PINTEREST CLASSES ARE HERE

They're here! They're finally here!!! I've been working on these bite-sized Pinterest classes for almost a year, and they are finally available to anyone wanting to know more about how to market their business on Pinterest. You can go to AVE Styles Classroom and check them out right now! http://www.classroom.avestyles.com. 

I'm sharing about how to create a strong profile, how to grow your audience, how to create a good pin and how to drive traffic to your website. 

With any purchase on the website (one video or all four) you automatically get exclusive access to AVE Styles Classroom's private Facebook group where I'll offer continued Pinterest help and tips. 

If you sign up for my newsletter you'll receive three FREE videos sharing answers to the top 5 Pinterest questions from a product owner, photographer and blogger.

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Go check it out, and please share with your friends. 

Photos by Rennai Hoefer

PINTEREST'S MOBILE MAKEOVER & YOU

Did you know that 75% of the users of Pinterest are accessing the inspiring social tool using a mobile device (more stats found here).  That means they are seeing everything through their phone or tablet. If you haven't opened your Pinterest app lately you probably should because things look very different from your desktop.

Gone are the days of your cover images. Instead, the first thing that a user sees is your name, photo and your recent pins. Then you'll see the board that you most recently pinned to with the rest of your boards descending in order from what you most recently populated down to the last.

So, what does this mean for you? 

1. You MUST be a good curator now more than ever. If my first impression is a series of pins that have terrible styling, content and photography I'm going to pass on following you.

2. Concise titles matter. Tell me what your board is about in two to three words. Ex: Recipes to Try. People scroll fast, so you need to be able to tell them about your content in a second.

3. Be active. Pinterest tells the viewer when you last pinned down to the minute. If you haven't been active in a week I'm going to pass.

4. Make sure you are pinning to boards that are relevant to the season. If the first board that pops up is your Christmas board because you last pinned to that and signed off, well, that's unfortunate because I don't care about Christmas right now. Sign off on a relevant note. Bonus tip: That said, it's usually best to keep general, evergreen titles to your boards so you can always populate them. Example: HOLIDAY vs. CHRISTMAS. I can pin to a holiday board year round, but I can only pin to my Christmas board once a year. 

Like these tips? See more here and here. Also, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can get this information before anyone else!

HOW TO MONETIZE PINTEREST

As a blogger and Pinterest influencer, people often ask me with a surprised look on their face, "Do you get pid to pin?" I reply, "Yes, and it's the best job in the world!" But as Pinterest has evolved over the years, you can no longer be given money from a company to pin their products from their site. You also can't use affiliate links to make commission on sales. In fact, if you go about making money on your Pinterest account that way you're violating Pinterest's Terms of Service Policy. Yikes! 

Here are three ways I monetize my account that are well within Pinterest's terms:

1. CREATE & SHARE ORIGINAL CONTENT - Recently, I partnered with Coca-Cola to create original imagery that featured their products. This imagery was shared in a series of blog posts on AVESTYLES.com featuring recipes and style inspiration, and it was also shared on my Pinterest account linking back to Coca-Cola's website. This is acceptable to Pinterest because the content was completely generated by me and has my signature touch to it. It's an organic, non-invasive way of promoting a brand because you're most likely staying true to the aesthetic that is represented on your Pinterest account. 

2. SPONSORED BOARD - It is acceptable to Pinterest for a brand to pay me a sum of money to create a *new* board on my account that states the brand's name in the title and declares it is sponsored in the description of the board. The board can also host a sum of sponsored pins from the company's website. I am currently working with Shane Co. on a sponsored board that features item's I'm crushing on, which also includes 10 products from their site. This is within the terms because you are declaring the campaign to your followers, which they can easily opt out of. Note: It's important that these boards be brand new ones and not repurposed boards. You cannot take your board with the biggest following and change the name and subject of that board to accommodate your sponsor. That is viewed as misleading to your followers that initially followed the board for "x" and is now receiving "y."

3. CURATING FOR A BRAND - I also curate boards and accounts for brands on Pinterest. This would be similar to someone doing an Instagram takeover or guest posting on a blog. Sometimes a company will share an existing board with me and I will curate content for that board for a month. I also have been paid to take over an entire Pinterest account and curate on behalf of a brand as long as I stay within their brand guidelines and style. Not too long ago I did this very thing for Glamour and Woolite where I curated a board on their account all about washable style. 

If you're interested in learning more of the in's and out's of how to monetize your Pinterest account, don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter. That's where you'll be the first to hear about my Pinterest classes, as well as exclusive Pinterest tips. 

REMEMBER WHEN PINTEREST WAS PRETTY?

Remember back in 2011 when everyone was just joining Pinterest and it was the most addicting, beautiful place on the internet? Though I use Pinterest every day being a "power-pinner, pinfluencer, pin ambassador..." whatever you want to call me, I'm getting tired of all of the pushing and self-promotion. 

It's still the place for many people to go to find helpful advice, IKEA hacks, and tasty recipes, but not for the pretty. When I want to find inspiration I open up Instagram or Tumblr because those seem to be places where people care much more about curating beauty. I'm tired of seeing text over images with "How to" phrases or "5 Ways to Style Short Hair" just because it generates clicks. 

So, I'm resolving to going back to the pretty this year. I've always been picky about what I pin, but now I'm ready for my Pinterest to feel more like an art gallery and less like a marketing platform - making my Pinterest-universe a place of beauty like it once was. Some people say that they hate their feed now because it's cluttered with pins they don't even like.  Here are some tips to cleaning things up:

1. Make sure to only pin what you really love. Pinterest learns what you pin, so it's going to suggest you content that looks similar to what you add to your boards. So, it's your own dang fault if your feed starts to look ooogly (that's super ugly in "alex language"). 
2. Make sure you follow and possibly unfollow the people who curate their accounts to your liking. When I follow new people with great taste Pinterest, again, learns what I like.
3. Clean up your own boards by deleting the pins you don't love. (Note: Don't delete boards though because you may end up removing followers. Deleting pins won't hurt you though).

Photo by Rennai Hoefer

RECYCLING PINTEREST CONTENT

Need some really good news? Well, here it is. Pinterest is the one social media platform that rewards you for recycling great content. In fact, you SHOULD recycle your pins. Why and how, you ask? 

If you have created timeless good quality content, tell the world! Chances are you have grown your following and your new followers haven't seen all of your entertaining tips or amazing fudge recipe. Don't keep the secret to yourself! Share the wealth my friend!

You might be worried about losing followers if you recycle a pin. Have no fear, this isn't Instagram. If it has been six months or more since you have shared this pin and it's relevant to people's lives, by all means don't hold back. I promise you won't lose followers. 

So, how do you share it? Should you repin it to the same board? Upload the image again and make a new pin? Add it to a new board? Great questions! I recommend repinning your original pin from last year, changing the description a bit and adding it to whatever board makes sense. Ideally, I would recommend pinning it to a different board because you may reach a new audience with this pin, but sharing it again on the same board won't hurt you either. 

I hope I have made your day much easier on you. Have fun recycling! 

See more photos from this fun collaboration with Lone Flag, click here.  Photography by Ale Vidal