Did you know that Pinterest is a fabulous way to drive and increase website traffic? Whether it’s a book page, blog post, or an email landing page, Pinterest is one of the easiest ways to guide people to a specific piece of content.
Here’s why.
Pinterest can drive and increase website traffic to your author’s website because it allows you to attach an inbound link to a piece of content. This, along with utilizing keywords and posting frequently, makes it easier to reach ideal readers and guide them to your website.
Pins have a longer lifespan than any other social media platform too. Unlike Instagram and Facebook, which each have content lifespans of less than two days, the average Pinterest pin lives on for about three and a half months. That’s a long time!
It doesn’t have to be a hassle to add Pinterest to your social media strategy. Whatever content you create for Instagram, Facebook, your blog, YouTube, etc., you can repurpose it for Pinterest.
Now, let’s dive into the meat of this blog post.
Here’s how romance authors can use Pinterest to drive and increase website traffic to build brand awareness and sell more books.
1. Optimize Your Profile for Your Author Brand
First things first, make sure you create a Pinterest business account. Whether you ever plan on utilizing ads, the business account lets you view your pin analytics and more.
The next thing you can do is head to settings and start optimizing your profile. Your name should include your name and the genre of books you write. For example, Zoe Mathers | Small Town Romance Author. Try to get as specific as possible with your keywords. This will make it easier for people to find you when they search up small-town romance book recs, etc.
In your About section, include the exact keyword in your name, describe your book’s feel a bit more, and who your ideal readers are. That way, if someone finds your Pinterest account, they will know if your books are for them or not just by reading your About section.
Lastly, use your name for your account name. Something like @zoemathersauthor or @authorzoemathers would be best. It makes it easy for people to find you and your books on Pinterest.
2. Create and Organize Your Key Boards
When you create pins, you will be adding them to various boards. You can organize them, but when coming up with board titles, keep your readers in mind. Will your board organization make sense to them? Will it be easy for them to navigate?
Here are some boards you might want to have as a romance author.
- {Insert Book Title} Quotes
- {Insert Book Title} Mood Board
- {Insert Book Title} Character Cast
- Blog Posts
- My Books
Use your boards to connect readers to your books and characters and encourage them to pick them up.
3. Include a Link to Your Website in Every Pin
Without linking your website to a pin, you will not be able to drive traffic to your website. So, remember, on every pin, you need to include a link to your website. Whether it’s a link to your about me page, a specific book page, a blog post, etc., you need to include that link!
However, ensure it’s specific to that pin and not completely random. If your pinning a blog post graphic, add a link to that blog post. If you’re sharing a quote from your book, add a link to that specific book’s page.
Easy enough, right?
4. Research Your Relevant Keywords
With every social media, you need to research relevant keywords and hashtags your ideal readers are frequently searching for. Some common keywords for romance authors include:
- Romance lovers
- Small town romance
- Romance readers
- Slow burn romance
If you’re sharing a quote from your book, use keywords in the description that best describe that book. For example, if I was sharing a book quote from a steamy small-town summer romance with friends-to-lovers, here’s what my description might look like:
Vanessa is used to her slow daily routine. Wake up, drink coffee, and then work at the bookshop. Her every day looks the same, and she’s fine with that.
That is until Lane Wilmington moves into the apartment next door to her at the start of summer, and suddenly, her life and routine are flipped upside down. Her new routine consists of bumping into him outside their apartment doors after his very shirtless run and chatting across their balconies with a glass of wine in the evenings.
Slowly, their budding friendship blossoms into something more in this steamy small-town summer romance.
Available on August 31, 2022!
#smalltownromance #summerromance #romancebooks #romancereaders #steamyromancebooks #friendstolovers #friendstoloverstrope
5. Develop a Consistent Posting Schedule
As with any social media platform, creating a consistent posting schedule is key. It’s recommended to post 20-30x on Pinterest every day…which might sound like a lot, but those don’t all need to be new pieces of content. Maybe post three to five new pins, then repin the rest throughout the day. It’s also recommended to post more in the later afternoon and evening and especially on weekends.
If that still overwhelms you to hear that you should be posting 20-30x a day, start by posting five pins every day for two weeks. Make sure two to three are new pieces of content, and then the rest will be repinning your old content, as well as other creators’ content.
Repurposing content is the best and easiest way to keep up a consistent posting schedule. And remember, if you post a lot on Instagram, Facebook, your blog, etc., turn that content into pins! I highly recommend you master the art of repurposing content.
6. Share Valuable Content
Like on every platform, you need to share valuable content. Your content needs to entertain, educate, or promote something. Otherwise, it’ll be hard to gauge the attention of your ideal readers. Pinterest is exactly the same.
Determine the purpose behind your pin. Is it to drive readers to a specific book? Is it to send readers to your recent blog post?
7. Master the Art of Repurposing
Since Pinterest rewards frequent and consistent posting, you must master the art of repurposing content. Not only for Pinterest but every platform. Repurposing your content saves you valuable time, so you can divide your time for other important tasks too.
What is repurposing?
Repurposing content is when you take one piece of content and turn it into another piece or multiple pieces of content.
For example, this blog post will eventually become 3-5 TikToks and static posts. I will cut it up into different chunks and focus each piece of new repurposed content on those individual topics.
It saves me not only time but creative energy!
8. Idea Pins and Rich Pins
You need to be aware of two specific pins on Pinterest: idea pins and rich pins.
Idea pins are Pinterest’s take on the Story format. They are great for sharing a quick writing tip, asking your audience a question, or even showcasing your newest book release.
Rich pins are an organic type of pin that sync info right from your website. They include extra information above and below the image, which is very different from a regular pin. There are three types of rich pins:
- Recipe rich pins
- Article rich pins
- Product rich pins
Obviously, article and product rich pins will be the most applicable for authors. You can easily share a blog post with an article rich pin, and with a product rich pin, you can share your new book or a book on sale.
Rich pins require a bit more effort, so I highly recommend looking into a tutorial for creating them. But, they are super beneficial and can help you grow your audience on Pinterest.
10 Pinterest Pin Content and Board Ideas for Romance Authors
- Write a blog post with romance book recommendations, include your book on that list, and then create a pin to promote this blog post.
- Design a graphic with a quote from your book.
- Create a board that showcases the atmosphere of your book.
- Create a board with character inspiration for your book.
- Share book promo content.
- Post book snippets.
- Post your book covers.
- Share your writing tips.
- Create a board with your friends or your favourite books.
- Create a board with your favourite quotes.
Do you feel ready to conquer Pinterest and start driving ideal readers from your pins to your author website?
For more book marketing tips, make sure to follow my social media platforms down below.
Do you feel ready to conquer Pinterest and start driving ideal readers from your pins to your author website?
For more book marketing tips, make sure to follow my social media platforms down below.
Check out my last blog post too: Author Coaching Service Now Available!
Zoe Mathers Creative 