How to Get Free Traffic from Pinterest
Pinterest is amazing for driving traffic and leads. It can bring you tens of thousands of free visitors to your website.
Just take a look at these astounding Pinterest facts:
- A pin is 100 times more spreadable than your average tweet
- Each pin can drive up to 2 page visits and 6 pageviews
- The life of a pin is one week! (Compare that to 24 minutes for Twitter and 90 minutes for Facebook).
- 250 million people use Pinterest each month
It’s one of the most underutilized but insanely effective marketing platforms out there. You can use it to exponentially get more traffic to your blog as well as to grow your email list.
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Here’s how the flow works:
Post pins on Pinterest -> drive traffic to your website -> visitors see a lead magnet or content upgrade on your site -> people sign up for your email list -> you convert them to clients
After you drive traffic to your blog from Pinterest, you’ll notice that the third step in this roadmap is when your website visitors see a lead magnet or content upgrade on your site.
This is crucial.
To effectively leverage your traffic, you need to capture names and emails!
How to Capture the Traffic from Pinterest
So, before I dive into how to use Pinterest to get traffic to your website, I want to make sure you have mechanisms in places to capture your traffic and get them on your list!
The reason?
Because people may come from Pinterest to your site or blog to read something there, but they may not be ready to buy.
In fact, MOST people who visit won’t be ready to buy.
But, by coming to your site to read or watch your content, they have just raised their hand and said to you “Hey, you’re interesting. I dig you and what you have to offer.” They basically have just gone from a cold lead to a warm lead.
They are no longer casual; they are engaged.
But, let’s face it, with all of the information we are bombarded with, we all have the attention span of a drunk goldfish.
In fact, statistics show more than 70% of the people who visit your website will never come back.
That’s why when people visit your site, you must make it your top priority to capture their name and emails (or you may never see them again).
By getting these engaged and interested leads on your email list, you can build a relationship with these people so they begin to know, like, and trust you.
Then, when these people who LIKE you are ready to buy, they’ll buy from YOU!
And, you can continue to email your list of customers and leads over time to nurture the relationship so they will buy you – not just once – but again and again and again.
Of course, you’ll need an email service provider (ESP) to manage your list. If you don’t have an ESP (or don’t like the one you are using), I highly recommend ConvertKit. It is an amazing tool which is why I use it.
ConvertKit allows you to easily:
- deliver lead magnets to your audience and tag the lead as interested (over time, this will help you know what your customers are most interested in)
- create many different types of forms for your website and blog
- get great form stats to see which convert best
- segment your subscribers based on which lead magnets they download
- build multiple automated email sequences (super important as your funnels get more sophisticated)
In addition, ConvertKit has a dedicated deliverability team to make sure that emails get into inboxes (instead of junk folders).
Create Lead Magnets to Build your Email List
In order to get people’s names and emails, you need a lead magnet. (Also known as freebies, freemiums, sign-up incentives, opt-in bribes, demand generation asset, sign-up offers, etc.)
Regardless of what you call it, a lead magnet is simply something that you give away for free in exchange for someone’s name and email address. By getting these people to subscribe to your list, you can send them emails with new content and updates about your offerings. Over time, you build a relationship with your email subscribers so they begin to know, like, and trust you.
Then, when these people who LIKE you are ready to buy, they’ll buy from YOU! Once they are on your list, you can continue to email individuals even after they’ve become customers.
When you continue to nurture the relationship, your list of people will buy from you – not just once – but again and again and again.
If you want to learn more about lead magnets, I’ve written a blog post about it:
The 5 essential steps to creating lead magnets that rapidly grow your email list
Grow Your Email List with Content Upgrades
The second way you will be capturing people’s names and emails to build your list is a called a content upgrade.
A content upgrade is a gated piece of valuable information that expands upon or complements a blog post. It increases conversion from about 2% of people on your site to around 30% of your blog readers!
For example, if you were reading a blog post about how to sneak vegetables into meals for picky kids, reading it might not be enough. You might also be interested in downloading “5 Recipes that Picky Kids are Guaranteed to Love.”
This is a perfect content upgrade to expand upon the blog post because the recipes are both valuable to the reader and they are specific to the article. It’s likely to get a high conversion rate – people will be willing to exchange their name and email to get the recipes.
I recommend having a content upgrade on every blog post.
It’s extra work, but it’s such a list-building accelerator that it’s absolutely worth the effort.
If you have blog posts now, but no content upgrades, get started by looking in Google Analytics for your most visited blog posts and start adding content upgrades to your top five most visited posts.
This will get you the most leads in the fastest time.
Once you have those setup, then begin adding them to each new post you create.
If you have time, begin adding content upgrades to other older blog posts (in order of their popularity).
Don’t kill yourself by creating thousands of different upgrades. You can use the same content upgrades for more than one blog post if they have related content.
Want to learn more about content upgrades? Here’s a blog post to help you:
How to get more email subscribers: content upgrades boost conversions like crazy
Step-by-Step: How to Get Traffic from Pinterest
Ok, so now that we have those foundational elements out of the way, let’s talk Pinterest!
My mind is blown by the power of this platform. For me, it’s the highest driver of traffic to my website and blog – and this is after only a few months of using it consistently.
You may be surprised to learn that Pinterest actually functions like a search engine mixed with a social media network.
It’s quite remarkable, really.
Just like Google, Pinterest has an ever-evolving algorithm, called its Smart Feed, to display relevant pins to its users based on keywords.
How to Get Started Using Pinterest to Drive Traffic to your Website
Your first step is to create a Pinterest profile that attracts your ideal client.
Make sure you sign up for a free Pinterest for business account (or convert your existing account to a business account).
Then, make sure you verify your website with Pinterest.
Once you have your business account set up and your website verified, you’ll have access to Pinterest analytics.
This will give you information about your Pins so that you can see what is performing well and what improvements you should make.
You can also apply for Rich Pins, which are Pins that have more information than your standard Pin.
There are 6 different types of Rich Pins that you can leverage (depending on the type of business you own). These are movie, article, product, app, recipe, and place – each with their own pin upgrades such as real-time pricing and a direct link to your site.
Article pins are the best type for people who have a blog.
They allow you to promote your latest blog post with your logo, a larger headline, and – most importantly – a link back to your site.
And it’s easy to set up with a WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO, since Pinterest uses the Facebook Open Graph metadata.
Ensure Open Graph is enabled on your blog and then validate your site with Pinterest.
Next, tailor your profile, your content, and your Pins to these amazing people who just waiting to find you!
In your bio area, include some brief information about who you help, how you help them, and then include a sentence about your lead magnet with a link to its opt-in page.
You can see my Pinterest profile as an example (be sure to Follow me!).
Keywords help Pinterest know what types of content you produce, and it uses that information to show your boards and pins to people who are interested in it.
This means if you pin a lot of photos of cute puppies, Pinterest is going to fill your home feed with more photos of cute puppies – Not that I would know anything about that from personal experience. (-:
By creating a strong Pinterest profile, you ensure that your RIGHT people find you and that they follow you.
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Create Relevant Pinterest Boards
What is the main focus of your business and blog? Financial planning, self-confidence coaching, knitting hats for cats (yes, this really is a thing!)?
Regardless of your industry, you can create boards on Pinterest that break down your area of expertise into topics. Keep each board very specific. For instance, a fitness professional might have the following boards: Workouts for abs, Kettlebell workouts, Healthy post-workout shakes, etc. A financial planner might have boards on saving money, debt reduction, IRA planning, and so on.
Bonus Tip! Make your first board one that features all of your own blog posts!
You can make a board about anything – as an example, take a look at my board on “Lead Magnets and Content Upgrades.” (And follow me while you are there!)
Some people think that Pinterest is just for fashion, recipes, crafts, and home decorating. In fact, all sorts of topics are popular on the platform. Popular magazines like Success, Popular Science, and Wired all have Pinterest profiles with large numbers of followers, as well as huge tech companies such as IBM, Samsung, Dell, and Sony.
This means that – regardless of your industry – your content can get found when you create keyword-rich content on your profile, boards, and pins.
As people come across your boards and pins using the Pinterest search function, they start to follow you and your boards, and they share your pins by pinning them on their boards – this then leads to even more people seeing your pins.
If your pins interest the Pinterest users, then they can click on them to go to your blog posts or to download your lead magnets.
Create boards on Pinterest that your ideal client will get value from and will want to follow. As I mentioned boards are essentially ways to categorize your content.
Shoot to have at least 20 boards on your profile that relate to your area of expertise. There is no ideal number, but you want to have a good array.
Use Keywords on Your Pinterest Boards
Add keywords and descriptions to your board descriptions – this will help people find it when they search for the topic in Pinterest (and in Google). For the fitness professional I mentioned above, on their kettlebell workouts board, they may have keywords such as: kettlebell arm workouts, kettlebell exercises, kettlebell fitness, kettlebell tips, kettlebell fat-burning circuit, and so on.
Bonus Tip: Remove any boards you have created that are irrelevant to your ideal client Are you that fitness professional I mentioned? Then get rid of that board you create for organizing your kids’ room – you can always make this a secret board that only you can view.) Otherwise, your content will be diluted and the Pinterest algorithm may suggest your content to people who are not your ideal clients.
Add Pins to Your Pinterest Boards
Now it’s time to start adding pins to your board. A good goal is at least 150 pins. Any less than that and your board won’t be as interesting. The sky is the limit when it comes to the maximum number of pins.
You want to also pin other people’s content in to your boards that are related to your board topic – an array of knowledge will make people more likely to follow your boards.
Use Keywords on Your Pins
Millions of people are searching Pinterest every day. And they use keywords to find relevant content.
This is why it’s essential to incorporate keywords into your pins. For instance, if I blogged about time management and had pins related to this, I would include keywords such as time management tips, time-saving tips, time-saving hacks, get stuff done, and so on.
On my pins, I also like to include a call to action on my pin description such as “Pin this for later” or “Pin this to your board ” or “Click through to read more.”
Bonus Tip! Add keywords into your pin descriptions to make it easy for people to find them.
Make pinnable Images for Your Blog
Make your blog post images pinnable.
You do this by creating pins for your lead magnets and your blog posts. Pinterest users love bright, attractive vertical images with text. These types of images get pinned over and over again.
The easiest way to create these is to use Canva, PicMonkey, or for the more experienced designer, Photoshop.
Canva and PicMonkey both have Pinterest templates your can use to create your Pins. I use both of these tools and LOVE them.
You can also create pins for your lead magnets, products, and affiliate links and pin them on your boards.
Create Vertical Pins for Your Pinterest Boards
Make sure you create vertical images, not horizontal. The standard size is 735 x 1102, but feel free to go even taller if you want! It’s important to be consistent with your branding, images, and fonts so people get to recognize your Pins.
Remember to write compelling, keyword-filled descriptions for your Pins – about 2-4 sentences is usually perfect. Avoid using #hashtags since the Pinterest algorithms don’t “like” them.
Pin different lead magnets and blog posts to your boards. You can put the same pin on different boards.
Bonus tip: You can create multiple Pins for the same blog post and lead magnets and pin them. I typically create 5 – 6 pins for each one of my blog posts and lead magnets.
Join Group Boards on Pinterest
You’ve probably heard about group boards on Pinterest. These are crucial for rapid growth and accelerated traffic. The reason for this is because there are so many contributors on each board, that it gives you a much larger network seeing your pins and re-pinning them to their boards.
To use group boards effectively, you should pin your various blog posts and products, as well as other people’s pins that are related to the topic of the board. Aim for around 80% other people’s content and 20% of your own. You can add your group boards to your Tailwind account to automate pinning on them!
To find group boards, go to Pinterest and search for {your industry + group boards} then click through to the boards and follow the instructions to join. Try to join groups with a lot of followers.
Bonus Tip! If you are blog about business, social media, marketing, and related topics and looking for a fantastic group board to start with, join ‘Business Bloggers and Online Entrepreneurs‘ group board! To join, click the image below and follow the directions.
TIME TO TAKE ACTION: Get on Pinterest if you aren’t there already. Work on creating a magnetic, key-word rich profile that will attract your ideal client. Just start small – Create one or two topic-focused boards and write the descriptions for these. Hide any irrelevant ones that you have.
Do a search in Pinterest to learn what people are looking for related to your boards. Begin to pin relevant content to your boards.
Next, begin to create 4-5 pins for your lead magnets and blog posts. Pin these to your boards as well. Rinse and repeat. Once you have the beginning steps down, sign up for an automated tool like Tailwind that will accelerate your process.
As you add more boards and more pins to Pinterest, each day you will see wins. Your traffic will go up and you’ll get more email subscribers.
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