You may have noticed that there are new video pins on Pinterest when before it has always been a still image. They recently added this new feature and I am loving it. It is pretty cool to be scrolling along and see a pin start playing. It makes me love Pinterest that much more! Now I can see even more detail about what that pin is about before clicking through! But for a business owner, video pins on Pinterest means something more than to a normal Pinterest user.
Yes, as a normal Pinterest user you get to enjoy videos sharing all the cool ways you can braid your hair, but as a business owner, you now have more opportunity to share your business with your potential customers!
First let me say, don’t worry if you don’t have the option yet to create video pins on Pinterest yet. It is fairly new so it will be available soon if you don’t have it yet. If you do have the option to create a video pin then let’s dive into why this is so awesome for you and your business!
Video Pins Can Benefit Your Business
1. People Like to Watch Videos
It is pretty obvious that people like videos. YouTube, TikTok, SnapChat, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram all have videos on them. Not all of them have always had videos but they have evolved to all cater to videos because people love to watch them! You can tell so much more of your story with a quick video than trying to explain it all over text and with an image. Even blogs have turned into vlogs!
2. Video Pins on Pinterest are Eye-catching
Videos catch your eye when they start playing, you can’t help but watch. If the video is good you are likely to stay and watch it until the end. When you could easily scroll right on past images.
3. Video Pins on Pinterest Stand Out in the Crowd
On Pinterest, it is a sea of images. There aren’t personal posts to break up the images, it is only images. With that said, it is very easy to just scroll and scroll. However, if a pin starts moving and playing an eye-catching video, you can’t help but stop and watch what’s happening at least for a few seconds. And those few seconds of your attention are more than the other pins got!
4. Video Pins Share More Than a Still Image Can
With a video pin, you are able to share with your potential customer more about your pin that with a still image. If your pin image is a delicious recipe but it is a still image that is just one shot to show them how amazing your recipe is. With a video image, this gives you the opportunity to show them how amazing your recipe is. I love watching those quick cooking videos! And I don’t even like to cook! I just love watching them and it gives the illusion that this is quick and easy to make, even when it may not be.
But that video got me to stop, watch, think, and possibly click through. That is MUCH more than a still image recipe pin gets from me.
5. Video Pins are Listed at the Top of the Mobile App
On the mobile Pinterest app, there is a section of video pins at the top after you search for something. I searched for fall soup recipes to show you what I mean. In the search results, there is a list of video pins at the top of the feed. There were also several promoted video pins as I scrolled down that were by big companies like the Food Network. That should tell you that video pins work right there!
Well, now that we have covered the video pins are awesome and everyone’s favorite let’s talk about how to make them so you can join the cool club of video pin makers!
How to Make a Video Pin on Pinterest
My favorite way to create animated pins is with the Adobe Spark App. Since my pins are all about blogging tips, it is an easy way to add some zest to my pins without completely creating an entire video. With the Adobe Spark App you can create your pin very simply and then you click on effects and from there you can animate your text on your pin.
This App is free and makes creating pins very easy. It is something I actually just started using last week. That was when I realized that you could animate your text turning it into a short video that would be perfect for grabbing your reader’s attention out of the crowd of other pins without creating a video.
As with anything, there is more than one way to create a video pin and yes, luckily some of them are free! As I mentioned you can use Abobe Spark but here are some other free options to help you get started.
Free Options
Wave.video
Giphy.com
Adobe Spark
iMovie
Powerpoint
Video Speed App
Wave.video and Giphy.com
I have not personally tried the wave.video option yet but I used giphy.com to create the video above showing you the fall soup recipes example. I just read that the wave.video was an option another blogger used so I included it for you.
The video above from giphy.com would be able to be a video pin because it falls into all the criteria listed for a video pin on Pinterest. That said, that means you could use giphy.com to create animated pins or video pins as well.
This pin was created with giphy.com too and I am going to use it on Pinterest to advertise this blog post. I created three pin images like I normally would do. Uploaded them to giphy.com and set the time fo 3 seconds per image. Then the final step allows you to add an animated sticker. I added the arrow and hit complete!
Now I have a video pin that showcases all of the three pins I created. This is an easy way to set your pins apart from all of the others!
iMovie
If you are an Apple user you can use iMovie to create a video right from your phone. This is where creating an actual video and editing it would come in. If your blog is about cooking you could video the process of cooking something and edit it in iMovie to shorten it and create a video pin.
PowerPoint
You can even use PowerPoint to create a slideshow video. You just need to make sure that the slides are the pin image size but I tried this method and was able to get it to work! It didn’t work for GoogleSlides though. You have to save the movie in a correct format and GoogleSlides didn’t have that option. Also, PowerPoint let me set a timer to automatically change the slides turning it into a movie similar to the pin above and GoogleSlides didn’t have that option either.
Video Speed App
I included this App in the list because it helps you speed up your videos faster than iMovie will let you. Let’s say that your video is of you drawing something and you want to speed it up but iMovie will only go 2x as fast and you need 4x. The video speed app will speed up your video for you so that you don’t lose your viewer’s attention.
I love to watch those videos of people drawing things out but if I have to watch it in real-time I would give up very quickly. When they speed through it I stick around to see the end result because I know it’s coming quickly.
Paid Options
Animoto
Lumen 5
Canva (paid option)
Again, I read about Animoto and Lumen 5 so I wanted to include these options but I haven’t tried them myself. I have tried Canva (the free option) and I do enjoy it so if Canva is something you already use then it may be worth the small investment to enable to video option.
Video Pin Specs from Pinterest
How long can videos be on Pinterest?
File type
.mp4, .mov or .m4v
File size
2GB max
Encoding
H.264 or H.265
Length
4 seconds – 15 minutes
Description
up to 500 characters long, though only the first few lines will show in feed
Aspect ratio
We accommodate standard video sizes including widescreen (16:9)Horizontal -Youtube, square (1:1)-Instagram, FB, and vertical (9:16, 4:5, 2:3)- Pinterest.
Pinterest has a lot to share on their business page on the basics of creating pins on Pinterest. Of course, going there and reading everything straight from them is always the best. This is some advice from myself and other bloggers on what makes a good pin and what to avoid.
Also, you can check out my Free Pinterest Image Course that walks through this information and the programs I use to create my pins.
Are vertical and not horizontal bc they are easily scrolled right past. You can, however, do the square video pin bc they are used at the top of the mobile app.
Add Text overlay with clear easy to read font, avoid too much script font.
Bright colors (or at least contrasting colors).
Watermark – make sure to put your URL or logo somewhere on the image to avoid others stealing your pin and to make it easier for it to be repinned by others.
Eye-catching.
Saveable – the point isn’t to just get an ad of your blog out there in front of people but it is to get people to:
a) save it because then it goes to more people but also
b) to click through
An attention-grabbing title.
Solves a problem.
Branding colors (or at least colors that go well together).
A keyword filled description.
Keep it short (doesn’t give away too much and keeps attention).
Use beautiful images.
Don’t rely on audio with video pins.
Link to Pinterest Business page.
Rich pins added to your account.
How to Upload a Video Pin to Pinterest
Once you have created this masterpiece all you need to do next is to upload it to Pinterest. To do this it is just like adding a regular pin to Pinterest. Click the + sign that can be found on the top right corner of the screen and follow the steps from there.
There is an approval process for video pins, unlike normal pins. I’m sure this is to verify that all videos being uploaded to Pinterest are appropriate. Which I for one am very thankful for! I don’t want to be scrolling along and seeing something I don’t want to see.
Promote Your Video Pins
How do you promote a video pin?
You can promote your video pins by following the steps explained on Pinterest’s business page and after reading up on promoting pins I see that you can not promote GIFs so just be aware of that if promoting video pins is something you think you might do. I would hate for you to create a video pin from a giphy.com and then not be able to promote it later if it took off.
How to Schedule Your Pins
Tailwind
Now that you have creating video pins for Pinterest down, let’s talk about scheduling them out to automatically pin on Pinterest. If you have made it this far to learn how to create video pins on Pinterest I am sure that you have already been pinning regular pins and have either realized it is too much to do all on your own or you have already signed up for Tailwind.
If you haven’t yet signed up and you are feeling a bit overwhelmed on how to possibly be pinning all day every day then I am here to tell you that Tailwind is a lifesaver! I have two different success stories I will share with you on how amazing Tailwind can be.
My Success Stories
When I first started using Tailwind on my new blog within a week my traffic spiked. It went from a couple people a day to hundreds of people a day visiting my blog. I had over 7,000 page views on my very new blog in 30 days. The last week of January is when I started and 30 days later I had over 7,000 page views. I go more into detail on that in this blog post.
Fast forward to me not staying consistent on neither creating content nor adding it to Tailwind and my traffic had gone down. I only have myself to blame but it’s the honest truth I let it all go and basically went back to where I started. I reloaded my Tailwind with all new blog posts and did my normal leave it and forget about it until a couple days later. My traffic took off again! This time I tried my best to keep it alive and I was able to off of that one blog post that was driving traffic in. I was able to get over 20,000 page views in 30 days. I talk all about which pins too off and why in this blog post.
If you actually use Tailwind the way it should be used (and if you are paying for it then you should – unlike me!) then it definitely works. My traffic 100 percent reflects my Tailwind strategy. If I am keeping up with it and adding new content to my blog and to Tailwind then my traffic goes up. If I get behind and I don’t then my traffic goes down. Learn more about how to use Tailwind and give it a try and see for yourself!
Choosing the niche for your blog is a very important first step in blogging. This decision is hard to change later on without starting over. Maybe if your blog name is broad you might be able to. However, most likely you will want your blog name to be what your niche is so again it would be hard to change later on.
For example, my blog name is Mom Blog From Home and it’s about teaching moms how to blog from home. If I wanted to change my niche I could possibly spin it to where I am a mom blogging from home about a certain topic. But I wouldn’t be able to change my niche to teaching people how to care for puppies or something like that.
It just wouldn’t make sense with the name of my blog.
Personally, I have gone through deciding on a niche for my blog many times so I am speaking from experience. I have always wanted to blog but never knew what to blog about. I would change my mind too many times.
Then when I finally decided on a niche, I would buy the domain name and then panic and change my mind again but then it was too late.
I still have some of the domain names I have purchased in the past. It wasn’t until I finally went with my heart and chose to teach about blogging did it all come together.
Why Choosing Your Niche Is Important
Can’t change it later on
As I said it is not something you can easily change 6 months down the road if you change your mind. It is worth taking the time to really evaluate and find the perfect niche for your blog.
Needs to be something you are passionate about
One thing you will hear from other bloggers and you are going to hear it from me as well is that you need to be passionate about your niche. If you are knowledgeable about a subject but you aren’t passionate about it then that is probably not the one to go with.
Let me give you two personal examples.
First, I feel like I am pretty knowledgeable about children. My mother ran an in-home daycare for 20 years so I grew up in that daycare for 15+ years. Once out of college I had my daughter and I opened up my own daycare that I ran for two years. Since then I have worked on and off with the 1-3-year-olds at a private school in town for a total working time of a year.
I have taken many safety courses and training classes plus obviously years of hands-on work. However, though I love them all dearly, I don’t believe that is my calling and it is not my passion.
Maybe it is a skill I have to handle little children when many others can not but again it is not a passion. I had thought about all the different niches I could use that involved children that I would be able to blog about for a long time. But those times when you have had a long day and you just don’t feel like working on your blog, it will be way too easy to give into. If you are passionate about your niche then you will look forward to working on it. It won’t feel like work at all!. Also, then you will strive to learn more and grow in your niche market!
Second, I have some knowledge about health and weight loss. I have my own weight loss success story after finding these awesome products that I have been taking since 2012.
I started them after a friend had lost 30 pounds and looked amazing and was full of energy. I got on the products and the program and I ended up losing 20 pounds and I still am at that 125-pound mark I ended at years ago.
I learned so much along that journey that I would love to share with everyone. However, I quickly learned that people want to have their cake and eat it too….literally!
When it comes to weight loss no one wants to actually put in the work and most are quick to shut anything you say down (even if you have all kinds of proof). It is something I am passionate about for myself but I am not passionate about trying to convince people that it works. I know it does and so for me, that’s all that matters!
You will be blogging about that topic for years (hopefully right?)
If your blog goes well then you should be blogging for years, right? If you grow your blog and you are bringing in an income then that will be your source of income for….well ever! Make sure your niche in something you can stand to blog about forever. Of course, you can also start another blog later on once this one is successful. Although you wouldn’t want to close the first one either way so again back to being able to blog about that niche for a long time.
Investment
There is some investment in starting a blog so you once more want to make sure you know for sure what your niche for your blog is going to be before you make any purchases. The main one that you can’t take back is your domain name. Luckily, domain names are fairly inexpensive so you won’t be out much money if you do change your mind. Read more about how to choose your domain name here.
And as they say, time is money so if you get too deep into creating your blog around your niche and writing blog posts then you will have done that all for nothing.
Now take every topic you came up with and start narrowing it down. Here are some examples.
Health/Fitness
Exercises
Healthy Recipes
Supplements
Clothing
Pregnancy
Health
Clothes
Exercises
Baby room décor
Nursing
Narrow down your niche even more
So that you stand out even further you can narrow your niche down once more! The pool of people that will be searching for Health and Fitness is really large.
That is great but there is also a large number of people providing that information. If you narrow it down to just exercises then yes that narrows down the people looking but it also narrows down the number of people providing that information or your competition.
Then if you narrow it down once more and be very specific then odds are you will have even less competition. Yes, you will have fewer people searching but that is okay because you will have a very targeting audience. You are more likely to get a better turn out with a more targeted audience than to be lost in the crowd of every other website out there on the broader niche.
For example Mom Blog From Home: It is about teaching moms how to blog and how to use that money to pay off debt. I narrowed it down from not just about blogging but to teaching moms to blog, then to narrow it down once more to teach them how to use their blog to pay off debt.
Look for keywords
Keywords are another major part of picking out your niche. If there are keywords in your niche that you could use then that will help drive traffic to your blog. Keywords are words that are popular or searched for often. You can go to kwfinder.com to search for long-tailed keywords and see how popular they are.
If you can use a long-tailed keyword in your domain name then when people search that term you are more likely to pop up.
Competition
Of course, everyone wants to find a niche that has no competition but I once read that having competition isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That means that the niche is in high demand. It must be popular to have others in that same niche. That’s again where setting yourself apart from your competitors comes in by narrowing down your niche to be more specific for a more targeted audience.
Profitability
There needs to be a way to profit from your niche. Unless you are purely blogging for fun. If you are like me, you are looking to make an income and so you need to not only find something that you can make a profit from but something people are actually willing to purchase too.
For example, just because recipes are a popular niche doesn’t mean someone will buy your liver and onions recipes. Sorry for those that like liver and onions I was trying to think of something I wouldn’t (or most people wouldn’t) eat. So make sure that your niche isn’t all about something that no one wants.
To avoid that, a great suggestion is to do some market research yourself and see if there are others out there. Odds are if you can’t find any other sites that are like your targeted niche, then it probably isn’t a good one to go with. It is nearly impossible to be the first one in that niche. Search on Google, Pinterest, and even Etsy if it is a homemade product, to see if it is profitable.
Affiliate Marketing
If your niche is not a product you have made but rather someone else’s product(s) then you are probably looking to become an affiliate for that said product or service to receive a commission off of the sale.
You can be an affiliate for several products or services. Let’s go back to the recipe niche example, you could be an affiliate for a cookbook, cooking utensils, the ingredients, the paid cooking course someone offers, etc.
To become an affiliate either go to the website of the person or company you are interested in and scroll to the very bottom and most of the time there is a link to their affiliate program. Otherwise, you can Google search the product or service and add “+affiliate” to the end to get search results of companies that have affiliate programs within your niche.
Either way, it is a fairly simple and easy process! If you do not see a link on a certain website that you really want to become an affiliate for then find a way to contact them and just ask!
Many bloggers make all their money solely on affiliate marketing! Once you are an affiliate for someone you will receive a special link that you will add when appropriate into your blog posts and when someone clicks on that link and makes a purchase you will receive a commission! Easy peasy!
Sum It All Up
Choose something you are passionate about, something you can write about for a long time, and something that is profitable!
Have you heard of the bullet journal? I thought surely everyone had but I met someone the other day that had no idea what a bullet journal was. Maybe it is just popular for us mom bloggers and the crafty Pinterest moms? Isn’t it funny how something you see all the time seems like everyone else does too?
Well, I pinned my post on Pinterest and it took off! Traffic started rolling in!
It was wonderful, however, it was not my target audience. I am used to my audience being mom bloggers. I knew it wasn’t mom bloggers though because no one was signing up for my freebie that always gets sign-ups. That freebie is geared toward moms looking to start a blog.
However, I was also receiving some comments on my pin (again from loyal bullet journal folk) that nothing is better than the original bullet journal.
My Audience
Again, I am used to talking to bloggers. And I, a blogger, love my new alternative to the bullet journal! But I can see why maybe the loyal fans would not.
So I decided to write a different blog post (this one) that is tailored to my peeps specifically – Bloggers!
The Alternative
I will cut right to the chase. The new alternative bullet journal that is perfect for bloggers that I am talking about is a digital version. Now before you get all worked up, let me explain my reasoning.
Digital Bullet Journal Benefits:
1. Easy to erase and edit
I am a perfectionist when it comes to writing things out. I end up erasing and rewriting 100 times because I hate my handwriting. Yes, I know I could use a pencil but it still shows. Yes, there are erasable pens but they show too. Digital is 100% erasable, clean, and it is much faster too.
One of my favorite options with a digital version is that I can move my text around easily. The apps I use let’s you circle your text you just wrote or typed and then drag and drop it somewhere else.
This is perfect for a to-do list! If something needs to be moved to the next day I just circle it and move it over!
2.) You only need one pencil (or finger)
The point of the bullet journal is to create your own pages and customize every detail. Therefore you have to have a bunch of different colored pens, markers, pencils, and tapes. So that means you have to store all those and lug them around when you go anywhere.
It’s summer right now and we go to the pool, the park, or the library and I like to take my work with me. Well, I have to carry that all around with me to still be able to use my bullet journal. With the digital version, you can do all of that and more with just your iPhone or iPad.
And let’s face it you aren’t going to forget your phone so it is always accessible!
Note: You do not need to have Apple products to utilize a digital bullet journal. I am an Apple user so that is just what I refer to.
3.) No need to replace supplies
With the physical bullet journal, you are going to run out of pages and you will have to buy another bullet journal. Your pens and tape are going to run out and you will have to buy more of those as well. Our puppy chewed up half of my supplies that I never even got to use! With the digital version, you will never have to buy more supplies. You can purchase designs already made for you but you can also create your own for free.
Again, with the app that I use, there is an option to add more pages and to bookmark pages. This means I can add more pages to my bullet journal and bookmark where I have important pages to not get overwhelmed.
(The app I use is Goodnotes)
4.) Efficiency
We are bloggers. We like digital things. Turning anything digital is much more efficient so making your bullet journal digital makes it more efficient too!
You could track all of your blog posts, images, social media posts, pins and more! That is why I feel like it is the perfect bullet journal for bloggers.
5.) Endless customization
There are many different options. A physical bullet journal has endless options as well but with a digital bullet journal you can get free fonts, borders, premade layouts, stickers, designs, and images!
Adding images is perfect for tracking your blog posts, ebook progress, pins, and so much more!
You could even turn one section (or the whole journal) into a baby book or scrapbook and upload pictures and memories!
Grab a free digital bullet journal and give it a try for yourself!
If digital bullet journals are not your thing and you would rather have a physical version I completely understand! I myself have a physical version but it wasn’t working for me.
After I did some research and came across digital planning that’s when I realized the possibilities of a digital version of the bullet journal!
I would much rather have all of my work and notes be digital. It just makes more sense to me. Now again, I had some backlash from loyal bullet journal fans who did not like this option.
That is fine too! No big deal!
However, if you are like me then you may find this to be a wonderful idea! I hope you try out the free digital bullet journal and see how it works for you!
Here is a glimpse of how you can use this digital bullet journal for blogging!
Sorry about my horrible handwriting!
Yours will be much prettier I am sure! But as you can see you can still customize each page with the added benefits I talked about above.
This would be a great way to look back through your daily/weekly schedule and quickly at a glance see what posts you published, what images you created, which freebies you created, and what you posted to social media.
It would also be a great way to track your pins visually!
This is why I feel like the digital bullet journal is the perfect bullet journal for bloggers!
How will you use your digital bullet journal?
I would love to see how you could use this digital bullet journal for your blogging business! Send me a screenshot of your layouts on how you use it to track the process of your blogging business!
I don’t know if you are an Apple fan like me but this right here is a huge game changer for me! I feel like there is so much that can be done with this amazing app I am going to share with you. For sure it is the new way to create pins with your apple pencil and you’re going to love it!
Why Apple
If you aren’t an Apple user then let me just break down quickly why I love Apple so much! I wasn’t an Apple fan at all until I won my first iPad back in 2013 and then I was hooked! Before the iPad, I was one of those “I hate Apple products I don’t know how to use them so they are dump” type of people.
Then again I won that free iPad and realize just how “undumb” Apple products really are!
User-Friendly
They are extremely user-friendly and that is probably my absolute favorite part about all my Apple products.
Right now in May 2019, I currently have that same iPad, MacBook Pro, Apple mouse, two iPhone 6s’s (that we keep for back up phones and for my daughter to play with), a series one Apple Watch, two Phone Xr’s, two Apple Air Pod sets, the Apple TV and I just bought last week the new iPad Pro with the Apple Pencil and keyboard.
You could say we love Apple Products for sure.
Yes, as new updates come out the older Apple Products slow down a little but for example that first iPad I won still works great and it is 6 years old which is old in technology years!
My daughter uses it to watch her videos or she can FaceTime and play Roblox at the same time with my niece. So that’s impressive to me to be able to handle all that while being one of the first iPads that came out.
Hold Value
Surprising they hold their value really well. You wouldn’t think that anything older than a year or two would still be worth as much as you can get out of them. At one point I looked into upgrading my Apple Watch to a newer version only because I do feel like with the new updates it doesn’t hold it’s charge as long and I was surprised at what it was still worth.
I could sell this watch and only pay maybe $100 out of pocket and get the newest watch. I assumed it would be worth maybe $50 but it’s not!
When I looked into selling my daughters barely (and I mean barely) used Nintendo 2DS and with the DS, the case, the chargers, and all the games it was worth $50. That doesn’t seem worth it to sell it all for only that. But we spent almost 4 times that amount when we bought it a few years back.
It isn’t that old and didn’t hold it’s value at all!
They All Connect
This is the main part I wanted to get to about how awesome Apple products are, everything connects!
It is all connected to your Apple ID so if you sign into each one with the same ID it is like being on the same device.
My iPhone XR (which is just flat out awesome), my MacBook Pro, my Apple Watch, my Air Pods, and my new iPad all connect together. If I want to put my Air Pods in then it will connect to the most recent one or whichever one is right next to me. There is no trying to connect and trying to pair. It just connects and pairs.
A window pops up for you to verify and that’s it. So as soon as I open the case my phone will alert me they are connected. If I am listening to music I just take one out to pause the music. Crazy cool.
I love how I can receive messages, phones calls, and FaceTime from any device as well! The Watch doesn’t FaceTime but other than that they all do.
It just works so well for me to not have to adjust when switching devices. They all worked seamlessly together!
The New Way to Create Pins with Your Apple Pencil
I could go on and on but let’s get to why you came here. To find out the new way to create pins with your Apple Pencil. If you are reading this then I am sure you already love Apple products so let’s talk about the new Apple Pencil on the new iPad Pro!
Creating Pins
Bloggers are always creating new pins for Pinterest to drive traffic back to their blogs. We are always looking for creative ways to make pins that are eye-catching and don’t blend in with the crowd. Well, I have some good news for you! I came across this app that is a game changer!
You want to create pins that make pinners on Pinterest save your pin and to do that you have to create beautiful useful pins. I created a free course on how to create Pinterest Images that you can learn more about the different programs bloggers use.
My goal has been to find a better way to streamline my work. I feel like I am tied to a computer when I work on my blog and summer is literally right around the corner and I can’t be stuck inside all day. My daughter is going to beg to go to the pool or be out and about.
I don’t want to sacrifice time with her or working on my blog. So I decided to look into a way to be more mobile. My husband’s job just gave him a Microsoft Surface Pro with a keyboard and pencil. I watch how easy it is for him to just work all off of that.
I did research on the new iPad Pro and thought about it for a couple weeks and then decided to run it by my husband. He is beyond supportive so he didn’t blink an eye and said let’s get you one!
I ended up getting the keyboard so I can type a blog post easily while at the pool and the pencil too for all it’s amazing functions.
iPad Pro
This is the exact ipad that I bought. I did go with the lower storage because I need to get a hardrive anyways so this way I can just get one of those and save money on buying the extra storage. We looked into purchasing it through our phone carrier to add data to it but that costs more also. Plus we found out that our T.V. provider has hotspots I can use when I am away from home.
Just some things to think about!
I wanted the bigger screen so that was my main priority. I wasn’t as worried about storage because I have a bigger icloud storage plan and then again I plan to get an external hardrive to save all pictures and important documents on it.
Now I don’t pretend to be all tech savvy, I know just enough to get by. I know that I am a busy mom and this all makes my life easier and more portable.
I do want to say that it comes with a completely new charger. Supposedly it is to be able to connect to your computer better or other techy stuff I don’t understand but my point is no more USB and no more other end. The cord has the same end of each end. So either way it connects to your converter to plug into the wall and then into the ipad to charge. Just a heads up.
Keyboard
Then since I got the bigger screen I had to get this keyboard that fits it. They are both 12.9 inches so that gives plenty of room for using your screen and typing on a good sized keyboard not a tiny one.
The ipad connects magnetically to the keyboard and there are three dots on the back of the ipad that connects it to the keyboard. Then you can have it in different positions to adjust it to your liking while typing.
Then you can fold it over and closed and you will hear the ipad lock. Also you can flip it around and under the ipad to quickly use the ipad only.
Apple Pencil
Then of course I got the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation that is compatiable with the iPad Pro. It is very sleek and easy to use. There are no buttoms it looks and feels just like a regular pencil.
It doesn’t erase like one although I think it should. I keep wanting to flip it around and erase with the pencil eraser like you normally would. But just a heads up it doesn’t work like that.
Another fun feature of the Apple pencil is that it connects to the side of your ipad magnetically to charge. This is great to keep track of the pencil and know that it is always charged up.
No plugging it in or cords involved! Once you connect it to the ipad it will tell you what charge the pencil is at as well.
Pin Creating App
After I got home and started playing with it and watching tutorials on what all it could do I came across this app. I became very interested and spent the next 3 days just learning more and more. After much research, I finally decided I wanted it and purchased it for $9.99.
I know what you are thinking…you just spend a lot of money on an iPad Pro, keyboard, and pencil and you hesitate about a $10 app? Yes, to me $10 is an expensive app! I expected the others to be expensive but I don’t buy apps without a lot of research!
Maybe you have heard of it or maybe you are like me and you have never heard of it.
All the amazing possibilities with this app are just mind-blowing. If you are an artist you are going to be in heaven!
If you aren’t then no worries NEITHER AM I! It is very user-friendly and not overwhelming at all! I will add that I am not affiliated with this app either I just love it this much! Just check out some of these examples from their website!
Amateur
Don’t worry if you aren’t a professional. Again, I am not an artist in any way shape or form. But I think this app is perfect for on the go designing from anything to logos, freebies, pins, printables, graphics designs, you name it!
But let’s talk about creating pins for Pinterest.
Pinterest
There is an option to create the image as a custom size. You can then create it as a pin size and add pictures, import fonts, make amazing edits, layer it for quick changes, and so much more! It does take a bit to learn all the features it offers but this is perfect on the go pin creation with your Apple Pencil.
There are so many videos on YouTube that walk you through how to use the app but if you are looking for a way to use your creative side and give your pins a leading edge I think this app is perfect!
Again, I don’t have any affiliation with the app besides that I downloaded it, love it, and had to share!
All the Same
If you have been blogging for long you can see that many pins look the same. It is hard to not look the same some what but there are certain stock images that are way over used. I read an ebook that was full of case studies that shared how the author feels free stock images can arm your pins reach.
Pinterest also recently went public on the Stock Market. Things are about to get alitte harder for bloggers. There are going to be more people that are willing to pay for space on Pinterest. Because of that you need to really show Pinterest you are a creator worth sharing.
Many bloggers are saying you should be adding a new pin everday. Well, I don’t know about you but I don’t have time to sit at my computer and create pins all day. I do use a program called RelayThat that creates multiple images for you with just a few clicks so that saves a bunch of time.
However, they also seem to only have the same layouts. It can be customized a hundred different ways but it is still the same layouts so you can’t solely rely on that.
With this app and my new iPad Pro and Apple Pencil I can be mobile and creating pins on the go all the time!
Accessories
Because I will be on the go I did get myself a case and as I said I also have the keyboard too. I have seen some creators have these cool pencil gripper sleeves. I don’t know if I will do that or not because with the new pencil it senses when you double tap to erase when using the Notes App. Also I don’t know how that affects it charging magnetically or staying safely on the side of the ipad.
I worry that it might come off and I would lose it.
Another reason I love Apple Products…all their amazing apps! I use the Notes app all the time. My whole life is in that thing. All categories and accessible on any of my Apple Devices.
If I am sitting at the computer working and I make changes on in my Notes App then later when I only have my phone I can see see those changes. It is like the perfect Notebook that I never forget at home!
Free Pinterest Image Course
Well there you have it! I hope you check out the Procreate App and enjoy it as much as I am! There are so many possibilies I can’t wait to see what all I can create! The best part is this is a way to be artist (or try) without the mess!
Don’t forget to check out my Free Pinterest Image Course for other tips and programs to use to create Pinterest images! I will be adding this information with this app to it soon!
Happy blogging!
Vanessa
P.S. Comment below with some of your beautiful pins you create using Procreate! I would love to see them and share them!
The most important thing for any blog to be successful is to have traffic. The more traffic your blog has the more people you can help and the more money you can make! When you are a new blogger it is hard to build up your traffic organically. Most new bloggers rely solely on Pinterest as it is the best way to get traffic to your new blog.
Others use Facebook groups and social media to grow their blog traffic. Then, of course, there is also SEO and hoping that Google sends you some blog traffic love.Another option is to guest post on other blogs or be featured on their blogs.
Guest Posting/Featuring
Here is a list of places that you can add your blog on to get more traffic!
Another great resource to learn much more about growing your blog traffic is this ebook Boost Blog Traffic. I got this ebook when I purchased the Genius Bloggers Toolkit and it is packed full of resources to help grow your blog traffic! Including 100 Ways to Promote Your Blog Post Checklist!
Next is this course by Suzi that teaches you how to create the perfect blog post and submit a guest post to her blog.
Suzi walks you through how to create the perfect blog post and then she gives you the opportunity to take what you have learned in her course and submit a guest post to her blog!
The course Post by Number is only $9 so not only is it worth it for everything that you learn in the course but on top of that, you really can’t beat the guest post opportunity to get in front of Suzi’s large following!
Pinterest
You can’t talk about driving traffic to your blog without talking about Pinterest. It is the fastest way to get traffic to your new blog.
Here are some resources to help you grow your blog traffic with Pinterest!
Pinterest has definitely been my main source of traffic. I try and post on my social media accounts often so I do get some traffic from those and I am starting to see organic traffic as well. It takes time regardless of where you start but as a new blogger, I would focus on Pinterest and looking to guest post and collaborate with other bloggers!
Collaborating with other bloggers is a great way to connect and grow your blog. Plus, it is really fun to work with other bloggers! That is why I started my feature program. I want to help connect other bloggers so we can all help each other grow together!
Then of course I got the Apple Pencil 2nd Generation that is compatiable with the iPad Pro. It is very sleek and easy to use. There are no buttoms it looks and feels just like a regular pencil.
