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Hi creatives and mama bosses! You’re probably interested in using Pinterest to help you drive traffic, right?

Your new blog is just not generating the engagement or following you want. I totally get that.

I have other blogs besides Twins Mommy and it is a challenge getting all of them in front of as many people as possible.

But, one thing I know for sure – and what has helped me bring new traffic to my new blog – is Pinterest rocks!

If you don’t already know, Pinterest works more like a visual search engine than a “social network.” If your pin is at the top of the feed, that’s like page one of Google!

And it’s a helluva lot easier to get your content in the Pinterest feed than on page one of Google. (Well, at least it is for me!)

And you know how you can do that? With your pin. This guide is based off of my blog post on my blog growth. I use Pinterest primarily to promote my blog and it’s paying off big.

Besides using a social automation tool like Taillwind to schedule my pins, I also do a lot of other things to ensure my pin gets seen, and so people click on it to read my post.

Let’s go into detail on my personal way of creating the perfect pin that will help you bring traffic to your site.

THE PERFECT PIN What does the perfect pin look like? Well, there are some characteristics that pins with high repins have that others don’t.

Let’s look at one of my pins and analyze it:

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Let’s go into these in detail.

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Optimal Pin Size There’s a lot of talk on social media about what size your pin image should be. While many have different sizes, they all agree that your pin image must be longer than it is wide.

Say no to the rectangle pins!

You want vertical images and the longer the better.

I make all my pin images for Twins Mommy 800 x 1422.

It’s the same ratio as your TV screen, just in portrait mode. And it’s a little bit taller than most pins, so it stands out in the smart feed.

EASY TO READ FONT/ LARGE FONT Okay,

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You might disagree with me, but I think my fonts are pretty easy to read. I have two fonts that I use for Twins Mommy: Futura and Madina.

Futura is my sans serif font. This font is included on Mac computers, but you can grab this paid font and others with a subscription to Typekit (for Windows too).

Madina is my script font and you can find this at Creative Market. If you’re bootstrapping it all, you can definitely use Google fonts – they’re totally free.

My favorite Google fonts are:

● Oswald ● Montserrat ● Lato ● Source Sans Pro ● Cabin ● Pacifico ● Cookie ● Grand Hotel

I can look at fonts all day! I LOVE different fonts and playing around with them.

Here are some tips when using fonts:

● Pick only two fonts for your images (I like picking a sans serif font and script font)

● Sans serif fonts don’t have the tails on each letter (this font I’m using to write this is a sans serif – Lato actually).

● Serif fonts are more formal – this is a serif font. ● When using a script (handwritten) font, pick one or two words in your

headline to accentuate them with your script font.

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● Make the font big enough to read (but not too big) on the smart feed and play around with the spacing between letters (tracking).

● Make your words all caps. This makes it easier to read (if you adjust the tracking to space them out slightly).

CREATE WHITE SPACE When making your pin image, make sure there is enough white space going on.

Having a pin full of things and background “noise” can take away from your headline and the look of your pin.

To create white space do the following:

● Find images that are bright and light in color ● Use images that don’t have a lot of things going on. If you have to use

a noisy image, use a text box and cover most of the image with it. ● Space the letters in your words apart (Canva has an option for this) ● Use a text box for your headline. You can make it transparent or not.

BRAND YOUR IMAGES Besides using the same fonts and style for every pin, it’s a good idea to also brand your pin with your URL.

This just makes it much easier to find out where your pin came from and over time, people will start to recognize your pins by the look and your URL.

You don’t have to be all fancy with your URL. Personally I use a sans serif font and type it out.

I don’t use my logo from my website since the colors and small size would make it hard to read.

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Another thing to do is create a similar look for each of your pins. They don’t have to be exactly the same. I use different colors and images, but my template is the same:

● Same fonts ● Same brand colors (a blue, pink and green) ● Same white text box and transparency ● Same placement of my URL

This makes it a cinch for pinners to recognize your pin in the feed. Look at Kaitlyn’s pins:

I totally know when I see Kaitlyn’s pins on my feed.

Since I know how powerful this can be to help generate traffic, I started doing this for my Elna Cain blog.

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Look at your feed and see what type of pins you’re attracted to. From there you can start thinking of a design element for each of your pins.

VALUE BASED HEADLINE This is a HUGE thing to have for every pin you create. You pin needs to have a value-based headline. This means, it needs to portray something valuable to the reader.

That’s why pins that claim X pageviews or X dollars in a certain time frame generate a lot of repins and traffic. Those pins have valuable tips and info to help a pinner out.

When thinking of your headline, don’t feel like you have to keep the same headline as your blog post.

I often change my pin title when I want to portray a click-worthy pin. Titles with:

● I or You ● How To ● List number

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● Time frame (How to get 100 Likes on Facebook in 1 week)

Play around with your headlines and try to use these tips to help you stand out in the feed.

BEAUTIFUL IMAGES It goes without saying that a picture is worth a thousand words...and repins!

There are a ton of places to grab free images that are beautiful!

I made a blog post on it here, but here are some more places:

● Kaboompics ● Death to Stock ● Pexels ● Pixabay ● Unsplash ● Magdeleine ● Splitshire

Finding the right image can take some time, but it’s totally worth it. You might have to think outside the box if you notice the images you like have been used by other bloggers on Pinterest.

The sites I mention are popular with bloggers, so even if you do like a picture that’s been used a thousand times, you can crop it in such a way that it will look unique.

CALL-TO-ACTION One thing I started doing on Twins Mommy that I haven’t done on my other blogs is include an image of the actual content upgrade.

It’s made a huge difference in sign ups and traffic. People like to get a glimpse of what they could get for free. It creates more curiosity and

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enticement overall and something you should definitely incorporate in your image.

And I noticed other popular pinners are using this strategy too. For example, Melyssa Griffin often uses a visual CTA (call-to-action) on her pin image.

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BONUS SECTION! So, we tackled what the perfect pin should look like. Now, let’s get to the important things like your description, keywords and Rich Pins.

Your Pin Description Your description should give the pinner an incentive to want to click and read your post.

According to Pinterest, great pin descriptions are:

● Helpful –make it easy for pinners to find your pin with an informative description. How to type pins do really well on Pinterest. According to Pinterest, helpful pins receive 30% more engagement.

● Detailed – in a sentence or two explain what your pin is about. Give enough information to entice a pinner to click through to your blog.

● Interesting – pique the pinner’s interest by using words and positive like: ridiculous, sensational, killer, or obscure.

● Actionable – include a call-to-action in your description. Using phrases like, “check out…” or “click to find out more” can generate an 80% increase in engagement.

Keywords Remember when I said Pinterest is a visual search engine? Well, it’s important then to incorporate keywords so that people searching on Pinterest can find your pins!

But, how do you find keywords for your pin? An easy way I use to help with my descriptions is to use the Pinterest search tool! You add a phrase that your post is about and Pinterest will suggest other keywords that are related!

Bam! That easy.

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Another tool you can use is Ubersuggest for even more ideas – alphabetically mind you!

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Now, don’t go stuffing a ton of keywords in your description. Let’s be classy here.

Just use a few variations of your keyword and you should be good to go.

RICH PINS Do you have Rich Pins enabled?

This is another way to get your pins noticed and to make your pins appear more polished and professional.

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What a Rich Pin does is place your site’s favicon (small representation of your site) and bolds your title as well as mention your site name.

Here’s how to enable them.

READY TO PIN? There ya go! My best tips to help you create the perfect pin!

Be on the lookout for Twins Mommy posts every Tuesday and Thursday (and an email every Thursday) where I dish out blogging tips, mompreneur tips, work from home tips, productivity tips and give you a glimpse of life with twins!

~Elna twinsmommy.com

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