When I decided to start blogging seriously here on Confused and Terrified Writer I thought about what topic I really wanted to focus on. I’ve been kind of scattered here, really wanting to help my author friends with so many of their problems that came along with being a productive author and business owner but this blog was not coming together in a cohesive way at all. Too many topics and not enough content. And then throw in selling my house and a move across the country and you get:
A stalled blog!
So, leading into the new year I thought for some time about what this blog should be. What would help my readers the most? And while thinking about what topics I love to talk about with other writers one came to mind right away.
Pinterest.
Wait! Don’t start groaning and thinking I’m leading you down one more path of social media planning and overwhelm. I’m not. I promise. Would I lie to you?
That reaction is the typical one I get from authors who already feel like social media takes way too much time away from their writing. I’m right there with you. Even though I teach people how to use social media, I wish I didn’t have to think about it, feel guilty about not doing it, or overwhelmed with what on earth I’m going to post on it.
But here is the secret…
Ready?
Pinterest isn’t a social media platform.
I’m sorry what did you say, Elena?
You heard me. It’s not social media.
Then what on earth is it?
Shh, I’m going to tell you:
It’s a search engine.
A big, beautiful, VISUAL search engine.
Huh?
Yes and there are some really fantastic reasons why you need to be there.
A lot.
Here they are:
It’s the number TWO search engine behind Google. That’s huge. More on this later.
It’s completely underused by author
It’s free
It’s where your reader’s are hanging out looking for what they want to do next.
You don’t have to interact with anyone or be chatty on Pinterest. An introvert’s dream
Now do you see?
The downside, of course, (there is always at least one) is that some of us aren’t exactly gifted in the visual creation department. (Waving madly over here) but there are so many free tools to help us create beautiful pins about our stories that it’s easier than it’s ever been.
Now why am I sharing this with you and not just keeping it to myself and going on my way? One of the things I’ve realized about myself is that I love to help people, I love to teach others stuff that will help them in life and their business, and I really love Pinterest. It’s my absolute favorite platform.
I know I said it’s not social media and it isn’t but it is still a way to put yourself out there so… same, same right? There is still planning involved. However, I would much rather spend my time figuring out the best way to put myself out there on Pinterest than Facebook, Twitter or Instagram than any other. I like all those and they have their place but Pinterest is just plain fun. I’m also going to show you a way to batch your content to make it fast and easy but again, more on that later.
In the next month and a half I’m going to be blogging twice a week about how authors can use Pinterest for their author business and how it works. Every Tuesday and Thursday there will be a post here about Pinterest and how to use it for your author business.
Full disclosure: at the end of that time I’m going to invite you to take my Pinterest class (starting Feb 11th) through the Orange County Chapter of RWA. It’s super cheap (Like $35? Or something?) and it’s the cheapest it will ever be again. This will be my beta run for the class and after that time it will go live and go up in price. We will have a private Facebook group for the class. In the group, we’ll talk all about Pinterest and help each other plan what to Pin and compare what works and what doesn’t. Trust me, it’s fun.,
That’s it for now. I hope I convinced you to come back and learn more about how to use Pinterest for your author business. This Thursday, January 3rd in my next blog post I’m going to talk about traffic and how Pinterest became my number one traffic driver. Also, how you can do the same for your blog so come back then and check it out!
Pinterest has really been upping their game as of late. I really love that Pinterest wants us to succeed with their platform and in our businesses. Cool right? In that vein, they have made some changes over the course of the last few months. If you’re a frequent Pinterest visitor you’ll have noticed the new Follow tab.
The Follow tab is a throwback to the old days of Pinterest where you would only see Pins from the people that you followed and others would only see your Pins if they followed you. Now the cool thing about this is all of your Pinterest followers who are interested in your content (because they followed you!) will see your content first. If your content gets good engagement then it will be carried on to the Smart Feed.
The SmartFeed is filled with content that is like the stuff you’ve been pinning but not necessarily by people you follow. It will be stuff Pinterest thinks you like. So two great ways to get your content out there!
Hashtags. Back at the beginning of Pinterest hashtags worked on the platform. Then all of a sudden they were a big no-no. All the experts said “No hashtags on Pinterest!” So everyone stopped using them. Then all of a sudden toward the end of 2018 the big news was “You can use hashtags on Pinterest again!”.
Now that they are working again you should be using them for your marketing efforts. Use up to twenty quality hashtags that work for your author business in your Pinterest pin descriptions. Done and done. Way to go Pinterest! Another awesome way for people to find our stuff.
I’m really excited about what Pinterest is doing and how well it works for my author business and I hope you are too. If you want to know how you can make your Pinterest account better and improve your marketing efforts I’m offering a discount on Pinterest consulting right now.
I’m a little nervous today. I did an interview for a podcast a while back and it’s finally gone live! Write Now Workshop Podcast has had really great interviews with super informative content on it. If you’re an aspiring writer or a writer looking to educate yourself in all the areas of publishing a book this is a great way to do it.
In this episode I talk about, you guessed it, visual content. The thing I go on and on about here on my blog. But in this interview, you can hear me talk about why it’s so important for every author’s business. And Kitty and I have fun while we do it!
I’d love to hear what you think of the interview. If you’re interested in the class that I talk about there is a link in the show notes or a box here on the right!
I’m in love with Animoto. I’ve been writing a story every week on my ElenaDillon.com blog and this tool has been priceless. I’ve created videos for Confused and Terrified Writer (you can see one above in the header), and it is so worth the money! I’ve gone from creating one or two videos a year to creating them a few times a month. I’ve been teaching that video gets more response than flat graphics and I’ve seen the difference in my own marketing efforts for sure.
Here is the one I created for Instagram that got tons of response and clicks!
Creating this video took minutes instead of hours and was really helpful in promoting the story. I’ve also included a new lesson in my Visual Content Marketing for Authors class for Animoto. It’s the kind of tool that will make a huge difference in your author business. I’ve been using it with Canva for Work and between the two my visual content creation has gotten tons easier.
I’m going to be reopening the Visual Content Marketing class at the end of this month so if you’re interested, be sure to sign up in the box below. It’s only going to be open for a short time so you don’t want to miss it!
**Some of the links in the following article are affiliate links for which I’m paid a small commission but costs you nothing additional. For my full disclosure statement click here.**
This week for #VisualContentThursday we’re talking about the newest update to Canva for Work. Being able to create gifs/movies for your visual content will make your content so much more interesting and eye-catching so I made a quick little video explaining how it works. Let me know what you think about Canva and the new update!
