How to Use Pinterest to Improve Blog Traffic

As Pinterest has grown in users, the company has grown as well. There are so many ways to get your business or blog known simply by using Pinterest. For example, when I first started The Blissful Bee last April, I have to thank Pinterest for getting my name out there. When I blogged about my DIY factory cart table, people pinned that project over 3,000 times! My DIY drum light fixture has been pinned over 5,000 times! It's pretty crazy to think about, but very exiting as well. Over the two years I have been on Pinterest, I have somehow gained 2,600 followers! I do have to admit that I might be on Pinterest a little too much at times, but I really do believe it has helped my blog grow. 

Today I want to share a few of my favorite tips for using Pinterest. My first tip is to ALWAYS include a "Pin it" button somewhere in your post. Whether it's a button that is placed above the image, at the top of the post, or hovering over the image, they will all work wonders. Simply by having that button somewhere on the post will remind your viewers to pin your project. Including a "follow me" button in your sidebar is another great way to remind your readers to follow you. As you can see, I designed a custom button that matches my blog, but Pinterest offers a "follow me" button as well (as seen in the widget builder below).

I also include a watermark of my website URL on each image I post. That way when it's pinned on Pinterest, people will hopefully start to recognize your blog name even if they don't repin your stuff. 

As you can see, Pinterest has given us an easy to use Widget Builder (pictured below). It gives you a few different options to choose from, but a really fun option is the Board Widget and Profile Widget. You can also add your "pin it" button and "follow" button here as well. The hover button is a little more difficult to add because you have to add additional HTML coding. This cannot be done through the Pinterest website, but you can see a tutorial on adding the hover button [here].

To build your own Widget Builder, click [here].

Another helpful tip is to include your blog name on your account. For example, my Pinterest name is Amy@TheBlissfulBee. Instead of using my first and last name, my first name is Amy, and my last name is "@TheBlissfulBee". This is also a great way to get your name out there. To make this change, go to your profile, and click on the pencil icon at the bottom right corner. There, you can change your user name and also write a short description of yourself. I have also included my blog website in this description.

Here are a few of my favorite boards on my Pinterest account. If you like what you see, make sure to follow me!








I also try to pin my project after I have published my post. For a while, I felt silly pinning my own projects, but I feel like it really does lead new readers to my blog. I don't do it with every post, but I will on some of my more important ones. If I feel like it's something a reader will really enjoy or learn from, I will pin it. I hope that some of my words of wisdom will help you all in your Pinterest journey! Let me know if you have any further questions and I will try to help answer them:)

Who I'm linking up with:

Rain on a Tin Roof

Blooming Homestead

Industrial Pendant Face Lift

Ok so last week I let y'all in on my recent laundry room makeover.  One of the many changes I've made is our new industrial light fixture as you see here:

Well this little gem had actually been in our garage for many months just patiently waiting for it's perfect home. It had previously sat over the kitchen table like this when we moved in, but we KNEW there ain't no way it was going to stay there. This is the picture from when the previous owner lived there. We literally changed it out the day we moved in. Thanks Dad and hubs!

As you can see, it had a strange glass orb surrounding it. As soon as we took it down, I figured out a way to take the glass out. Which made a HUGE difference. Here is a better photo I found on the Lowes website:

 

I now had it looking more industrial once I took the glass off, but I still had no place for it. It literally sat in my garage for months all sad and lonely:(

 

After taking off the glass months ago, the size of the fixture was kind of awkward. It was too small for some spaces and too large for others, so we never found a place for it. Never even thought about using it in the laundry room until yesterday when I became completely desperate. The UFO light was coming down no matter what - even if we didn't have a replacement. And if you know me, I seriously hate unfinished projects. I'll stay up all night if I have to just to make sure I get the project done. Weird, I know. 

You might also notice there was a long pole that I had to disassemble if I wanted to use it in this space. Needless to say, after a few trial and errors, it worked perfectly!! And to think...I was literally about to drive to Lowes and buy a new fixture!! SO glad I didn't give in. I always like to think that I work best when I'm shoved into a corner. I knew I didn't want to spend any more money on the laundry room, so I HAD to work with what I already had. So what did I do? Wondered around my house and garage for about an hour until I figured something out. Thank goodness, because I found the perfect solution and didn't have to spend a dime:)

Here was our process:

{ Step 1 - take down Mr. UFO light }

You might notice that fixture look a bit... out of this world.  Can you imagine if there was more than one, and they were ALL over your house? Fixtures like these spread in every single room?? Could it be true???? Yes. It was true. When we moved in, fixtures like these were everywhere. We liked to call them our little space ships or UFO's that had taken over the house.  It took a few months to switch every one of them out throughout the house, but this little guy was the last to be changed. Can't really say I'm going to miss him much. Fly on home spaceship! Aka the trash...

{ Step 2 - take apart the pole to shorten the height }

 

{ Step 3 - Re-thread the wire through the shortened chain }

 

{ Step 4 - Hang it up, step back, & enjoy! }

So what do you think? Like I said before, this is just one of the many DIY's I had to create in order to make my laundry room complete. More posts on that particular makeover soon!

Make sure to check out The DIY Project Parade over at The DIY Showoff!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend;)