Granny Geek’s Guide to Best Graphics Practices for Pinterest

Granny Geek Looks at Pinterest

When I first started blogging, I didn’t understand Pinterest. I’d heard people rave about it, so I started an account five years ago when I started my first blog Blessed (but Stressed). After a while, I created some boards and pinned a little. I even followed some fellow blogging friends. I waited for the magic to happen.

No magic. In five years’ time, I had amassed 691 followers and had 2,000 views per month. But out of all those viewers, only one or two actually visited my blog each month. I didn’t see the magic in those numbers. I wanted to cash in on the magic, and decided to do some research and experimenting.

In researching what other people had to say about Pinterest and how it can help bring readers to your blog, I learned something amazing. Pinterest has a completely different purpose than say, Twitter or Facebook. Although you ‘follow’ people or ‘follow’ boards, Pinterest acts as a search engine and place to curate information—NOT a social media outlet.

Once I wrapped my mind around the fact that Google and Pinterest belong to the same idea family, it changed the way I viewed Pinterest. Imagine that Google and Evernote had a baby and named it Pinterest.

I know I can do things to help my Google rankings by using SEO (Search Engine Optimization) words and techniques. (Let me know in the comments if you’d like to learn what I’ve learned about SEO). Maybe I could do things to leverage Pinterest, too!

Graphics Rule

Unlike Google, though, Pinterest rewards graphics. So, my number one tip for leveraging Pinterest? Create good graphics! My two favorite free graphic design sites both have paid options, but you can still create great graphics with their free tools. Check out PicMonkey and Canva.

Unlike Facebook or Twitter, Pinterest loves graphics with a vertical (portrait) orientation—not horizontal (landscape). When you create a graphic for Pinterest, aim for something about 735 pixels by 1102 pixels.

Try to keep your topic the biggest part of the graphic. If someone pins your graphic from your blog (or from your Pinterest board), they will find your blog post. I started making my blog name smaller and keeping it in the same spot each time.

Make the topic of your post the focus of the graphic—use a bigger, bolder font. You could say something like, “Four Tips to Creating Pinnable Graphics” or “Rethinking Pinterest Can Improve Your Blog Traffic.”

You don’t want to give away your entire post on your graphic, though. I learned this the hard way. One of my posts got pinned over 800 times—but only a quarter of those people visited the blog. I had made the mistake of giving away all the information on my graphic.

EVERY post you create should have at least one ‘pinnable’ graphic. I conduct a weekly link-up, and I visit every blogger who links up. Because I want to support other bloggers (and because I have a Pinterest board just for the link up), I pin from everyone’s post. Some bloggers don’t have an image on their post, though, so I can’t pin.

Review of Pinterest Best Practices

1. 735 X 1102 pixels (or close to it) in a portrait orientation.
2. Your website or branding at the bottom of the image (it doesn’t need to be big).
3. Bold topic statement.
4. Every blog post has a pinnable graphic.

Come back next week to learn how to make sure your Pinterest graphics have the maximum amount of information (which will lead pinners back to your blog).

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