OK, first thing’s first. I am no blogging or social media expert by any stretch of the imagination. I’m mostly confused about all the internetty jargon that I hear everyday. I have managed to pick up a thing or two about what works on Pinterest in terms of which posts are successful and which are not, though!
The other day, I was thinking to myself that I should write down a list of reminders to myself about how I should be editing my photos for Pinterest, so that I can get the most out of each post. Then I thought, why not share the love? So that’s where this post is coming from.
TIP #1: Take your photos in portrait layout, or crop them to be taller than they are wide.
Photos in portrait take up about twice as much Pinterest real estate as ones in landscape, so they’re just more eye-catching.
Something like this:
Is better than this:
TIP #2: Use words like “How to” or “Make a” or “DIY” or even “Handmade”.
This lets the reader know that this is something that they can do themselves, learn about, and that there’s something in it for them when they click over to your site, or re-pin to read later.
TIP #3: Make your lettering HUGE!
If you do need to use a photo in landscape, make sure that the lettering takes up about 50% of the entire photo. In portrait, aim for about 25%.
Like this:
NOT like this:
That pillow post was a fairly popular one, but not thanks to that photo. The text is so tiny, it’s impossible to read when it’s Pinterest-sized!
TIP #4: Show only a single thing in your photo.
Same idea as with the text: You want it to be big, and you want it to stand out.
TIP #5: Don’t give away the “How to” in you photo.
You can hint at it, like this:
But don’t give everything away completely in one photo. You want people to need to click over to learn more, or pin it for later to remember your tip, idea, craft, or whatever. Keep that in mind when you’re taking your photos and remember that anyone can pin any photo from your blog, not just your lead photo.
TIP #6: Use overlays or blocks of color to make your text pop.
You want it to be as easy to read as possible! You want to grab those eyeballs scanning the screen and force them to click!
TIP #7: Sell it!
Let them know they need to pin it, read it, learn it, and love it! Use words like “Easy”, “Fast”, “Fabulous”, “Beautiful”, etc.
TIP #8: Content is King!
Above all else, write great content that people really want to read. Answer a question you think people may be asking, solve a problem, make something everyone wants. Then use all my tips to let the good people know about it! Chances are, if you’ve got something people really want to know about, no matter how terrible the picture is, you’ll get quite a few people coming by to see you. With a great photo on Pinterest though, your post will be unstoppable!
Happy Pinning!
Courtenay Hartford is the author of creeklinehouse.com, a blog based on her adventures renovating a 120-year-old farmhouse in rural Ontario, Canada. On her blog, Courtenay shares interior design tips based on her own farmhouse and her work as founder and stylist of the interior photography firm Art & Spaces. She also writes about her farmhouse garden, plant-based recipes, family travel, and homekeeping best practices. Courtenay is the author of the book The Cleaning Ninja and has been featured in numerous magazines including Country Sampler Farmhouse Style, Better Homes and Gardens, Parents Magazine, Real Simple, and Our Homes.