How to Use Pinterest to Grow Your Blog

Good morning, friends! I'm thrilled to share with you a few tips and tricks I have learned about using Pinterest to grow your blog! First of all, Pinterest is amazing. If you're not on it, email me and I will send you an invitation. :) Second of all, if you're a blogger and you're not using it to grow your readership, this post is for you! I get SO MUCH traffic from Pinterest and these 8 tips really help! Enjoy!

1. Make sure blog readers can easily find you on Pinterest. Don't make your readers jump through hoops to find you. Make sure you have a one-click button that will take them directly to your Pin boards. I have mine organized with other places to connect - Twitter, Facebook, Etsy, etc.

2. When you pin images from your blog, include the blog URL in the description. This is a little trick I recently figured out. When you include the URL, you can click it directly! It's a fast way for pinners to see your site. (You can see my URL in bold in the caption below.)

3. Try to take up and down photographs. Take a look at the following picture. Notice anything? The vertical photographs (versus the horizontal ones) appear larger on the pin boards. So, when you can, use vertical photos for the ones you choose to pin from your blog. They will stand out, no doubt! (I hope I can go without saying that you need to take quality photos. I am no professional photographer, but I am working on it. The prettier your photos, the more appealing they are!)

4. Watermark your images with your blog name or URL. This is crazy important for Pinterest. So many bloggers, artists, designers, etc. have had their work stolen or copied because they didn't watermark their images. This is important for several reasons. Say someone else includes your photograph in their blog post and then one of their readers pins the image. The pin will link back to them, not you! In addition, you can place the watermark in an area that can't easily be cropped out.

5. Download the pin-it button for specific posts. When you are blogging about recipes, projects, or other common Pinterest picks, go ahead and imbed a button into your post. You can find this directly on Pinterest. The easier your images are to pin, the better!

6. Include a caption, if possible. I know photo editing takes time, but it's important. If you can include an easy-to-read caption on your actual photo, pinners are more likely to repin it. (You can see my caption in the image above.) 

7. When you pin from your blog, be sure to share on Facebook or Twitter as well. Pinterest makes it SO easy to share with other sites. You can see the share buttons in the image below. You can "like" it on Facebook and you can share it on Twitter. Easy ways to share your stuff!

8. Use pinterest to build your community. Just like Twitter or Facebook, Pinterest is a WONDERFUL place to interact with others. Make sure you are following your favorite bloggers. Make sure you are "liking," commenting, and repinning their stuff. When your readers repin or comment on your images, engage! Reply to them, thank them, make them know you know they appreciate what you are doing. Pinterest organizes pins based on the sites they come from, so it's easy to see all of the pins that are coming directly from your blog. Checking on this every once in awhile can give you an idea of who is engaging with your site.

So there you have it, 8 great tips to grow your blog! Am I missing anything? How has Pinterest helped you? Are there any other sites or applications that get you similar traffic?

-L