Pinterest mistakes I made that seriously hurt my blog and how you can avoid them

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Are you FINALLY convinced that Pinterest CAN and WILL drive traffic to your blog?

Are you using it well, or are you guilty of Pinterest mistakes new bloggers make like me (wink)?

Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Bringing Up Business. Today, let’s talk about common Pinterest mistakes I made that seriously hurt my blog.

Pinterest mistakes new bloggers make and how to avoid them

Pinterest mistake #1 My pins are ugly

I have been experimenting with my pin designs until today and find it super exhausting.

One of my weaknesses is overthinking. And this is making me so hard to let go of things I shouldn’t be spending most of my time with.

But then again, I know that when I do something, I need to do it right.

So I’ve been reading a lot of blog posts about font styles, color schemes, and designs that works best for Pinterest .

Canva has free Pinterest templates which is a tremendous help. But sometimes, i like to experiment by making my own templates that best represents my blog.

IF nothing has caught your eye. You can search for free pin templates on Pinterest. Just open the search bar and click free pin templates Canva, and there you go.

Common Pinterest mistakes I made and how you can avoid them in 2020 The Greatest Digital Creatives by Cherrie Ann Balictar

Pinterest mistake #2 I have no pinning strategy

When I created my Pinterest account in January, I don’t have a plan at all. I just talked myself into it because bloggers swear by it.

Just like other platforms like Instagram and Facebook, you don’t just post anything or share anything and that’s it. You have to have a strategy that will benefit your blog according to the results that you want to achieve. These results can be:

increase in engagement
increase in web page views
increase in social media follows
increase in affiliate marketing sales

Without a purpose, it’s hard to tell if you’re content resonates with your audience or not.

Pinterest mistake #3 Not being consistent

I’m gonna have to blame myself for this. Let’s just say I didn’t take it very seriously. I’m too lazy to create new pins everyday, or i am spending so much time writing blog posts to be sure I stick to my weekly deadline of publishing once a week.

How many hours do you spend every day on social media?

Since I practice manual and scheduled pinning at the same time, I sometimes forget manual pinning within the day.

And not being consistent also has something to do with how ugly my pins are.

I hesitate in publishing them. Surprisingly, some of my ugly pins are performing well.

Pinterest mistake #4 Not doing Pinterest keyword research

Since Pinterest is a search engine like Google, I have to identify what topics my target audience are searching, so I can cater to their needs. Now this step is crucial for your success.

The pinterest keywords will help you optimize your display name and description, pin descriptions, and pinterest board descriptions.

Without it, we can’t tell if a Pinterest profile is “optimized”.

So, if you’re starting an account today for your blog or for your clients, never skip this part

Pinterest mistake #5 Not using hashtags

Unlike Instagram where we are allowed to use up to 30 hashtags, Pinterest allows up to 20. However, I wouldn’t recommend using that much in a pin description. Remember, you only have 500 characters You don’t want to use it all up with just hashtags. For my pins, I don’t go over 5 hashtags.

Pinterest mistake #6 I did not claim my website

For me, this process allows Pinterest to filter spam accounts.

Claiming your website is a way for them to identify if your account is legit. Think of this step as way to authenticate your profile and your blog.

If you want to know how, below is a link to my previous blog post which tells you how I did it.

Related post: How to set up Pinterest for your new blog

Pinterest mistake #7 Not paying attention to my Pinterest analytics

According to the Pearson’s law

When performance is measured, performance improves. When performance is measured and reported back, performance improves exponentially.”

In other words,
That which is measured, improves.

Therefore, if you are paying attention to your Pinterest analytics, you will be able to identify what works and what doesn’t, which pins are getting more views or clicks, and which Pinterest boards are getting the most attention.

This goes back to my mistake #2, not having a strategy.

If you don’t have a strategy, and you’re not paying atention to your analytics, well I guess Pinterest isn’t for you.

Pinterest mistake #8 I delete pins and boards

You can do this if you’re account is already established.

But if you’re just starting out leave it as it is.

When you delete pins and boards, you lose views and followers.

And if you do this often, your stats won’t go up.

Pinterest mistake #9 I don’t have board covers

Another way of optimizing your pinterest account is to have board covers. Mine needs a makeover since I changed my accent color from pink to yellow.

But basically, the board covers help your profile to look more organized.

Pinterest mistake #10 I didn’t use pin scheduling apps

Since part of my Pinterest strategy requires publishing 10 to 15 pins per day, I need to use scheduling apps to help me keep track of my pins.

I use Tailwind

Meanwhile, there’s Tailwind. You can join Tailwind tribes to provide your pins with a much wider audience. Plus, you can add your Pins to SmartLoop once and they’ll re-circulate your pins for you – indefinitely. Sign up and schedule your first 100 pins for free.

Conclusion

Aaand that’s it, Pinterest mistakes I made that seriously hurt my blog.

I hope you find this helpful.