Today we’re going to be talking all about how to market your Shopify store on Pinterest. I get weekly emails requesting more ecommerce-related podcasts, but I’m not at all an expert on this. I’m learning along with the rest of you. We do have a few older podcast episodes related to this topic thatContinue reading

Today we’re going to be talking all about how to market your Shopify store on Pinterest. I get weekly emails requesting more ecommerce-related podcasts, but I’m not at all an expert on this. I’m learning along with the rest of you.

We do have a few older podcast episodes related to this topic that you can check out, including:

* How to Sell Products Through Pinterest Ads

* Using Pinterest to Sell Products

Today, we’re talking specifically about Shopify stores with Vanessa Kynes.  Vanessa was just on the podcast with me a few weeks ago to discuss marketing wedding services on Pinterest. That episode was a favorite! After we recorded it, we were talking about the Shopify mystery and decided we needed to follow up with another podcast on this topic. 

How to Market Your Shopify Store on Pinterest

Vanessa is a Pinterest marketing strategist, like myself. She helps creative small businesses craft traffic-generating, Pinterest marketing strategies. A lot of our discussion has come from the question:

Can Shopify shops succeed at driving traffic with their content from Pinterest?

Why Pinterest is Optimal for Shopify

More than ever, Pinterest is a great place for brand discovery and finding new customers. The most significant area of recent growth on Pinterest is in e-commerce content.

Pinterest is a discovery search engine. It is a place to introduce brands to users. If you know you want a pair of Nike tennis shoes, you don’t go to Pinterest. You go to Amazon and buy the shoes. However, if a user is searching for cruelty-free makeup, and you’re using those keywords in your products, you’re introducing the user to brands and products they never knew existed.

Shoppable/Buyable Pins

We don’t have much data on how buyable pins perform on Pinterest yet. When you have Shopify, you apply for a Pinterest channel within the Shopify platform. Shopify examines your items and approves you. (This only works for actual products, not digital, as of right now).

Pins are pulled to Pinterest with the description from the Shopify website (you can write a separate description as well).

Currently, Pinterest is really highlighting these shoppable pins. They are connecting these pins to content all over the platform. This is a really powerful reason to be using shoppable pins.

Do You Need A Blog to Go Along with Your Shop?

Now that you’ve spent time creating your product and posting about it, do you actually need a blog? Yes! Not necessarily for the reasons you would think. Having a blog is important, not just for Pinterest, but for your Google SEO. You get fresh content and you show that your products are solving problems.

Having a blog helps build trust and engagement with your customers. If you look at the traditional marketing funnel, the top of the funnel is cold. You need to pull potential customers in deeper to make the sale. Your blog allows you to “pull them in” so that they get to know who you are.

Use your blog to tell the story of why you created your product.

Be consistent when you decide to start blogging. If you can only blog once a month, then do it once a month! Consistency is super important. Remove all the dates on your blog.

As a business owner, your email list is one of your most valuable assets. So let’s learn how to leverage Pinterest to grow your email list! Today we’re going to be walking you through a process for growing your email list. I have with me Amanda from A Crafted Passion, whose been on the podcastContinue reading

As a business owner, your email list is one of your most valuable assets. So let’s learn how to leverage Pinterest to grow your email list!

Today we’re going to be walking you through a process for growing your email list. I have with me Amanda from A Crafted Passion, whose been on the podcast before with me in an episode talking about promoted pin campaigns. 

If you haven’t yet invested the time into sending out a consistent newsletter to your subscribers (or haven’t even started an email list), this episode will help you get started. Even if you’ve gotten started, today’s podcast can help you to refine your list-building skills.

This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.

Leverage Pinterest to Grow Your Email List

Step 1:  Choosing An Email Service Provider

To get started, you need an email service provider to send marketing emails. Selecting one can be really overwhelming since there are so many options to choose from. I originally started out using Mad Mimi. The program was free and easy to send out my newsletter. When I moved towards sending more regular emails I migrated to GetResponse, which was very technical and not very intuitive.

Finally, I switched over to ConvertKit in October 2016. I’ve never looked back!

We recommend using an email service provider that has a free trial, that is user-friendly, and that allows you to tag. Tagging allows you to target people who have specific interests, like gift guides or promoted pins.

Related: Email Marketing is Alive and Well

Step 2: Create Your Lead Magnet (AKA Your Freebie)

When people sign up for your email list, be sure to give them something in exchange. Some ideas to consider include:

* a coupon code

* a guide

* a product buying guide

* a planner 

* a tips page

Offer something really amazing, something you could actually sell! That will make people totally willing to sign up in order to receive it. It might feel super overwhelming to create your freebie in the beginning. Don’t let this stop you from doing it. Also know that you’ll need to test things out until you discover what your audience responds to best.

Ultimately, you’ll create several lead magnets to target readers with specific interests. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves!

Step 3: Use Pinterest to Market Your Lead Magnet

The final step in the process is to use pinnable images to drive traffic to your lead magnet. Ideally, you should drive traffic to both a landing page for your freebie, as well as a blog post that touts all of the benefits of your freebie.

Maybe you don’t have a post about your freebie, but you have a landing page. Amanda uses Thrive Themes for her landing pages. The one disadvantage of landing pages is that they don’t allow you to “host” a Pinteres...

Today’s episode is all about using Pinterest to market Teachers Pay Teachers products. We do have another episode about how to use promoted pins with TPT, but we didn’t have an episode that covers the basics of how to get it your TPT store and running and how to market it effectively. In today’s interview with ShellyContinue reading

Today’s episode is all about using Pinterest to market Teachers Pay Teachers products. We do have another episode about how to use promoted pins with TPT, but we didn’t have an episode that covers the basics of how to get it your TPT store and running and how to market it effectively. In today’s interview with Shelly Rees of Appletastic Learning, we review the basics, dive into strategies, then wrap up by answering some burning questions.

Making a Difference in Classrooms Around the World

Back in 2014, Shelly was teaching 5th-grade. It was her 23rd year of teaching and her family was in need of some extra money because her husband was out of work at the time. She decided to set up a Teachers Pay Teachers shop. Her shop really started taking off, and she soon found herself working until 2:30 in the morning some days to keep up.

It was hard work, but it felt great to realize that she was making a difference in the lives of teachers and students all around the world. She left the classroom two years ago to focus on her business full-time.

Shelly discovered the importance of Pinterest marketing early on. She didn’t do it perfectly from the start but she knew enough to utilize the platform successfully. Pinterest worked a bit differently compared to how it works now.

Using Pinterest to Market TPT Products: The Foundational Elements

We’re going to dive right into the foundational elements.

First – set up and optimize your profile. Make sure that you include both your niche and your specialty in your profile. Your readers should know what they’re going to gain by following your boards and pins. Tell them what problems you will solve for them. Use the search bar on Pinterest to determine what teachers are searching for.

Are there specific boards you should be creating? Shelly suggests creating two boards right out of the gate. Create a board for blog pins and another board for your TPT store. Beyond those two boards, create boards directly related to your niche.

Related: How to Clean Up Pinterest Boards

The best way to optimize a pin description for a TPT seller is to get really familiar with the search bar. Type into the search bar a term that teachers will use to find your particular product. Pinterest will generate some suggested terms. Make a list of those terms and use them in your easy-to-read pin description.

Also, be sure to experiment with using hashtags in your pin description.

How do you create the best TPT seller image? Current best practice is to use images with a 2:3 size ratio. This size looks perfect on mobile. Avoid images that are too busy. It’s a mistake that a lot of people make. Use one strong image in conjunction with an easy-to-read title. The combination that works best for Shelly is one large image of her finished product and the title of the product place at the top of the pin in bold letters. 

Related: Creating Pinterest Images that Convert

What about branding and logos? Shelly doesn’t put her logo on most of her pins. Having the logo on the pin is best practice for some people, but Shelly just likes to make sure she has her name somewhere on her images.

If you have editable resources, make sure you highlight that aspect on your images. People love these!

Strategy and Daily Pinning

Once you have everything set up and have covered all the basics, now what?

Did you know that promoted pins can boost your organic Pinterest strategy? Yep, it’s true. Today we’re getting into the nitty gritty of how it’s done. Today we’re going to be talking about how to use the data that you find in your promoted pin campaigns to help boost your organic Pinterest strategy. This isContinue reading