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Whether you work with a publisher who markets the heck out of your books, or you are new to the idea of being an author, consider Pinterest for marketing some of your work.

Like many other social media sites, Pinterest gives you the opportunity of a large following that will quickly and easily see when you have contributed new work to your page. It is also possible to add your Pinterest profile to any blog or website you may have, which will help direct more traffic and add more followers to your pages. Read on for more about how you can take advantage of this fun social tool to get your name out there, and ultimately boost your sales.

What is Pinterest? 

Pinterest is a social media site that allows members to collect and organize images and ideas about things they enjoy and have an interest in. The images and ideas are called pins, hence the name of the site. By creating and collecting pins, a follower is able to find new things similar to the interests they already possess and will be able to share those same passions with other followers who use the same pins.

“Pinning” can be universally done, which is why Pinterest has grown so rapidly. If you post something on your blog that a follower may like, you can include a “Pin It” button on your site. It allows them to pin your images to their boards. This can greatly widen your audience while allowing you to bring all of the best parts of digital and online marketing together. Because Pinterest is a very visual site, you don’t want to write a novel in the description (save it for your book!) – the sweet spot is between 100 and 200 characters.

Basic Pinterest marketing strategies

If you didn’t figure it out earlier, the best way to get the most out of Pinterest is to be active with as many followers as possible. The easiest way to recruit followers is to follow those you are already connected with on another social media site. If you have 400 Facebook friends, and 275 use Pinterest, start following those 275 individuals. Odds are good that once you start following a friend, they will return the favor and follow you.

Pinterest also does you a favor by including themed boards. As an author on Pinterest, one of your best bets is to search for boards about reading. People who pin about reading usually love reading. You can even search for specific book genres. By following people who love mystery books, they may realize you are writing a mystery novel and can eventually become your readers.

Once you determine who your audience is, you don’t necessarily have to seek them out. By creating boards very specific to what you offer, your target audience will come to you. If you are writing that mystery novel, by creating a board specifically geared towards factors related to mystery writing, you will pop up in that search when those pinners look for mystery content. Pinterest is built for you to easily find your audience and your audience to easily find you.

Another major basic trick to Pinterest is to pin appropriately and consistently. If you are pinning a bunch of random things that have nothing to do with you, your work, or your other pins, other members will start to ignore you or put your content way down near the bottom of their priority totem pole. The same thing goes for pins that are few and far between. If you have interesting pins, but only pin once every six months, followers will forget who you are and won’t care what you are up to. You have to grab your audience and then keep a hold of them. Don’t let your potential audience slip through your fingers by keeping them out of your loop. If you’re having trouble keeping up with your social responsibilities while you work, you can contract it out to a social media agency or SEO company.

Creative Tips for Authors on Pinterest 

Pinterest-Idea

The above tips are valuable for anyone using Pinterest. They are basic tricks for anyone trying to use the site to their advantage for any particular reason. As an author, you may need to do a few more creative things to make your pins stand out from every other pin. For example, did you search mystery novels? Notice how many pins came up? Pins probably include other mystery novels, mystery as a theme, decoration ideas that resemble scenes from mystery novels, and the list goes on from there. So what can you do to climb to the top of the exampled mystery novel pile? Try a few of these more creative tips.

  1. Take advantage of your cover. If you have an awesome, and I mean awesome, book cover, use it as the image for your pin. The right picture can say a thousand words and hopefully the cover of your book encompasses the thousands of words that make up your novel. People always say not to judge a book by its cover, but there are a lot of readers who do just that. They pick the book they will read out of a pile of other books because something about the cover captivates their imagination. If you have done your best in picking out the most epic cover possible, take advantage of the visual aspect behind Pinterest and turn it into your next pin.
  2. Come up with a creative tagline. Every movie out there has one quote that will never be forgotten, whether it is Leo becoming king of the world or Tony Montana introducing you to his little friend. Your book can make that same impression. Pinterest allows you to include a description with your image. If you have a more memorable tagline, that may put you ahead of every other mystery book out there. A clever description also gives fellow pinners a sneak peek at your writing and creativity skills.
  3. Give your followers the intro. While the cover image may say a thousand words, perhaps it does not speak as eloquently as your written word. Choose a page from your book, whether it is the first page or the page a few chapters in right before the mystery gets good, and turn that into a pin. By giving your readers a glimpse into your story, it can entice them enough that they want to read more. They want to know where the story goes after the first page or how your character got into the suspenseful situation they are in.
  4. Publicize everything related to your book. This one should be a no brainer. If you are using Pinterest to get your book out there, make sure you publicize everything about your book from the release date to book signings to public readings. If followers see there is a lot going on with your book, they will most likely assume there is a reason behind all the hype. You wouldn’t have been able to land a book signing if there wasn’t already a large group of readers loving your work. By using one of your boards, like an event calendar, you can show your potential audience that there is a lot going on with this book and that they should want to be a part of the excitement.

There are a million and one ways to use Pinterest to your advantage. These are just a few tips that can help you maximize your exposure. Out of all social media outlets (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.), Pinterest is one of the more creative outlets. Members of Pinterest already have a more creative mindset. They are on the site to organize cool and creative ideas and trends. By following some of these easy tricks, you can make yourself and your new novel stay on top of the latest trends and on your followers’ minds.

Need more help with Pinterest? Check out The Busy Author’s Guide To Popularity And Profit On Pinterest.

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