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So you’re looking to conquer Pinterest in 2023 but don’t know where to start? Well, worry no more, friend, because this is where I come in! 

Starting something new can be exciting, challenging and a tad bit overwhelming if you don’t know what you’re doing. 

And trust me, there are a lot of Pinterest strategies out there, and if you’re not careful, you can get sucked down the Pinterest black hole. Which is where you don’t want to be because there’s no real structure or guidance there. 

That’s why I’ve constructed a simple yet effective list of my top 10 Pinterest marketing strategies that I know you’re going to find very useful if you’re looking for your creative business to become successful on Pinterest without having to stress about all the faff in the middle. 

So whether you’re a designer, illustrator, photographer or shop that sells creative e-commerce goods, this is for you. 

1. Scheduling 

First things first, scheduling. Manually pinning can have its benefits at times, but as a busy business owner, sometimes you don’t have the time to priories pinning. This is why using a scheduling tool is crucial. 

For scheduling your content & for sharing others content on your Pinterest page, I recommend:

Tailwind: This is probably the most used tool for Pinterest. Not only do they have an official partnership together, but Tailwind is so easy to use and helps grow your Pinterest in more ways than one. It’s what I use for myself and my clients. In fact, here’s a free month on me so you can see what I mean

Pinterest Scheduler: If you don’t wish to use third-party schedule tools, you can use the built-in scheduler on Pinterest. It’s free and easy to use. Plus, you can schedule up to two weeks which is pretty great in my books. 

Canva: Not many people know this, but Canva can also help you schedule your pins. So if you’re on a tighter budget and can’t go the Tailwind route just yet, then I recommend using them. Plus, they have the best Pin design templates. Join Canva today, and it’ll save a lot of time in future, I promise.

2. Add Pinterest Keywords In the Right Places

Next up, Pinterest keywords. Now, SEO is important in pretty much everything we do online. But on Pinterest, it’s crucial because it will be the biggest contribution towards your success on the platform. 

Do note that Google keywords and Pinterest keywords are not the same as they are two different search engines. So when placing keywords, keep in mind that you’ll need to find keywords on Pinterest nowhere else. 

The important places you need be adding your rich keywords are the following:

• Your Username 

• Your Pinterest bio 

• Your pin descriptions

• Your pin title

• Your board descriptions 

And many more places! This is why I suggest that you use my Pinterest SEO strategy guide below.

This guide will answer any Pinterest SEO questions you have, and now that you’re taking Pinterest seriously, you’re going to need it, as SEO will be the key for you moving forward. 

3. Fresh Content Creation

Fresh content will be one the biggest, if not THE most significant, part of your Pinterest strategy. This is because the Pinterest algorithm is a big fan of content creators, especially those consistently pinning new content to its platform.

But what is fresh content? 

It’s where you take one piece of content, for example, a blog post, and you make anywhere between 2-5 different pins for that one piece of content. 

So whether you have a brand new blog post or an old one, this is a fantastic method. Not only are you tricking the algorithm into thinking you have new content to share, but it’s also a great marketing tactic as your audience will constantly think you have new content to share too. 

But with fresh content, you have to make sure that each pin is different and not only in design. So it would be best if you made sure of three things:

1. If you’re using stock photos, photos of yourself, you need to be using a different picture or an angle of the photograph you’re using on every Pin.
   

2. Try changing the title or specific keywords in your title on your Pin and your Pin title when you’re uploading it to Pinterest.
   

3. Change the pin description for every Pin that links to the same piece of content or at least change specific keywords.
   
   

To create fresh content, again, I recommend you use Canva as I do myself, and it’s easy to use. It even has 1000+ Pinterest templates ready to use, so you don’t have to spend too much of your time designing when you have other things in your business to focus on. 

4. Create Gorgeous Pins

Gorgeous, Gorgeous girls know how to design stunning Pinterest pins (and yes, my Gen Z self is using Tik Tok slang 😂), even though it can sometimes be a pain in the ass.

As a creative yourself, you know that when it comes to anything creative, you’re going to take your time, even though you swear it’ll only take you an hour or less, but really that hour can sometimes go into a day. Trust me, I’m very guilty of this, haha. 

Pinterest pins can be just like that. So this is why I’m going to save you the time and tell you what needs to be included for them to actually attract your target audience, not just where your creative juices flow: 

• Your pin needs to have LARGE text, and a lil thickness to the font and don’t be afraid to make it colourful, not just black. 
  

• Use stock photos that aren’t from free stock websites if you can, and try and use more pictures of yourself, too, so Pinners can see the owner behind the brand. (stock photo websites I recommend - 7 websites with the perfect stock images for your pins) 
  

• Use your brand colours, not just random colours. This way, your pins show brand representation, and Pinners will recognise your brand more on the platform. 

And I do have many more secret ways to create pretty viral pins, but I can’t reveal them all here, which is why I made a free cheat sheet for viral pins. All you have to do is sign up below, and it’ll be yours. Enjoy! 

5. Idea pins

Since we’re on the topic of pin design, I thought I should include idea pins. Think of idea pins as Instagram stories but for Pinterest. If you use Pinterest on your phone, you might have noticed circles of different profiles you follow on the top of your home page. That’s idea pins. 

They are a relatively new feature on Pinterest and prove to gain quite the attraction on many Pinterest accounts I work with. 

But as I’ve been using them, I’ve noticed that they’re great for two things. 

1. Growing followers

2. Gaining more brand awareness

Sadly idea pins don’t let you link any of your content just yet, but hopefully, in the future, they will. 

But I still think that you should be using them as Pinterest is putting a lot of focus on them in 2023, and whether you’re starting fresh on Pinterest or not, it’s a great way of growing your account. Who doesn’t want that!? 

I suggest you try uploading any of your IG reels, freebies, ebooks, online courses or step-by-step carousel tutorials to your idea pins and see how your audience reacts to them. You might be surprised ;). 

6. Stop re-pinning your content so much!

That's right; you need to put a hold on your old pins. 

If you don't know what re-pinning is, it's when you take an old pin you've already pinned before to your profile (whether it's your own or someone else's) and pin it again to your profile. 

Now re-pinning old content is not a bad thing. So I still recommend doing it but don't be re-pinning more than your actual pinning fresh content. 

Otherwise, your Pinterest will not grow, and the algorithm will stop recommending your pins to your potential target audience.  

Remember, fresh content is what Pinterest wants, so put more of your focus there.

7. Post only to relevant boards 

Yup, relevant boards are essential. You don't always have to be pinning to every single board when it comes to your content. 

You want to pin your own blog or shop content to your mainboard and then up to 9 other boards that relate to the topic of your content. 

Bonus if a few of those boards are already high in engagement with your audience as well (to check your engagement, go to Pinterest analytics to find out more). 

But why should you do this? Well, it's because the more you share content to lots of boards, the less your content becomes fresh. Remember, fresh content is the glue to your Pinterest strategy. 

One thing to note is that you want to ensure that your pin that's going to be shared in multiple different boards isn't pinning simultaneously. 

Again, this is because the algorithm will no longer recognise it as fresh content, and it'll come across as spammy. So try practising at least a 7-day interval between each pin going to different boards. 

8. Join the Pinterest Community

There’s a large community on Pinterest, and The community I’m talking about is no other than Pinterest group boards

If you don’t already know, these are boards where many business owners in your niche come together and pin their content on one board. To join these boards, you will usually have to request to join,

Group boards are great for seeing others work, but in 2023 onwards, group boards no longer perform the way they used to, so I wouldn’t put a lot of focus on them if you think they’re going to boost your web traffic a lot.

But even with that being said, I do find that being a part of group boards helps me connect with other business owners and helps build up my engagement. So if you’re looking to make Pinterest buddies, then I’d still use them. 

To find them, one way I suggest is looking at your fellow business comrades’ profiles and seeing what boards they’re in, then requesting to get in those boards from there. 

9. Tailwind Communities 

So you’ve heard me mention Tailwind quite a bit throughout this post. Well, that’s because I love it so much. 

What I love most about Tailwind is its communities. They’re very similar to group boards, but they give you just a tad bit more exposure.

Again I love using communities to get in touch with other business owners, especially the ones re-pinning my pins, as I like networking. Plus, you never know where one newly established friendship might lead you. 

So definitely try them out.

10. Start promoting your content with Ad’s 

Now I know this is usually the area many business owners like yourself like to stay away from since understanding ads can be complicated at times and can take some time to understand. 

But Pinterest has an easy way of advertising and is cheaper in some ways. That is with promoted pins. 

Think of promoted pins as the baby version of advertising but on Pinterest, promoted pins can get you a lot of attraction, if not more than going full in with Pinterest ads. 

Promoted pins and advertising are getting a lot of focus from Pinterest themselves in 2024, and it seems like something they’ll be pushing a lot more of in future. So I’d suggest jumping on the Pinterest advertising bandwagon now before it takes off even more! 

If you want to learn more about promoted pins, check out my blog post here to find out more - How to gain more exposure through promoting your Pinterest pins.

I shall be writing more about Pinterest ad’s and promoted pins in future, so keep your eye out for that ;). 

Want to explore more about Pinterest marketing?  

Pinterest in 2024 is going to be a game-changer for your business. If you haven’t started Pinterest marketing in your creative business yet, then I suggest you get on it today and start using these tips immediately! 

Not only these tips, but I have way more in-depth Pinterest tips and tricks that I share weekly on my email list. So if you wish to take your Pinterest marketing to the next level, this is an excellent place to join and get started. 

Don’t forget to pin me!