Using Pinterest to get traffic to your blog

Since creating this video Pinterest has made changes to its algorithm. So what does that mean to you? 

1. Pinning every day is still worthwhile. (or whatever you can do consistently.)

2. Pinning to every folder is no longer appropriate. Pinterest now appreciates "Fresh" pins and sharing the same pin to many accounts may now mean you are penalized by Pinterest.

WHAT IS A FRESH PIN?

That is a term that is used by content creators on Pinterest to mean a brand new never before seen pin. You can create a fresh pin or even revamp an old pin to make it fresh. You can either change the image or the font. If you are changing the font you can change the actual words or the font that you use eg change Helvetica to Georgia etc.

Below is the video which takes you 4 basic and relevant points.

Please ignore the 5th point as it is now considered spam by Pinterest! 

"Duplicate content will be shown less and possibly considered as spam" according to Pinterest Partnership Manager, Lucy Matthews, who is one of their representatives.

TRANSCRIPT: Today I am talking about Pinterest for bloggers. 

PINTEREST is not a social media platform where we talk to others and connect...

it is actually a search engine just like Google! 

It's a free way to drive traffic to your blog or website. 

You can use your pins to drive traffic to your opt-in pages or a specific post.

So how can we do this?   

Pinterest has the smart feed which rewards people who are better pinners. It now displays the best pins not the newest pins. So how can we be one of those better pinners and get seen by more people?

1. Have a high re-pin rate. 

When you pin something, Pinterest is looking to see how many times that pin is re-pinned. Basically, it thinks that if it is re-pinned more than once then people like it. 

2. Use keywords.

Pinterest is looking for keywords just the same as Google, so you need to use keywords on Pinterest as well. It helps if you know what people are searching for in your niche. When you create a pin in the Description box put the 3 or 4 keywords or keyword phrases that people might use if they were searching for that pin. 

3. PIN every day.

Yes every single day... even if it's just once a day. 

4. PIN in your niche. 

You need to appeal to your audience. Forget house design and flowers except if that is your niche. Create boards in your niche.

This is the content of the video that is now irrelevant from 2021...

(5. PIN to multiple boards. 

Pin it to every board of yours that is relevant to that pin. 

Start by pinning it to your main board and then re-pin it to your other boards. 

Hopefully that will get some re-pins and more traffic. 

I suggest creating your main board to be titled after your blog.

It is important to pin the 1 image to multiple boards because your followers may not be following every single board of yours. )

Look out for my other PINTEREST posts:

Pinterest Tips and Tricks: manual pinning and fresh content

Check out the other posts to help bloggers:

• What should I send in my emails?
• How to start an email list today (Just 3 simple steps)
• How to promote your blog post.
• An easy to follow guide on How Often To Share On Social Media
• What is a pillar post?
• Monetize your blog - 12 suggestions
• Your Pre Publish checklist (or what to do before you hit the Publish button)
• How to revamp your old blog posts (with step by step instructions) 

Fibro Friday is about Fibromyalgia awareness

Awareness, of anything, is about informing and educating and by sharing our stories about Fibromyalgia we are trying to do just that. Awareness is also about wanting those who suffer from this condition NOT to feel alone.  Understanding is key to coping with this complex condition. People with Fibro are affected in many different ways: in physical activities, employment, education, social interactions, relationships and emotional well being.

Spreading awareness of a disease may also in the long run help to create more treatment options and research and eventually a cure. We all live in hope.

You can help others grasp understanding of  Fibro by letting them know about this link up, visiting and sharing some of the blogs that are linked up here and by sharing an article here if you are a blogger. Thank you.

Pamela Jessen from There Is Always Hope

This is Pamela Jessen from There Is Always Hope

Pamela has been sharing her story since early 2016 at her blog There Is Always Hope - This is my life with Fibromyalgia, chronic pain, chronic fatigue and invisible illness. Besides Fibromyalgia, Pamela talks about her Osteoarthritis, Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (Dish), Hip Replacement, Trigeminal Neuralgia, Myofascial Pain, Diabetes Type 2 (on Insulin), Gastroparesis, Hypothyroidism and Bipolar Disorder. 

Pamela is a wonderful advocate for showing that everyone can share their voice and raise the profile of these diseases.  She is a volunteer with Patient Voices Network - an organization in British Columbia that allows everyday people to have a voice in how healthcare is delivered in that area. She says:

I want people to know they can have a say in BC's Health Care and that voice can be in any number of different ways. It's important for our voices to be heard and I love to talk about how that works! 

Some of her posts include:

• One Is The Loneliest Number 
• Creature Comforts
• An Attitude of Gratitude
• Let's make One Thing Clear

You can connect with Pamela at her blog, and on her facebook page. She would love you to visit and leave a comment.

What is a pillar post?

This is where you can learn all about Pillar Posts...

If you are a blogger you definitely need to not only know what a pillar post is you need to write at least one and probably 5 to get more traffic to your blog.

A pillar post is the type of information that your readers would search for in google.

A pillar post is a post that holds up or supports your blog.

It is a post that you are really proud of and that you are extremely happy to share.

It is usually a longer, rather than a shorter post.

It should be an in depth post covering one specific core topic. (Think about having 3 core topics)

It should use a specific keyword or related group of keywords.

It should be thorough.

It should ideally be about the core principles of your blog.

It could answer questions that your readers want answered.

It should be relevant and useful to your readers.

It could explain a theory or concept.

It could be problem solving.

It should be an evergreen post, meaning that it stays relevant overtime.

It must be your own unique work and hopefully have some unique ideas.

It would be amazing if it was groundbreaking or not found on many other blogs.

WHY IS A PILLAR POST IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BLOG?
Pillar posts, or cornerstone posts, as they are often called, will help your blog be found in search.
They help people understand what your blog is all about.
Help you become an authority in your niche.
Also they are great to share so other people know what your blog is all about.

GOOD NEWS
You may already have some posts on your blog that, with a little bit of work, can easily become great pillar posts. If you can answer the question better than anyone else your post will become worthy of linking to.

HEADLINES AND KEYWORDS
Choose your relevant Keywords and place them in the title and in the first paragraph.
Here is a FREE keyword shortcut from Neil Patel called UberSuggest.  Just type in one keyword and UberSuggest will generate more words for you to consider. You don't even have to add your email.

WHO CALLED IT A PILLAR POST?
In 2006 that great Australian/Canadian blogger Yaro Starak used the term in an article on Problogger 

Write at least five major “pillar” articles. A pillar article is usually a tutorial style article aimed to teach your audience something. Generally they are longer than 500 words and have lots of very practical tips or advice. This article you are currently reading could be considered a pillar article since it is very practical and a good “how-to” lesson. This style of article has long term appeal, stays current (it isn’t news or time dependent) and offers real value and insight. The more pillars you have on your blog the better.