4 steps for creating a professional Pinterest account for authors
This week I've been talking with some other authors about Pinterest and how to use it effectively. It turns out that many of them have Pinterest accounts but they've set up their Pinterest profile in a haphazard way, or they've started with a personal account and then transitioned to be their pen name presence on Pinterest. So I was asked to provide some pointers for setting up your account.
Remember, Pinterest is a platform for promoting your profile/brand AND a sales platform.
Pinterest can help with:
- building your fan base
- increasing traffic to your website
- increasing clicks to buy your books.
You want to use Pinterest in a way that builds reader interest in you and your work.
Step 1 Branding
Consider what image you want to convey with your Pinterest profile. Do you have an author logo? Do you have a colour scheme you use on your website and other social media? Pinterest will be more than just your book covers (particularly if you're not yet published) so what do you want to convey? Will your theme or 'hook' match your personality or your genre?
I've seen some authors who have a love of something very specific and that 'thing' features a lot in their social media posts. Perhaps your thing is a hobby, or a sport, or a love of classical music. Maybe you have a fascination with camels, or cooking. Is this something that can work into your online presence?
Step 2 Create Your Account and Profile
You're going to want to create a business account because you'll be using your Pinterest account for commercial purposes. I'm not an expect in legal speak so check out the Pinterest Terms of Service if you want more information about the difference between a personal and business account.
Creating your Pinterest profile/account is super easy. You'll need the following basic information: name, you website, author photo or avatar, and bio. Just click and follow the simple instructions.
Setting Up Your Account on Pinterest
It's really important that you use an author image or avatar otherwise your avi will default to a grey head silhouette which doesn't look professional.
As part of this process, verify your website. This confirms that you own your website. It means that Pinterest will add your profile picture to any Pin that came from your site. It also gives you access to analytics that show what people are saving from your website.
Step 3 Create Some Boards
Create boards that reflect your author branding. Try to inject some of your personality onto your Pinterest profile. You want to highlight your books and writing, but have a bit of fun and provide your readers with some insight into you as a person.
For book related boards, consider a board for each novel, or a board for character inspiration pics, a board for all your blog posts, and so on.
Remember the hook we spoke about above? Now's the time to add those boards. I'm a foodie and love wine so I have boards related to those topics plus boards related to building my dream home in the country.
If you're not into sharing too much personal information, but want to share more than just your own specific books - and let's face it, there's only so much pinning you can do for each book - how about boards that are genre focused? Do you write historical romance? Maybe a board on fashions of the day would be good? Do you write books set in a particular part of the world? Have a board about that place. Is the lead character in your series an artist? Perhaps you could have a board featuring art. You get the idea.
Things to consider when creating Boards are:
- Clear and searchable Board titles - consider what keywords people search on
- Accurate Board descriptions
- Add a Board cover
- Ideally launch with a minimum of 10 Pins - do this by keeping the board Secret until it has enough Pins
- Pin good quality Pins
Step 4 Add some bells and whistles
A Showcase is a great way of highlighting your favourite boards at the top of your Pinterest Profile. You can select up to 5 boards to feature and those boards will rotate as a feature.
Link to your Facebook and Twitter account which will allow you to share your Pins across your social media. You do this in your Settings.
So that's it - 4 simple steps and you're now up and running. You can now start upload new pins, re-pin others, liking and commenting.
I find Pinterest a lot of fun but as an author I don't always want to be hard-selling. Yes, I try to find new ways to spread the word about my books, but I try to follow the 80/20 rule - I Pin buy links but also share snippets, character inspirations, and some other of my interests.
If you have any suggestions for using Pinterest as an author, I'd love to hear them.
Happy pinning,
Nicki xx
