not an algorithm change - it's just one of those moments when Pinterest gathers info on all the newer pins they have since the last update -

and "decides" what those pins are about.

I've had LOTS of questions about this.

So - if you'll humor me just for minute -

and bear with me...

I promise what I'm about to say has a point in relation to Pinterest and their Updates.

I told you in our Day 6 email, that we've been putting food out for the deer in our backyard.

Now, our backyard is NOT big, but we have a lot of wooded area BEHIND our backyard.

Needless to say, we now have deer.

If you know anything about deer, they rarely travel alone (and the females travel alone MUCH less than the male bucks do).

BUT -

I have this one little deer - maybe a year old - that is ALWAYS in the backyard by herself.

Highly unusual - but I gotta tell ya - she is ADORABLE.

She wanders all around the backyard like it is HER YARD.

I've named HER.

And by the way...

Here's a picture of Kevin in our backyard while the other deer stay safely on the hill...

Scroll back up and click 'display images below' to see the picture I added below this sentence.

Many times I only see Kevin and NO other deer.

Kevin's mom could have tried REALLY hard to have her little doe daughter be a Susan or a Tiffany...

Could've even slapped a name tag on her that said:

But nope, she's KEVIN to me.

No matter what ANYONE else tagged her or calls her or defines her as...

My backyard - my rules haha!

That, right there - is a Pinterest Update...

+ You have a pin

(a female deer you want known as Susan)

+ You do ALL you can to define that deer as Susan.

(keywords - boards - context)

+ Your deer is SO cute

(ie, Clickable)

+ Some crazy woman, like me, decides your deer is KEVIN

(Pinterest Update)

+ Your deer is never recognized as Susan.

(pin doesn't rank)

+ Your SUPER cute deer is never seen

(no pin clicks to your blog)

(ie, Pinterest)

Finding your "Kevins" and your "Susans" is a BIG part of doing well on Pinterest.

A simple After Update Pin Audit will help you find your "Kevins" so you can rework them.