Pinterest can be a black hole of inspiration from which there’s no return. Bills go unpaid, pets aren’t fed, life stops as you pin your aspirational life away. But Pinterest can work for you, too! It can be your single largest traffic source sending hordes of new eyeballs to your blog, Etsy store, or promotional page. We’ve got some tips and tricks on how to make Pinterest images that will drive awareness, exposure and interest.
KISS: Keep it Simple, Smarty
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Select an image that strongly communicates your idea. You want people to quickly understand what they’re seeing. Some iconic images have natural associations that give your idea impact and resonance. For example, beach images signal associations with vacations. Take advantage of this instant visual recognition!
If your image has text in it, ask yourself if the text or the image is most essential to the message, and let that guide your choices. If you have a quote, find an image that supports the sentiment. If you have an outstanding image, try to let your text match the feeling the image evokes. Either way, keep your typography simple, your copy clear and concise. Stick with one or two fonts and play with size, color and style to emphasize key words.
Use size, shape, color, and movement to stand out on the Pinterest scroll
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Customize this template: Hydrated & Healthy
Pinterest is a cacophony of content that people quickly scan. Our eyes are programmed to spot things that are different, so take advantage of visual cues like size, color, and shape — and movement! In a sea of rectangular pins, circular shapes will stand out. Images with colors like red, orange and brown are most commonly pinned because those colors carry more visual weight than other colors. Add a video to your pin if you're a Pinterest Business user! Stick to the 2:3 ratio for size and you can't go wrong.
Get clicks with a clear call to action on your Pinterest image
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Customize this template: How to Market
Pinterest is fun when you get traction and folks are collecting your gorgeous pictures, but if your ultimate goal is to drive traffic to your site, you’ve got to work it. Create a simple and clear call to action that gives people a reason to click.
What's a "purple cow" and how do I make one for Pinterest??
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Pinterest can feel like Times Square. Eyeball overload! Marketing guru Seth Godin gave a great TED talk about how, in a world of so many choices and an audience with so little time, ideas must be remarkable; you need to create purple cows. Create improbable images that stand out and grab attention. They will break through the clutter and get shared.
Lure in the Pinterest luv with cuties and beauties
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Customize this template: Kid's Smoothies
We can’t help ourselves: people are attracted to beauty and cuties. Gorgeous landscapes in exotic lands with dramatic lighting let us escape for a moment. Adorable animals and babies — particularly if you can make them purple cows — will draw your followers in.
Tap into the flavorverse
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Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Show your own twist on design trends you see happening inside and outside of Pinterest. Look at what’s trending in design, fashion, and music, and bring it into your images. Maybe you play off a popular typeface, the color of the season or take advantage of a popular style like chalkboard or subway art. See what your followers are pinning and who they’re following. Are there any commonalities? Use a secret Pinterest board to collect trendy ideas to use as inspiration, and be sure to check the Pinterest Trends page once in a while.
When in doubt, make ’em laugh
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Pinterest is an escape. It’s fun and addictive and makes people happy. Make people laugh with pins that delight — provoking a smile is always a good idea.
Aspire to inspire with beautiful Pins
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Pinterest is all about dreaming. People pin things they want to live out in some way: the recipe they hope to make, the dream home they will build, images of love and camaraderie. We all want to be happy and have an image of what this looks like. Capture people’s aspirations on Pinterest, and you’ve made your contribution to this collective blueprint of the human heart.
