How Pinteresting! Pinning Down New Readers

By: KL Cooper, Social Media Coordinator for PPW

As a busy writer myself, I know about the need to spend marketing time as wisely as possible. We’re already overwhelmed with all the should dos. Blog more! Facebook more! Wait, what’s a tweet? It’s a wonder we don’t curl up into quivering balls of anxiety with all the things we SHOULD do besides actually writing our novels. So why would I want you to add another one?

I could throw a bunch of statistics at you that expound how many users are on Pinterest or what percentage of those users buy products they find there. It’s impressive, by the way. But, as I’ve already mentioned, your time is precious. So, let me quickly share what I think the value of Pinterest is, specifically for writers.

SUPERFANS!

Pinterest is the ONLY social media outlet that can find you those elusive creatures: the coveted, devoted, word-spreading… SUPERFANS. These are the readers who have no issues sharing the books they love. They devour their favorites and obsess over every detail. These passionate types of readers are heavy users of Pinterest.

Why?

People who use Pinterest are not there to be social. They are there to find images, references, and videos that feed their interests. They aren’t offended if what they find is for sale because they were hunting for it, and they WANT to buy it.

Reach

Everything you pin gets into the Pinterest feed of, not only all of YOUR followers, but the followers of those who re-pin your pins. That’s not even including the staggering reach accomplished when you participate in group boards. Below is a graphic of my reach from my Pinterest author account. I doubt you’re getting that kind of traction anywhere else on Social Media… for free.

Traffic

When you share or post a photo or video on Pinterest, the image itself can drive clickable traffic to your site or book if you post it correctly. Pinterest offers ads too, but its most powerful features are already free!

Longevity

Your pins don’t EXPIRE. People will find what they search for regardless of when it was originally pinned. Your comments also stay with a pin as it gets shared over and over again for the entire life of that pin.

So, how do you do it? How do you go about attracting those beautiful Superfans to your Pinterest activity?

Share

Share your passions and let people into your writer mind. Start by creating 10 boards with at least 3 pins each, which fills out the thumbnail for the boards. Ideas for your new boards could include: writing inspiration, character inspiration, story boards, genre related (TV shows, movies, and books), book research, cosplay related to your books, writing prompts, quotes, video shares, or art. Chances are, your fans like the same things you do. For example, I took a class on archery to learn about it firsthand for a book. You bet I have a board for that and linked it to my blog post about the experience.

Follow

Follow other boards and pinners that interest you. This will put useful pins into your home feed for you to re-pin. You can follow fans of your genre, as they will be pinning things of similar interest to you. And you will expand your reach exponentially if you comment, like, and post to pins and group boards. Incidentally, the followers of other authors in your genre are a great place to find some of your own Superfans.

Create

Create some original content. Though most of your pins will be re-pins, you can create your own and upload them. Try making quote pictures with artfully designed quotes from your favorite authors, TV shows, or movies. Canva.com – a free image tool, is a user friendly way to do this. Add these to your boards with links to your books or blogs.

Market

Market your work with original pins or by changing the details under SOME re-pins. Don’t abuse this last feature. Include the reason you like that particular pin using focus words and hashtags, a link to your work, and a call to action. This makes it easier for your new Superfans to find you and share their passion for what you’ve created.

Consolidate

Make Pinterest work FOR you. You can send your pin to other social media outlets by sharing it with them when you post. It’s just a checkbox or two and BOOM! DONE! You just saved some of that precious writing time. And to make things even easier, you can install a browser extension “Pinterest” button. Whenever you are on a site, and you push this button, your browser will display all the pin-able content, sending it right to one of your boards with the click of a button.

Rules

Follow the rules. You can’t market something without a business account. This violates Pinterest’s terms of service and will get you banned. Don’t worry, you can’t really tell the difference. You can still use your author name, and you get access to the analytics (like the one I included above) to see which pins and boards are serving you best. So make sure you open a business account. If you already have a personal account, it’s easy to convert.

The Best Part

You can turn off ALL your notifications on Pinterest!! Yep. I said it. You don’t need them, because Pinterest is not social and it’s not dependent on real time interaction. Go ahead! Disconnect. You don’t have to “be there” to be successful. Now if that isn’t a good reason to use Pinterest to become a more successful author with MORE writing time, I don’t know what is.

Final Thoughts

BE PASSIONATE. Pinterest is no place for beige. It’s a visual treasure trove that links to the highest level content on the internet. And although it requires some upkeep, pinning is one of the best ways to find devoted, word-spreading SUPERFANS!

Find me on Pinterest and take a look at some of my boards for inspiration or email me for more tips on using this powerful tool. Did you know that Pikes Peak Writers is also on Pinterest?

My Pinterest Account: https://www.pinterest.com/KLCooperAuthor/

Pikes Peak Writers Account: https://www.pinterest.com/PPWriters/

Email KL Cooper: writeklcooper@gmail.com

About the Author: KL Cooper spends most of her free hours writing PNR, but when she’s not doing that, she’s rocking social media for Pikes Peak Writers or creating new graphics and book covers for other writers through UnderCover Press. You can connect with her anywhere on social media using these handles: @KLCequalsME @UnderCoverKLC @FleshandFeather