Commentary

Why I Love Pinterest & How to Be a TOP Pinner!

Why-I-love-Pinterest-Marla-Meridith for MarlaMeridith.com

Pinterest has taken the social media world by storm in a great way. Yes, you might take way too much of your time flitting around there, but do you have a smile on your face while you are on it? I bet the answer is yes. In case you don’t know Pinterest is the super chic visual bookmarking website that is slick and very user friendly. Over there you create a collection of virtual pin boards.

These boards consist of your favorite websites, blogs, photographs and more. You categorize each image and you share with others. People who follow you can then click through to the website it was pinned from to learn more about that photograph, website or blog post.

These days the majority of my blog traffic comes directly from Pinterest. Daily my readership grows as I gain followers. In order to become more visible I am very social over there. I pin quality content often ~ Many folks have told me how much traffic they have received from my pins of their stuff. Great benefits for ALL!

Project LunchBox Snack Ideas | MarlaMeridith.com

Being a visually minded person I crave quick snippets of information. I am the kind of gal who cannot be in one place for too long & I seek the beauty in everything. When Pinterest came along in 2011 I knew it would be the perfect place for me to organize & share all of the inspiration I find daily. I love following other peoples pins ~ they turn me on to a whole world of food, crafts, design, travel, lifestyle + more!

3 Ways to get your image Re-Pinned and improve Click-Thrus to your blog or website…

Above is a great example of how to get noticed on Pinterest.

  • Shoot a great image (hint: people LOVE food)
  • Crop it LONG (the image looks really BIG on Pinterest because it is vertical, horizontal images are a tougher read and appear too small)
  • Add fun text and graphics (Pinterest is all about short term IMPACT. Make your statement BOLD and QUICK!)
Quick & Easy! 
One of the first things you can do to build your brand on Pinterest…. Create some group pin boards with inspiring themes. This is a fun way to invite conversation, pin your stuff and see other peoples favorites based off that theme. My #ProjectLunchBox Pinners board is a great example of people working together. Daily we inspire each other to pack meals at home!

Tips and Tricks for you!

Each of the photos in this post will take you straight over to some of my favorite boards. Also be sure to follow my boards to at http://pinterest.com/marlameridith/

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

You need an invitation to join in the Pinterest craze. Because I love you and want you to have tons of fun + inspiration daily I can send you an invite if you email me your email address. You can do that via my contact form.

The awesome Kim Stoegbauer from The TomKat Studio interviewed on of the three Pinterest co-founders Ben Silbermann for HGTV. Check that out to learn more about the passion and philosophy behind this genius invention.

At the bottom of this post I give you the opportunity to share links to your Pinterest account or your favorite pin boards.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Great for Visual Thinkers

Pinterest offers me quick visual inspiration that I can then further the experience to clicking through to the links. How great is that color palette above by Design Seeds? A new favorite blog f mine.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Helps Me Organize

Now I can I organize all my creative inspirations in one place, on my virtual pin boards.

So not only can I organize my inspirations, but my life too! Look at that gorgeous organization from the blog Art as Life.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.comMakes it Easy To Revisit Something

Nothing bugs me more than not being able to find a creative idea I fall in love with. Pinning my favorites makes it simple to re-visit these finds. All I need to do is dash over to my boards and glance at my well categorized themes. I have found so many new blogs through Pinterest.

There are so many great photographers out there & now I can keep track of their beautiful photo shoots via my “Photographers” board. Above is a great image by Z’s the Day Photography and Design.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Become your Own Curator

Ever have dreams of sharing your unique style? On Pinterest that is exactly what you do each time you pin, repin and like something.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Making New Friends

Not only do I blog about food, but my interests are vast.

There are so many blogs and websites I have learned about through Pinterest. From craft bloggers to weddings, photographers, artists, designers, travel, fitness, lifestyle, cool crafts and much more. Each day I am continuously blown away by the things I see.

One of my favorite pin boards is my Blythe Dolls collection. These little dolls fascinate me & beware: my two dolls just arrived from Japan so you will be seeing lots of them around here. Stay tuned.

Not only am I creating online relationships with shopkeepers on Etsy, but also new communities of friends who are into similar things. Not matter how unique or kitschy the interest.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Very Customizable

We all have unique interests and passions. What I love is that I can follow all of someone’s boards or just the few I am interested in. Life is too busy to be inundated with too much content. With Pinterest I can give and take what I want & leave the rest behind. Easy.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

I also love that I can constantly rearrange my boards according to what my moods are. For instance, I will have certain holiday boards at the top of my collection timely with particular seasons. I move them lower on my arrangement once the holiday has passed. This makes it easier for people to find what they need. For instance since Valentine’s Day has passed I will move Easter up.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.comBuild Blog Popularity

It is amazing how much my blog traffic has increased since I joined Pinterest. The most popular post from MarlaMeridith.com with the most pins so far is…Project LunchBox!

Pinterest has been by far my largest source of blog traffic. More than StumbleUpon, Facebook and all of the others combined.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.comFriendly & Social

I love the mindset over at Pinterest. People openly share ideas and inspiration. They are genuinely happy to be there & I can tell it is not just another chore on their internet sweeps.

The Perfect Palette has a HUGE and very loyal following. People love her pins and it is very obvious why.

I strike up new relationships with all kinds of folks. It is a dream of mine to get to Switzerland some day so I keyword #Switzerland to find others who share the same interests.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

“Liking” and “Repining”

I “like” a whole lot of pictures so folks can follow along. I “Repin” those that I know I want to re-visit at some time down the road. Again, for me it all comes down to refining and knowing exactly what I want to look at all the time. De-cluttering my mind as much as I can along the way. Wonder Woman fascinates me. So she has her very own board.

“Likes” are awesome too, because then I know I can find the post again if I wish. These are not always in my line of vision though as my “pins” are.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

User Friendly Links

If I love something more than just a quick glance, I enjoy the fact that I can easily click through to the blog or website by clicking on that photo. Direct links make life much easier.

The Pear Roquefort Salad is by my buddy Mike from Verses From My Kitchen. Not only is his photography stunning but his recipes need to be remembered. Having them on many of my food boards helps me pull up my favorites in a snap!

 

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Shopping

I love to shop for everything! Fortunately and unfortunately Pinterest offers me many way to click through to store fronts to make online purchases. It is especially helpful for me to find stuff For the Home and Props.

I am a self proclaimed Etsy Addict so I pin and find a lot of Etsy goodies on Pinterest.

Why I love Pinterest blog post on MarlaMeridith.com

Do you love Pinterest? What are your favorite things to pin? What are your favorite pin boards to follow? Has your blog traffic grown vastly since you joined?

Graphic for Happy Post on MarlaMeridith.com blog

I would love if you linked up your Pinterest account too! This way we can all visit each other over there.

‘); // ]]>

Related Links

~ Marla Meridith

Join the Conversation

80 thoughts on “Why I Love Pinterest & How to Be a TOP Pinner!

  1. I love it all… but I’m too addicted and spend too much time on it! You actually don’t need an invite from someone else anymore. My son just clicked the “request an invite” thing on their home page and received an email back from them to join. It was pretty easy.

    1. Really? That is cool if the response was immediate. I tried for months before I had access to my own Pinterest account ~ even with invites. It was a bit frustrating because I wanted on so badly. That is cool that Recipe Boy got a quick email back. Guess they might have changed things over there! Thanks for sharing 🙂

  2. Pinterest has done more for my love of food, cooking, recipes, photography, and just overall life! than just about anything else out there. It’s to me today, what discovering food blogs was to me 5 years ago. Not to mention, the viral nature of it can put life into blog posts I thought were dead and gone and also find out about some amazing recipes on sites I’d never have found otherwise. I love Pinterest!!!!!!!!!!

    1. Averie, that is so true. Pinterest allows me to find things I never would have. Yes! It certainly can breathe life back into posts I wrote forever ago. Neat stuff. For me these days I would rather surf things through there than anywhere else.

  3. I’m another addict. I already spend too much time there and am not looking forward to having six weeks of bed rest after surgery because I know I’ll get all pinned out. But it’s so much fun! I love seeing what other people have pinned and connecting with old friends and new.

    1. @Teawench, sorry to hear you will be on a 6 week bed rest. I hope everything goes smoothly with your surgery & recovery. Pinning will keep you really busy & that is a great thing. Bet you will learn lots over there ~ just be beware of the shopping it encourages!

  4. I love love Pinterest! It is so, so addicting, though. I am a visual thinker, daydreamer, organization freak and I find myself spending so much time on there.

    I love your boards, Marla! I’ve been pouring through them like mad! 🙂

  5. I don’t use Pinterest … yet! Sites on social media and networking are increasing with the speed of light ….. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, YouTube, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Vimeo, Instagram, StumbleUpon, Digg, ….. ah, I think my head’s gonna start spinning!
    Pinterest is definitely is a great platform to ‘pin’ & share, make friends, and for exposure. But I came across a post here some time back about how the original link of the picture’s owner is lost. Not sure if Pinterest worked on it & corrected that glitch.

    1. Nisha, that is very true. There are so many social media sites. I stick to Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Instagram & of course Pinterest.
      From as far as I can see each time I click a link it goes directly & very cleanly to the source. Thank goodness because I would not want it any other way. Things like StumbleUpon seem to loose elements of the original post. That can be very annoying.

  6. Love Pinterest, but it does become quite the obsession and time sinker. I could sit there all morning and pin. Love Pinterest as a way to organize recipes, things I’d like to read about later, and items I’d like to buy one day.

  7. It’s a pleasure to browse through everything on Pinterest though I have to say I’m still a bit confused about how to use it. Must sit with it this weekend.

  8. Love this. I’m already addicted to Pinterest but even I kept my boards rather slim. I see so much potential in keeping myself organized and finding inspiration in one spot. And more. Thanks for including my shot, always appreciated Marla!

    1. Mike, I love all of your posts. So many of your photos and recipes are on my boards 🙂 Thanks for giving us so much beauty, joy and temptation to look at!

  9. What a great post, Marla. It is very helpful and informative for someone who has never used it. I learned a lot as I just started actively pinning not too long ago. Your pins are all wonderful and inspiring. Happy Weekend! xx

  10. I love how Pinterest has actually helped me organize my life. I am such a visual person and I love pinning recipes I want to try one day or as I call it “Feed Me” because what I really want is someone to just make it for me. Ha!

    Great post Marla, very informative.

  11. Pinterest should be loving you for this post, Marla! I wish I’d had this to read when I first started on Pinterest — it’s a perfectly organized tutorial! Well done! (As always!) 😀

  12. This is definitely a happy post. I love this! I agree with ALL you have said. I use Pinterest to keep my “food” organized. I love all the creativity floating around, it really inspires me beyond words! I actually made bookmarks for Valentine’s day b/c of an idea I saw on Pinterest, I am not a crafty girl at all, so it was fun for me to find something like that. I love all the themed boards too…so fun, all of it 🙂

  13. I equally love Pinterest. It is a great way to keep so many ideas, inspiration and work organized. Not to mention a great way to share the things you love. Thanks for such an informative post!

  14. After I’d just been on Pinterest a few weeks, I was showing my hubs something on there, and he looked at the top and said, “Do you really have over 1000 pins?” Busted!

    I use it for:
    – saving links to recipes (of course)
    – collecting visuals for other people to review: kitchen options for my husband to check out when we were remodeling; color schemes for a graphic design client; things that just make me laugh so when I need a pick-me-up, they’re there.
    – “market” research; I watch which pins are popular for clues as to what blog posts might have broad appeal.

    1. Jana, sounds like you have caught the bug too 🙂 Great to use it for the remodel & your clients too. I need to go check out your boards now!

  15. Just found you and this post, haha, on Pinterest. Great info. I have a question-Inoticed in most of your examples, you add a hashtag with a label. Does this help you search your pins later or is it for something else? Following you now in PInterest and Facebook.

    1. Joan, I have not found the hashtag to be too helpful in searches. I keep using it regardless ~ thinking that one day the bots will use it to locate keywords.

  16. Thanks Marla. I am basing my Pinterest boards on things that are visually appealing, from food to flowers and so much more. I really enjoy Pinterest and all of your ideas above. Since I am passionate about food, I have pinned a boatload of food photos!

    Pinterest http://pinterest.com/eatdesignlive/

    PS What software do you use to put the text on your images?

    All the best.

  17. Thank you Marla for the awesome post! I just set up my Pinterest and can already see traffic coming from there, not much, but everyday a bit more! I learned a lot from your post here! I just followed you, if you have time, check back at me! Have a nice weekend! Hugs from Istanbul!!
    http://pinterest.com/Just1WayTicket/

    1. Hi Sab! I am thrilled that you are seeing some traffic boost to your Pinterest following. Thanks for sharing your link I will head over & check it out now.

  18. Love your Blog Marla! So much Useful information. Thank you. I’m relatively new to Pinterest. Just recently started taking pictures of my cooking and uploading. It has become a Huge Addiction! When you get a chance please visit my Pinterest Board and if you have any comments or suggestions that would be Wonderful!

    http://www.pinterest.com/annavil/my-cooking/