Looking for a different social media network?
If you’re reading this you must be a writer or you want
to be. We know that you’re, like 2/3's of the population of the world, on Facebook, Twitter and probably Instagram, but, are
you on Pinterest?
Here are 10 Pinterest tips for writers and bloggers that
will help you find new readers and help you market your writing!
WHAT IS PINTEREST?
Well, it’s been around for a while – but more of a hidden
social media network. You hear about people finding all kinds fo cool things on
there but mostly it’s a place to hold your photos. Or so we thought. Pinterest,
is one of the fastest-growing visual social networks and can be a great way to
reach your audience for your book. It’s not surprising that it’s quickly
becoming a favorite marketing platform for authors to reach a wider audience
for their work. And at this point, don’t you need all the help you can get?
We have put together some tips to help you effectively
market your book or blog on Pinterest – take a look.
1. CREATE INTERESTING PINTEREST BOARDS:
If you don’t know - Pinterest organizes all the pins/photo
into boards. You can create these boards to reflect any category you’d like. We
recommend creating larger boards that have a minimum of 100 pins/photos on
them. Think about your target audience – what interests them? Something that
will hold their interest and offer you the opportunity to sell your book/work.
2. BUILD UP YOUR FOLLOWERS:
It’s social media – of course, you need followers. Like
Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram - without followers, no one will see your
content. And no one will see your book. Follow your fellow authors and readers.
Find friends via Facebook and other social media sites and invite them over to
your new page. This helps you get in front of a broader audience. You can also
add a Pinterest button on your website that can attract more followers. Don’t
have a website? Get one!
3. CREATE
IMAGES OF QUOTES FROM YOUR WRITING:
If you’ve used any social media site for any amount of
time, you’ve likely noticed that quotes are quite popular items to post. Use
that and create your own!
As an author, it is a good idea to make sure you have a
board specifically for quotes. Once you have that, create some images with
quotes from your book or from your blog.
Make sure when you upload the quote image that you link
the quote to your author website or book sales page. This will help pique
people’s interest, as well as help you build name recognition the more people
see your quotes.
There are a number of free online apps that can help
you create images with quotes you can place on your account, or you
can try making your own in a photo editing program.
4.
USE ENTICING IMAGES FOR YOUR BLOG POSTS:
That whole – a picture is worth
a 1,000 words – is true. If you are writing really amazing blog posts, you’ll
want to make sure you use an enticing image for the post and pin the blog post
to your Pinterest board. Just a hint – the images you place should be at least
600 pixels to have the greatest click through rates.
5.
ORGANIZE YOUR BOARDS:
No one wants a sloppy book cover
– it’s your calling card. Make your social media sites the same. Make your most
important boards visible “above the fold” – think of a newspaper – all the
important articles are above the fold line of the pager. No one wants to search
for information so your followers shouldn’t have to scroll down your page to
see your best work. This is what people will see first when they visit your
Pinterest profile. Be sure too that each board has a nice cover photo that
encourages people to want to follow it.
6.
LINK TO PINTEREST ON YOUR WEBSITE:
You’ll definitely want to make
sure you include your Pinterest link on your website in addition to any other
social network such as Facebook or Twitter. If you have a business account, you
can also include widgets on your sidebar or at the bottom of your posts that
feature pins from your favorite boards.
7.
You’re a writer for crying out loud – make SURE YOUR PROFILE IS INTERESTING:
Write about who YOU are, what
YOU do, and of course, link to your blog or website. Make sure you use the same
profile image you use across other social media platforms as that will help
people to recognize you more easily. Be sure that you use words relevant to the
topics you write about, as this will help increase the odds your profile and
boards will appear in Pinterest search results.
8.
Like anything else worthwhile - PIN CONSISTENTLY:
You may think this extreme, but
you should post and pin at least 5-10 new things each week. Try to add new
fresh content from the web, not just repins of things you’ve found on Pinterest
already. Unless you’re just starting out and need to build your page up - be
careful not to overload your followers with too many posts all at once – this
can be overwhelming or annoying to them. It is for me.
9.
PIN SELECTIVELY:
Don’t pin every single thing you
see – actually, take the time to click through the pin to see what it links to
and make sure it provides value to your readers and followers.
It is also a good idea to write
your own comments and descriptions about the different things you pin, as it
shows your audience why it is “pin-worthy”.
And for our sack as well as your own - leave your issues and struggles out of your posting schedule. Everyone has their own issues - they don't need to see yours.
10.
USE PINTEREST FOR STATS:
If you convert your account to a
business account, which is easy to do on the website, you will be able to see a number of stats and information about the content you’re pinning. Use that to
your advantage.
You can also check to see what
pins are the most popular from your website. This will help you identify better
with your target market as well as to create more content that appeals to your
readers.
By understanding what your
readers enjoy reading, you will be able to create better content and write
new blog posts on your website that will make them excited to keep returning
for more!
Like any other social media site
- Pinterest can be a great way to connect with a broad audience for your
website or book.
Do you have any Pinterest tips
for authors you’d like to share? We’d love to hear them in the comments section
below!
As always, Breaking Rules Publishing continues to accept submissions in all genres from writers around the world. Simply email us at info@breakingrulespublishing.com
And lastly - we still have space in our Breaking Rules Publishing Short Story Book Project. The release date is Oct 1st - the submission deadline is Sept 15th. Please email us at info@breakingrulespublishing.com. The theme for this issue is Horror/Halloween - all those involved with the book will get a portion of the royalties. 
No comments:
Post a Comment