5 Things I'd Do if I Were Starting A New Pinterest Account

Last updated on 17 December 2024

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I started blogging before Pinterest was a thing. 😲 I know. It sounds crazy saying it! But a lot has changed since those early days of needing an invitation to join Pinterest (Do you remember them?), and there is so much I would do differently if I were starting a new Pinterest account today.

So that’s what we’re going to look at! These are the things that I would change and do right from the beginning if I were going to Pinterest for the first time. And I’d love to know what you think too! Let me know in the comments.

The steps I’d take if I were starting a new Pinterest account

Step 1: Have a good blog plan
Step 2: Optimise my profile
Step 3: Keyword research
Step 4: Create eye-catching Pins
Step 5: Create a system for the future
Bonus!

Step 1: Not actually start until I had a good blog plan

Is this actually cheating? But honestly, before diving into Pinterest, I’d make sure I had a solid blog plan and was posting consistently. Pinterest loves new content and links to fresh posts. So, I’d focus on creating high-quality blog posts regularly. This way, when I start pinning, I have a steady stream of fresh content to share. I’m already in the habit of creating great blog posts, which I will then turn around and pop on Pinterest.

💡 Tip: Use a content calendar for your blog posts so you can easily start building up a blogging habit.

Step 2: Optimise my profile

Okay and then I would think about starting a new Pinterest account. And here’s where I would do a couple of things to my profile to make sure that it’s going to be working for me.

I’d make it super clear what I’m about and who I can help, and one of the ways I can ensure that I’m doing that is:

Optimise profile: I’d use keywords in my profile, add my website link, and include a good photo of my face. Probably one I use on social media.
Using keywords: Okay keywords weren’t something I thought about until a LONG way into my Pinterest journey, especially not on my profile. But they are crucial to your Pins being discovered.
Link: Adding a link to my blog, or to a page that is relevant to my Pinterest audience.
Boards: Creating boards that make sense for my niche, thinking about those keywords again. And including board descriptions, too.

Step 3: Keyword research

Discovering keywords for my Pins as well as my blog changed my Pinterest game drastically. If I were starting a new Pinterest account, I’d ensure I knew what I was doing with my keywords to start getting traffic back to my blog ASAP.

Step 4: Create eye-catching Pins

I used to Pin just whatever image was on the blog post. 👎🏻 BAD. I also do not recommend setting up auto posts from Instagram. Pinterest is a search engine, so it behaves very differently to social media, and we need to accommodate that.

💡 Check out this post: How to Repurpose Your Instagram Posts on Pinterest

If I were starting from scratch today, I’d make sure I used something like Canva to create eye-catching Pins that people actually want to click, and that include those keywords on them. You want to be thinking about your Pin looks in a sea of those Pins on a similar topic. Think about the colours you’re using, and the fonts (nothing hard to read!), and try to include a call to action on your Pins, too.

Step 5: Create a system for the future

So now you have your Pinterest set up and you’re creating Pins for blog posts or your business, now you need a good system to make sure you continue to add new Pins. Going back to point one, having that good blogging habit is going to mean you have fresh content to work with all the time. This is great! Now you need a workflow to actually make it happen.

Here are a few suggestions:

Create 3 – 5 Pins after you write a blog post. Schedule for after your blog post is published (that bit is key – we don’t want 404 pages!), and have them go to relevant boards
At the start of the week, create Pins and schedule them
Or at the start of the month. This is when I tend to do them.
Use templates on Canva (or wherever you’re creating your Pins) to make Pin creation really speedy and not take up too much time.

Bonus: Have a Pinterest Business account

Change to a Pinterest Business account. Why? There are lots of reasons. But the main advantage in my mind is that you get to see all your analytics and insights. You can see which Pins and boards are doing really well, which ones aren’t so much, if people are actually clicking to your blog posts (the best metric!) and, if you’re up for it, you can run ads.

And the best part? It’s free. If you’re going to do this, make sure you set up your Business Account with all the details outlined in the set-up, and add the code to your blog so Pinterest knows which of your Pins are from your website.

💡 Check out this post: How to use Pinterest Trends to Grow your Pinterest and Blog

So! That’s what I would do if I were starting a new Pinterest account today. Having a Pinterest account that actually does the heavy lifting and hard work for you can see you bringing in blog traffic to your website in the background, all the time.

I highly recommended giving Pinterest a go and also being patient about it. It does take time, but I have Pins from years and years ago that still bring in traffic all these years later. It’s well worth the effort.

What’s one thing you wish you knew when you were starting a new Pinterest account?

Let me know in the comments!