This is a guest post from Tasha DaCosta of Lady Boss Studio.
Did you know that Pinterest can be a serious powerhouse when it comes to increasing traffic to your website or blog and for growing your email list with free opt-in offers?
When you’re looking to build your email list with Pinterest, there needs to be a plan. There always needs to be a plan. 📝
The good news is, I HAVE the plan – the plan I used to focus on Pinterest and grow my email list by 700% in just a few months. And I’m super excited to share it with you!
The even better news is that IT DOESN’T matter what your niche, business, and blog are about. You can market your opt-in offers – ebooks, webinars, checklists, etc. on Pinterest and massively grow your list regardless of your topic. 📗
Content on Pinterest typically gains traction over time. Which means you need to implement the steps below now, so you can start getting more email subscribers as soon as possible.
Before we dive into the plan though, I want to make you sure you know why opt-in freebies are super important if you want to build a list with Pinterest, and why I’ve made them my jam!
So why the heck do you need to care so much about opt-in offers as you’re growing your email list on Pinterest?
Let me tell you, there are A LOT of reasons to build an email list with Pinterest. Here are the three most important ones.
1. Opt-in offers allow you to build your email list with your target audience – and Pinterest is a great place to use them. When you create opt-ins specifically for your target audience, you will build a list of subscribers that you know will love your content and want to support your biz.
An email list without the RIGHT subscribers for your brand won’t get you very far in terms of increasing your sales or building your empire.
2. Valuable opt-in offers work so much better than a generic, “Sign up for my email newsletter” offer. You may notice that many of the visits from Pinterest to your site are brand new visitors. This is great – it means people are discovering you and your content on the platform.
However, they’re likely to need more than a “get my newsletter” prompt to motivate them to hand over their precious email addresses. If you give your audience something of value right off the bat, they’re much more likely to jump on board with your brand!
3. Opt-in offers easily allow you to demonstrate authority and develop trust. If your potential clients haven’t heard of you before, they are much more likely to opt in for your freebies than make a purchase right away.
This in-between step allows you to give your reader value, establishes trust, and sets the stage for sealing the deal down the road in a very positive and non-pushy way.
So now that you understand why you need those opt-in freebies soo bad, let’s dive into how to get them noticed on the best marketing platform there is. It’s no secret, I crush hard on Pinterest. 💓
We’ve covered the why, so now let’s cover the how! Let’s go through the three places and ways to market your opt-in freebies on Pinterest to increase distribution and finally hit those subscriber goals you’ve been dreaming of.
PS – We had a fun discussion about Growing your email list on Pinterest, check it out!
Pinterest is looking to you, the content creator, to provide context for your Pins. With that aim, they pay the most attention to the first Board on which you save a new Pin. So, your “How to get to 10K on Instagram” Pin should be saved to your “Instagram Marketing” Board before it goes to your “Social Media Tips” Board or your “My Blog Posts” Board.
That first save tells Pinterest that your Pin and the content linked from the Pin are about Instagram Marketing. This allows Pinterest to understand and surface your Pin to the right people and in the right search results.
While Pinners can search for content and free resources via individual Pins, they can also search for Boards that are entirely dedicated to these. Your own followers in particular may want to find all your offers in one spot.
This is the perfect way to market all of your opt-in freebies in one convenient place for your ideal reader to fall in love with.
You also don’t need to only include your own freebies, either. Fill up your Board with other valuable resources related to your topic if you like!
Kyla, from Dish It Out Social, does an excellent job of this with her Blogging and Freebies Board. She uses it to showcase her opt-in freebies, but also includes Pins from other websites that she knows her audience will love!
Your audience will also love that you’re providing them with great value, no matter the source. This is how you Pin consistently and supply a steady stream of engaging content.
As far as I’m concerned, there are two ways to promote your opt-in freebies with your Pins: create blog post Pins with visuals and create separate freebie Pins.
You’ll never know exactly what might attract a reader to click on your Pin, so why not cover all of your bases and increase those odds? Besides, creating more than one image for each piece of content is a good idea anyway. Each new image gives your page, post, or opt-in offer new life on Pinterest! 📌📌📌
These Pins show the actual Opt-in offer (or a visual representation of the offer) that Pinners can get when they check out the blog post.
Pinterest is a visual platform after all, so people are more likely to click on a Pin once they see what’s in store.
This one from Lady Boss Studio entices readers to check out the ultimate list of Pinterest Group Boards and shows them the free Group Boards List they can download.
This one is from Celina at Aligned with Celina. She explains the topic of her post and also shows you the free download.
As you can see, this can work for any niche!
Trust me, it’s as easy as it sounds! You place your opt-in freebies front and center on the Pin to grab as much attention as possible.
Sometimes, people might not want to dig in or read through an entire post because they just want the free goods.
It’s time to give it to them!
Here’s a great example from Alex Tooby where she is promoting her free Instagram course.
If you’re sitting there thinking that this all sounds great, but wondering how in the world you are going to create such pretty Pins, then be sure to check out our Pinterest and Social Media Templates!
We’ve got you fully covered!
Now that you know where to build a list with Pinterest by using opt ins and how to create Pins that convert, let’s have a quick chat about making it all work long term.
‘Cause you want your business and blog to be around long term, right?
This isn’t a one and done kinda deal. If you want max results and want to seriously explode your list, then you need consistency.
My opt-in freebies strategy takes almost no time at all and I’m able to grow my email list by 700-1,000 new subscribers per month.
And you can do the same!
There’s this special, beautiful, amazing tool that Tailwind has called SmartLoop.
It’s truly been a gift. Sign up with Pinterest.
I can set up all of my existing opt-in freebies to be posted on a cycle that I’ve chosen and Tailwind just works its magic. Therefore, whenever I have new opt-in freebies, I just add them to the Loop and move along with my day.
The clear, simple analytics in SmartLoop tell me when it’s time to refresh an image or if a particular Pin is simply not resonating well.
My freebies are consistently being pinned and marketed while I change diapers, cook dinner, oh, and sleep!
I hope you’re super geared up to market the heck out of your opt-in freebies now that you know how to make it happen.
Make sure you’ve got your freebies in your profile description, you’ve created a freebie Board, and given your readers drool-worthy Pins that they can’t help but click on and share.
Save this post on Pinterest so you can make sure you’ve covered every step and then come back to let us know how much your email list is growing because of it.
We want to hear from you!
Pin it for later: 📌
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View Comments
What about GDPR?
Do you have a particular concern, Sandra? It's something to keep in mind with all your marketing.
Hi Tasha, great advice and I am definitely going to start implementing!!
Hi Kylie, Thanks for taking the time to read through this post! Please be sure to let us know how you make out, we'd love to hear back from you!
Love this plan! Thanks for sharing.
Hi Reg, thanks for reading this post and thanks for your feedback!
Oh my goodness!! I think you wrote this post just for me!! I've been stuck for ages with my blog cause I just didn't really know how people promote their freebies with pins. I've just been plugging them into a blog post and hope for the best. I didn't even think to look for Pinterest boards that are specifically focused on freebies?!?! Who knew!! I'm so excited now! Maybe now I can finally get unstuck with my blog!
Hi Sandy, Thank you for your candid reply. I know it can be tough to get your email list and Opt-in Freebies off the ground! People searching Pinterest are already looking for specific information and letting them know you have free resources just for them just makes sense. Provide them with value that actually helps them, and you will start to grow your list with high-quality leads which will give you the opportunity to turn them into true brand fans!
Loved the article but I’m a little confused about a few things you mentioned. I’ve struggled for do long to grow and after after 8 months I have not one iota of growth to show for it. I wonder if there is s definition of terms somewhere. Like the difference between an impression and a view. Etc. in this article I didn’t understand what you meant about first pin to first board. I wish I had more Information about this.
Hi Lisa, thanks for your feedback! Let's see if we can do something about helping you grow your list with Pinterest. If you want to read more on Pinterest analytics, this article from Pinterest helps to explain the difference between the statistics: https://help.pinterest.com/en/business/article/pinterest-analytics. Now, in terms of where to Pin first. Whenever you add a Pin to Pinterest, you want to save it to whichever one of your boards is most relevant to the topic of that pin. This further helps Pinterest determine exactly what that pin is about. Try and save a Pin to the most specific board you have that relates to it. In the Example in the blog post, we mention saving your Instagram pin to your Instagram Strategy board first instead of just your Social Media Board.
Although the Social Media Board is still relevant, the Instagram board is more specific and will help Pinterest further classify what this Pin is about. I hope this helps you to clarify your questions but please reach out anytime if you need! :)
I am a Tailwind user. I liked your article. I want to know where I can get freebies so I can offer them on my pins?
You'll need to make them yourself, BUT it can be as simple as a checklist you allow people to download after a signup. You can do it with Mailchimp and just put the download link on the thank you page.
I really liked the idea of a freebie board! I do have an opt-in freebie on my site, but have been trying to brainstorm different ways to get people to signup. I will definitely create a dedicated board for these and make new signup bonuses for people as well. Thanks for the tip :)
Hi Courtney, Thanks for your feedback! A Freebie Board can be extremely beneficial and can really help to grow your email list. Be sure to come back and let us know how you make out with your Freebie Board!
I have personally found that freebie lists from Pinterest don't convert that well, and they are very trigger happy to complain when you send them an offer, no matter how much value you give them. They just want everything for free.
Hi Pam! When it comes to offering a freebie, you always need to be upfront with subscribers and let them know that they are joining your email list and receiving a freebie. You need to disclose that and have them agree before sending thems subsequent emails. As long as you set the expectation beforehand, most people are happy to receive news and updates, especially after you've given them great value with your Opt-in Freebie!
Pinterest is covered in content that touts offers, freebies, downloadables, etc. It all seems the same: overwhelming and spammy. I'm surprised that this blog is suggesting these sorts of tactics - I think Brands, Businesses and Marketers have an obligation to set their standards high in terms of delivering value to viewers, not just adding to the noise. Plus, your article says nothing about the hundreds of thousands of 'sweepers' and contest junkies who scour the internet for giveaways all the time. It's not quality acquisition.
Hi Becky, thank you for your feedback! Just to be clear, an Opt-in Freebie in this context is providing something of value such as an eBook, checklist, worksheet that helps readers further their understanding of a topic or helps them achieve a goal. In this case, we're not talking about contests or giveaways that anyone and everyone will sign up for. This is all about providing free value to your targeted audience in order to grow your email list with the right people. When you keep your target audience in mind and create valuable Freebies that will specifically help them, you not only grow your list more quickly, but you will grow it with higher quality leads. Please let us know if you have further questions or comments!
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