How to easily make your ideas pin irresistible every time | Idea pins for business
An idea pin is the most valuable content you can create quickly for trust building, traffic and lead-generation… and the competition is low! Yeap, they’re as phenomenal as it sounds.
You’re a coach, a course creator, a small business owner, a blogger or another type of content creator and you wonder whether you should get into ideas pin creation. Or you’ve tried already but you aren’t quite sure how to make your ideas pin irresistible every time? Hang around with me and discover all of this, plus plenty of my own examples throughout:
The power of an ideas pin: what are idea pins for online entrepreneurs?
The must-do strategy for your ideas pin to rank that many fail to follow
12 ways to create an ideas pin that your ideal audience clicks on
Your ideas pin visuals for engagement and watch time: What is a good idea pin?
If you’re still thinking whether this is for you, let me share a secret… I have an absolute gold section in this blog that will transform the results of any content you create, whether or not is an idea pin on Pinterest! 🤫
Now you know, let’s get started.
When you open Pinterest, there it is: an ideas pin! You keep on hearing about idea pins, but you aren't quite sure what you'll work for your audience. Maybe, you've already tried, and your idea pins are hit-and-miss, and you aren't quite sure what to do about it.
You really want to know how to easily create your idea pins for business that get you results. I've got you covered!
And if you want to rock your Pinterest marketing, don't forget to get my Pinterest SEO cheat sheet!
Idea pins have become a real thing on Pinterest in the past years... Deep down, you know you need to do more of them (or start creating some for the first time), but it feels overwhelming to create them...
You want to create idea pins that get attention and drive traffic to your website, but you don't know how. Why do you need ideas pins when your Pinterest pins are a great and simple way to get the traffic you need? What are ideas for Pinterest that work? You aren't even quite sure what they really are...
With the recent Pinterest updates, it's more important than ever to step up your ideas pin creation abilities to make them irresistible to your audience. How? But even before that... what are idea pins?
Simply put, an ideas pin is a formidable new format to create super fans on Pinterest. It's a multiple pages visual format that lets you impactfully communicate ideas.
An idea pin looks very similar to Instagram stories... multiple pages of video, photos, graphics or a combo of the three. You can create up to 20 pages to share your ideas pin concept.
And even before we keep on going, here is my Pinterest account with ideas pins:
Simple... so where does the power of idea pins lie?
They are evergreen.
What do I mean?
They don't go away after 24h! They are searchable and discoverable!
Here, my friend is a gold mine for you! A simple way to create content discoverable for years! No more need for a blog or a YouTube channel if you don't feel like it.
Just mind-blowing!
You can start building your strategically important content marketing today, even if you haven't got a website and get your ideas pin found for years. Before this, only a blog or a YouTube channel would achieve the same long-term discoverability.
An idea pin on Pinterest is an investment for you as an online entrepreneur or content creator.
And if you think that social media does that for you, think again. The shelf-life of your content on social media (Instagram, Tiktok, Twitter, Facebook) is only hours, not years!
There is more to your ideas pin on Pinterest than this, but let's keep on going, shall we?
And even before wee keep on going, here is one of my most successful idea pins as an example for you!
So, now your mind might be just thinking... "Ah! Cool! I need to use my Instagram Stories for my ideas pin content!
In this blog, I'm going to guide you with plenty of my own examples precisely with that.
Ideas for Pinterest aren't the same as for social media.
There is a crucial difference.
On social media, a good proportion of your content can be, and it's meant to be about you, what you've done, your day, your plans...
Instagram Stories are a way to let your audience know that you are human, approachable and relatable. See you, get a sneak peek at your life and build a relationship.
But idea pins have a different purpose.
Ideas pins are all about your audience (not you that much). Your ideas pin should be designed to educate, inform or entertain them to help them grow or solve their problems.
It's all about value for them.
They are meant to inspire to drive action. They should be full of valuable information or ideas about specific topics, such as how-to's, list articles, powerful quotes, and much more.
Do you see the difference? Simple but powerful.
The ideas pin format is a phenomenal online growth content type...
Why?
The one thing you absolutely want your audience to do is to be inspired to take action. Fact!
Why?
An ideas pin is a neatly encapsulated piece of content with one objective and one objective only: inspiration.
Why?
Pinterest is the #1 platform online and offline for inspiration. Your ideal audience is on Pinterest searching for inspiration to bring what they find online on Pinterest into their life, to try it, to do it, to make it happen for them!
Why?
Because Pinterest is an online oasis full of positivity, where your ideal leads come without something in mind specifically but in search of simple ideas that will make an impact in their lives or their business (or both!)
Why?
Pinterest is the place where they can find the latest trends, even before they become one, a community of unique Pinterest creators who don't try to be the same as others but want to share what makes them unique.
Helping Pinterest creators succeed is one of the reasons idea pins exist. It's a much better way to build trust with your audience, making it easier for people to get started and make their ideas come to life.
Did you notice my 5 why's"?
It's a great technique to dig deep into the reasons that explain the true nature of things.
So here is the thing for you and your next ideas pin.
Instead of copying hacks, create to inspire action. That's the golden nugget of any successful ideas pin.
You can! You have it in you!
Ok, you don't know yet exactly how. So let's keep going with idea pins in Pinterest; by the end, it will be simple.
Since the launch by Pinterest of idea pins, the most meaningful feedback from Pinterest creators, especially online entrepreneurs and small business owners, has been the need for links to external sites on idea pins.
Ideas for Pinterest have always had the superpower of driving traffic outside the platform to your website, your blog, your landing pages, your sign-up forms, your eCommerce shop, or your other content platforms.
So at the end of 2022, Pinterest made a huuuuuuuuge announcement. Your ideas pin will be able to have an external link in 2023! Yes, you've heard.
Idea pins will have external links, and Pinterest will roll this out throughout 2023!
Yay! Time to celebrate!
You've gone from having a great ideas pin impact to exceptionally powerful idea pins with this news.
Idea pins will revolutionize your traffic, audience growth, and lead generation more and more!
Get ready and embrace idea pins as part of your online content marketing.
You want to be on this boat before it gets too busy!
An idea pin link is what you've been waiting for?
Ready? I love having you around!
Pinterest is gradually releasing idea pins with links. You might be reading this once it is fully rolled-out. Or you might still not have it in your Pinterest for business account.
If you don't get ready for what's coming!
How so you know you have it in your account? You could see:
a button in your Pinterest account to request early access to this new feature or
when you create a new idea pin.
Here is how it will look. At that point, get ready to skyrocket your traffic, your email list growth and your leads!
There are 2 existing ways for everyone to link to content from their ideas pin pages:
use tags to products you have product pins on Pinterest already.
add affiliate links (this is only available for certain Pinterest approved affiliate programs).
Are you ready for the formula to easily make ideas pin irresistible every time?
You'll be getting it in this blog.
With over 400+ million active users, Pinterest is a powerful platform for creating traffic to your online business or e-commerce shop. If your ideas pin isn't eye-catching or engaging, it won't get the attention you want. But if your ideas pin doesn't stand out, you'll miss out on many potential leads, my friend.
So here is my 4-step formula: Ranking + clickability + bingeability + action.
So let me explain each of them of these steps. And in case you're wondering, yeap, you need the 4 of them.
Let me make it super simple for you.
Let’s look at an overview of each of these stages. You’ll get into exactly how to do it later on, including my ideas pin examples.
You want to be seen by your ideal audience. That's why monthly views matter on Pinterest. Yes, it isn't your most important metric, though everything starts with it!
The number 1 thing to achieve that is to work on your Pinterest SEO (Search Engine Optimisation). It will help your results tremendously if you appear on the Pinterest search engine results page. That way, more people will find your ideas pin and click on it instead of someone else's ideas pins.
While this blog can't go into the ins and outs of great Pinterest SEO, I have something exceptional for you.
Your own FREE checklist for Pinterest SEO that will get your pins ranking like mine.
The second step is clickability, meaning how attractive your idea pin is and looks? Eye-catching visuals and a title that entices the reader to click (and not just read) your idea pin will make it irresistible.
The third step to Pinterest results for your online business is bingeability.
Let me explain.
Like you and me, your ideal client is constantly bombarded by content and more content. 99% of what they see, they've seen already before.
It's noise.
So you have an enormous opportunity when someone clicks on your ideas pin. It signals that you have touched one of the elements they’re interested in. Now it's up to you to make it valuable.
That's where bingeability comes along. Your ideas pin has to maintain that engagement through your content to get to the moment to drive action.
Is your audience going to click but decide to keep on scrolling, or are they here to stick with you.
You know which one you want.
Finally, the fourth step is actionability, driving your Pinterest audience to action.
What action? That's up to you!
What is the goal you want to achieve with your ideas pin? A clear call-to-action (CTA) will make people take the desired actions, such as visiting a website or following an account on Pinterest.
These 4 steps combined will make your ideas pins irresistibly attractive! You'll go from cool pin ideas to idea pins that create a lead-generation engine for your online business.
So let's get into each of these stages! Are you ready?
All the magic starts when your ideas pin ranks! You need and want your ideas pin to be seen.
So when you create our ideas pin, remember to use keywords in:
the pin's title,
notes
text overlay
Wondering how to find keywords? Here is my blog about it: Pinterest Hashtags And Pinterest Keywords In 2022 | Your Questions Answered
Remember to use tags too! That helps Pinterest understand what your ideas pin is all about and show it to the right people. This way, you'll have ideas pin that rank on the feed.
Are you ready to learn more? Get my FREE Pinterest SEO checklist for all the details!
See below one of my idea pins as I create to see where I included the keywords and tags. The impressions are fantastic, the idea pin is inspirational, so it drives saves and clicks, soo Pinterest shows more and more.
Hey, you've made significant progress! Half of the work goes into being found.
Now that you're ranking, you've got a split second (literally) to stop the scroll.
So what is the best way to actually stop that scroll? How do you get clicks on your idea pins?
Your ideas pin hook is everything.
There are two elements to it:
The first one is to do with your title
the second one is all to do with your visuals
Titles are one of the most essential thing that you can work on perfecting. A title can make or kill your idea pins. It is a technique that the pros keep working on repeatedly.
So, let me make it easy for you.
Here are 12 types of titles for results that you can use in your titles to absolutely stop the scroll with examples of my own idea pins to see precisely how to put it into practice!
These ideas pins have brought me thousands of views and clicks!
List ideas pin (numerical)
Too good to miss / simplicity to try / FOMO ideas pin
Encouraging ideas pin
Commanding ideas pin
Warnings ideas pin
Questions ideas pin
Symptoms of struggle ideas pin
Explainers
Speak to them ideas pin
Comparison ideas pin
Before/After ideas pin
Behind the scenes (BTS) ideas pin
Social proof ideas pin
Your video with an overlaid title can boost your ideas pin clicks.
The best graphics or video that grabs attention has a wow factor or reinforces your title.
Now, the section you just went through will transform in an instant your results.
This is part of what I teach in my signature programme, The Profitable Pinterest Secrets, to grow your audience and create a lead-generation engine for your business with Pinterest.
Ok, your title has a great hook, and your initial 1-2 seconds of video is genuinely captivating... is it enough?
So now you're in the game, you have achieved the most challenging element: growing the attention of your ideal audience.
Now you just need to get your genius out, share your tips share your best hacks, show your products in action, and truly deliver value, not just content for content's sake. It would be best if you thought about how you can keep it simple and, at the same time, truly inspirational.
Always go back to why your audience is on Pinterest. They are looking for ideas they want to implement in their lives and businesses.
This feels like a long list, but it's total common sense. The more you put it into practice, the more second nature it becomes.
VIDEO
Keep your video shorts.
You can use your phone (no need for professional cameras!)
For talking heads videos, make your phone stable (mini tripod or lay it on the table)
When you record your own videos, remember to have good lighting and framing (see the example below).
GRAPHICS & PHOTOS
Use eye-catching images.
Add overlaid text, graphics, stickers, gifs...
Check out my Canva blog to get your graphics to the next level!
FRAMING & CONTENT
Optimize your idea pin for mobile devices, as many users access Pinterest on their phones or tablets. Avoid putting important information around the edges. It will get cut off!
Ensure all the sections in your idea pin are related and flow logically.
Provide short but concise descriptions explaining each section's value and what viewers can expect to gain by interacting with it.
ORIGINALITY
Create original Ideas pin. Don't repin directly from social media with Instagram or TikTok logos.
Ensure you have the copyrights to the visuals you use.
Use in-app features (stickers, music, questions...)
Avoid making it look like an ad. Make it personal, share behind-the-scenes, personal experience
Don't copy! Be you! Your uniqueness is your best asset on Pinterest.
AUDIO
If you've got a talking, please add subtitles people don't always look at Pinterest with the audio on
SIMPLE & ACTIONABLE
Avoid overwhelming by putting only a little information.
And make it actionable.
Inspiration and action! Make your content irresistible to watch and act on. If it's simple to implement and impactful, you are with a winner.
Here is another example of one of my ideas pin with subtitles for those watching without the audio on:
So, where do you find the ideas to create your ideas pin?
It all comes down to understanding your audience. Nothing better than researching your niche. You can also use Pinterest Trends to understand seasonal interests and new trends.
Want to get a 1-hour FREE training on Pinterest. Watch my workshop below!
Now you have gone through the most critical step.
It is the step when you decide what you want your Pinterest audience to do once they have seen and watched your ideas pin. And believe me, it is a step forgotten by so many.
Be strategic thinking advance.
I am sorry, just going for the typical give me a follow doesn’t work.
There are so many calls to action that you can drive at the end of your idea pins.
Here are a few examples I've used that work really well.
Many CTAs fall flat. So here are my pro tips for you:
Having the same CTA becomes boring, and your audience will not take action.
Want to learn more about how to get Pinterest results fast? Check here some of my other blogs:
When creating idea pins, including idea pins for products, always think about your audience and how to inspire to drive action (not about the product or the features!
More examples of idea pins:
1. An e-commerce store that creates recipe ideas using their products to encourage viewers to shop with them.
2. A freelancer who highlights tips for entrepreneurs on how to outsource effectively, along side the services they offer.
3. A charity that shares inspiring stories of its work and how viewers can get involved.
4. A travel blog sharing visuals, tips, and recommendations for a specific destination.
5. An artist who showcases artwork or projects they have been working on and provides tutorials for aspiring creatives.
You can create engaging and actionable content for users by utilizing idea pins.
So, get creative and start pinning! With the right visuals, keywords, and content, you'll have an irresistible idea pin every time.
Still have questions? That’s totally normal.
Here come the idea pins FAQ!
So here it’s a bunch of questions that I get asked frequently by my clients and audience.
If you're not getting views from your idea pin ideas, it could be because you're not using the right keywords or your Pinterest SEO needs attention.
Spoiler alert, Pinterest SEO isn't just about keywords! Reminder to get your FREE Pinterest SEO checklist here.
Research your target audience and include relevant keywords in your content. Additionally, try using different titles and visuals for each idea pin to increase engagement.
The more engagement you get, the more saves, and the more Pinterest will share your content!
With these pro tips, you’ll start seeing more traction with your idea pins!
No, idea pins don't have to be videos.
They can also include photos, graphics, text-based pins, and videos.
The main idea behind creating an idea pin is to make it visually appealing and engaging for viewers. It would be best if you used whatever visual format best suits your content and helps you get the most engagement from viewers.
Idea pins can have 1 to 20 pages (or sections).
It's essential to remember that viewers are looking for easy-to-digest and actionable content. Aim for up to three pages per idea pin, so your viewers can handle the content.
However, this is not a must-do.
Additionally, ensure each page contains relevant, actionable content to help your viewers take the next step. This will ensure that you're creating genuinely irresistible idea pins!
You can start with an idea pin per week. Even Pinterest say very clearly in the website idea. Idea pins are not about quantity. They're all about inspiration.
You can then increase the idea pins to create in a week and even go up to 1 a day if you wish.
Pinterest is a platform that is not going to overwhelm you by having to pin idea pins daily. It is not a must to pin an ideas pin every day, like on social media.
You're always better off having inspirational ideas pin creations that you do regularly than just getting stuff pinned for the sake of it.
Yes and no.
What???
Precisely, you can edit certain things and not others after they have been published.
I suggest that you review your ideas pin thoroughly before you click publish.
But if you need to change something to edit an existing idea pin, click the the 3 dots on the right hand-side of your idea pin page, then click edit “Edit idea pin” and make any changes you would like. Once you've saved your changes, the idea pin will be updated with the new version.
If you're reading this in 2023, know that links are coming to idea pins. It’s so exciting.
Pinterest announced that at the end of 2022 and explained that they will be rolling out this new feature of idea pins having links progressively to 2023.
At the point of writing, I don't have links in my account yet, but I cannot wait for them to appear.
The main difference between an idea pin and a regular pin is that for the former, you can have up to 20 pages or sections, while the latter is limited to one page.
This allows your idea pins to be more in-depth and engaging for users and provide additional context around topics or ideas. Additionally, pins also have the potential to include links, idea pins do not at the moment, but this is changing.
Ultimately, the type of pin you use should depend on the content you're trying to produce and how it can best serve your audience.
Idea pins are a great way to create engaging and actionable content for users.
With the right visuals, keywords, and content, you can create a pin that will draw viewers in and leave them feeling inspired and ready to take action. Using idea pins effectively can increase your brand awareness, build relationships with customers, and drive traffic to your website or affiliate links.
In the world where idea pins don't have links, the difference between video pins and idea pins is the ability to add an external link to your video pin.
However, as we move into a world where idea pins have links, video pins and idea pins will feel more similar.
Always remember that video pins only have one video. In contrast, an idea pin can have up to 20 pages, so video pins will be really effective for grabbing attention with video to drive traffic, but not necessarily to deliver evergreen content.
Idea pins will not go away. They are evergreen content. The difference between Instagram Stories and ideas pins is that an ideas pin will be on Pinterest unless you decide to delete it.
It makes you discoverable for years.
It lets you create super valuable content in an easily consumable way.
Idea pins are here to stay! Pinterest has invested a lot over the years in creating this feature, and they want users to be able to create engaging and actionable content. Regular pins still have their place! Idea pins offer so much more potential for viewers, making them an invaluable tool for businesses.
Really? Come one!
You know the answer already!
Yesssssssssss!
In a few words:
evergreen content discoverable for years
no need for a website
no need for expensive tools (your phone is perfect!)
no need for lengthy and complicated editing and post-production: user-generated content is king
easy to consume content, which is what audiences want more and more
deliver value to build trust and create super fans and leads
traffic outside the platform to grow your list or bring leads to your landing pages or shop.
And all in the #1 platform for inspiration where users take action and plan their next project or purchase! GOLD!
What next?
Time to give it a go! Create your first idea pin this week. Or, if you were already creating idea pins, pick a best practice in this blog, and apply it today. Tell me in the comments what has been that special learning you’ve got today:
This is the year when you'll see ideas pin being a must-do strategy on Pinterest. Even more than before. Get to create, rank and grow your audience and leads before this space gets super crowded!
I love having you here! It's an absolute privilege.
Don't forget to grab your Pinterest SEO cheat sheet now.
Hi! I’m Isabel
For years and years I have created and produced content, in particular visual content. You can find me very often with my cameras and tripod out and about!
My passion: to help you with your online presence and drive business growth through my blog and visuals collections (marketing templates, styled photos & video).
Ah, I have also worked for 24+ in the corporate world, leading quite a mix: transformation, marketing, coaching, sales, productivity, programme management, investments and product management.
I love sharing all these skills with you in my blog.
I am also founder of Agavea Properties, our family holiday rental business. My husband and I lead it with the passion with one goal in mind: serving our customers to create a memorable holiday experience for them.
So there you have it, that’s me! Ah... I almost forgot, my happy place is by the sea.
Thanks for being here with me!