What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is an online pinboard. Its difference from other social bookmarking sites is that the content shared is images. In fact, the only way to share something on Pinterest is through images. You share or bookmark an image on Pinterest and each bookmark is called a pin. Sharing someone else’s pin on Pinterest, it’s called a repin. Pins are grouped by topic onto boards or pinboards.

How to Market on Pinterest

Think of Pinterest as an online catalog. You can pin pictures from your site and link them back to your website. Some examples would be book covers, book trailers, illustrations from your story, anything that’s interesting. You could even have contests and giveaways to attract readers to your site.

Here are a few ideas from the BookBaby blog.

1) Create a Pinterest board for the main characters or settings in your book. Ask your fans to add photos they think help make those people and places feel real. What does the mysterious hero look like? What about pictures of that icy field where the murder took place? (Note: you’ll have to add these fans individually as “contributors” to that particular board before they can pin their own content to it).

2) Give us a behind the scenes glimpse into your process. Show fans your desk, your typewriter or computer, your waste basket of discarded poems, the view outside your window, etc.

3) Get aspirational. Where do you want to travel on your book-tour? Where would you love to spend a week writing? Show us the photos! One great example of this is author Priscilla Warner’s Pinterest page. She has a board called “My Dream Writing Studios.” Amazing photos.

4) Ask for inspiration. You can create boards to bring your previously created characters into 2D. But the process can flow the opposite direction, too. What about asking your readers for help when you’re just developing a new story? Are you searching for the right details about pistols to put into your Western? Ask for some photos of old guns.

5) Promote your friends and heroes. Social media followers are turned off by constant self-promotion, but pimping books by other folks can go a long way. You’re giving solid recommendations to your fans, and the writers you promote will be thankful

JimsGotWeb offers promotion and marketing help to indie-authors. From editing your book to make sure it doesn’t have spelling and grammatical errors, to helping you promote your “Free Days” and “Countdown” promotion, we can help!