Promoting Your Books With Pinterest

Promoting Your Books With Pinterest Pinterest, a social media site, initially was popular among crafters, homemakers and Do-It-Yourselfers. Its becoming a popular destination as authors search for additional marketing possibilities. Pinterest can drive traffic to an authors blog or website, increase reader awareness and generate book sales. PINTEREST Pinterest is a free site (www.pinterest.com) where users set up boards and pin things they like to their boards. Think having a wall full of   bulletin boards. Create as many boards as you desire – one or hundreds. Name them – Books to read, Gardens, Fun to wear, etc. If you see a post on the main page that you like, click the heart on the upper right. If you want to save it, click pin it on the upper left. A box opens up where you choose which board to pin it to. Follow people. For instance, type chopeclark in the search box and youll find Hopes Pinterest page. On the upper right, click follow. Its that easy. Dont forget add your Pinterest link in your signature block, on your website and on your blog posts. WHY PINTEREST? Pinterest has over 100 million users. An estimated 70 percent of users pin/click through each month. Some authors have reported that Pinterest generated traffic surpassed Google+ and Twitter. TO PROMOTE YOUR BOOKS Set up a board for each book, or each series. Add a description about your book on each board. Include relevant keywords to show up in searches. Include links to your web site, blog, and sales page. (Descriptions are limited 500 characters. Bitly.com shortens those lengthy Amazon links.) Add pins that complement your book. Good visual images have the best chances of getting repined. They recommend having at least five pins on each board. Add pins that reflect the time period of your book, the area its set in, food or clothing of the era, recipes, etc. For instance, on my Trail Angel Mama – hiking board, I added pins about the Pacific Crest Trail, Wrightwood, California (story location), and links to useful hiking pages. When I publish a blog, I pin to my board, which directs Pinterest users back to my blog. When you start a new project, create a new board. Add pictures and information from your research. If the WIP name changes, edit the boards name. This helps promote your book prior to publication. Author Susan Wittig Albert has several series: China Bayles, Darling Dahlias and the Robin Paige Victorian mysteries that she co-writes with her husband, along with several stand-alone historical fiction books. Shes an active Pinterest user: 127 boards, 2,000 pins, and 3,000 followers. See her Pinterest page here. https://www.pinterest.com/susanwalbert/ Another Pinterest author is J.F. Penn. She has 31 boards: one for each book, and one titled My Books. She has a A Day in the Life of a Writer board sharing snippets of her life.https://www.pinterest.com/jfpenn/ TIPS Pin things specific to your target audience. Is it useful or entertaining? Hot Pinterest topics are: Food, fashion, fitness, beauty, dà ©cor, travel, crafts, children and pets. Share pins with valuable content: Blog posts, images, videos, essays, stories, character profiles. Be steady and consistent with your pinning to maximize your exposure. Better to briefly pin several times a week instead of binge pinning once a month. Pin at peak viewing times: late afternoons, early evenings and weekends. Pin your own unique pins along with repining others in your theme. READ MORE HERE: 56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest, copyblogger.com/pinterest-marketing/ Your Writer Platform has a blog with usable tips and links detailing how to accomplish the recommended tasks. yourwriterplatform.com/use-pinterest-to-market-book-and-author-brand/