How to Use Pinterest for Book Marketing

Practical Tips for Effective Social Media Book Marketing Strategy

What is Pinterest?

According to its website description, Pinterest is described as “a visual discovery tool that you can use to find ideas for all your projects and interests.” In other words, it’s a place where people can search for, view, and share images, infographics, and even links of a cornucopia of fascinating things. It has 100 million monthly users. It’s easy to use. It’s the perfect place for book marketing on the Internet.

How does Pinterest work?

It’s pretty simple. Pinterest functions like your personal online pin-board where you can pin pictures that catch your attention or anything that interests you.  Other users may view, like, re-pin or share your pins and vice versa. Aside from expressing yourself and sharing your interests, what many are discovering is that Pinterest can also be used for marketing products or promoting a business.

Learning how to use Pinterest is easy, but first, you have to register for an account. Once you have one, then you can get started with marketing your book.

Here are practical tips on how to promote your book using Pinterest:

1. Create a professional Pinterest profile.

Unlike casual users, your primary purpose for using Pinterest is to market a product. To suit your purpose, converting your regular account to a business one would open up more marketing opportunities. For one, you can freely promote your book on the site. Plus, with a business account, you can use Pinterest Analytics to track your stats. For an affordable price, you can promote your pin and have it appear in the most relevant places.

When creating a profile, it’s important to keep in mind that your name is your brand. Therefore, you must present yourself professionally with a touch of personalization. Take this opportunity to create a positive impression to your audience. Write a compelling description. Use a professionally-taken photo as an avatar. In addition, link your Pinterest profile to your other online profiles so interested parties know how to learn more about you and your work.

2. Manage your boards.

Since Pinterest is your personal virtual pin-board, come up with inspired and attention-grabbing board ideas. Organize the contents systematically so visitors can easily find the images they’re looking for. Moreover, doing this presents the chance of bringing attention to your other pins. Also, fun and creative board titles can go a long way to attract attention.

Recommended boards:

• Your book’s cover photo including a brief, catchy description
• Pictures that are related to your book’s topic or theme
• Striking lines from your book
• Articles and writing tips from your website
• Your favorite books and reading recommendations
• Videos or book trailers about your book
• Things that you find interesting, preferably related to your book

3. Pin wisely and consistently.

Decide well on what to pin and what not to pin. Create a list of criteria so your boards can remain methodically organized. Your pins reflect your personality and preferences. Make sure to present your best self through your boards.  As an author, your posts must have grammatically accurate descriptions. Using keyword-rich blurbs is also extremely useful.

Maximize the window of opportunity to get your pins noticed. Post pins on Pinterest’s busy hours. By doing so, you’re more likely to get other users to re-pin your posts and follow your account.

Pin frequently at these hours:

• Between 2:00PM to 4:00PM
• Between 8:00PM to 12:MN

4. Link your pins to your author website, Facebook, Tumblr, etc.

Make sure that your followers know where to reach you or to know more about you. Let your Pinterest become a portal to your other online accounts. Include links in your pin descriptions that will redirect other users to your website or blog.

Here are the steps to manually add a link to a pin:

• Choose a board and click on the box that is labeled Add a Pin.
• Pick an image from your computer or device.
• Enter a catchy description in the field provided.
• Select a board and click on the Pin It
• View the recently uploaded pin and click on the Edit
• Type or paste in your website or blog’s URL on the Website section, and click the Save

Only use this feature for original pins or posts made by you.

5. Tune in to community boards.

Meet people through community boards. By joining such groups, you’ll be guaranteed to meet people of the same interests. These people will likely find your posts and book interesting, too.

You can create your own community board and invite others to join. However, as a start, it’s a great idea to follow other community boards and observe how they operate. You need an invite to join a community board. Follow these steps to get the invite:

• Follow community boards
• Like or re-pin their posts
• Check out the boards of users in the community
• Comment on their pins

Now, you’re ready to let the virtual world know about your book. Get your articles and images ready and pin to your heart’s content!