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ProBlogger: 4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

ProBlogger: 4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Link to @ProBlogger

4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Posted: 09 Aug 2015 07:00 AM PDT

4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog - tried and tested tips to boost your traffic with some simple changes. On ProBlogger.netThis is a guest contribution from Marie-Eve Vallieres.

Nobody puts Pinterest in a corner. With 73 million users (85% of which are females), an expanding presence outside the United States and upcoming buyable pins, this social media platform/search engine is now more powerful and sophisticated than ever.

After months of pinning diligently and engaging with my subscribers, my analytics exploded, figuratively speaking – Pinterest has become the #1 referral for my blog, bringing a steady flow of high-quality visitors (that stay on my site for more than a microsecond and comment on/share the content) every day.

And that's the beauty of Pinterest right there: their algorithm is not aggressive in the way Facebook's is. People are either following your boards or they are not. There is no such thing as playing the Pinterest game or paying for advertisement in the hopes that an infinitely small slice of your subscribers will get to see your post in their feed. Pinterest popularity is entirely a question of how your subscribers engage with you and how easy you make it for them to share your content.

Here a few tested and tried tips that helped me reach over 160,000 followers on Pinterest.

Create bespoke pins

4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Millions of pins are being shared every minute. Your subscribers are constantly being thrown new information. How could they possibly know that your content is more relevant than the rest?

Think about it: by creating custom-made pins, you will immediately stand out on your subscriber's home feed because you will present something they've never seen before. You want to create something that will, 1: catch their attention, and 2: that will make them want to click through. Spend an hour or two in Photoshop to create a memorable template that you will adapt for each new pin and that your subscribers, in time, will come to recognize and associate with your brand.

There are four "rules" you should follow when it comes to creating bespoke pins:

  • Always opt for vertical images. Pinterest automatically resizes pins to the same exact width. Play around with your image's length in order to create something big enough to be noticed.
  • Don't shy away from bright and bold colors. You do want to catch your readers' attention, don't you?
  • Clearly state what the pin is about. Opt for concise yet engaging wording that reflects the content of your blog post.
  • Stay in line with your blog's visual identity. Use the same fonts or color scheme if you have one.

Find out what blog posts are already being pinned

The first custom pins you will want to create are for blog posts that are already being shared on the platform; enhance the appearance of your own popular content in order to make it even more shareable.

In order to find out which posts are attracting the attention of other users, simply follow the URL www.pinterest.com/source/YourBlog.com/ and see what comes up. These are the posts you want to make as Pinterest-friendly as possible.

4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

Be loyal to your online persona

Nobody likes a spammer; don't be that person who only shares his or her own content. Strengthen your brand's identity by pinning things that are relevant to your niche or personality that you haven't created. Identify lacks in your competitor's strategy and enforce them on your own boards. Engage with the influencers in your community. Participate in collaborative boards. This will ensure that you won't bore or annoy your subscribers, and that your brand's presence on Pinterest will be as organic as possible.

Make your blog Pinterest-friendly

It's one thing to improve your Pinterest interventions directly on the platform; it's another to fine-tune your blog in order to make it inherently more pin-able. There are two ways to encourage your readers to pin your content (I strongly encourage you use both and not just one of the two).

First is by adding Pinterest buttons to your social sharing plugin – this method will allow your readers to share the post straight to their boards, as the featured image and title will generate automatically.

The second and most effective option is by adding a "Pin It" plugin for your images – this, on the other hand, will enable your readers to pin whatever image they like in the post (a hover Pin It button will appear when they mouse over your images) and create their personalized caption. This technique works particularly well if you use lots of vertical images on your site.

Marie-Eve Vallieres is a professional travel blogger at ToEuropeAndBeyond.com and social media strategist from Montreal. She has been to more than 20 countries, lived abroad in both France and the U.K., and is always on the lookout for authentic experiences wherever she travels – as long as she has WiFi.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog

The post 4 Ways Pinterest Can Help Drive Traffic To Your Blog appeared first on @ProBlogger.

“ProBlogger Podcast: Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog” plus 1 more

“ProBlogger Podcast: Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog” plus 1 more

Link to @ProBlogger

ProBlogger Podcast: Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog

Posted: 06 Aug 2015 07:13 PM PDT

2 Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog

In today’s episode of the ProBlogger podcast, I want to dial back to the basics before we get into more strategic reader-finding missions in future epsiodes.

Today I just want you to ask yourself two simple questions that will get you in the right headspace for further efforts.

I also talk about how I damaged my blog by focusing only on traffic and not on community, the secret ingredients of blogs that can change people’s lives, and my favourite exercised to help you focus on the right reader, not just numbers on a screen.

I promise, it makes all the difference in the world.

Pop over to listen, grab the show notes, and complete today’s challenge. Good luck!

 

Further Reading

Finding Readers: Strategies for Building Your Audience in 2015
Top Three Takeaways from Finding Readers Week: What Can You Do Today to Create Community?
Recording of 'Finding Readers for Your Blog' Webinar
Who are You Talking To? How to Create an Ideal Reader Profile for Your Blog: By Regina
Who’s Your Ideal Reader?: Successful Blogging

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

ProBlogger Podcast: Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog

The post ProBlogger Podcast: Two Questions to Ask to Help You Find Readers for Your Blog appeared first on @ProBlogger.

Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately

Posted: 06 Aug 2015 07:13 AM PDT

Reading Roundup: What's new in blogging this week / ProBlogger.net

How did you all go with the 31 Days to Build a Better Blog podcast? Got a to-do list a mile long now?!

I also hope you liked the stories of Megan, Nicole, and Heather about how they both dealt very differently with quitting their blogs. I know I learned a lot from hearing them share their experiences.

This week has thrown up some interesting reading – I hope you find a useful nugget in there somewhere.

How to manage your Instagram in 20 minutes a day // Hootsuite

Are you falling victim to being on Instagram all day every day? These are simple tips, but they bear repeating because they work. It’s time for you to take charge and slot in some time to get Instagram marketing under control.

Case Study: How Film4 grew their followers to 600k in one year // Pinterest

Pinterest is still an amazing traffic referrer, if you know how to use it right. See how Film4 capitalised on current pop culture issues to grow their followers to such a crazy amount.

Facebook now makes 76% of ad revenue from smartphones and tablets // Mashable Australia

If you haven’t already, it’s time to ensure your Facebook ads are mobile-friendly! You can have a look at the series we did on Facebook advertising last year, and the hot tips we shared for big returns.

Watch out Meerkat and Periscope, Facebook Announces Live Streaming // Social Media Today

Never one to leave a good internet craze behind, Facebook now says it’s getting on the live-streaming bandwagon in its efforts to be the online leader of video content. It’s only for people with verified accounts at the moment, though.

You Can Now Schedule Instagram Posts in Hootsuite – But There’s a Catch // Entrepreneur.com

Always the way! But if you’re into scheduling things in advance (I’m a fan), this might save you some time. Don’t put down your phone, though…

 

What are your thoughts? Excited to live stream on FB or schedule your Instagram?

Stacey is the Managing Editor of ProBlogger.net: a writer, blogger, and full-time word nerd balancing it all with being a stay-at-home mum. She writes about all this and more at Veggie Mama. Chat with her on Twitter @veggie_mama or be entertained on Facebook.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger
Build a Better Blog in 31 Days

Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately

The post Reading Roundup: What’s New in Blogging Lately appeared first on @ProBlogger.