Thursday, March 26, 2015

Pinterest 101 for Writers by Dora Hiers


Last month, I introduced you to Pinterest. Have you checked it out yet? What do you think? Love it or leave it?

Today I’ll share some reasons why writers should love it. Lol.

Pinterest is viral. 
Here’s a quick example of the viral effect of Pinterest. Let’s say my sweet friend and fellow SW hostess, Sandy Ardoin pins several “late eighteenth century” gowns to showcase what her heroines might wear in her historical novels. Actually, take a second and check out this real boardBeautiful gowns, but aren’t you thankful that you don’t have to dress like that now? 

Let’s say Carla, a collector of vintage gowns and famous fashion designer, stumbles upon Sandy’s board. If Carla appreciates Sandy’s taste in late eighteenth century clothing, she can “follow” the board. Or, if Carla’s only impressed by a particular pin, she can “like” it using the little heart symbol, comment on it, “repin” it to one of her boards, or even “share” it on another social media site. Cool, huh? 

So Carla repins a gown to one of her boards, and her 20k followers see it in their feed. Also, because Carla’s board is categorized as “women’s fashion,” everybody who searches that category will see the pin. All these people have the same choice as Carla: like, comment, repin, or share. Similar to other social media sites, but more image centric.


You probably already knew all that, right? Here’s something you might not know. 

Pinterest is a popular hangout for females.
Courtesy of 2014 Media Bistro infogram
Out of 70 million total Pinterest users, 80% are women and 9 million connect their Pinterest accounts to Facebook*, doubling the value of a pin.

Surprising, huh? For those of you on the fence, did Pinterest just become a little more interesting?

We’re all writers here, and specifically, I’m a romance writer with a target female audience. Seems like Pinterest is a place I should hang out, right? Browsing Pinterest is something I enjoy in the evenings, more like a hobby than actual work, but I also use it as a marketing tool, which we’ll discuss more in length next month.

Pinterest offers analytics.
Did you know that Pinterest now offers the option of signing up as a business or converting? When I joined, a business account wasn’t an option (that I recall), so I just converted recently. During the conversion, I was also permitted to add “author” to my account name. That means that every time someone sees one of my pins, they will connect my name as a writer.

Also, converting to a business allows you to gather analytics, information such as most “repinned” pins, your audience’s interests, and what businesses they follow, and based on this data, they’ll offer strategic tips to reach more people.

If you’re already on Pinterest and would like to convert, the CONVERT HERE option is directly underneath the red JOIN US AS A BUSINESS button.

https://business.pinterest.com/en-gb
Although I converted, I haven’t uploaded the metatag to verify my website yet. Has anybody tried this already? What do you think? Positives? Negatives?

Make sure you stop by next month for Pinterest 101 for Writers, Take 2, and we’ll finish our Pinterest conversation. Until then, did I change your opinion about Pinterest? Any questions?

Oh, and if you love reading, writing and inspirational pins, check out my boards. Click the RED follow button upper right to follow all of them or the gray follow button under each board. Thanks! :)

*http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/pinterest-stats/#.U-PMpvl3J_8
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Available by subscription
Police Officer Winter Evan and Navy SEAL Tanner Random are wrong for each other. Winter fears the water. Tanner skims through seas for a living. So four years ago, Winter convinced herself she’d be better off not worrying about his months at sea and his increased cajoling for physical intimacy.

But when she walked away, she lost a giant chunk of her heart.

Now Tanner’s back in town to care for his abandoned niece. No longer a SEAL, he’s sticking to the safety of the North Carolina mountains as a paramedic. Should Winter risk losing her heart all over again? Will God help them build what started years ago into something solid and secure? When love triumphs...

Dora Hiers is a multi-published author of Heart Racing, God-Gracing romances. She’s a member of RWA, and her local chapter, CRW. Connect with her on Seriously Write, her personal blogTwitterFacebook or Pinterest.