We, as bloggers, are lucky to live in a day and age where there are so many tools at our fingertips. They’re free for us to use and can help us out in so many different ways, from saving time to improving our skills. The stats show that one of these tools in particular can get huge results for bloggers, and I’m a perfect example. Using this tool, my referral traffic increased from 18 to 88%.

Now, more than ever, I’ve been using Pinterest as a promotional tool for my blog, to share all my posts on multiple boards that I’ve created and group ones too. This IS NOT too much promotion. I have an audience, I want to grow, and I believe in the content I create so I should promote it and get results in return.

It can be tricky with everything else that’s involved in running a blog. There are photos to take and graphics to create, posts to write, formatting to be done, interactions, networking and more.

But I also knew I NEEDED to get on Pinterest, so last year, I got super organised and made a spreadsheet to track my promotional strategy on there. Not only has this helped me increase traffic to my blog, it’s also helped to build more of a community and bring me more opportunities.

Before we get into the actual *how*, there is a lot of talk about Pinterest as a tool for bloggers. Many people will tell you that it’ll help you quit your job and take your blog full-time, while others will tell you it’s not worth your energy at all.

The latter is the wrong way to think.

Pinterest can get you so many big results for your blog and your audience is on this platform – so why wouldn’t you use it?

Another argument is that you shouldn’t be on ALL the social media platforms out there. Just pick a couple and focus on those. So if you’re already focusing on Twitter and Instagram, should you really add Pinterest to your bow too?

The answer is yes, because I can guarantee that if you follow this same strategy the MAJORITY of you will reap the rewards. Period.

So how can you grow your blog traffic with Pinterest? Should you pin constantly or once a day? Let’s go through this thing so you can start taking action!

CHANGE YOUR MINDSET

Before you worry about what to pin and where to pin it, you need to get into a different mindset.

There’s a difference in using Pinterest for fun and using it strategically. When you’re just pinning for you, you pin whatever you want, whatever looks nice and whatever takes your fancy. It’s not the same when you’re doing it to get a benefit. You need to look at two things:

What your audience wants to see
How many shares the pin has already had

Let me give you an example. I primarily create content about building an online presence and being productive. So I need to share content around those umbrella topics. Ideally, when I go onto Pinterest, the top of my feed needs to include pins related to these, like this:

You can see that these are definitely posts that I would pin, because I know they would benefit my audience.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t pin other things too. What you want is a mixture. For instance, two big things on my mind right now are interiors and weddings (because over Christmas we bought a house and got engaged). I’m pinning a lot of these things right now and that’s OK – you’re showing people your interests and that increases loyalty and trust.

JOIN GROUP BOARDS

Pinterest group boards can be highly beneficial for your blog and online presence. They work like a regular Pinterest board, the only difference being that along with the board creator, other people are also allowed to pin. I love group boards, because there are so many to choose from in loads of industries and you can get your content out there in front of a brand new audience. Plus, you can:

Boost your followers
Increase your repins
Increase engagement

Take note of how you have to join each board, because it can be different and be aware that there are rules you’ll have to follow when it comes to how many times you can pin in one day.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVOURITE GROUP BOARDS

#GIRLBOSS – This is a great general board for all things relating to being a Girl Boss, and there’s some seriously awesome people that share content to it too. The rules are quite minimum. You can share your own blog posts but they have to relate to the general topics, and you can also invite people to the board who you think would be a good fit.
Blogging and Social Media Tips – This was set up by my friend, Fran, who wants the board to be a blogging and social media party. It’s a collection of the best tips in the industry, which means there are some specific rules. Pins need to be vertical, crisp and high quality and you can pin a maximum of two per day.
Infopreneur Resources//Creative Entrepreneurs – I was invited to start pinning to this group board and I’ve fallen in love with all the wonderful resources on there. This is a board specifically for entrepreneurs and bloggers that offer digital or information related products. The rules? If you pin something, repin at least one thing that’s already on the board. Simple.
Blogging Your Heart Out – This board is for everyone who loves blogging and covers everything from monetisation to social media, growing your email list to writing killer blog posts and more. There are currently 317 pinners which means a lot of content is shared, so it’s up to you to make sure that what you pin is relevant and valuable.
Productivity for Small Business – When I got invited to pin to this board I was so excited, because I’d never seen anything like it. A productivity board? Count me in! It’s all about making a plan of action and staying focused with your online brand. Seriously, you will DROOL over some of content ideas on this board.
The Freelancer’s Club – This is a little different in that it’s specifically for freelancers, but it also includes bloggers, business owners and VA’s too. The only rule you need to know is that they abide by the 80/20 rule, so for everything you pin, repin four other things from the board.

CREATE A SPREADSHEET

This is probably the most important and often overlooked part. Just like anything, you need to create a spreadsheet so you can stay on top of your plan. Whether you create content once a week or once a month, you need to keep a tab on what you’ve pinned and where you’ve pinned it to.

Sure, there are easier ways to do this like with a tool, but for Pinterest, you have to spend the money and I’m confident in saying that it’s not a priority for me right now when my system has worked so well. You feel me?

Create one that works for you and helps you stay organised. My system is simple, but helps me stay on track. I created it in Google Sheets so I can access it anywhere.

Down the left hand side I write the title of every post and when I publish a new piece of content I add it to the list. Then across the top I list all my boards that relate to my blog posts – yep, all of them! Then you go through and pin your content to the boards that relate to it. Mark off when you’ve pinned something to somewhere and when you’ve finished it completely. Simple.

INCREASE HOW MUCH YOU PIN

A great way to grow your traffic with Pinterest is by increasing the frequency of how much you pin your own content and other pins too. This is my system:

Pin no more than once an hour
At once time, work in sets of ten
Pin two of your own things
Pin eight from your Pinterest homepage
Repeat

That equates to one set of pinning for me, meaning you pin twenty things in one go. So you might do this once over breakfast or on your commute. Once at lunch. Once when you get home and once in the evening.

That’s 80 pins in one day!

And that is what’s going to get you results, because you’re getting your content out there in front of ALL the people, ALL the time.

FOLLOW BEST PRACTICES

It makes me sigh when I visit a blog and they don’t have social sharing buttons. You NEED them. It’s part of how you get people to share your content. They don’t look messy and don’t think they’re unnecessary! Just get them.

You want people to pin your content? You need to encourage them to share it. Insert a vertical image, get some sharing buttons and there’s no harm in prompting people to pin your content either.

Not got time to read all this now? Pin it so you can come back to it later!

Ask and see what happens.

By following each of these steps, you’ll be on your way to becoming a Pinterest mastermind. No go create your spreadsheet and let me know in the comments or tweet me when you’ve done it!

Have you started using Pinterest to help grow your blog? Do you think you'll start using it after reading this post?