Pinterest is one of the fastest and biggest growing social media sites. Unlike Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, it uses pictures to connect with other people. It’s a virtual pin board that allows you to share things with your followers and “repin” photos from others onto your own boards. If people like what you’re pinning, they can choose to follow your boards.
What does this mean for authors?
Pinterest has over 4 million daily users and is now the 3rd biggest social media site. You 
might be wondering how to harness the power of Pinterest. I just finished reading Pinterest Savvy: How I Got 1 Million+ Followers (Strategies, Plans, and Tips to Grow Your Business with Pinterest) * by Melissa Taylor.
As an author, I know the power of Pinterest. I’ve been using Pinterest for about six months and other than Google, it drives more traffic to my website than any other social media site, including Facebook. But I wanted to up my game and Melissa’s book gave me some great tips and new ideas.
1. Be as specific as possible with your board names and descriptions. One of my boards was titled Best Recipes. I feature my own traditional from scratch recipes on my blog and these are some of my biggest traffic pins. However, after reading Melissa’s book I changed it to Best from Scratch Recipes and altered the description to include key words of traditional, from scratch, home-baked, etc. You can check out my boards at http://www.pinterest.com/melissaknorris
2. All pins are not created equal. When creating “pins” to be pinned from your website, there are some things you need to know. One, longer photos, rather than wide, show better on Pinterest. You need clear and easy to read type. Melissa gives great examples of what makes a good pin vs. an okay one. This makes a difference! I re-did some of my photos, repinned them, and they were reppined far more than the original version. Here’s an example of a good pin.
3. Protect yourself. Know copyright laws. Read the terms of use on Pinterest. Don’t repin any pin without following it back to its original source. Does the website give permission to “pin”? Is there a pin-it button next to the photo? If not, don’t repin. I recommend emailing the blogger to ask permission. Most will say yes, it only takes a few minutes, and protects you from a lawsuit. It also promotes good will. I emailed a blogger to ask if I could use her photo in a post on my blog and “pin” it. She happily agreed, visited my blog, and shared it with her own readers.
4. Create pin worthy content of your own. Take your own pictures and create your own pins. (I use the free version of picmonkey.com) You don’t have to worry about copyright issues and you’ll become known for bringing new fresh content. You want to be known for creating content on your blog and on Pinterest, not just rehashing what everyone else is already doing.
For a free chapter download visit Melissa Taylor’s website. She also has free worksheets to help you maximize each chapter. Pinterest Savvy takes you through the first step of signing up for Pinterest to helping those who want to increase their following and are already familiar with the site. Having just finished Melissa’s book and implementing a few of her tips, I’ve increased my following by 50 followers in a little over a week. I plan using more of her tips shortly.
Another cool tidbit: Melissa’s book doesn’t officially launch until tomorrow, but she gave me permission to give Watercooler peeps a sneak peek. How cool is that?
*I used my affiliate link for Melissa’s book on Amazon. It doesn’t cost you anything more and I only recommend things I truly stand behind. To read my full affiliate disclosure go to the footer of my website.
Are you on Pinterest? What do you find the most daunting? How do you use your boards to promote your books and website?
WordServe Water Cooler 
Good points, Melissa. I’ve been enjoying Pinterest to help me keep track of my research. As a bonus, I draw people interested in the topics I include in my fiction.
Excellent point, Janalyn. Making sure your boards reflect your branding, even the fun ones, draws new readers.
I’m a Pinterest Addict. Scary how much time I lose on that site! But, thank you, Melissa, for these tips. I’m going to take the time to revamp my boards – I think it’s worth it. And Janalyn, that’s a fantastic idea – thank you as well!
Amanda, It can be a time vampire, but if you go at with a plan in place, you can stop yourself from losing so much time. 🙂 I’m excited to implement more of the tools from the book in the coming weeks.
Great tips Melissa. Thank you.
Okay, Melissa, I confess. I’ve avoided Pinterest. I kept thinking I didn’t need another social media site to keep up with and I don’t have time to look at everyone’s boards. Your post has inspired me to look into this. Perhaps I need to read the book and then figure out how to best utilize this popular site. Thanks or enlightening me!
Mindy, Glad it helped. The book is free today only so you might want to nab it. Pinterest drives more traffic to my website than any other site, except Google. You should check it out. 🙂
Great specifics, Melissa. Thank you for driving home the influence Pinterest offers, and allowing us an insider’s peek.