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Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Pinterest For Artists: How To, Tips, Questions And Answers

Pinterest has become one of the most important traffic sources for many bloggers, websites, and shops.

How about Artists? Well, it seems to work great for quite some photographers and painters.

Others don’t like or even hate Pinterest. This is fine, but please let me make this clear: this discussion is not for you, I’m sorry. You are free to think that Pinterest does not work or is bad, but this discussion is for Artists that want to learn more about this visual search engine. Please be positive. Pinterest does have glitches and problems, but we will tackle them in a constructive way. Thank you.

So what is this thread all about?

I want to help fellow artists to understand how Pinterest works.
You can ask your Pinterest questions, I will try to answer them.
It will be a place for useful tips, tricks, and resources.
It will be a “how to use Pinterest” thread, not a “how to sell with Pinterest” thread

Let’s get started!

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Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

What is Pinterest and how does it work?

Pinterest is a) a visual search and discovery engine and b) a catalog of ideas. People use Pinterest to get inspired and to take action.

Pinterest is no social network (it has some social components, though). Some people state that Pinterest is “the social network for introverts.” I read a great quote some time ago, it goes like this: “Pinterest is for yourself, not for your selfies.”

Pinterest consists of Pins, which are organized in Boards. Every Pinner creates its own boards of choice. If someone likes a Pin, she can repin (share) it into one of her boards. This means one Pin can be in hundreds or thousands of boards.

Every Pin can (and should) have a link that leads to a website (for example, to one of your Prints or Products on FAA or even better on your Pixels Artist Website).

Pinterest is an excellent place for evergreen content. The half-life of a Pin (the time in which it earns half of the overall engagement, like clicks and view) is 3.5 months -- about 1,600 times longer than a Facebook post. Source: Small Business Trends. A Pin can generate traffic for years and years.

As I already wrote above: I don’t want to become this a sales related discussion. If you want to know why I think that Pinterest is such a great place for artists feel free to read a blog post about this topic here: https://www.elke.com/pinterest-why-every-artist-should-use-it-to-sell-art If you want to discuss the stats I published in the blogpost or anything sales related please use my blog for this (not this thread), thank you!

We will cover the important basics first. Stay with me.

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Pinterest Basics

Business Account

Be sure to use a business account (not a personal one)! They are free, and they have multiple advantages. You can claim your Artist Website, you will get detailed Analytics, you will be able to create special types of Pins, etc. Oh and by the way: Their terms of service require using a business account if you want to promote your art!

I wrote a blog post about Pinterest business accounts some time ago, I would highly recommend to read it: http://www.elke.com/why-artists-need-a-pinterest-business-account-to-promote-their-art

Descriptions and Keywords

Every one of your Pins should have a good description (natural language, peppered with relevant keywords). Your profile description is essential too, it will help you to get found. Don’t forget your board descriptions, they are a great place to explain in detail what you are offering. Again: don’t forget to include your keywords.

Use both Pinterest guided search and search suggestions to come up with proper keywords.

I described in detail how to find the right keywords in Chapter 2, Lesson 2 of my Pinterest Online Course. This lesson is free to read, you just have to register for the free trial. Please be aware that you will get a series of emails after signing up, feel free to unsubscribe if you are not interested in infos and offers about the course.

Here is your link for the free trial, you will be able to read three lessons for free: https://pinterest-marketing-for-artists.thinkific.com/enroll/146176?et=free_trial

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Pinterest Advanced

Ask your Pinterest Questions
How to create engaging pins? When and how often should I pin? How to get more followers? Are followers even important on Pinterest? Why is my number of impressions going down? Is there a way to know how many visitors I had and what they did on my Artist Website? How about Video Pins, I heard they are doing great on Pinterest? Should I invest in Pinterest Ads? How do I avoid getting my Pinterest account suspended? I heard Pinterest is bad, people are stealing pictures!

These are just some of the many questions you may have. Ask them here, and I will try to find an answer. Please give me some time, and please accept that my answer may be short and may not include screenshots, etc. If you need detailed step-by-step instructions and fast, personal support, I’m happy to offer you access to my Pinterest Course. Many (FAA) Artists already bought it, be sure to read some of their reviews at the end of this page: https://pinterest-marketing-for-artists.thinkific.com/courses/sell-more-art-with-pinterest

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Is Pinterest bad for Artists?
In short: no. They had problems in the beginning (understanding copyright, etc.). Still, today they are similar to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter (regarding their Terms of Service).

There is one exception, though: Pinterest is very transparent. Yes, really. It is quite easy to find stolen content (copyright infringement). And yes, there are thieves and spammers. Bad news: they are everywhere -- but you won’t be able to find them as easy as on Pinterest.

Just think of Facebook: if someone uses one of your images in a closed group with hundreds of thousands of members, you will never see this (if you are not a member of this group). And even if you are a member: what are the odds that you stumble upon your stolen picture? Pinterest has nifty things like visual search, similar pins, and more. This makes it very easy to find stolen content, even by accident. And yes, there are bad people out there. Two options: let it go or report “stolen Pins” to Pinterest so they can remove them.

Does Pinterest have problems and glitches?
Yes. All-day long. They always try new things (which is a good thing) but often this leads to problems (which is bad). I guess we'll just have to learn to live with this and focus on things we can change. Write to Pinterest support, they will try to help you. Sometimes the answers are not very helpful in the first place. Ask again.

And please ask yourself: When did you contact Facebook or Instagram the last time? How fast did they answer? Did you even get an answer from a real person? Did you get an answer at all?

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Pinterest Resources for Artists

Pinterest Blogs
My Pinterest Blog: Pinterest Marketing for Artists Blog
Pinterest Business Blog: https://business.pinterest.com/en/blog

Fine Art America Artists repin discussion
Share the Pinterest love (repin thread): https://fineartamerica.com/showmessages.php?messageid=3970864

Join my Pinterest Group board for Fine Art America Artists
I created the group board some years ago, it has gained 14000 followers so far and is still going strong. Apply here if you want to get an invitation: http://bit.ly/faaboard

Please note that the old FAA Group Board discussion is closed, you will have to use the link above.

Tips and tricks
How to claim your FAA/Pixels Artist Website with Pinterest: https://hauser.lpages.co/how-to-claim-your-faa-pixels-artist-website-with-pinterest/

Pinterest Course
Pinterest Online Course for Artists: https://pinterest-marketing-for-artists.thinkific.com/courses/sell-more-art-with-pinterest
Free trial (3 lessons) of my Pinterest Course for Artists: https://pinterest-marketing-for-artists.thinkific.com/enroll/146176?et=free_trial

I will try to post updates and new info regarding all things Pinterest for Artists from time to time.

Okay, it’s your turn now. Go ahead and ask your questions! :-)

 

Leonida Arte

4 Years Ago


Thank you Matthias you presented Pinterest on the best way, thank you for presentation

 

Moira Risen

4 Years Ago

Matthias, thanks for this thread, it's very generous of you to offer your help.

I have a few question's regarding your group FFA board I just joined, I hope it's OK to ask it here as you closed the other thread.

1. With 'pinning only FAA prints' you mean strictly fineartamerica.com domain links, or are the AW sites OK too? (As I see, most of the pins already on the board are AW links, but I think it's better to clarify...)
2. Is it OK to pin self-made mock up images leading to our AW, like this one:
https://hu.pinterest.com/pin/426786502191165670/

I think it's great you introduced the 1:1 repin rule, BTW...

I have another question that is related, pinning from the group board and your repin thread made me realize something that I think might be important. I just started a thread yesterday about this, but I think I will better ask it here and close that one.

I intended to repin the promoted pins of others to my themed boards (winter landscapes, seascapes, flying birds, skyscape art etc.), as I assume promotion works better this way than a general 'Prints of other artists' kind of a board - am I right?
But as many of them have images displaying the acrylic/metal/canvas/framed versions of the work with the tilted angle/view, I just couldn't because they look weird and out of the place among my 'normal' pins. And I don't think a regular user, who's just after ideas or nice images would pin them to a not print related board, like birds, winter, etc. Even if I was up to buy specifically an acrylic/metal etc. print and searching for the keyword, I would prefer a pin with a normal image about the piece I intend to buy, where the work itself can be seen.

But it might be just me, and maybe I'm wrong and pins with the images of printed versions might be popular and useful for promotion. And that is my question:
In your experience, do people repin these kinds of displays? Or is it better to upload a normal image with a title and description promoting the type of the print?




 

Mo Barton

4 Years Ago

Thank you Matthias. Getting active on Pinterest again is high on my 'to-do" list and all these links will be really helpful.

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Thanks, Leonida, you're very welcome!

Moira:

Pins from FAA, Pixels, the AW, and mockups are all more than welcome :-)

Yes, pinning into more specific boards (with good descriptions) absolutely makes sense and will lead to more exposure for the pins.

Metal Prints etc. vs. normal images: it depends. Normal images tend to get more repins but with metal prints, canvas prints, etc. more people do realize that they can buy this image (and this can be a good thing). Just pin both types of images, add some mockups in the mix and you will be fine.

Mo: No problem. Getting more active on Pinterest is a good thing on every to-do list :-)

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Last year many artists, bloggers, and other pinners reported a drop in stats like monthly viewers, impressions, saves, and clicks. Why is this?

Well, some of the strategies that used to work well on Pinterest might lead to less engagement now. Even worse: if you overdo things like repinning your own stuff, Pinterest may suspend your account.

I wrote a blog post about how to adjust your Pinterest strategy. Learn how to master Pinterest in the new year:

https://www.elke.com/pinterest-for-artists-2020/

 

Moira Risen

4 Years Ago

Matthias,
thanks for the answers!
Also, very useful article about the new tricks in 2020 :)

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

So much for the "great" Pinterest. I've started to pin links a few days ago, and already my images are stolen and marketed by others...like zunkle.life....question what can be done???
https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/635781672381069977/

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Hi Tibor, please read what I wrote above (under the "Is Pinterest bad for Artists?" section).

If you want to have the stolen pin removed just go here: https://www.pinterest.com/about/copyright/dmca-pin/

Please be sure to read their help texts first (there are two "more info..." links on the DMCA page).

Hint: do not check the remove all checkbox otherwise your pins will be removed too! Feel free to check the "strike" checkbox if you are sure that the pin comes from the "thief" (and is not just a repin from an innocent user). If an account receives enough strikes Pinterest will take care of them.

Hope this helps!

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

Moira, you are very welcome! :-)

 

Matthias Hauser

4 Years Ago

A new blog post from today about Pinterest Group Boards:

https://www.elke.com/what-are-pinterest-group-boards-and-how-do-they-work/

The article explains what Group Boards are, how they work and how to find great Pinterest Group Boards for Artists. Enjoy!

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

Matthias, ...regarding that link for reporting copyright infringement I have already filled it up...immediately I noticed the photo which obviously carries the marks of the watermark removal. But seemingly Pinterest did NOTHING. Though I have offered them all the details. Furthermore that photo is also on this site https://zunkle.life/ where I presume lot of us can find our stolen works. So how else can you contact Pinterest regarding this user who obviously is running a business by stealing images from Pinterest??

 

Joy McKenzie

4 Years Ago

Tibor, on the link you posted, it states your kitty image was taken from flickr.

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

Where? I cannot see anywhere now only on my saved repin..when I checked it I could not see any information regarding the source.Anyway on Flickr all my images are with All Rights Reserved...nothing for download. Also I have it on Alamy, but there the watermark is all over the image..so it is not taken from Alamy for sure. ...As a second thought it can be possible that Flickr is the source, because they offer high resolution display...maybe it is from there. I have also contacted by email that zunkle site...demanding the removal of the image from the Internet. For me it is not the first case when my images are stolen and reposted for commercial use..and it is an experience which I prefer not to repeat..hopefully they will take my message seriously. I have never bothered myself to reclaim my rights if an image was taken for personal use...often I give photos to my friends myself for free...but when I found someone stealing and reselling then I will go till the bitter end.

 

Joy McKenzie

4 Years Ago

https://ro.pinterest.com/pin/635781672381069977/

On the above link, right above the gray bar going across that says VISIT, it says the source of the pin.... your page on flickr.... and clicking on flickr takes you there.

I was just saying that this Zunkle life person wasn't taking your work off Pinterest. He is taking it off Flickr.

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

The link takes me to that site, not to Flickr...so it was downloaded eventually from Flickr uploaded to zunkle.life, and pinned from there.So it is theft alright.

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

How can somebody contact Pinterest by email?

 

Jennifer White

4 Years Ago

Tibor - I'm curious how you discovered it? Did they change your personal pin, or did you search it?

Matthias - I spend a lot of time on Pinterest as you know. I try to keep my monthly followers up which is up and down as you know. I do find as you've stated before that videos and blog posts seem to get the most attention there. I've been watching my Google Analytics for my AW website and main website and have noticed a big drop in traffic from pinterest over the past year. I get a lot more traffic from other SM sites and I spend the most time on pinterest and twitter. I've had the thought for about a month that I was going to stop spending as much time there. I don't want too but I don't want to keep spinning my wheels there when I should be spending more time at the places giving me traffic.

I don't know what else to try differently. I feel like I've tried everything. I do more fresh pins, I've been trying to do more ad type and video pins which is helping monthly followers there, but not getting them to my website. Any suggestions on how to get them to click?

 

Tibor Tivadar Kui

4 Years Ago

@ Jennifer: At this time I discovered it by the suggestions given by Pinterest itself. I say this time because occasionally I do some reverse searches on the Internet as well...randomly...
@ Matthias : I did reported 2 times from the image itself...still nothing. Meantime I found that they have an email address copyright@pinterest.com for copyright infringements (https://policy.pinterest.com/en/copyright). I will wait until tomorrow. If those 2 reports still remain without effect, I will use the email. If still nothing I will go further...

 

Joy McKenzie

4 Years Ago

https://www.pinterest.com/about/copyright/dmca-pin/

If you fill this out *completely* they will act on it. But you have to answer all the questions and provide the link to your work online. And then give them a day or two.

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J S Ellington

4 Years Ago

I have my own website external to FAA in addition to the AW website. I have my own website claimed in Pinterest. I wish there was an option to claim an additional website (other than Instagram, Etsy, etc.), but can't find one.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Tina: At least I managed to do it in this Pin (during the beta phase): https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426786502196884931/

I tagged 10 products, all of them are linking to my Pixels Premium website.

Will try it on a new Idea Pin during the next few days or so :-)

 

Caroline Frank

2 Years Ago

I'm new at Pinterest and I am not sure how I should create a new pin with one of the products I am selling on FAA so it appears to come from my Pinterest account. When I go to my pixels shop website and use the Pinterest tab from there, the Pixels Pinterest account appears instead of my account on the top of that pin, and when I do it from FAA, their account appears instead of mine.
What's the right way to do this? :)

 

Yasser Elbermawey

2 Years Ago

thank you so much useful information

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi Caroline, great question. There are several options to save a Pin and the fact that FAA runs different sites (FAA, Pixels, Premium Website) can make it a bit complicated.

In short: the credit will usually go to the person or brand that claimed the domain (or subdomain). FAA claimed Finearamerica.com and Pixels.com.

It is possible to claim our Premium Website (which is a Pixels.com subdomain) with Pinterest. Every Pin that you save from a claimed Pixels Premium Website will show your Pinterest account as a source (and will benefit your statistics).

If you want to find out how to claim your Pixels Premium Website: the link is in one of the first posts of this thread (in the 'Pinterest Resources for Artists' section)

If you want to pin from your FAA or Pixels profile you can try using the Pin Builder (Create, Create Pin). This can help to credit the Pin to your account (but again, this depends on several factors).

Hope this helps!

 

James McCormack

2 Years Ago

@Caroline F
" come from my Pinterest account"

One way to do it is
1. Get all your text together - link to your site, title of piece, description etc.
2. Have a small (internet) version of your image ready
3. Create a new pin (in your Pinterest account) and insert all the text in the correct fields, including your link. Pinterest will take you to the page to verify it .

I keep a spreadsheet of all my titles, descriptions, links and a folder with small internet images - that's what I use to mount my Pinterest pins.
Make sure you keep your original pin so you can see al your statistics on that pin, a copy will not show this

 
C I

C I

C I

2 Years Ago

I am setting up a Pinterest account and wanted to bump this thread to the top of my watch list. So I could find it easily.

By the way, I have found the Pinterest business support people very helpful.

For example, they enabled my claim for my AW site. I asked: they gave me a text string to place in my AW about section; I applied the text and let them know; they 'forced through the claim' (their language); I removed the text. All took a few minutes, after an initial wait of a few hours. What a contrast to trying to contact Facebook!

R E V A D
REVAD.PIXELS.COM
C O D E D I M A G E S

 
C I

C I

C I

2 Years Ago

I have my account and, after a bit of a fidget, there are now some initial pins.

I have three boards. Two are public. One for my own art and one for other art, a way to contextualise my output.

I can be found at: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/REVADCODEDIMAGES/ .

I really don’t do the follow me follow back backscratching thing. But, I always check out those who follow me and I will follow accounts I connect with. But, no promises.

R E V A D
REVAD.PIXELS.COM
C O D E D I M A G E S

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Do you know how to create Idea Pins and want more reach for them?

Pinterest is pushing Idea Pins big time. The latest thing is the 'Takes' feature. You can respond to an Idea Pin and create a Take (another Idea Pin). Your take will be seen together with the original Idea Pin.

This can expand your reach.

My Idea Pins usually get between 10000 and 100000 views, my best performer is at 1.9 Million views now.

Feel free to create a take on my most recent Idea Pin if you want: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426786502197907974/ Feel free to promote your Art.

I don't have the time to explain in detail how to create an Idea Pin or a Take but this should help: https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/share-an-idea-pin-take

Looking forward to see your Takes :-)

 

James McCormack

2 Years Ago

Thanks for this Matthias ! I have had some success with idea pins need to do more of them. I will try out this "Take" on Friday, once I have all my Halloween Idea pin complete.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi James, you're very welcome :-)

All of my new Idea Pins will be 'Take enabled' for the next time. You can see them all here on top of my profile: https://www.pinterest.com/hauserfoto/_created/

 

James McCormack

2 Years Ago

Matthias,
I had a look at this just now

Available for mobile, not web.

1. Tap an Idea Pin to open it
2.Tap the rectangle in the bottom-right corner of the Pin
3.Tap Create your take

I have no rectangle on the bottom right( or anywhere on any option) so no way to get to step 3 create your take.


Important detail:
I make idea pins from my computer, my phone pinterest tells me I must request access, when I request then tells me I already have access.( and i still don't on phone)

Takes are only available on Android/IOS, not web, perhaps my phone needs idea access before I can use takes.

I will see if support can help and keep you posted. May not be supported where I live as documentation has nothing on takes, only your link.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi James,

thanks for trying! Yes, mobile-only (on the app). Inside the rectangle is (should be) a + sign. Yes, could be the location. Writing to Pinterest support was the right thing.

Thanks again!

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Idea Pins seem to be the future of Pinterest. Here is one that combines product tags (they link back to my Pixels Premium Website), mentions (of other accounts), and some nice music from the Pinterest music library:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/426786502198171077/

Feel free to create a Take. Repins appreciated :-)

 

Odyssey Images

2 Years Ago

Comment deleted

 

Miray Michael

2 Years Ago

Hello guys, i just made a pinterest account and willing to advertise my artworks using it. So i have a question, do you create pins of your artworks or share your artwork through the “P” button in FAA?

 

James McCormack

2 Years Ago

Hi Miray,

Personally I create my own pins and link to here, in another thread here for Pinterest sharing, I use the P button.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi Miray, I do both :-)

 

Miray Michael

2 Years Ago

James & Matthias,
Thank u for ur reply.
I think i wasnt clear enough, i mean how do u get ur work there on pinterest? Do use the p button or create pins from scratch? What’s the difference tho?

 

Miray Michael

2 Years Ago

When I share my artwork using the P button, it doesn’t show in the “created pins” section, is that the difference or is it a glitch?

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi Miray, sorry! I overlooked your post. Only Pins that lead to a claimed website may show in the created section. It is possible to claim the Pixels Premium website with Pinterest.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Hi, I don't want to open a new discussion for this message so I will post it here:

I have too many things on my plate right now so I will close my 'Fine Art America Art Prints for sale' for new contributors.

The board will continue to exist but no new artists will be allowed to join.

All artists that do not follow the rules of the board (see board description) will be removed from the board soon.

I may open the board for new contributors again later, don't know yet :-)

 

Miray Michael

2 Years Ago

Matthias,
Alright, thank you!

Well, i have another question, do you guys normally upload to pinterest the original artwork photo (with reduced resolution) or do you upload the product photo (for example tshirt) with the artwork on it? I’m worried that my artworks get downloaded and printed by people (from pinterest), but at the same time I’m scared that people won’t view my photos as they won’t look as interesting when they are applied on products.

 

Matthias Hauser

2 Years Ago

Miray, I do both. Plus, I create custom Pins like this one: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/349310514859857967/ It contains the artwork and a text overlay.

The preview images on FAA are about 900 pixels on the long side. I never upload high-res images to Pinterest but up to 900 or 1000 pixels (for the artwork) are okay for me. The Pin itself can be larger (for example 1000x1500 pixel).

Hope this helps!

 

Deborah Stephens

1 Year Ago

How? I have plenty of paintings here. Haven't sold not one. So will this help? How?

 

Nicko Prints

1 Year Ago

@Matthias, I need some help. The pins that have the url of my Pixels website with custom domain Nickoprints.com are not showing in Pinterest search.
Last year when I promoted my images with the FineArtAmerica link, there was no problem.
But when I promoted with my link Nickoprints.com, no one of them is showing in search.
First I though it was because I put many hastatgs in the descriptions of the pins. I deleted the hashtags, but no result, even after more than a week.
It could be a problem because my domain is very new (less than 3 months old), or am I doing something wrong on Pinterest?
This is my Pinterest page: https://ro.pinterest.com/nickoprints

 

Matthias Hauser

1 Year Ago

@Deborah: Pinterest can help get more views and sales. Please read the first post of this discussion to get started (What is Pinterest and how does it work? and Pinterest Basics)

@Nicko: It can take some weeks until a new Pin gets indexed. For more popular keywords Pinterest will not show all potential results but just the 'best ones' -- just as FAA and others do. What really would help for better visibility: claim your website with Pinterest. This way they know that the content is yours.

Hope this helps!

 

Matthias Hauser

1 Year Ago

@all: I will close this for now. I just don't find enough time at the moment to answer your Pinterest questions, sorry!

If you have problems with pinning from FAA please contact Pinterest support or FAA support.

If you want some free advice (or need paid Pinterest Management) please take a look at my Pinterest related blog https://www.elke.com

In case I find more time I may ask Abbie to re-open this. But I can't promise.

 

This discussion is closed.