Why did you create your blog? Did you do it as a hobby? Did you start with the intention of turning it into a side hustle? Or maybe you are hoping to make it a full-time gig and use the money you make to pay off your debt (like me)? Well, in order to earn money with a blog you need traffic! The fastest way I’ve learned to get traffic to my blog is from Pinterest so I immediately started focusing on growing my Pinterest account!
There are some pretty solid tools available to help you build your Pinterest account at a ridiculously fast rate, but they are premium products. And p.s. –> Premium means they cost money. If you are a new blogger with an unlimited budget then more power to you, get allll the tools! But many new bloggers (myself included) are not working with much of a budget, especially when just starting out! Be sure to join my free Begin to Blog newsletter where I share lots of helpful blogging tips and new content!
My posts often contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through an affiliate link I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend products I truly think you’ll love! For more info see my disclosure policy.
BLOGGING ESSENTIALS
In my opinion, there are two things that are essential to building your blog: getting traffic and building an email list. I already pay for ConvertKit because I feel that if you don’t start building your list right away then you are wasting precious time! So if you’re already paying for your hosting, your email service provider, a theme, etc. there’s not much money left over in your budget to afford Pinterest schedulers too!
I’ve tried Tailwind for their free trial and although it took me a bit to get the hang of it, I really liked it and I could see the benefit of it pretty quickly. (Get a FREE month of Tailwind here) It’s very likely that I will sign up for a Tailwind subscription once I start earning enough from my blog to pay for it; however, in the meantime, I need to find other *FREE* ways to build my Pinterest account!
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I want to share the few inexpensive, yet crucial, tools that I did invest in to grow my Pinterest reach from 2,000 to 65,800 views per month in 5 weeks! Now I’m sure it could be higher if I would have signed up for Tailwind Plus a month or two ago but I’m super happy with this growth!
How to Build your Pinterest Account On a Budget
Here is what I recommend…Sign up for the Tailwind free trial! You get 100 pins for free! Be sure you’re already on a bunch of group boards so you can make the best use of your pins as possible. Also, join as many Tailwind Tribes as you can! (The Tailwind Tribes feature is actually free to use whether you have a paid Tailwind subscription or not!)
I would pin all of your content to tribes right away as I think they have the most potential and seem to have more repins than a lot of group boards! Be sure to read the rules of each tribe you join first, as they are all different. In addition, you want to repin content from the tribes onto your own boards, that is how everyone benefits! Tailwind also has some great videos that walk you through how to get started!
I know you might not get a ton of traction from a free 100 pins, but I think it’s a good idea to try out the platform, see if you like it and get some of your content out there in some Tribes, you never know who might share your pin and get you tons of traffic! Tailwind also has some great analytics to check out!
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You can also sign up for the Boardbooster free trial also for 100 free pins! You can set up your pins to publish automatically on a schedule you set to post to your group boards! The great thing about Boardbooster is you can “set it and forget it”. (Update: Boardbooster has since closed for business)
Once I got all my boards set up initially I only have to go back if I want to make changes or when I publish a new pin! I go in and add it to my boards, takes me about 10 minutes once per week (because I publish one new pin per week)….it’s been a huge timesaver and allows me to also spend some time each day for manual pinning!
The best thing about Boardbooster is once you finish your free trial, it only costs one penny per pin! That means it will only cost you $5.00/month for 500 pins! That’s super affordable, even on a small budget!
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INVEST IN YOURSELF AND YOUR BUSINESS
Remember, your blog is your business! Starting out I felt it was important to prioritize investing in myself and my business by furthering my Pinterest education! I went in search of an affordable Pinterest course and I somehow (probably on Pinterest, lol) stumbled upon an eBook called Pinteresting Strategies by Carly Campbell.
Carly is a full-time blogger who blogs at Mommy on Purpose and wrote this amazing (like seriously amazing) eBook on how she created a system to manually pin her pins without a scheduler and grew her Pinterest account and blog traffic like crazy!
This system will definitely take you a little more time, and more importantly…consistency, but once you see all the research and stats she shows to back it up, I think you will agree that it’s worth the time!
Not only does she detail her system step-by-step but she really breaks down and explains how the Pinterest algorithm works and, more importantly, how you can work it!
Another thing I really like about this book is Carly does some little “experiments” of her own and formulates some s theories that I’ve never read anywhere else! Some extra tips that may not be earth shattering but sometimes just a small change can make a world of difference!
I’m currently reading/circling/highlighting/taking notes for the 2nd time. This has become my Pinterest Bible! Boardbooster and Tailwind are awesome, don’t get me wrong, but when you learn Carly’s method for manual pinning it is a skill that you will have forever, whether you can afford a service that month or not, and mastering a new skill is priceless! Check out more info to check out more info on Carly’s Pinteresting Strategies eBook, I promise you’ll be so glad you did, it is jam-packed with so much knowledge and insight that I have yet to see anywhere else…
One thing I can say about blogging is that it’s important to test what’s out there! That’s why free trials are a beautiful thing! Not every tool will work for every blogger, you have to weed through what’s available and see what works best for you! What is your pinning style?
Hello Kristin,
Very nice site and article about Pinterest. I found you through the wordpress help page, and I sure could use help in that area! I see that you also link back to another page that offers a Pinterest course, is this an affiliate relationship? I didn’t even think about the idea of partnering with other bloggers, I get so many ideas from the veteran bloggers in the group.
Thanks,
Rebecca
Hi Rebecca, thank you! Yes, I purchase and try lots of courses! I recommend my favorites on my site and I usually join the affiliate program before I write about them…the ones I don’t care for I don’t usually refer! My hope is to try and help new bloggers weed through the huge amount of resources out there and only spend their small budgets on the best available 🙂
I have already purchased Carly’s Pinteresting Strategies really late like her manual strategy for pinning!!
Yes!! It’s sooo good 🙂
I love this! It’s so hard in the beginning to gain followers and be accepted into group boards. Great tips!
It totally is!!
Tailwind makes a huge difference. Be sure to utilize their free help training!
Absolutely 🙂
Tailwind has been a lifesaver for me. I’m also realizing how important the investments are for long term success. Helpful post!
Thanks Jen!
These are great tips. I use Board Booster but know I could do so much more with my Pinterest account!
Thanks Corey!
I have Boardbooster already but want to try tailwind too!
You should try the free month, nothing to lose 🙂
I just started using Tailwind this week, and it has been so easy to just have my pins ready and set to go. If it keeps being as great at it has been, then I will definitely be adding it to my list of blogging expenses. I think anything that allows you to focus more on writing your actual content is always worth the money! Great post!
Ashlee
http://www.ashleestuart.com
Thanks Ashlee!