If you’ve been using Pinterest only to get ideas for your vision board when you’re an author, you’re using the platform wrong. What you should be doing instead is to promote your book on Pinterest.
Of course, you can still get a personal account for your vision board and all other personal creative ideas on Pinterest, but if you’re also serious about selling your book, you should also use it for that purpose.
For instance, author of mystery books, Melissa Bourbon, mentioned how much her website engagement and book sales improved after she leaned into using Pinterest to market her books.
And you can, too.
You just need to learn how, which I will be sharing in this article. If you’re ready to learn how, keep reading.
How to Promote Your Book on Pinterest
1. Create a Pinterest Business Account
The first thing you need to do is to create a business account. Remember how I said you can always do your personal things on Pinterest, right?
Great, just make sure it’s on your personal page.
What that means is that you need a separate page from your personal things to promote your business.
Firstly, muddling things up by mixing your personal and business pins will be counterproductive.
Pinterest needs to know what your account is about to help you with visibility.
If everything is confusing, the algorithm won’t favour you as much as it should.
Secondly, getting a business platform helps you to monitor your pins and access Pinterest analytics for your book sales.
Plus, you get to see what people like, which pins get the most clicks, and where your traffic comes from.
It also allows you to add direct links to your website or book page, which is a very important part of book marketing on Pinterest. This means readers can easily find and buy your book right from Pinterest.
The good thing is that building a professional author profile on Pinterest is easy and once your account is set up, you can join group boards (I’ll get to this later) and, if necessary, try Pinterest ads for authors to boost your visibility.
2. Design Attractive Pins
After setting up your business account, the next step in Pinterest book marketing is to make pins that can stand out, attract people’s attention and easily sell your book.
Pinterest might be more than a visual social media site; but it is still largely visual. That means, the more attractive your pins are, the better you will do on Pinterest.
Of course, this might vary based on the industry, but generally, visually-appealing content is necessary on Pinterest.
Again, luckily, with Canva, you can easily customise preset Pinterest templates to fit your style and brand type. Then, you must add short text that tells the viewers what the pins are about.
The text can be a line from your book, a question, or a tip; the ball is in your court. Just make sure it is something catchy enough for them to click your pin or save it to increase visibility.
And if you have your book cover ready, you can also use it in some of your designs.
Also Read: Why Bloggers Need Pinterest: 5 Vital Reasons
3. Make Boards That Fit Your Book
Asides, creating pins, you need to create boards to keep your pins organised. Pinterest boards are like folders where you group your pins by topic or category.
Try creating boards that match your book’s genre. For example, you can have one for your novels, one for quotes or writing tips, and another for visuals that show your story’s mood.
Say you write historical fiction, you can create boards for researching things like period costumes and old city streets that bring your story to life. Think about how this will fit if you write a different genre.
It helps readers to be drawn to your story, which is one of the best Pinterest marketing strategies for books, as it helps readers connect visually with your story.
4. Use the Right Keywords
Now that your boards are ready, it’s time to make sure people find them by using the right keywords.
Note that keywords are not just for decoration; they actually help readers discover your pins, which is an effective way to promote your book on Pinterest.
Think about what readers might type in if they are looking for a book like yours. It could be words like clean romance book aesthetic, fantasy series mood board, or best historical fiction set in the 1940s.
Then, add these naturally to your pin titles and descriptions.
To improve your strategy, you can learn from other Pinterest book marketing tips by studying how authors in your niche use keywords. The better you can use these keywords, the easier it becomes to generate organic traffic from Pinterest.
5. Add Links to Your Pins
Once your pins are set, make sure they lead somewhere useful. The aim of using Pinterest is to drive traffic, so if your pins lead nowhere, what’s the point?
It’s not enough to have nice designs, they should link to your book’s sales page, blog, or website. This helps with using Pinterest to sell your book.
Each pin you post should have a purpose; whether it’s to help readers learn more about your book or buy your book. This is how Pinterest for authors and writers translates into real results
6. Join Group Boards
You’ll get more chances to promote your book on Pinterest when you join group boards for authors.
Group boards are like communities that bring authors and readers who have the same interests together. Just search for boards that match your niche and share your pins there often.
When you join group boards, you get to meet people who enjoy the kind of stories you write. Many of these boards welcome new contributors, so don’t hesitate to ask to join.
If you keep pinning there often, more people will start noticing your work and following along, which will ultimately increase your visibility.
Although group boards are not as effective as they used to be, they still contribute something to visibility.
So no harm in doing all you can to get what you want.
7. Post Often
You need to be consistent in any endeavour to be successful at it, and promoting your book on Pinterest is not different.
If you want users to remember you and to improve your visibility, then you need to be active on Pinterest. I know it might sound like a lot of work, but what’s worth doing is worth doing well.
And no, before you ask, you don’t have to post every day, you just need to stick to a simple routine. Try to share a few new pins a week; maybe a quote from your book, a teaser, or a photo related to your story.
These small updates keep your page active. If you are so busy, you can use Tailwind to schedule your pins ahead.
Pinterest book marketing works best when you stay consistent over time. That’s the only way your account will generate the required traffic from Pinterest.
I need to add that you shouldn’t give up at the start when you’re not getting the engagement immediately. Trust me, if you keep at it and do it properly, you will get there.
8. Promote Your Book Launch or Giveaway
When your book launch is near, you can use Pinterest for book promotion by creating special boards filled with teasers, reviews, quotes, or photographs.
Marissa Meyer, known for her YA books, uses this method to get people talking before a release. You can do the same.
Frequent postings will help you attract attention, so remember to keep your images and designs clear and bright.
You can also include gifts and preorder information in your boards. This doubles as a Pinterest marketing strategy for book launches, helping you attract and engage new readers.
Also Read: 11 Pinterest Marketing Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
9. Check Your Results
Finally, take time to see what’s working. After posting for a while, check how your pins are doing. Pinterest analytics shows you what gets the most clicks and saves.
Sometimes, one good pin can keep bringing people to your page for months. When you know what works, you can post more of that and adjust your Pinterest SEO strategy as you go.
Don’t focus too much on numbers. Just try to understand your audience. With that data, you can grow your reach without wasting effort.
Conclusion
If you really want to promote your book on Pinterest, you should start now. It will help you reach readers who are already searching for stories or books like yours.
With the right boards, beautiful pins, and a bit of hard work, I assure you, your Pinterest book marketing will grow naturally.
Just keep at it. It might take a little time, but your effort will pay off. Keep posting, try new ideas, and don’t stop talking about your book. And it’s only a matter of time.
FAQs
1. Does promoting your book on Pinterest work?
Yes, promoting your book on Pinterest works. Pinterest can give you the results you need if you use it the right way. When people search for book ideas, quotes, or writing tips, your pins can show up and lead them to your page.
2. How much does it cost to promote on Pinterest?
Pinterest is free to use. You can create and share pins without paying anything. But if you want to reach more people faster, you can try Pinterest ads. You set your own budget, so you can start small and increase it later if you see results.
3. Can I promote my book on Pinterest before it is published?
Yes, you can promote your book on Pinterest before it is published. In fact, this is the best way to promote your book on Pinterest. You can share sneak peeks, quotes, or mood boards that show your book’s theme. This helps you grow an audience that’s already excited for your release when it finally comes out.
4. Why is Pinterest good for book promotion?
Pinterest is different from other social media platforms because your posts don’t easily disappear. A pin you post today can keep bringing readers for months or even years. It’s also visual, so it lets you show off your book’s mood, theme, and style.
