Did you know that there are 4 ways you can make money on Pinterest? I know that sounds too good to be true but it is! In this post, I am going to share just how you can start making money on Pinterest! This is going to be a long post so hang with me as I cover all of these different ways to earn money with Pinterest plus some awesome resources to get you started!
Pinterest Business Account
First, you have to have a Pinterest Business Account. Odds are that you already have a Pinterest account so you can either switch your personal account to a business account or you can make a separate business account. To be able to earn from your Pinterest account it does have to a business account though so make sure to set that up here.
Convert Personal Pinterest Account
If you are planning to convert your personal Pinterest account then just go to your account settings and scroll to the bottom where it says convert account. Then the next screen will have you confirm that you want to convert your account and that’s it!
Perfect! Now you are all set up to get started earning money on Pinterest!
1. Affiliate pins
The first way to earn money with Pinterest that I am going to cover is by using affiliate pins. These are pins that are linked to your affiliate link so when a customer clicks on your pin it will take them directly to the affiliate product you are promoting.
Sign Up for Affiliate Programs
To be able to do this you need to sign up for affiliate programs. Choose a company that you like and whose products you use. Apply to their affiliate program and after you are accepted they will give you an affiliate link.
How affiliate links work is the company whose product you are going to promote will give you a special link. That link is what you will add to your pin that you pin on Pinterest.
When a reader clicks on that pin, your link will take them to the product or service you are promoting. If they purchase this awesome product the company will give you an affiliate commission!
It is a win-win for both you and the company. And even the customer who bought a product that they were looking for.
Which Programs to Sign Up For
There are so many amazing companies out there that you couldn’t possibly sign up for them all. Plus, all those big companies have enough to handle so they outsource their affiliate programs anyways.
Those companies that take over their affiliate program are called Affiliate Networks and they host a lot of affiliate programs for different companies. You can sign up for those programs through these networks.
Affiliate Networks
A few of those main affiliate networks are ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, Awin, and Rakuten. Once you sign up for those networks then you can choose which programs you want to apply to from there.
It seems a little confusing at first, but just remember that you are setting up an account with an Affiliate Network that houses all the individual affiliate programs for all the different companies.
Once you have your account set up with the Affiliate Network you then have to apply for the individual affiliate programs you are wanting to promote.
Another way to find affiliate programs is to go to the website of the company you want to sign up for and scroll to the bottom of the home screen. Normally if they offer an affiliate program then there will be an option to sign up or learn more in the bottom menu.
Pin to Pinterest
Now that you have your business Pinterest account set up and you have signed up for the affiliate programs you want to promote, you are ready to start pinning to Pinterest.
Just as I said above when you create a pin just make sure to use your affiliate link as the URL to your pin. This way when someone sees your awesome pin and clicks on it, it will take them to that product through your link.
This is important because that link is how the affiliate company knows who to pay for sending them that paying customer.
You do have to be careful and read through all of the terms of use for each affiliate program and Pinterest to make sure you are allowed to put it on Pinterest.
Some affiliate program rules may not allow you to advertise on social media and then Pinterest also may not allow certain products or services to be promoted.
Read more about affiliate marketing on Pinterest right here from Pinterest themselves. And make sure to check with each affiliate program, as they each have a different set of rules so make sure to read them carefully before pinning.
Disclosure
Also, make sure that you are open with pinners that your pin is an affiliate link. Add #affiliate, #affiliate link or something to that nature in the description of your pin.
Tips for a Perfect Pin
There is an art that goes behind creating the perfect pin. I cover most of this in my free Pinterest Image Course but I am going to go over some of it here for you as well. This goes for all pins.
Verticle
Verticle pins are much more eye appealing and they take up a good amount of landscape on Pinterest. If you have a small horizontal pin people are going to scroll right past it.
Make sure your pin is easy to read
This very important. It is easy to get caught up in all the fun fonts but let’s be honest, those fun fonts are hard to read. Stick with a clear and easy to read font or fonts on your pin. Also, keep in mind your color choices as well. Don’t put light pink writing on a white background. No one can read that. The goal is to grab their attention but in a good way.
Watermark your pin
Make sure that you place your logo or your URL someone on your pin. You don’t need to make it huge or to take away from what your pin says but you need to have it on there. This is important so no one steals your pin image and so that when bloggers are repinning your pin they have your URL available to see if it doesn’t move over. Sometimes while using Tailwind it won’t pull the URL so it is nice to see it on the pin to know which URL to add to that pin.
Keywords
Like for any search engine, you need to make sure your pins are keyword filled so that when someone types in “best chocolate chip cookies” your pin pops up as one of the options. If you don’t add what your pin is about and fill your description with keywords then your pin won’t come up for the right searchers.
Make an affiliate sale in 24 hours
I took a course that was called “How to make an affiliate sale in 24 hours” it has since been changed to “Paid by Pinterest”
This course is how I learn all about affiliate marketing for Pinterest. It is a whole different ball game than using affiliate marketing in your blog.
Paid by Pinterest covers how to make the perfect pin, how to make a pin go viral, how to automate your pins and schedule them out, and how to stay out of Pinterest jail.
Recently a bunch of Pinterest accounts were all suspended and it was a bit of a mess. So now everyone is doing their best to prevent that from happening to their accounts.
If you want to learn more about affiliate marketing for Pinterest then check out this course that covers everything you need to know!
2. Product Pins
This is similar to affiliate pins but this time you are going to link your pin to a product of yours. For example, if you sell your own products on Etsy then you can create pins that link straight to your product. You can learn more about this method at Shop the Look Pins or learn more about Etsy pins on Pinterest right here.
Remember to follow all the same tips on creating an eye-catching pin that viewers are going to click on or at least share!
3. Blog Post Pins
The third method of using Pinterest to make money is to use it as it was intended, to promote your website or blog. Pinterest was created to help organize, store and share blog posts and articles found online. When you create pins to promote your blog you are trying to drive traffic to your blog.
Once on your blog or website this traffic can then turn into customers of yours. Regardless of how you monetize your blog, you need traffic for it to be able to work. By creating pins and pinning them on Pinterest you will drive traffic to your blog then you can make money with ads, affiliate marketing, products, memberships, coaching, or services.
So if you don’t have a blog yet that should be your first step.
The final way to earn money with Pinterest is to do the above methods for someone else! Big bloggers and brands don’t have time to promote their businesses on Pinterest but they are willing to pay someone else to do it for them.
This is where you come in and become their Pinterest Virtual Assistant. I personally don’t know much about it besides how it is just like being a social media manager but only for Pinterest. I am a part of a Facebook Group called Pinterest Ninja’s where they talk more about this method. Megan at LoveFamilyHealth runs the Facebook Group so that is an option to get you started in the right direction!
There are so many options out there to learn more on this method, I just personally don’t have one that I have dealt with myself except that Facebook Group so I don’t want to point you toward anything I haven’t done myself.
However, a quick Google search can tell you all kinds of things! Or better yet, look on Pinterest!
Keep Pinning
An important tip I want to share with you is that you have to keep pinning and repinning your pins. You need to always be adding more pins all the time too. Regardless of what kind of pin it is. Think of it as handing out flyers on a busy street.
Some people will walk right by, some people will take the flyer and throw it away, and some people will take the flyer and buy!
The more flyers you hand out, the more money you will make!
You may be thinking well there is not enough time in the day to be constantly pinning and repinning on Pinterest, and you are not alone. That is why Tailwind was created. It is a scheduling program designed to do all the hard work for you.
All you have to do is create the pin, pin description, and URL. The rest is taken care of by Tailwind. They will pin your pin when it is the most optimal time for it to get as many views as possible and they will also provide you with stats on all of your pins.
If you prefer to not use a scheduler then again are not alone! Carly created Pinteresting Strategies which is a very inciteful ebook turned course that covers everything regarding manual pinning on Pinterest.
I found this ebook to very informative and I really liked seeing her method of manual pinning since most bloggers use Tailwind. I learn so much and even though I always use Tailwind I do try and take all of her tips into consideration!
Are you looking to become a pro at affiliate marketing? Maybe you have heard of all the money bloggers are able to make with affiliate marketing and you want to learn more about it. You want to find out if this is a real deal and exactly how they are able to bring in full-time incomes from their blogs?
Well then check out Making Sense of Affiliate Marketing by Michelle. She is in her mid-twenties and has dominated affiliate marketing. She makes $100k a month on her blog and $50k of that is from affiliate marketing!
I know I have to pick my jaw back up off the floor every time I think of that too.
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!
If you are a new blogger I am sure you have heard over and over again how important Pinterest is. You may have also heard how many bloggers use Tailwind to help them automatically pin their pins on Pinterest. This blog post is a full walkthrough of how to use Tailwind so you can decide for yourself!
Pinterest
First, let’s back up for one second and talk about Pinterest. If you have not heard that Pinterest is the best way to get traffic to your new blog then I am here to tell you it is.
If you are like most then you probably thought Pinterest was just for looking up your next DIY project or recipes. Each of those images (pins) on Pinterest was actually created by bloggers and website owners.
Bloggers write blog posts and then create pin images (like I did above for this blog post) and then they pin that image to Pinterest linking it back to their blog post.
It is like free advertisement space for your blog. The more you advertise the more traffic you can drive to your blog.
It takes a little bit to wrap your head around the business angle of Pinterest if you are only used to the consumer side. Don’t worry I have plenty of resources to help you with all of that though.
Resources to Get Started
In this post, I am including several resources to help guide you through using Tailwind. Instead of writing a 3,000+ word blog post I broke it up so you can choose the area of Tailwind you need help with! Let’s start with these resources below.
The Pinterest Primer course is a free course by McKinzie Bean. She walks you through how to set up your Pinterest Business account for success. There is more to it than just signing up to Pinterest, so check out her free course to get started off on the right foot!
A major part of succeeding on Pinterest is creating beautiful Pinterest images that entice people to share and click through. I created a free course to help you create beautiful Pinterest images!
Why Tailwind
If Pinterest is free why would someone want to pay for a service like Tailwind?
Well, like I said, the more that you advertise or pin the more traffic you can drive back to your blog. So, unless you are willing to be on Pinterest constantly pinning and repinning all day, a scheduler quickly becomes a necessity.
It is very difficult to manually pin all of your pins. You most certainly can at the beginning but it becomes overwhelming fast. However, that said, if you are leaning more towards manually pinning then this is an awesome ebook to help you with that!
If you are wondering about comparing Tailwind with other schedulers out there to get the best deal then let me help you real quick with that. There are currently no others that are partnered with Pinterest. Tailwind is the only authorized user that works with Pinterest.
There was another called Boardbooster and Pinterest recently made it clear they didn’t authorize them and Boardbooster was forced to shut down.
I’m sure that was a sad day for those that used Boardbooster but a very happy day for Tailwind when all of those users switched to join them.
Tailwind is great about supporting its users. There is also a demo video walking you through how to use their features. Like this video.
Plus all of the other videos they have on their site and YouTube Channel. They are also very good about getting back to you right away in the chat box inside your Tailwind account.
Now that you have an idea of how to use Tailwind let’s talk about some of the features.
Tailwind Tribes
Tailwind Tribes is just like it sounds. It is a tribe of users that are grouped together. Inside each tribe, that you can join for free, there is a page full of pins fellow Tribe members have shared.
The purpose of Tailwind Tribes is to narrow down users into groups that are within the same niche. This gives you access to a bunch of pins to repin that are within your niche.
You want to make sure you are pinning other bloggers pins as well as your own. This is a quick way to find pins to repin. This is also a great way to get your pins repinned too.
Within the Tribe, there is a place where you can chat with other members and it shows you the analytics of how your pins are doing within each Tribe.
Tailwind lets you join 5 Tribes for free and if you want to join more you can upgrade.
You are welcome to join my new Tailwind Tribe – First Time Blogger to get started!
Tailwind Smart Loop
The newest feature Tailwind just rolled out is the Smart Loop.
Tailwind gives you 250 loops for free and again if you want to add more then you can upgrade your plan. The Smart Loop feature is designed to loop your pins for you so you don’t have to keep repinning them.
This may sound confusing at first and you may be thinking isn’t that what Tailwind is already doing?
Smart Loop is for your evergreen pins and for your seasonal pins.
There are two different types of loops you can create. If you have pins that are doing great and you want to continue to drip those throughout all of your boards and groups boards you can set up a loop for those.
Or if you have seasonal posts that you want to start pinning a certain time of the year automatically then you can set those up also.
Let’s say you are a food blogger and you want to start your Halloween recipes to start pinning in the summer (yes in the summer at least) then instead of trying to remember on your own, you can set it up to loop for you.
Same for DIY Christmas projects for craft bloggers and so on!
Tailwind Strategy
Each blogger has their own Tailwind strategy so you can start with the basic and tweak it as you go and see what is working and what isn’t working.
Here is the basic run down that I keep reading from other bloggers. So I have personally done this and I have personally read many blog posts and taken courses that outline a very similar strategy.
Use the 80/20 rule – 80% your pins and 20% other bloggers pins
Pin your pins to your own boards and to group boards
Pin other bloggers pins to just your boards. (The group boards are for advertising your pins)
Tailwind Extension
Tailwind has a browser extension (<–scroll to the very bottom of that page) that you can add to make filling your Tailwind queue much easier. After you install the extension just go to your Pinterest account and once on the main feed click the Tailwind extension (feather icon) on your browser toolbar.
All of the visual pins will now be available to click on to add to your queue. After you click on the ones that you want to add click “go schedule” where you can then select which boards you would like each pin to go to.
This extension can also be used while on a blog or site that you wish to pin something from as well.
Well, there you have it! Using Pinterest and Tailwind for the first time can feel intimidating but don’t worry it soon becomes second nature! And it makes it all worth it when you see that traffic come pouring in! Good luck to you, now go get pinning!
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!
When you first decide to start a blog there are really only three things new bloggers should focus on and master. I’m sure you are so excited and you want to master it all right away but trust me on this. You only need to focus on these three things.
I heard multiple other bloggers say “new blogger should focus on this” but I was too ambitious and I thought I can handle it all. I’m not like other people. Well, guess what, if I would have taken their advice I would be a lot further along than I am!
I took courses and read ebooks and again I heard this over an over. “Don’t try and tackle everything at once”, “new bloggers need to focus on…” but I thought “how hard could it be?”
It turns out, harder than you might originally think. It takes a lot of time and commitment to master just one of the many pieces to blogging. So again, if I would have just stuck to the three main ones then I would have been able to move forward and master the rest one at a time.
The Three Things to Master
Don’t worry too much about all your social media accounts right now. If you master these three things and are ready to move on right away then you are rocking it and keep going.
But if you can’t seem to master these then don’t move on until you have!
1. Write One Blog Post a Week
New bloggers should focus on writing one new blog post a week.
If you can make it a full month or two and you have consistently produced one blog post a week then you are probably good to move on.
But for some, this is actually harder than it sounds. Learning how to properly write a blog post can be difficult. You need to have keywords, the right structure, it has to be interesting, and your readers need to learn from it.
You can’t just write a post about what you did over the weekend. Sorry, but no one but family and close friends cares. You aren’t sharing tips or giving advice so no one is going to read it.
If you whip out four great blog posts in the first week then make sure you schedule them out to publish once a week for that first month.
Then every other blog post you write can either continue to be scheduled to be published once a week or you can fill in your schedule with two blog posts publishing a week.
I just don’t want you to write four blog posts and publish them all at once and then think man I’m a rock star. Then the next thing you know the month has gone by and you didn’t write anymore and now you’re behind. (Been there, done that.)
Google
Google will like that you produced a bunch of content but then it will notice that it was a one and done time of thing.
That can hurt you and if you would have just scheduled them out then you would have shown Google you are reliable to produce valuable content once a week.
Google is more likely to share your blog when you show you consistently produce valuable content.
Your Schedule
Plus, then that just takes the load off of you to have to write more blog posts right away. If your blog is brand new then yes you will want to get 5-10 blog posts on there right away but again it is better to have a consistent schedule.
Put a few posts on there and then each one after that schedule them to post once a week.
This just takes the pressure off too if you are always ahead and have a schedule going in case things pop up because let’s face it life gets crazy sometimes!
Especially as a new blogger, you will appreciate the routine of always having a blog post scheduled to publish once a week as you are learning everything.
New bloggers should focus on pinning to Pinterest.
Pinterest is a bloggers best friend. Sometimes you two will be besties and Pinterest will send you a bunch of free traffic and then sometimes you may be in a fight and Pinterest won’t “talk” to you.
Either way, you are still best friends and if you are fighting there is always a way to make up!
So how do you become best friends with Pinterest so they send you traffic and how do you make sure you don’t ever get in a fight?
Number One
The best way to become besties with Pinterest is to give “her” a lot of attention. Pinterest likes creators that are active in their Pinterest accounts.
That doesn’t mean that you have to be on Pinterest all day every day but it does mean that you can’t just set up your account and fill it with your own content and then leave it.
You have to be actively pinning your content and other creators content. There are different opinions on this part but some say you should make sure that you are active on both the desktop site and the mobile site as well.
What I do is when I have a minute in the day instead of checking Facebook or my email, I will pin a few pins on Pinterest from my phone. Then other times when I am working I will do the same from my desktop.
Number Two
Don’t ignore your new best friend. That is the best way to get into a “fight” with your new bestie. Similar to number one, Pinterest likes attention but to avoid a fight where you will have to earn her trust back, don’t ignore Pinterest.
I have done this before and I went into Pinterest’s “dog house” and I had to earn the trust back.
It is a fun analogy to think of it as a friendship but in all honesty that is what it is. Pinterest is there to give it’s users the best possible content. So if you as a creator, create great content, then Pinterest is going to share it with its users. Just like all friends do!
Pinterest Users
When you go onto Pinterest as a user you are looking for the best cake recipes, the best DIY projects, or the best workouts. You don’t want to have to sort through all of the unrelated or spammy sites that can pop up like when you Google something.
You are looking for the answer right away.
Pinterest is always there for you as a user because they make sure they provide the best content and images right away.
Content Creators
So if you start adding content to Pinterest and start building that relationship with them then you stop and ignore Pinterest. Then they are going to think you are not a reliable source.
Pinterest isn’t going to share your content when users are looking for the best content.
The only way to get out of the dog house is to prove yourself. Consistently add good quality content and images and build that trust back up so Pinterest will start sharing your content with its users again.
When I was still a new blogger, I didn’t know what to do and I learned the hard way. My traffic started declining because I wasn’t creating new content to add to Pinterest.
I was too focused on other things and not these 3 important things I am sharing with you now.
It cost me and I don’t want that to happen to you! That is why I am sharing this advice I received from a veteran blogger that I wish I would have listened to and focused on these only.
Google, Pinterest, and Social Media are all completely different. They can all be used to drive traffic to your blog but they are each used in different ways.
Google takes a long time to drive traffic to your blog. You have to build your SEO (Search Engine Optimization) before Google will start sending you traffic.
Social Media takes a long time to build an audience that will drive traffic to your blog.
Some mistake Pinterest for a social media platform but there is nothing social about it. You don’t go onto Pinterest to chat with other members. You go on there for inspiration and for answers to a problem.
Pinterest is more like a search engine. Bloggers and website owners create an image that will attract the attention of Pinterest users and then they attach their URL to that image.
Made By Bloggers
If you go onto Pinterest to find the best cake recipes you are going to see awesome images. Those are most likely were created by bloggers to entice you to click on their image and go to their blog post.
Once on their blog post, they will show you how to make the best cake just like you searched for.
All of those pins you see when you type in “best cake recipes” are from bloggers or website owners that created those images as advertisements of their blog posts or websites.
Pinterest is going to show the best images and the best content first when someone searches for something.
If you keyword your pin correctly and have a beautiful image then your pin will do well and drive traffic to your blog!
3. Grow Your Email List
New bloggers should focus on growing their email list.
The third important thing you must do as a new blogger is to build your email list.
You have worked hard on your blog and driving traffic to your blog so you want to make sure you keep those people and get them to come back.
Now it’s impossible to keep them all but it is still important to try and keep some of them as returning readers. The best way to ensure that they come back and continue to read your new blog posts is to get them on your email list.
Then you can email them with new updates about your blog and they can return and check them out!
The Power of The Email List
I knew I needed to do this from the beginning but it still wasn’t clear to me exactly why it was so important.
Then as I learned more I realized the power of the email list.
It’s like building your tribe or building your followers on social media. The ones that follow you look forward to what you have to say next and are much more likely to make a purchase from you versus someone that just came across your blog.
Your goal with your audience is to build trust with them and show them you are there to help and solve their problem.
When you solve a problem for them for free then they will trust you when you try and sell them a product that will also solve their problem.
Help Them Don’t Sell To Them
We can all spot the ones trying to only sell to you from a mile away. When they provide no value but only want to sell to you then you don’t trust them and you don’t trust that the product they are selling is good for you either.
However, when you have a good relationship with someone because you have provided all kinds of valuable information to them for free. They won’t second guess that a product is valuable when you mention it that could help them.
They trust your advice and your intentions.
So, if you keep building that trust with your readers and grow your email list then when you are ready to launch a product you can announce it to your list. They are much more likely to purchase it!
Those are the 3 most important things you should focus on as a new blogger. I can’t express this enough. If you do these three things first and then work on the back office stuff you will be fine!
If you get caught up in learning everything there is to know about blogging and you don’t do these three things then you will regret it. Trust me on this one. I know from experience!
It is too easy to get caught up in making your blog look all fancy and learning everything there is to know about blogging. Which obviously you will need to know but don’t lose focus on these three things.
It does you no good to have a pretty blog with no traffic.
One Blog Post a Week
Add Content to Pinterest
Grow Email List
Repeat!
Freebie For You
If you are like me and you need a reminder of the basics then you will love this free printable I made for you!
It is to help keep you focused on what is important and to not get lost in the whirlwind that comes with learning everything about blogging.
These 3 basic steps are what you need to focus on!
I hope you found this advice helpful and you are able to keep your blinders on long enough to master these three things for new bloggers to focus on!
It is very hard to not get shiny object syndrome and chase after every new thing you come across. Which again, you can still learn and grow your knowledge but don’t forget to focus on these first!
Happy blogging!
Vanessa
P.S. Do you want to be featured on Mom Blog From Home? Learn more here!
Now that you have your business Pinterest account set up and you have signed up for the affiliate programs you want to promote, you are ready to start pinning to Pinterest.
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.
