Where I Get Over 50% Of My Blog & Shop Traffic

I think one of the hardest decisions as a blogger or online business owner is knowing where to focus your time and attention. You only have so many hours and resources and it seems like everyone is giving conflicting advice….

“Pour all your money into Facebook Ads.”

“Use Instagram Stories every hour and post to your feed at least 3 times a day.”

“TikTok! You have to get on TikTok!”

To make things worse, you see these follower counts, view totals, and other vanity metrics that make you feel like the entire thing is just one big popularity contest or for whoever has the biggest ad budget.

But here’s a secret:

High views do not always equal high sales. High follower numbers do not always equal high paying customers.

Do not get discouraged or distracted by the appearance of success.

I’ve found that it’s those unseen avenues that often make the biggest difference.

Customer loyalty. A strong email list. Connections with other creatives.

No one can see these numbers, but they can often bring in the largest amount of growth and income.

My personal favorite “behind the scenes” avenue is Pinterest!

In fact, over 50% of my blog & shop traffic is from Pinterest alone.

Yep, it’s not just for finding recipes and unattainable craft projects! Ha.

Pinterest is a search engine which means most people are there shopping or trying to find a solution to a problem they have. This is not usually the case for Facebook and Instagram.

Pinterest also earns more traffic over time. Whereas Facebook and Instagram posts can disappear from someone’s feed within minutes, something you pinned 3 years ago might still be bringing you new customers.

So if you have a blog or something to sell, Pinterest is for YOU, my friend.

You have the solution to someone’s problem. You might have the service they need or the product they’re looking for. Investing in Pinterest and creating branded visuals for what you offer can be so much more profitable to your business than another coffee shop selfie (even if it gets a lot of likes).

Today I’m sharing a few Pinterest tips that have worked for me, and then at the end of the post, there are some pretty awesome resources to get you even further.

#1 Carefully Create Your Visuals

You can’t just slap up any old low-quality picture for your blog, product or service and I’m pretty sure you already know this.

For the blog posts, products, and services you choose to pin, create multiple high quality, vertical images. If you add a title to those images, make sure those titles are LARGE (bigger than you think) and that the wording is attention-grabbing.

Try typing some different searches into Pinterest and notice which ones grab YOUR attention. You also might notice many brands stick to one style so you can recognize which pins are from them.

It does take a little bit of extra time to create these pins, but it’s worth the effort in the end.

To make things simpler for us all, I created a set of 10 Essential Pin Templates from common design themes I saw performing well on Pinterest. (Don’t miss the bonus offer for these below!)

#2 Create Branded Board Categories

You should be pinning your own content and work regularly. Literally every day if you can.

If you’re worried about having boards filled with your own stuff, try getting a little creative with your boards. Create and categorize boards according to what your audience is looking for.

For example, my wedding album designs can go on any of the following boards…

Wedding Planning, Keepsakes, Wedding Photography, Album Design, Photoshop Templates, Photography Tools, Wedding Details, Photo Albums, Wedding Albums, Layout Ideas, etc.

Make it easy on yourself and create a group of board options for each type of product. I help walk you through this in my One Year Content Planner. (Also included in the bundle mentioned below!)

My boards are filled with my products and content, but I also make a point to pin other things that would help someone in each category succeed. Make sure it’s a mix of good content from you AND others.

#3 Use Tools Like Tailwind

I’ve been using Tailwind for several years now and I love it. Tailwind is a paid app that lets me schedule all of my pins in advance. So instead of spending 20 minutes on Pinterest every day, I can spend a day or two loading up the Tailwind scheduler and not have to pin again for months.

Tailwind also offers two features that can really grow your traffic….

Tailwind Tribes - Tribes are groups of like-minded pinners that will pin your content for you. This multiplies the number of people seeing your pins exponentially.

Tailwind Smartloop - If you have a best-selling product or popular post and want it to repeatedly pin to several boards throughout the year, Tailwind’s Smartloop will keep it going for you. (See the early bird offer below for how you can try 3 months of Tailwind’s Plus Plan free, or save $45 off your annual subscription!)

#4 Get Tips From Pinning Experts

As much as I love Pinterest, I don’t always have the time to be up on the latest news and changes. So I love following along with other experts who are already doing that research. Monica from Redefining Mom is one of my favorite people to follow for this reason. I took a few of her Pinterest Courses in the past and found them super detailed and helpful! Learning from other experts can help you figure out what the best methods are and how to keep from wasting precious time.

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xo, Laurie