5 Ways to Make Sure I Pin Your Posts

I recently read a post with the title “5 Reasons I Don’t Pin your Post” and it got me thinking; exactly why do I or do not Pin posts that pop up in my Pinterest feed or that I find when doing a search? The title sounded a little harsh and I’d rather think positively so I’m going to tell you 5 ways to make sure I Pin your posts.

Some posts are so easy to Pin to one of my Pinterest boards even if I don’t have time to read the entire content. I Pin so I can read the content later. It’s kind of like dog~earring a page in a magazine. Is it the content that grabs me first? I don’t know for sure if I haven’t read the content yet. What is it about the post that makes me want to save it by Pinning it to one of my Pinterest boards or a group board or a Tribe? I don’t think I’m different from other Pinners. The reasons that cause me to Pin or not to Pin are fairly widespread.

I actually wrote the outline of this post a few weeks ago. With Halloween behind us and the transition to Thanksgiving waiting in the wings, I thought this is a good time to finally share my thoughts. After rethinking my original reasons and trying to be a little more intentional with my pinning the past weeks, I decided that the 5 ways to make sure I Pin your posts haven’t changed. I thought you would want to know because I would want to know. We’re all here to help each other improve and grow, right?

5 Ways to Make Sure I Pin Your Posts

This post contains affiliate links to resources and products that I use and highly recommend. If you should order any product through this site, I may receive compensation, but you don’t pay a penny more.

NOTE: I published this post originally in November 2018. In March 2019, I started listening to Kate Ahl’s Simple Pin Media Podcast and in May, I joined her Simple Pin Media Collective; it’s been a game~changer and has changed my Pinterest tactics and strategy. Following Tailwind‘s webinars and suggestions has also been extremely helpful. I created 3 new Pinnable images for this post.

First, let me say that I know I can improve my posts, my content and my photography and my social media. It’s an everyday challenge. Sometimes I’m a little bit of an expert on everything but a master of none. Emphasis on “little bit”. So please read this in the spirit of helping; it’s just me and my little old opinion based on a bunch of stuff I’ve read and classes I’ve attended about Pinterest.

A good blogger friend of mine recently told me that she appreciates when I share blogger info with her (and the feeling is mutual), so I’m going to take a leap of faith and hope you appreciate me sharing 5 ways to make sure I Pin your post.

When I Pin a post, I’m not just thinking about what I like. I’m thinking about my followers and readers who will see a post on one of my boards. I want my Pinterest boards to be consistent, readable and attractive. I’m not sharing the “bad” here because I truly don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, so I’ve tried to find good examples of great Pinnable images.

Number 1 ~ I Know What Your Post Is About

Or I don’t know what your post is about. Remember, you know what your post is about: you created it and wrote it. (If you are like me, you edit and edit and agonize over that post ~ it’s your baby.) You might have a pretty image but that may not tell me exactly what the content of the post is about. A picture of a pretty kitchen could be about a dozen different topics. I want to know exactly what the post is about.

I try to think from my reader’s point of view. You have 2 or 3 seconds to make me want to read your post and 2 chances: your first image and your headline. So if your image doesn’t convey exactly what your post is about and your headline is ambiguous or vague, you have 2 strikes and you’re out of luck getting me to Pin.

This image tells me exactly what the post is about. I know that I will Pin it to my Ikea Hacks board and my Paint it Pretty board and probably my DIY Projects.

Number 2 ~ You Have a Pinnable Image

I want to PIN images that will stand out on my Pinterest Boards for my followers or people searching for a particular topic ~ because we all know that Pinterest is a visual search engine, right? Pinterest tells us that Pinnable images should be VERTICAL, ideally a 2:3 ratio. I use 735 wide and at least 1103 pixels tall. Ideally, your Pinnable image should be the first image in your post because you do want to get the reader’s attention. Ideally, the Pinnable image will have text with your headline on it. Again, that tells readers and Pinners exactly what your post is about.

Number 3 ~ Your Images are Easy to See and Text is Easy to Read

If images aren’t consistent, light and attractive, they don’t attract attention.

I love this quote: “Content is king, but images are the queen and she holds the keys to the kingdom.”

One of my biggest put~offs are images that are different sizes, dark or not clear. The height of an image may vary, but images with different widths are distracting on your posts; our eyes don’t like it. The bigger the better. Dark images are just plain hard to see. With all the available photography editing software available, it’s not hard to lighten any photo. You can do it right on your smartphone.

Number 4 ~ Your Images are Clean and Clear

We’ve all heard about the benefits of white space. Lots of white space (or negative space) lets your content and your images stand out. Patterned backgrounds are so distracting and hard on the eyes. I can’t see the forest for the trees. I don’t even stick around to read your fabulous content and I definitely won’t Pin your post. Take a few minutes to clean up the background on your blog and see if your engagement and Pinned posts go up.

Number 5 ~ Your Don’t Have Distractions

I don’t mind static ads on your sidebar ~ I have them ~ cuz we are all trying to make a buck. But those pop-up ads? I hate them. Ads in the middle of the content? Hate those too, especially if I’m reading how to make my living room look lovely for Christmas and in the middle, there’s an ad for toenail fungus or how to get rid of belly fat. I’m out of there and I won’t take the time to Pin. I want to read your content, not spent my time clicking little X’s to get rid of ads so I can read your post.

NOTE: This is an older Pinnable image. I have changed my style based on the new information I have since I published this post. It follows all the suggestions I’ve shared, but it’s not very exciting.

I know this topic is a sticky wicket. I know bloggers who make megabucks (not me, unfortunately ~ yet!) and live and die by all those ads smack in the middle of the post between every paragraph. Yesterday a post popped up that looked interesting from the title and the first image, but then I couldn’t find the content for all the ads. In frustration, I clicked off. Surely, I’m not alone?

In conclusion, I figure you’ll either recognize yourself and be motivated to make a few adjustments (cuz if Carol thinks this, maybe a few thousand other people do too)  and PIN this post. Or mentally click that you have covered these 5 ways to make sure I Pin your post and you’ll PIN this post for future reference. (Did you notice the subliminal messaging?) Maybe you think I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about and you click off this post right here and now and that’s O.K. too.

So, which one of these Pinnable images would you Pin first, left, right or center? These were Pinnable images that I made in November 2018.

I really enjoy creating Pinnable images, so, as part of this update, I created 3 new Pinnable images: the one at the beginning of this post and this one:

If you want to read what I learned from an expert (not me) about how to make your images Pinnable, try out this article.

To make this easy, this is the 3rd new image I created. You can PIN whichever IMAGE you like.

I’ve done my part. If you have suggestions for me to improve my posts, I sincerely want to read them. We’re in this game together and we should all be winners.