Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board, it is used for a multitude of reasons, whether for recipes, décor ideas, clothing and more. Many writers use it for inspiration for their current work in progress, or for future ideas for stories. Images are a powerful tool for our imagination to become ‘real’. We can find images of locations, or characters that match how we perceive the world we are building in our narratives. It can also be a place to ‘store’ relevant information from our research for a particular story. These can come from blog posts, websites or articles.

The bonus points of Pinterest are:

 It is highly addictive, with users re-pinning images a lot.

• Users tend to stay on Pinterest longer, and visit more frequently
• An image is more readily remembered
• Pins can be arranged in groups or subjects for easier location
• You can have more than one account – so think about creating a personal one and a business/writing one

Pinterest is a useful tool for not only creating story ideas, but also to build an audience. To encourage followers here are some tips.

• Include a Pinterest follow button on your blog posts or website.
• Put your Pinterest link on all your other social accounts
• Follow other users with similar interests/boards.
• Use popular keywords in the description of your pins and boards relevant to your genre/themes etc. – this allows followers to find you quicker.
• Set up collaborate boards with writers/authors in your genre(s) – each person can contribute to that board.
•  Choose your images carefully to ensure it is the most captivating one or the most relevant one to your subject.
•    Note the optimum size is 600 x 800.
• Infographics and images with written information are a great way to attractive followers and keep them on your boards.

Optimize your Pinterest Profile

As writers and authors, we want to reflect our author brand in as many places as possible, this includes Pinterest. To make your profile stand out make sure to do these steps.

1. Profile Photo: Use a professional headshot, or high-quality image that reflects you as an author.
2. Display Name: Use your author name, whether a pen name or not, so readers know it is you.
3. Username: Include your author name or pen name. If the name is already taken by another user create a slight variation, such as numbers on the end.
4. Author Bio: This is limited to 160 characters, so write, and re-write, until it truly reflects your author brand. You can even include some relevant keywords for search optimization.
5. Location: Unless you are comfortable with it do not give an exact location.
6. Make it personal, the boards are about you not just your books.
7. Add your website to your profile.
8. Pick a board you want as your feature board. This will then appear first – your latest book is typical.

Boards versus Pins

Simply put, boards are a collection or category, and pins are the images put into them. Think of it as a storage cabinet. Each section has similar items within it. For example, you may have a board for characters in your current WIP – create a board of the characters, their home, clothing, hobbies, work, location, time period, climate, and culture etc.

Keep your boards relevant and categorized for your writing, branding etc. too many will overwhelm your followers. A clean well-maintained selection of boards containing relevant pins will make them easier to navigate.

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I would love to follow you so drop your link in the comment section.