How I Use Pinterest to Grow my Business
Here's how you can Leverage the Power of Pinterest…
When the thought of using Pinterest for business first crossed my mind, I didn’t really believe it would be possible.
But as I scrolled through my feed, I started reading blogs where people were talking about how they made over $10,000 per month (and more) blogging. I remember thinking “that can’t possibly be true!”
Women eventually get to a point in their life where they want (and sometimes desperately need) a more flexible work life.
Whether it’s the need for flexible hours to be more present with your growing family, or the desire to travel and not be tied down by a 9 to 5, we all dream of a balance between career and life.
This blog post is about my personal journey to grow my business using Pinterest
I don't typically like sharing about my own personal journey, but I was encouraged to share the full story because some people I trust believe that YOU can be inspired to create your own empire by reading it! I hope it inspires you!
So lets start at the beginning. I started my first blog while I was pregnant…in 2006. I was absolutely over the corporate stress, and I knew that I was going to need some flexibility.
At first I didn't think the blog would actually be a business, it was just for fun.
I was still looking for a remote job.
The more I searched, the more frustrated and impatient I got. There are a lot of scams out there.
For the love of all things, don't EVER sign up to do surveys!
I don't know why people are still even talking about that junk!
Anyway, I browsed through websites like FlexJobs, Virtual Vocations, Indeed, and even LinkedIn, I just didn’t believe it was going to be possible for me to get a good job and still have the flexibility to work from home.
So I had this blog, but I didn't yet recognize that it could be monetized, and I surely didn't yet recognize that I could gain massive amounts of website visitors and make money by using Pinterest.
Months went by and I didn’t make a dime.
In the meantime, I was doing freelance work and running Facebook ads for others…and literally teaching others how to grow their online business.
But I didn't have the kind of money they did.
Money to spend on paid ads that is.
But I was determined. I knew that Pinterest was different from Facebook.
I finally stopped doing the work for others and started making things work for my own business
Once I decided to focus on my own business, I ended up pulling in a few thousand dollars a month.
It was certainly enough to supplement my husband’s income, so thankfully I didn’t need a full-time 9 to 5, but it still wasn’t generating the tens of thousands that I was hearing about.
I bought a few courses to make sure I wasn't missing anything, but they didn't offer me anything other than completely vague advice.
I knew better.
On two occasions I even emailed a “course creator” after I purchased her course to ask some questions, and would you believe that 2 different people didn't even bother to get back to me?!
I mean seriously.
That.is.RUDE.
Now I was even more determined.
After a few more months I decided to really buckle down and get focused. I documented my strategy, interviewed successful business owners, even took a high-ticket, entrepreneural mastermind, and read more books than I ever thought existed about the topic…I finally zero’d in on what actually worked.
In a matter of days, I jumped from making around $200 per day to making over $2,000 per day! The first day, I stared at my real-time analytics and thought it couldn’t be real. Then the next day, and the next. After about 6 months, I knew I had stumbled upon the real methodology. Needless to say, it has completely changed our life.
I just knew I needed to share this experience so that other women could feel this kind of impact too.
It started with my neighbor, then some friends, and finally, women around the world, who all need the flexibility to work on their own terms…just like I did.
I’ve created a full scale online course where I’ve meticulously documented every.single.thing that changed the game for me. If you're interested, you can learn more about The Pinterest Business Plan by clicking here.
I’m giving away the same game-changing insights that I paid well over $7,000 for!
Why?
Because I define success as the dreams that you can help other’s achieve, not what’s in my wallet.
I've had students tell me that what I teach in this course is worth far more than I'm charging for it. That's a huge compliment which I definitely appreciate very much, but I just can't raise the price.
I want it to be affordable, yet uncomfortable. What does that mean?
Well if you pay $50 for a course, then you're not really invested in it. You might not take it seriously. But if you spend a few hundred….well then I know you're invested in yourself and in learning as much as you can. I know this from my own experience!
Over many years of the 9 to 5 lifestyle, I experienced way too much “corporate greed” and I wear my heart on my sleeve.
And, I was disgusted at the women who didn't answer my email. I mean…who are these people?
I'll never be that person who doesn't care about the people I inspire.
The bottom line is that I do care.
I care about helping you achieve your goals.
Yes, I need to make a living too, but I don’t believe in ripping you off so that I can live in luxury while you struggle.
That’s why the mini-course is only $40.
I’ve got your back.
Here are a few details, so you can get a glimpse of how the process works:
Part 1. The Story
Telling a story is much more likely to encourage someone to take action because you make a meaningful connection. You can do this through a blog post by writing, or you can do it through video. This is also the foundation of how you can make money using YouTube. If you don’t have a blog yet, don’t worry, the Pinterest Mini-Course starts out by walking you through how to set up your blog or website, step-by-step.
If you want to make money through Pinterest, I highly suggest starting a blog and writing about the products you sell, or the affiliate products you advertise. Otherwise, you’ll just be spinning your wheels. You don't have to be a stellar writer, you just have to connect the dots for your readers.
Part 2. Affiliate Marketing
This can be super confusing if you’ve never heard of affiliate marketing. Most of the “super affiliates” use sleazy tactics and do not share the secrets that you really need to know. This was my biggest pet-peeve when I first started blogging. I absolutely hate “bro marketing” where you get roped into giving up your email address in exchange for a crappy webinar where someone tells you to put away your phone and all distractions and then shows you photos of their expensive car, before launching into a bad power point presentation and an offer to purchase their $900 course at the end. It pisses me off actually, because they never gave you anything of value and expect you to open up your wallet.
Online marketing doesn’t work that way.
At least not successful online marketing.
The best way to use affiliate marketing with Pinterest is to write a blog post about a product and then pin the blog post.
This method generates a lot more clicks and thus, affiliate income, than you would have if you only linked the pin directly to the product itself. Certainly try both, but if you really want to increase passive income using Pinterest, I highly recommend using your blog.
If you have no idea how to get started with a blog, this completely free download (below) will walk you through the process step-by-step.
It was one of the first “free” digital products that I ever created. In fact, I originally put it together for a few friends, because each of them wanted to learn how to get a beautiful blog set up as quickly as possible, but I just didn’t have the capacity to sit down with each of them and walk them through it step by step.
Instead, it led to the creation of this comprehensive guide, where I share everything I learned from spending nearly 14 years in corporate and agency marketing. You can be assured that you’re getting solid information…not just what I learned while creating my own blog. I’ve created websites for literally hundreds of clients.
Enter your email address and you can get started instantly, for free!
If you don’t already have a blog (or if you do but you need some professional advice) here is a glimpse of what’s included in the guide:
1. How to choose your name and topic
2. How to start with the tech (i.e.: WordPress)
3. How to plan your content
4. How to monetize
5. How to increase traffic and ultimately profit
Part 3: Pin Design
Pin design may sound basic, like something you've already heard before. But it's super important. Pinterest is the place to see pretty, feminine pins, but often times people will use a cursive font that is hard to read, or put too much text on their pin design.
If you want to make money on Pinterest you have to use the types of pins that have been proven to generate hundreds of thousands of clicks. In the industry, this is called “click through rate.”
In the mini-course, I go over exactly what a good pin is vs a bad pin.
I teach what I've learned both by marketing my own Pins on Pinterest, as well as what I learned about color and typography after spending 14 years in corporate marketing.
Literally, I know of people who made only $100 with their pin design, and then after a few adjustments, the next day made $1,800. And it was all due to changing what her pin looked like.
Part 4: Pinterest Specific SEO
Don’t let those three letters “SEO” scare you. This is just a fancy way to describe how to choose the right words to write your Pinterest Boards and Pin Descriptions. This is a critical piece of the puzzle.
When I first started using Pinterest, I labeled my boards like this:
“Recipes”
“Fashion”
and
“Inspiring Design”
But the reality is, having boards like that will not bring in the big bucks. It’s important to have that right kind of board titles and descriptions to generate the right kind of traffic to your blog.
In the mini-course, I provide a series of videos that literally walk you through the process of how exactly to choose the right SEO words to use for your Pinterest board names and descriptions so that you can generate more profit and more traffic.
Listen I’m not a self-proclaimed guru who has some special talent that you don’t have.
I am just a regular person who didn’t give up, even when my husband thought it sounded crazy when I told him I was going to create a business using Pinterest.
You can do this too!
Thanks for reading and I hope you’ll give the mini-course a try! It’s jam packed with everything you need, including links to video tutorials and downloadable worksheets.
Limited Time: Private Coaching Group
So here's the deal, last year I started a free Facebook group, but at the time, I hadn’t yet created my “mini-course” and I wasn’t even sure what I was going to use the group for. I just knew that I wanted to connect with other bloggers, business owners, and online entrepreneurs in a safe and “spam free” environment.
My plan for the future of the groups is this: right now, it is free and open to join, but once I complete the full online course, I’ll only be inviting course members to the group because I already know I won’t be able to keep up with two groups. Between my clients and the sheer number of emails I answer in a day, I know I will have to make a choice. It’s a great time to jump in now (while it's still free!) if you’re interested.
Inside the group, you’ll find a safe place to ask questions, get encouragement, share your dreams and your business with other women, potentially get clients, participate in the share threads and connect and collaborate with other bloggers, social media influencers, and online entrepreneurs.