1. Pin original content. OK, I get it… there are SO many pretty things on Pinterest, but there are also a million awesome things that aren’t… yet. Do us all a favor and pin new fun things!
2. Pin directly to the {correct} source. I love a good roundup post as much as the next girl, but click on those links and pin directly to the source instead. Bloggers and website creators work really hard to bring you awesome original content, make sure they are the ones getting pinned and credited for their hard work.
3. Permalink. You don’t want to pin something from So Wonderful, So Marvelous right to the main page of my blog. Why? Because as I add new content, it pushes the old content to the far reaches of the dusty corners of the cobwebby underbelly of the blog. So that fabulous recipe for Guiness Cupcakes is lost and people have to go searching. Instead, click on the post title, then pin from there. This is called a permalink. Lots of bloggers and websites have a handy dandy little ‘pin it’ button on their posts to make it ridiculously easy for you.
4. Check those re-pins! So we already covered pinning original content and how to create a permalink. Sometimes though there is awesome content that you want to re-pin, right? But before you click on that re-pin button, you should do this one thing. Follow the link. Does it lead to the correct place? If it does, great, REPIN. If not, find out where it should link to and pin directly from there rather than re-pinning. And for the love of all things holy, ‘report pin’ immediately anything that goes to something spammy.
5. Don’t copy and paste an entire post in the comment when you pin. This happens a lot with recipes. It creates a ridiculously large pin and it also deters people from clicking over. Decidedly not awesome for the person who actually created the work. A little snippet to let you and your followers know what it is or why you pinned it, that’s all you need.
6. Don’t steal someone else’s board. If you find a Pinterest board you love, follow it. You want to re-pin a few things that you love to your own board? Go for it. But don’t be that asshole that re-pins 80% of someone else’s board and call it your own. FYI, people can see when you re-pin 22 things from their board.
7. Promote awesome Pinners. I love finding new people and boards to follow. I follow people who have 32 followers and 4 million followers, awesomeness isn’t just a numbers game on Pinterest. There are so many fun things, you can find a board for anything your little heart desires. I love that I’m seeing a lot more dudes joining in on the fun too. Here are some crazy awesome {and a little weird} boards that I follow that I think you should too:
<<a Mini Farm is a dream the Davester has crushed so thank you Brandy for letting me live through your board>>
<<I challenge any girl from the 80s not to fall in love with Gina’s childhood>>
<<Heinz and his Zombie Apocalypse Prep>>
<<Nikki’s gorgeous Child Portrait Inspiration>>
<<Everything on Mara’s devour board makes me salivate>>
<<An entire board filled with Circus Make Up from Sarah>>
<<Squirrels ARE Magic, Zakary who is not a boy at all>>
<<The Perfect Palette and their perfect Place Settings>>
<<Crafts I’ll Never Do with Blair>>
<<Chelsea’s Kid Spaces>>
<<Caitlin’s collection of the most fabulous Doors>>
<<Stationery + Design from Nicole>>
Would love to know what you would add to the ‘how not to be an asshole on Pinterest’ list AND I want to know your favorite boards and pinners! Leave a comment!
Hang out with ME on Pinterest, if ya like!
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9 comments:
I think the "stealing" boards thing is weird. I don't care at all if someone wants to go through my crap and repin everything. Why is that a big deal? It's stuff you want to save, not a contest to see who can come up with the best board.
Why not just follow their board instead Amy?
This is a great list. Although I've seen some really cool pins, I have to admit I haven't spent much time pinning on Pinterest since I first started and I didn't know any of those things then. I think when people first get on it's such a kid in a candy store feeling that they don't think things through. GREAT ADVICE!
Because I barely go back and look at my boards! I just follow people to see the new things they pin. If I really want to remember something, I'll repin it. I agree with your other points, but I think some people just use pinterest differently.
Great list!
Have to say I'm with Amy on #6, though-- especially for things like Birthday Party Boards. If someone wants to pin everything on my Very Hungry Caterpillar Board to their own, I couldn't care less. Like Amy, I never go back and look through the boards of people I follow-- I just follow them so their newest pins show up in my feed & if I'm looking for something specific, I search!
THANK YOU. You are so right on all these points!
As to following the link before repinning, I've started to "like" the pin as I'm looking throughout the day on my phone and other times. Then, when I have a few minutes on my computer, I go through the likes and see which ones I really want to pin and which ones aren't as cool as I had thought. It really has helped me cultivate my boards in a more thoughtful way.
Wow, I know nothing about Pinterest. It just sounds like it would take hours to do anything. I think you've outlined some good tips here, should I ever find myself in need of something to do....HAHA (mommy wishful thinking)
THANK YOU!!!!! More bloggers need to write posts like this so the word gets out! I hate going to repin and finding a tumblr blog or a spammy site ... grrrrr! PS I love secret boards now :)
I am a new follower!
THANK YOU for the comment about assholes that steal you boards!!!! Next to the porn users, nothing pisses me off more. Had to comment for the people who don't get it. For me, usually the offender is new, has less than 50 followers and jack shit to "share back" because they put no effort into their boards. A great Pinterest board, that many people want to follow and repin is a lot of time and effort because its carefully selected. Creativity usually taking months and duplicated in minutes. If Pinterest wanted you to take 100 plus pins from someone in one go, don't you think they would make a copy board or multiple pin function. Pinterest would be a boring place if everyone just duplicated each other. Agree with post above. Love the new secret boards and blocking function.
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