Are you the frustrated online seller looking for more autonomy outside of eBay & Amazon?

Or the creative individual who would like a dedicated space to promote their products outside of Etsy and NOTHS? (Not on the highstreet)

No matter what type of online seller you are, we all know how hard it is to get traffic and sales to a website, so in this article we will be looking at one of the most cost effective methods available, Pinterest.

So What Is Pinterest & How Does It Work

So most of you will probably know what Pinterest is, especially if you have come across this blog article on Google.

But for those who don’t, Pinterest is a social phenomenon which is more like a catalogue of ideas rather than your typical social media platform.

Pinterest’s aim is for its users to be inspired by photos & images known as ‘pins’, which they can add to their ‘Pinboard’.
These ‘pins’, which are usually uploaded by others are added onto the user’s own personal ‘Pinboard(s)’.

The aim is for user/pinner be inspired by images on their ‘Pinboards’ and go out and do that thing/make that thing or even buy that thing they’ve pinned on to their boards. (Buying is the part we are most interested in)

The great thing is, others can view your ‘Pins’ and ‘Pinboards’, follow them and share them by adding your ‘pins’ to their own ‘Pinboards’.

Your Pins + Others Pinboards = More Visibility

Methods to Generate Sales

So by just reading the above you may already get the idea. Pinterest has real potential to generate traffic to your site.

So we are going to look at 2 methods in Pinterest that will not only generate traffic to your site but, also generate those sales.

The 2 methods we are going to look at are:

• Linking to your site
• Buyable Pins

Linking Pinterest Pins To Your Website

For both methods you will need to upload images to your Pin Boards.

Once the images are uploaded, you can add Links to your pins which will direct users back to your website. (click here for some best practices)

Using Buyable Pins

If you are in the U.S. and are using one of the following platforms mentioned below, you can add a Buyable Pin to your product.

This Buyable pin is a call to action button that allows you to generate sales directly from Pinterest which are fed directly into your website.

Platforms that are available for Buyable Pins are:

• Magento
• Shopify
• BigCommerce
• Demandware

Best Practices

So have we tickled your fancy? Well to get you started, we have compiled a small list of best practices and tips for generating sales from Pinterest.

Searchability

To make sure people can find your Pins, you will need to make sure your Search Privacy settings are marked as No.
This can done in your Business Account Basics screen.

Generate a Following

Well there are many ways to increase your following; from making sure your website has a Pinterest Follow button to being very active on the platform.

Like all Social Channels, it relies on great content, being interactive and sharing others content too.

A great article for some good tips can be found on the Linnworks Blog Here.

Landing Page vs Product Page

When you create a pin, you really need to think about what you are trying to achieve.

If you are just promoting a single product, then perhaps an image of the product on Pinterest leading directly to the product page on your website would be ideal.

But what we typically find that works well are great Lifestyle images!
This could be in a form of an idividual product of the range or a setting highlighting multiple products.

These pins would take you to a dedicated landing page of a range of products. Typically the landing page is presented with more lifestyle shots and includes a selection of products related to them with clear call to actions. (buy buttons)

Affiliate Marketing

This is a great idea for those who just simply don’t have time to manage another social media platform, affiliate marketing allows others to promote your products on Pinterest. This is typically done on a commission basis and sales can be tracked by the use of special links.

Using Rich Pins

Whilst Buyable Pins are only for the U.S. at the moment, there are other types of Pins for the more advance Pinterest users to take advantage of.
One is the Product Pin which allows Pinners to see information about things you sell, including pricing, availability and your location.
Read Pinterest’s developer guide for more information.