I am very disappointed.
It’s not every day that I put myself out there for the whole world to see.
Well… I do do it every day (after all, blogging is a very public occupation), but I usually pretty myself up before I allow the world to see me.
Of course, now that I said “do do“, you won’t pay attention to the rest of the post…
OK, OK - say it quickly 10 times and enjoy a hearty chuckle…
Now back to prettying myself up.
Usually the world sees me like this:
Or this:
Or even this:
(Yes, this one will be back around Christmas time).
But never like this: Angelina Jolie vs Ana Hoffman.
The Problem
No, I am not writing this post to fish for compliments (although I definitely welcome them and count them as a point in your favor.)
Since I’ve been MIA for close to three months due to a move, I needed to do something radical to bring my readers back to my blog.
The only reason I posted those pictures was in hopes to stir up some talk and image sharing.
Yes, I DID IT FOR TRAFFIC!
Yet, those image didn’t go ANYWHERE, let alone go viral.
As a matter of fact, that post didn’t get any more/less comments/tweets/shares that what any post at TGC gets on average.
I was particularly disappointed with Pinterest shares.
Makes sense, right?
Sounds like a perfect medium for sharing images; Pinterest is all over the web, quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with.
Personally, I don’t get Pinterest.
Mostly because of all the hype surrounding it, but mainly because I fail to see its value to the internet marketing/blogging world.
Many will disagree with me; it comes with the territory.
Here’s just a sample of great reads about Pinterest and internet marketing:
- 1634 Words on Pinterest For Internet Marketers
- 15 Best Pinterest Boards for Social Media Infographics
- 7 Creative Ways Your Brand Can Use Pinterest
- 9 Pinteresters for Email Marketers to Follow
(and if you haven’t gotten into email marketing yet, the time to start is now!)
The only time I’ve ever gotten anything out of Pinterest (and the only time I actually browsed it for “market research”) was when I found this lamp from Anthropologie:
… which, in turn, inspired me to pick the most beautiful interior colors for my new house:
If this is the only thing I’ll ever get out of Pinterest, I’ll remain a happy woman.
The Solution? You tell me.
This morning, I got an email from a blogger friend who told me about the new Pinterest plugin he seemed to be very excited about.
Not that I wanted to bother with another premium plugin (PLUS who cares about Pinterest, right?), but at $19.95 for the plugin, I decided it would be money worth spent on a little Pinterest experiment.
And this is where you come in.
The Experiment
I still haven’t added the photo I was referring to earlier in the post for a reason.
I am now adding it below and activating the Pin Button Attraction on it with one goal in mind:
-to see if I can drive any significant amount of pins and then, in turn, blog traffic FROM Pinterest (and that photo) back TO my blog.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words.
I bet this one is and then some, wouldn’t you agree?
But is it worth a thousand pins?
IF YOU LIKE WHAT YOU SEE, PLEASE CLICK ON THE “PIN” BUTTON IN THE IMAGE.
If you think I had better days, click the button anyway.
Let’s collect some true data and find out if Pinterest is really worth our time!
If you are just as curious about the results as I am, feel free to check back on the post to watch the number of pins to (hopefully) grow.
Also, please remember to keep sharing this post with your social media following to make sure we’ve got some solid numbers to rely on at the end of this experiment.
As a matter of fact, tweet this post right now please:
Image Gone Viral or Ana Gone Mad? Is Ana’ photo worth 1000 pins? Please RT. 
The Starting Point
Let’s give this Pinterest challenge a week - we’ll take a look at the results next Tuesday, July 24.
Meanwhile, here’s some Google Analytics data to give us an idea of my current Pinterest traffic.
Hmm… or lack thereof, I should say.
In the past month (June 15 - July 15), Pinterest brought me whooping 25 visits.
The two spikes you see in the GA screenshot above are from June 22 and July 12 and seem to be completely random; they don’t coincide with any particular post/image.
By the way, my biggest Pinterest fan turned out to be Amy Roberts; THANK YOU, Amy!
Pinterest Challenge Takeaway
Right…
As much as I hate relinquishing control over my post, it’s now in your hands.
For the slow ones (no, not YOU, of course), here’s what you need to do:
1. Pin my fabulous morning picture - here’s a more interesting (and hopefully, more shareable) version:
2. Tweet about it - preferably, a few times in the next week:
Image Gone Viral or Ana Gone Mad? Is Ana’ photo worth 1000 pins? Please RT.
3. Come back often to rinse and repeat and watch the Pin count grow!
4. And please don’t let me fall flat on my face - again.
Pinning,
So I came to the party late. Yes, you’re gorgeous with and without makeup … but no pin button was found on your image *wah* Did you decide against using the plugin?
I use it on the Cafe (um, my Cafe site, LOL) and love it, though I haven’t been able to determine that it helps my traffic at all. but it’s the beautiful, inspiring, and funny images that seem to help that along (and pictures of food, people love food … try including a picture of bacon, maybe?).
The one client site I wanted to use the plugin on blew up when I tried to use the plugin *sniffs* … in any case - I’m curious as to whether you turned off Pin Attraction or if my computer just doesn’t like me this morning maybe?
Glad you made it, Kat, and thanks for brightening up my Friday night!
I temporarily disabled the plugin to see if it’s affecting my site speed; it’s been unusually slow as of late.
There are certainly plenty of bacon boards out there. 😉
Hi Ana,
I read your other post about Pinterest a few days ago, and I discovered that you’ve increased your traffic by 800% after starting using Pinterest in your traffic strategy, and now I read an older post about how sceptical you are to Pinterest 🙂
The plugin looks very interesting and I have to take a closer look at it. And your pictures, wow… your awesome in all of them, that’s for sure (I know you didn’t ask for the compliment, but I hope it will bring a smile to your face anyway).
Thanks a lot for sharing all your tips.
It surely did make me smile ear to ear, Jens. lol
Truth is that no matter what traffic strategy we are talking about in theory, we will never know whether it works for US until we actually try it.
What an awesome compliment, Mark; thank you!
Social media has never been my traffic generation weapon of choice; however, I go where my audience goes.
Pinterest is the first network where I can clearly see a potential for monetization and that definitely draws me in.
Done! Looking forward to seeing the results you get, Ana.
I haven’t used Pinterest in a business sense, however I have pinned and shared pictures that I love. Particularly gardens, landscapes and other inspirational images I’ve come across.
Being a highly visual person, I need to watch the time I spend on Pinterest as I can get quite carried away admiring all the beautiful landscapes and gardens.
You’ve inspired me, so I’ve created a new board - Biz People I admire. Your photo is the first I’ve shared on it!
Blessings, Annemarie
I had no idea how visual I was until I got on Pinterest; now I just need to restrain myself from spending too much time there!
Just visited your board; thanks so much for the compliment of including!
Ana,
I really don’t think you’re going to see this photo go viral on Pinterest. Most people pin pictures that are visually appealing.
If you want a picture of yourself to go viral, try doing a photo that shows a fancy hairdo, along with instructions underneath showing how achieve the look, done as a series of photos in a vertical strip. That sort of thing will get pinned. The only problem is that you’ll get traffic from people who are interested in hairstyles, not people who want to learn about marketing.
I see your point, Bethanny.
However, I’d like to see my pic go viral among BLOGGERS and people interested in blogging, so in that way it has a chance. It’s not every day that you see a blogger publishing a “vulnerable” photo of themselves.
I’ve been away from reading your blog for a while. Now that I just dropped by to see what’s up with you, I find this post. Whuuuuuuutttt - Can I name this pic the ‘real Ana Hoffman’ ? :)) Just kidding Ana.
I admire your drive for testing out pinterest as a traffic generator. I’m totally on the same side with you in ‘not getting’ pinterest and thinking that it does not have that ‘value’ i’m looking for with regards to the internet marketing/blogging world.
Tell me how the experiment works out for you though 🙂
Will do, Sean; thanks for coming by!
First off, lovely images all around. 🙂
Next, I feel like Pinterest really is suited more for products, fashion, home decor, photography, art, etc. than marketing. You can get some good traffic from it for some marketing things (especially if they are about Pinterest) but I never count it as a main source of traffic. I feel like if you’re selling tangible products, you’ll have a lot of luck though.
Ana!
This is so powerful, vulnerable, and an interesting look at Pinterest.
Jon Morrow recently had Beth Hayden (author of Pinfluence), guest post on his blog about Pinterest Virality.
It’s pretty interesting.
That being said, I feel that Pinterest, like every social medium, is best suited to blogs that … well … it’s best suited for.
Art blogs, photographers, brands like Nike with stunning visual ads, etc.
I *dont* think everyone should just ‘jump on Pinterest’. Make sense?
That being said, this post and your vulnerable image-sharing is an example of something powerful to pin and share, so count me in 🙂
Congrats on being you and making bold moves.
Rock on and ryze up!
I agree, Pinterest is best suited for promoting visually stimulating websites and blogs. I’m afraid a blog about “web traffic” won’t typically be that visually stimulating.
But if you’re an artist, and you want to create a visually stimulating (and unusual) graphic about “traffic generation,” I would suggest doing some kind of outrageous cartoon image with lots of *exaggeration* and character so it gets many shares in the traffic generation world. I would love to see what you come up with.
Thanks for the great response, Mark.
I *am* an artist, and I’m working on a couple info-graphics right now. (the latest one here: http://ryzeonline.com/learn-like-a-boss).
We’ll see if I end up doing a traffic gen one 🙂
Ana,
Hehe…I am not great at Pinterest but I can see how it could drive the traffic. I get people to follow my boards that I have never heard of and wonder how did they find my board.
That is so cool to me…its like having Google without having Google.:)
I really was serious about the cool.gadgets and technology stuff that people may follow back to an Amazon review site or something like that.
Thanks for all your excellent posts!!
Thanking you,
Scott
You are welcome! Pinterest is my 4th highest traffic source for Raising Arrows, not sure for Homeschool Blogging. Pinterest can easily lead to viral traffic for certain niches. A lot has to do with images you use and the time of day you post your link. I’ve done very little to drive traffic via Pinterest, but am going to be working on that more in the next few months and see what comes of it.
By the way, it was the post I pinned that made me decide I needed to work with Pinterest more since it was in my top 4 and running closely behind #3. 😉
Amy Roberts
Glad to hear Pinterest is working nicely for you, Amy!
Time of day: I always have trouble with that one, since my potential audience is around the world, so what’s good for some doesn’t work for others. As with most niches, I must say.
One of the things I’ve noticed about pinterest is that the chosen image needs to have eye-catching colors. If it doesn’t it gets drowned out by all of the other pins. While I love the photo (you resemble an old friend of mine in that one), the colors don’t scream for attention. That’s one I need to work at, as well.
I mean, in all seriousness, you’d probably get more views if you were wearing a bright orange shirt and had a neon pink bunny on your head. Crazy, right?! I’ve missed my own pins while actually *looking* for them because of color drown-out. Pinterest is a wacky creature. I’ve been trying to figure it out for a while.
That’s a very good point, Rebecca. When looking at a bunch of images, we do tend to gravitate to those that have more color and from that perspective, my image is pretty drab.
Hello Ana,
Thanks for taking the lead and showing the blogging world some of the ways to engage with Pinterest. I hit the Pin It button and had to create a new board in my account there.
Your choice of colors on your new Bay Area home is quite impressive. My farm house in Washington had nice color inside and out.
Because I market consumable whole food health products, I can see some value in Pinterest. I am considering whether to spend some time and go out and find a large segment of followers that are also interested in better health.
I think you are right, Danielle - you have a great potential to find a lot of new customers on Pinterest.
Well I think you look great in all the photos Ana! I have pinned away!
Pinterest is my second highest referrer on my blog - but then again it’s a crafty blog, and pinterest is huge for crafts - I use it heaps and get lots of inspiration from it as well as traffic!
Hope your experiment brings you lots of traffic too!!
It certainly does help to be in the “visual” niche, Jill.
Thanks for the pin!
Pinterest is really amazing as it is growing day by day, we have to learn how to use it effectively.
The reason your before pic is not getting much attention is because you still look beautiful! I have not joined Pinterest yet. Can I still use the pin it button? It tells me to login using Facebook or Twitter. I’m completely clueless about most of these sites…just barely know how to use Facebook!
Stop being so sweet, Sheila! 🙂
I think for your niche, Pinterest might be incredibly great - people love sharing pictures of animals (and everything that makes those animals happy).
Twitter has definitely gone down the drain, David; everyone’s talking and no one’s listening.
There’s a reason God gave us two ears and one mouth…
And THANK YOU!
Well said, I re-tweeted anyway and pinned!
Pah, haven’t used Pinterest for ages, seemed like a right royal waste of time, just tried to pin your pic and my account has been suspended for suspicious activity! So, sorry, not pinning it atm! I’ve been using Bolt instead which I really like - you get to customise the url and it saves and exact copy of the page when you saved it. Anyhow, good luck with the experiment 😉
Wow, had no idea they already started with suspensions, Fiona! I suppose it’s just another third party platform and I need to make sure to not get carried away with it.
I don’t think they suspended me ‘cos of anything I’ve done, it must be that my account has been hacked - I’ve hardly used it tbh. I reckon it’s great for visual stuff like crafting, architecture, etsy stuff etc but not so great for articles. Trouble is I can get totally sidetracked for hours looking at pics and articles about crafting and architecture ……. hmmm lack of focus maybe 😉
I know what you mean about being side-tracked - I had no idea I was so much into visual stuff until I started browsing different boards.
Twitter rocks! You just haven’t found your tweet-mates yet. Most people would assume that a standard “welcome, thanks for the follow” message would be automatic. Best to butt in on a conversation or reply to a tweet to build friends over on Twitter. Still, I think it’s good for some things (mummy blogging, current affairs etc) and perhaps not for others. F
Hi Ana,
You asked if anyone knows why your image isn’t showing up in the SERPs. I had a look at your source code and you don’t have re=”author” in your meta, pointing to your ‘About’ tab/page.
…but…when I put your URL into the Google snippets tool…it looks like you have everything set up.
I would still do it as it is one of the boxes to tick, so I believe. My blog is smaller than yours and I am showing for a few articles now and my home page.
Worth a try perhaps?
Not sure why you didn’t see my rel=”author” tag, Jennifer; I might’ve had two of them just to be safe. Maybe that was the problem?
Anyway, I changed some things around and added a new piece of code to my Thesis theme; let’s see if that does it.
Of course, now I have to wait for months just to see if that works. lol
Hi Ana,
I saw it pointing to your name…it needs to point to your ‘author page’ the actual tab in your menu.
Check my website (the About Us tab) to see what I mean.
I see what you mean, Jennifer.
I think I’ve tried it every way I knew how (including what you did on your blog).
I changed everything again yesterday according to a post I read on how to implement it with Thesis theme specifically. We’ll see if it changes my luck.
Thanks so much for all your help!
Your welcome!
Hmmm…an eBook on using Pinterest to drive traffic to your computer or technology blog site…great idea Ana!! I think I should write that 🙂 Thanks!
You always have GREAT ideas!
Scott
Your comment intrigued me, Scott - sounds like you’ve got something to say about Pinterest. Or does your smiley face mean more like “In my dreams…” 🙂
Ana,
I post every post I write to Pinterest… Over the last 30 Days I’ve received 12 visits from Pinterest.
However I do LOVE the medium for Content Curation. The weekly wrap-up posts I do every week are derived from content that I curate on Pinterest.
For that purpose it’s a great tool.
Thanks!!
Ryan H.
Time for a strategy change? (not that I have a suggestion).
Honestly, I just don’t spend very much time on Pinterest so even the 12 are a bonus… I don’t expect to get Traffic.
If I can build relationships and audience through Twitter Facebook and Google+ that is a win for me. Not worried about social networks like Pinterest.
Thanks!!
Ryan H.
It certainly is a good point, Ryan.
I, on the other hand, feel like it’s my duty to dive into anything new just to see if it could become a great source of traffic.
After all, if I don’t keep finding/testing new sources of traffic and keep talking about the same ones, who’ll read my blog, right?
Ana,
That is a great point… It wouldn’t be the Traffic Generation Cafe if you weren’t trying to help people generate traffic…
I focus more on Content Creation than Traffic specifically so it’s not such a concern for me.
But to answer you question… I would Ana… I would.
Ryan H.
So, how’s this, Ryan: I’ve got many readers who are more visual - they’d prefer to see mindmaps of posts rather than read text.
Since content creation is your focus, how about you make your content more accessible by making it visual and adding it to Pinterest?
This is one of my great (future) ideas on how to use Pinterest.
Whatda think?
I love it… and I’m going to do it.
Absolutely fantastic idea!!
Have a great weekend Ana…
OK Ana, I pinned it. I don’t want to worry you but the count was 18 when I pinned it and somehow remained 18 after I pinned it - yet it is there in Pinterest.
I’ve seen the same thing happen with the Pin button on my blog - it doesn’t seem to increment properly. Might be just me or my pinterest account.
I don’t use it much anyway and am inclined to agree with you slightly in thinking what’s the use to some extent - though it clearly does offer a more visual alternative than other social media so I can kind of see the attraction if someone was just flicking through images like flicking through photos in a photo album…
Anyways, I hope the experiment works well,
best wishes,
Alan
Either way, much appreciated, Alan.
And good to know that Pin button count might be off.
No probs,
and that’s a big might - i.e. it might just be me - it also might be worth seeing if anyone else has a similar experience. Incidentally, I did try and click it again but it was ‘greyed out’ after the first time - perhaps there is a lag or something before it’s updated (or just me ;-)).
In case it helps at all I just tried again and though the ‘pin’ button on your image had red text once more (i.e. could be clicked) the Pin button in the next dialogue was still greyed out.
Anyways, it’s up to 29 now so obviously working for plenty of others…
I think our main problem is the fact that we are looking at Pinterest too literally, Dewane.
We are looking to bring in more traffic posting on Pinterest about the same things we post on our blogs and that’s boring.
I am playing with different and hopefully more creative ideas that might bring in those spikes of traffic, but more indirectly.
Pinterest seems to work great for food and home decor. I love your experiment and will pin away. A great way to get us all back here to and see how the experiment is going. I think it’s great to show the real you too, inspiring!
Two days ago, I would’ve agreed with you, Lisa - Pinterest works best for people in “visual” businesses, like web design, food, fashion, etc.
But now that I spent some time pondering on how people like me who have no affiliation with those types of industries could still use it to make money, I think I see a few ways.
I’ll keep you updated!
Okay. I’ve pinned it. I’ll be back (as the terminator said) to see what’s happened with your experiment. On a personal note, I think it they want to, people will pin an image even if it has no pin button on it. It’s so easy to download the free Pinterest button on your tool bar. I have one. I can pin any image on any page by just clicking on it - no probs. And I don’t have to pay for it.
Good point, Anne - if someone wants to pin something, they’ll do it whether the button is there or not.
However, in my niche, I am dealing with a bunch of “I’ll sit this one out” mentalities, so I need to find a way to make it convenient and enticing for them to share something.
I was just pondering about backseat driving mentality last night, Stacy, and realized that that mentality is exactly what prevents many of us from crossing the line between “like everyone else” and GREATNESS.
Here’s what I mean:
- we KNOW Pinterest has potential to drive incredible amounts of traffic;
- BUT we are waiting for someone else to figure out how to use that traffic for our niche and write a book about it;
- THEN the light bulb just might light up in our heads.
I might fall flat on my face with this whole Pinterest thing, but I am excited to be in the driver’s seat for a change.
Thoughts?
I always do love when you share your images Ana!
All the pictures are fabulous, though the one with the specs is special but that reveals the real you when you were stressed and working out, just being so normal and human like most of us. And don’t worry, as I keep saying, very soon you would be back looking your awesome self - it’s just a passing phase.
Heading right over to pin your image right away 🙂
Thanks so much for your support, Harleena!
Hi, Ana. I’m new to Pinterest, but I’m starting to “get it.” Right now I’m just playing with it as a handy bookmark organizer. Unlike my blog, I can have multiple aspects of me and not just my brand. But I see the marketing potential. It’s good for any visual, searchable, aspect of your business.
For example, two romance authors with a popular history blog are sharing pictures of regency dresses on Pinterest. They’re selling BOOKS, and sharing pins of CLOTHING. Cool photos (and sayings) get shared, they have a niche, and the idea is for the curious to hit their blog.
FYI, I wasn’t sure where to file your photo since I don’t have a B2B brand. I decided on “Writing.” A search for TGC turned up people that filed your posts under “Around My Web,” “Blogs I Follow” and “Online Business.”
Keyword searches came up with lots of people pinning about SEO and “Blogging.” You seem to be catching on to that with your board names, but you filed yourself under “Just Read.”
You’ve given me some good for thought here, Elizabeth. I too just started playing with Pinterest (as I was writing this post yesterday as a matter of fact) and it’s great for me to trace your thoughts on how to appropriately file my content, etc.
Thank you!
Do you know how many people (celebrities included) that wished they looked half this good without makeup? Where’s the eye crumbs, Ana? Even your tossled hair is still glossy 🙂
Anyway, I hope you’ve settled in after the move. I’ve pinned it and tweeted and look forward to seeing the numbers climb.
Thank you so much, Kiesha - can’t deny how much I love a great compliment!
Glad I am not the only one that does not get Pinterest. I have read a few articles and ebooks about the benefit of using it but still not clear.
I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel with Pinterest, Lydia.
It does take some creative thinking, but I am getting there.
Ana,
This is indeed an interesting experiment. I too am not on
Pinterest, have not been convinced of it’s usefulness, yet.
Your viral (brave) traffic idea might change my mind.
Count on me for many tweets to help you along.
May the force be with you,
Ray
Much appreciated, Ray.
Pinterest might be just a fad, but a good marketer should be like a good surfer - riding the waves as they come.
My reaction to both your photo and your take on Pinterest was relief. Hey! You look almost as human as I do! Only difference that was probably a bad day for you, whereas if I looked like that it would be one of my best.
I’m also relieved to hear you don’t get Pinterest. I thought I was the only one left in the dark. Posting photos you’ve found in a magazine? It’s not like it involved any talent of your own. I did read an article about how writers have used it to attract more business, but I’m at a loss as to how that works.
Thanks for reassuring me that I’m not entirely alone. Building a following online involves so much time taken away from my actual writing, I need to choose sites that will have some hope of a return. And maybe I’m missing out on something, but I don’t think Pinterest is my best choice.
I am starting to realize something, Carol - just because we don’t get something, it doesn’t mean that it’s not a good idea.
Yesterday, as I sat down to write this post, I started with “Pinterest is not for my type of business/personality”, but now that I’ve spent almost two days playing with it, I can see how it can be addictive and I can (almost) see how I can use it for my business.
Now I just need to test, test, test to see if my concepts will bring any actual results.
I really don’t get pinterest that much either. I mean I read all the articles.. How AMAZING it is! etc etc
But I don’t get the attraction unless you are in a design field of some sort.
Anyhow, just pinned you up on my Internet marketing Pinterest board “Ana Hoffman has gone mad! haha LOL”. I hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks for the pin, Gerald!
My main attraction to Pinterest (for traffic generation purposes) is the fact that images are addictive and our websites are not.
So if I can find a way to marry the two, i.e. connect Pinterest and my blog in such a way that it gets me more clicks and sales, I’ll be able to wipe my a** with twenties…
Hold on, let me savor the image in my mind… not sure whether to be amused or grosed out. 🙂
… see just now I decided to find a funny image to go with that thought and spent about 10 minutes going through a bunch of candidates on Google image…
If only I can find a way to harness that…
I like the way it puts the pin button on the picture instead of at the end of the post. I look forward to seeing how this goes. Now to remember to come back in a week. “Let see write reminder note to self.” Okay it! If I don’t show up in a week go ahead and start without me sometimes I forget.
I agree, Jerry - readers are much more likely to pin something if the button is staring at them in every image.
Ana! You have experienced what I call “internet teflon” - you have a great idea/photo/blogpost/infograph - you’re giddy as it uploads, thinking “this is gonna be great” as you rub your little hands together. AND THEN… n o t h i n g!
It’s happened to me more times than I can count. BUT - what has also happened to me, a few times that I can count on one hand - I posted something that just happened to be at the right time and got spirited away by Google, Bing, twitter and even Pinterest!
It seems almost as if you can’t make these things happen, but they can (and do) grow legs all by themselves sometimes! Now, you probably could have done more to “set the stage” for your revealing pictures - that may or may not have helped boost traffic.
KEEP TRYING NEW THINGS! Your next idea may be the one that goes wammo-smash through the Net!
PS - you DO kinda look like Angelina Jolie, but much nicer!
Blog on!
I do completely agree, Dave - in reality, we have very little control over what goes viral and when.
Doesn’t stop me from beating my head against a brick wall though. Who knows, maybe one day my head will become thicker than the wall and I’ll finally get through!
“Internet teflon” - love it!
pinterest works great for ecomm sites, particularly that cater to females (foodies, clothes, jewelry, travel, etc). we have used this successfully for clients through our SEO firm.
personally, I use the free pinterest plugins on my blog, which displays the Pin It button automatically. I did see the paid plugins but didn’t find the value prop strong enough to fork up the cash.
I used the plugin when I posted my $5,963.41 Adsense check. I did get several new readers as a result who had never heard of me before, as well as those that were/are not actively looking to expedite wealth creation or make extra money. these people just happened to stumble upon the image through their network of Pinterest peeople it appears.
it’s definitely an interesting experience - looking forward to how it would turn out.
that said, have you tried any of the free plugins? any feedback?
Actually, the first time I had an idea to do this experiment was when I saw your “Pin” button on your images, Sunil, and later I go an email from Andy Bailey talking about this premium plugin.
Yes, tried a few free plugins last night (spend way too much time researching them all) and here’s some food for thought:
— I don’t like your plugin because I didn’t really know it was there until you mentioned to look for it in your post. Most readers won’t find it; so what’s the purpose?
— A couple of plugins I tested automatically added Pin buttons to every single image in a post. Wouldn’t be too much of a problem, BUT - they did cover some of the images I didn’t want to have a Pin button on, like my “Tweet this” image next to the soundbites I wanted my readers to retweet.
It looked like this:
So yes, for now I think this plugin is worth the $20 I spent on it.
Hi Ana, sounds like a fun experiment. I don’t see the pinit button on the image. Is the plugin active yet? I know I’m one of the first ones to get here. Let me know ok? I’ll use the bookmarklet or Digg Digg plugin for now. Cheers!
I was playing with different plugins; you probably caught me in the middle of switching them around, Ileane.
Thanks for the pin!
Did you see the mention in the sidebar by the way? Thanks for the nomination again!
Wow, that is so nice of you, thanks for the link love my dear!
Hi Ana,
I also don’t get Pinterest and in fact, I have not even signed up for service. I will closely watch the results of your post and then see if I want to focus on it.
Regarding plugin, I don’t see it working. No Pin button appeared for me when I hovered over image!
Using Chrome 20 on Windows 7.
I had some sort of image problem on my blog and it affected this post, Ishan; back to normal now.
As far as Pinterest is concerned, the only reason I am bothering with it is the fact that it’s the largest social media referral traffic source right now, and if it has anything to do with traffic, I am there.
I hope I figure out how to use Pinterest to our advantage.
Hey Ana,
I always admire your looks 🙂 Yes busy life and busy business always take their revenge on our looks usually. Whenever I take a look at my pre-biz photos and my photos after biz+regular household = I don’t feel so happy, ya know. But it is what it is. And I do care to keep myself fit and have a decent look 🙂
BTW it seems that the plugin doesn’t work on the picture! I have just now purchased the plugin through your link!
Thanks for the kind mention 🙂
Cheers,
Jane.
Thanks so much, Jane for coming by, the comment, the pin, the purchase, the compliment - it was my pleasure to link to your post. I really thought it was one of the best I’ve read on the topic.
Hey Ana!
What’s a “Pinterest”? Lol I am kidding, but I signed up for it when my mom was raving about it and I didn’t even know what to do with it!
I’ve read some pretty awesome case studies by James Penn, who was able to literally get thousands of visits to one of his health type blogs, but like you said above I don’t see the value of it in our niches.
It’s not something I am going to personally pursue, but I am definitely interested in the results that you get from this challenge!
Thanks for the awesome post,
-Gabe
I think our premise for using Pinterest is completely wrong, Gabe.
We are trying to figure out how to bring traffic back to our blogs vs how to make money directly on Pinterest.
Now that I am changing the way I think about it, I see a lot more possibilities.
I just found James Penn’s post you referred to; off to read it - thanks for the tip.
You’re welcome! James has a good number of posts on it.
I decided to get an account set up completely but I still feel lost. I pinned the post, but I feel like I did it wrong. I’m usually good with this kind of stuff! Lol
I’m going to give myself a 20 minute limit then off to get some work done!
I don’t think there’s a wrong or right way of doing it, Gabe; I keep tweaking my boards.
When you start getting results, that’s when you got it right!
Hi Ana,
Thanks? to the miracles of modern technology, only your husband gets to see you as you are in the featured photo. (usually) The other photos are more a gratification of many mens’ fantasy of what a woman should look like. Personally, I prefer your first thing in the morning look.
I haven’t got a pinterest account so I can’t share your picture there. The main thing I like about this post is your humorous poking fun at yourself. It’s a tough job, but somebody has to do it! 🙂
Lou
Yes, my husband and the entirely blogosphere, Lou. 🙂
Of course, if anyone is going to make fun of me, it might as well be me.
You know your kind of business my actually benefit great from being on Pinterest. Something to think about.