I wanted to take a step back today from Amazon-specific content and talk about marketing your handmade business. More specifically, I’m sharing how to use Pinterest for your handmade business and increase your traffic organically. Pinterest is a fantastic platform for handmade sellers and artisans because there are over 478 million+ monthly active users, and 89% of users are on Pinterest for purchase inspiration. That’s a whole lot of people you can get your products in front of organically - no paid ads required.
Why is Pinterest a Great Marketing Platform for Handmade Sellers?
Pinterest is great for organic growth, meaning you don’t have to pay to play (or run paid ads). Facebook growth generally requires some money to spend on ads to see results, and Instagram requires some time investment to engage, build your audience, and grow your traffic.
Out of the three platforms, Pinterest is perfect for those who don’t want to spend money on ads and don’t want to spend hours each day engaging. With Pinterest, you can do the work in batches to save yourself some time! Its a long term play but I suggest you invest NOW!
How Exactly Does Pinterest Work?
Pinterest is a visual search engine; it is not a social media platform. This means that keywords and search engine optimization are super important, as is the design of your pins.
The right keywords get your pin in front of the right people, but your design is what gets them to take action and click through to your website, Etsy shop, or Amazon Handmade listing.
Pinterest Tip #1: Optimize Your Profile
As a visual search engine, the most important first part of success on Pinterest is to make sure you optimize your profile for search. Using keywords in the right places on your profile helps Pinterest understand what your account and content are all about (and who to show it to!).
Here are some areas you’ll want to do keyword research for and optimize:
Your Name:
Instead of just ‘Dana Midkiff,’ I would want it to have keywords like this:
‘Dana | Amazon Coach for Handmade Businesses’
Your Bio:
We don’t have a lot of character space to work with here, so we want to make sure we use some searchable keywords that our ideal audience is using.
For example:
I help handmade business owners, and Etsy sellers learn how to sell and be successful on Amazon Handmade.
My keywords there are - handmade business, Etsy sellers, amazon handmade
Your Board Titles and Board Descriptions:
A board just labeled ‘necklaces’ won’t help Pinterest understand your account. Do some keyword research on your board titles and niche them down a bit.
For example:
- Gold Necklaces for Women
- Boho Gemstone Necklaces
Also, think about other boards you could create that aren’t necessarily about your products but would interest your audience. Here’s an example for a jewelry designer:
- Spring Fashion Outfits for Women
- Casual Spring Dresses for Her
- Chic Outfit Ideas
Ask yourself, ‘What other things are my ideal customer interested in? Health and wellness? Yoga? Motherhood tips?’
Pinterest Tip #2: Create Additional Content
Pinterest loves fresh content, which can be a challenge for handmade sellers who aren’t creating new products every week. Your best bet is to start blogging on your website so you have informational content to pin instead of just product-based pins.
Some other ideas for ‘what to pin’:
- Create pins that are directed to your Etsy listings
- Create pins that are directed to your Etsy category pages
- Create pins that are directed to your website product pages
- Create pins that are directed to your website category pages
- Create pins that are directed to your Instagram profile
- Create pins that are directed to your Amazon Handmade listings
Keep in mind that you can’t claim your Amazon Handmade account on Pinterest, so you won’t be able to view your analytics and stats like you can with your website, Etsy, or Instagram.
Pinterest Tip #3: Stay Patient and Consistent
Finally, because Pinterest is a visual search engine, you need patience and stay consistent with your pinning and strategy. Organic traffic takes time, which is the trade-off between spending money on ads to get quicker results or waiting for the search engine to give you those organic results.
With Tailwind, you can easily batch all of your Pinterest scheduling, pin designs, and strategy into just a few hours every couple of weeks.