Are you using Pinterest to drive sales to your shop? Whether you sell physical products or digital products you should be using Pinterest to sell more!

Using social media to sell your products can feel utterly exhausting and I totally get it but at the end of the day Pinterest isn’t social media!

Surprise! If you didn’t know that already you do now and I’m going to help you today make sense of how you can start using Pinterest to drive sales and make more money for your shop.

Pinterest is the place people go to find ideas and discover new ways to bring their hopes and dreams to life.

Whether you sell clothing, home decor, makeup, cleaning products or even trash bags there is a place for you on Pinterest.

So let’s dive into why you should be using Pinterest and how you can get started today.

This post contains affiliate links. I will make a small commission if you click a link and make a purchase. Read more here.

Why Should You Be Using Pinterest to Drive Sales?

Pinterest is a place for users to come and search for inspiration and discover new ideas they can take into their daily lives.

They come to Pinterest searching for ways to decorate their homes, organize their closets, cook a delicious meal, or learn how to clean their homes better.

Your goal is to inspire the decision makers who are using Pinterest to take action on your product. There are 335 million people using Pinterest every month. [1]

If you are targeting the decision makers then you should know that 73% of US women (the decision makers) are using Pinterest. [1] These are the people you should be targeting with your marketing.

A whopping 89% of US based Pinterest users are using Pinterest on their path to purchase.1 They will open the app to find a chair to fit their space and could end up on your site looking to purchase your chair.

As this platform has grown they are becoming more of a shopping platform as well as that place to design a room or choose a new outfit.

Why Kinds of Businesses Are Using Pinterest?

I think many people would be surprised to find just the variety of companies using Pinterest. From small shops to large corporations to businesses marketing to businesses.

If you are unsure if your product is on Pinterest then do a quick search to see if your competitors are marketing the same or similar product.

You can even use their nifty lens tool to just snap a photo of your product and search for it that way.

Just to get an idea of the companies seeing success on Pinterest head over to their success stories blog and check out the different companies.

Essentially if you are a business and you’re unsure you need to head over and see what is already on the platform.

Getting Started Using Pinterest

To get started using Pinterest to drive sales you first need to get your profile optimized. If you don’t have a profile yet or if it’s a mix of personal and business content you should get started optimizing it for search.

If you need a little jumpstart on getting your Pinterest profile setup then head over and read How To Start A Pinterest Account (the right way)

Let’s do a quick rundown so you can get an idea of what you need to do.

• Brainstorm your product topics
• This is usually 3-5 high level categories
  Brainstorm 2-3 boards per topic
• Perform a quick keyword search on Pinterest to determine the keywords and phrases you need to use
• Create your boards using those topics and keywords

I told you that was going to be a quick rundown so if you need more details definitely head over and read that post once you are done here.

Once you have your profile setup then you need to go apply for Rich Pins. This is going to give your pins extra information that will help provide a better user experience.

To apply for Rich Pins head here to look up how to turn them on for your specific type of website.

Take this fashion pin for example:

You can see the website it’s attached to, the pin has a big title and meta text as well as a defined description at the bottom. You can also shop the look by clicking the product pins on the left.

Utilizing Great Keyword Research

Once you have your profile in place and you are ready to start promoting your products then you are going to start figuring out keyword research. Yes we are going to talk about finding keywords for Pinterest before we start creating pins or publishing them.

Pinterest recently released their Trends tool into beta in the US. This tool is still new but it’s a great start for researching your keywords and determining when they are popular.

You can see here when I search for “mid century modern living room” I can compare that term to other terms like “mid century modern bedroom”. When you do this you can see how popular each term is throughout the year and you even get a few extra search terms given to you at the bottom.

I also still very much use the search bar on Pinterest to search for content and keywords.

You just put your search term into the search bar and the platform will oftentimes give you more terms people are using.

I like to use the search bar to see what is popular as far as pin style, keyword, phrasing and the type of photography they use.

If you need more training on how to find great keywords head over and read Pinterest SEO: What Are Your Customers Searching For on Pinterest?

You want to know what keywords you are going to use before you start creating your pins. This will ensure you are writing great descriptions but also including those on your text overlays if you are putting text on your pins.

What & How to Share on Pinterest

There is more than one way to showcase your products on Pinterest. You can do a variety of these if you have the time and resources or you can stick to what is working for you right now.

Blog Posts

If you have your own website or you host your shop on WooCommerce or Shopify then you have the option to build a blog right on the same platform.

If you simply have an Etsy store and you would like to create a blog you can do so easily on WordPress.

Blogging allows you to go into more details about your products and link to your shop items.

You can also create gift guides in the form of blog posts so you can pair multiple products of yours together with other things you’d like to promote. This can give shoppers the chance to see just how they can use your product or give it as a gift to someone else.

Shop Listings

You can share your shop listings straight to the platform and if you have claimed your domain or Etsy store and turned on Rich Pins then the pin will be able to make your pin sexier in search.

Opt-Ins

If you have a lead magnet, coupon code or free product you give away to get people more into your world then share those to Pinterest.

Infographics

If you sell things like planners or cleaning products maybe you can create an infographic that shares more behind why you use it or how you use it in the form of an infographic.

Infographics are also great for creating a collage of sorts of your products or different ways your products can be used.

Link them straight to the product listing or blog post where you sell the item.

Videos

If you create videos showing the behind the scenes of your product creation or how they can use it then pin that to Pinterest.

How To Make Your Pins Stand Out in the Feed

A lot of shop owners aren’t taking advantage of creating pins with text on them. Text overlays can allow you to tell more of a story and utilize your keywords.

Here are some examples of shop pins I found while searching the platform. You will notice most of them don’t use text overlays, but the one thing that stands out to me the most are the pins that style their product.

If you aren’t a photographer there are plenty of ways you can insert your image into a scene. You can find a lot of these types of flatlays and life-like scenes on Creative Market.

Colors

If you browse Pinterest and pin to your own boards then take a moment to go see what you pin and what you are drawn to.

Most pinners aren’t drawn to blues or dark colors. They aren’t even drawn to images with too much white. The eye just moves right past those.

You want to test different colors but I like to stick with brighter colors that make my images stick out. I don’t like to use more than 2 colors per image if I can so they don’t get too busy.

Use your colors in your text overlay to bring attention to your keyword and call to action.

You can play with this and watch your analytics to see what people are most attracted to and click on the most.

Images

When you are showcasing your product be sure to use a mixture of lifestyle and flat lay type photos. Don’t be afraid to style your photos.

Take your iPhone or camera out during a nice but overcast day and have someone wear your coat, purse or even shoes to showcase that product in use.

Sizing 

I would suggest testing both square and long pins but the current suggestions from Pinterest on image sizing is 1000×1500. If you use Canva you can easily make images with that sizing from their templates.

User generated content 

If you have customers who are taking photos of your content then reach out to them and ask if you can use it in your own marketing. This is a great testimonial for your product and it gives other shoppers the opportunity to see it being used.

Optimize Your Pin

Now that you know the sizing and how to showcase your product a little more let’s talk about optimizing each individual pin so you can help it to surface in search.

Don’t forget to use a text overlay. Pinterest is saying they want more fresh content and for pinners to not pin the same old pins over and over. With that news you can take the opportunity to create pins that have text overlays as well as images of just your product.

Write a description like you are your own superfan. Include details like if it’s made from organic cotton sourced in the United States. I always like to use 3-5 keywords for each pin to help it be found in multiple different searches. Tell a story with your description and don’t forget to be human and write like a human.

I like to upload the image to the Pin builder and add the product to my pin as well. You can see what I’m referring to here:

Promote Your Content Daily Using Tailwind

This is where I like to drip content out daily so I am always getting in front of my audience and sharing fresh or new pins.

I like to use Tailwind to schedule my pins and Tribes to get a boost from other bloggers and shop owners like myself.

If you need to know how to use Tailwind head over and read How to Use Tailwind for Pinterest & Automate Your Pins in One Hour Per Week (OR LESS)

Use Seasonal Marketing

Don’t forget to use seasonal aspects in your pin creation. If it’s Spring and you’re creating new spring designs then use spring colors and keywords. This will help you when the platform switches to that trend to stay relevant.

Cross Promote Your Content

If you are emailing your list once a week don’t forget to include a link to your latest pin for them to save for you and themselves. This helps to drive organic saves and reach for your pins and it’s easy to do.

Go Advanced with Pinterest Ads

If you want to get a little advanced with using Pinterest to drive sales then you can use Pinterest Ads. Run a traffic campaign and build an audience out of shop visitors then take it a step further with add to cart or checkout retargeting.

So using Pinterest to drive sales can be a lot in the beginning but don’t let it overwhelm you. Implement one new thing per week and you will be amazed at how far you have come in a short 3 months.

Watch our Promoted Pins videos on YouTube

If you need a jumpstart to get started with Pinterest check out Pin Profit Academy. It’s a full Pinterest course that will teach you how to start and run your Pinterest strategy including a starting course on ads.

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