Lessons Learned from 10,000+ Pins

A few weeks ago, my pin collection on Pinterest hit 10,000.  Normally, I don't pay attention to numbers but it was hard for me not to notice this one.  I wish I could remember the exact date that I started my Pinterest account but I don't.  I think it was about a year ago?  Maybe? 


Rolling over to 5 digits on Pinterest tells me two things:  One, I am highly addicted to Pinterest and two, I spend way too much time on the computer.

So today, I thought I share what I've learned in the past year (?) about how to use Pinterest.


1.  Create as many boards as you can.  When I first started on Pinterest, I grouped pins into general descriptive boards such as home, food, clothes, etc.  After a while, those boards became overcrowded and I had a hard time going back to find something that I knew I had pinned in the past.  I still have this problem.  Right now I have 10,388 pins on only 70 boards.  That's way too low.  


2.  Organize your boards.  I'm hoping that Pinterest will allow us to use subcategories in the future but until then, try to organize your boards as best as you can.  It really helps when you're trying to refer back to a certain recipe or sweater that you saw months ago.  I'm trying to do this now.  For example, I'm dividing my Food board into drinks, cakes/cupcakes, chocolate, pasta dishes, etc....


3.  Take time to socialize.  One of the great things about Pinterest is the ability to get to know other people based on their likes and dislikes.  When you see a pin that you like, you can repin it to one of your boards but you can also click on the "like" button or comment on the pin to let others know why you like it or even to ask a question about it.  Someone else may also like it and see your comment and engage in conversation with you about it.  Before you know it, you're BFF's with someone over an aqua rug.  It could happen.

3.  Build a community or promote your business.  There have been tons of articles written about how to promote your blog or business on Pinterest so I won't try to repeat them.  But Pinterest can also bring people together to raise awareness of something or promote a certain cause.  I have pinned slogans and other things to raise awareness of ALS, rare diseases and the Global Genes Project.  Pinterest works on a worldwide public platform.  Use it for good!

4.  Find inspiration.  You might be thinking, "duh!", on this one.  But I don't mean inspiration on a project or craft.  Here's an example.  When I have had a really stressful or depressing day, I go to my Funny board on my Pinterest account and just read as many pins as I can.  Most of the time I'm smiling or laughing within minutes (or seconds).  Just that little break and feeling of happiness can reduce the stress I feel.  I'll also go to my Words board if I need a little inspiration or "kick in the pants".

5.  Pinterest can be confusing (or is it just me?).  How many times have you thought this when viewing a pin, "Have I pinned this before?"  Yeah, me too.  All the time.  I wish there was some way to personally "tag" pins to let us know that we've already pinned that.  Or, have you done this?  You're looking at your own boards and get briefly interrupted (for example, to answer the phone).  When you get back to Pinterest, you find yourself repinning away thinking, "wow, this girl really has some great stuff on her board".  After 10 - 20 pins, you finally realize that you've been repinning your own stuff all along.  I may or may not have been guilty of this once or twice.  Or more.


Since I have so much work to do organizing my own boards, I have decided to start a Pinterest-themed series on my blog.  I'm going to call it "Pin-tabulous Tuesday"  How do you like that word I just made up, pin-tabulous?  My spell check hates me.  Oh, well.


Every Tuesday, I'm going to pull some of my pins from my boards and put them here.  But here's the rule (to me):  before I can show them to you, I have to reorganize them.


What's in it for you?  On Tuesdays, consider my blog to be a place for relaxation and inspiration.  You can sit back, relax and ooh and ahh over pretty pictures.  You can even leave a comment telling me what you like and dislike about the pins.  Do you think that the chair I covet is just ugly and I must be insane for liking it?  Tell me, I don't care. Everyone has an opinion and I'm open to hear it.  But, then again, we could become BFF's over that chair.


I'll see you in a few days for the first installment of Pin-tabulous Tuesday!