For TPT Sellers

Make the Most of Collaborative Pinterest Boards for TPT Sellers

Collaborative Pinterest Board Tips for TPT SellersDid you join some collaborative Pinterest boards to market your Teachers Pay Teachers products? Does clicking the pin it button give you anxiety now?

tumblr_m4jcnoS2og1r573sro1_500If so, I’m glad you are here! Check out the ideas below to learn how to successfully pin your products without giving yourself an ulcer.

#1 Marketing on Pinterest is not the same as pinning for fun in your personal life. Treat it like part of your job.

tumblr_m5ewk8oULm1qke7z9o1_500You need to prepare to keep organized records, frequently check & follow board rules, & research to find high quality related pins to surround your promotional pins. If you are not willing to do some work then don’t join collaborative boards. I’ve heard people complain about being asked to find these types of pins saying that they just want to pin their own products. They are missing the point- if you’re not willing to put in some time and help maintain the quality of the boards you join those boards will lose followers and you will not increase your sales. You’ll be wasting your time on Pinterest (and annoying a lot of other people while you are at it)

#2 Pinning your products on unrelated boards is not worth it.

anigif_enhanced-buzz-10711-1349223484-1Valentine’s Day clip art? Don’t pin it on a back to school board. Halloween making words activity? Don’t pin it on a Christmas board. End of the year memory book? Don’t pin it on a Thanksgiving board. Those are all real examples of pins I’ve had to go through and delete from the collaborative boards that I host.

#3 Avoid those itty bitty, blurry, black & white pins.

anigif_enhanced-buzz-24163-1371535019-6Don’t add to Grumpy Cat’s misery- avoid pinning the tiny thumbnails from your TPT product page. Read more here or here or here for more tips on creating high quality pins.

#4 Super long pins should be rare.

h92C645A8And those long pins with every thumbnail for your product crammed in? It’s like a page from Where’s Waldo but no one knows what Waldo looks like. Not a great way to get people interested in your product. Be thoughtful and strategic about longer pins.

#5 Surround your promotional pin with high quality and related free pins.

tumblr_m80wfrzhJj1qmlkrvo1_500

I can’t stop looking at these beautifully curated boards!

Check out this post for some examples of this strategy. I think this is even more important on collaborative boards than on your personal boards. Your family & friends will most likely have more patience with your random pinning than potential customers will. Contributing visually dynamic and meaningful pins to collaborative boards is the best way to gain followers. More followers on collaborative boards will lead to more sales for everyone.

#6 Try not to be too upset if you get removed from boards if you were not following the rules.

leslie knopeMarketing on Pinterest has a learning curve and you’ll probably make mistakes along the way. It’s a bummer to be taken off of popular boards but it doesn’t mean that you can’t ask to rejoin again later, being sure to follow all of the rules. There will always be more boards to join so don’t beat yourself up about any mistakes. Remember, you can always start your own collaborative boards too.

#7 Never pin the same product to any collaborative board without waiting at least 24 hours.

shut it downI’ve said this one before but it is so important. The collaborative boards that are the most helpful have the most followers. Those followers are almost all following the same group of collaborative boards that you are pinning to. You are not reaching a different group of customers by pinning to a different board in the next 5 minutes. Followers will leave when their feeds become full of the same product covers and nothing else.

Pinterest can be an awesome tool for your TPT store and still be a fun place to do “important research” (waste time at all hours!)

tumblr_m8f222gten1r1gnro

By the way, if you’re a K-2 TPT seller, blogger, or both and you’d like to join my collaborative boards just leave me a comment below & I’ll be glad to add you! Happy pinning!

anigif_enhanced-buzz-24896-1389288384-9

all image credits click here , here, here, here, here, here, here, here

Check out the amazing Erica Bohrer’s blog for lots of incredible tips for selling on TPT!

Erica Bohrer's Getting Started on TPT Button

photo signature_zpsece75aca.png


Subscribe

Sign up to receive updates & special offers in your inbox.

Comments

    • Diana says

      Hi Theresa! Your comment got stuck in my spam folder somehow so I’m sorry for my late reply 🙁 I would love to add you to my boards- just be sure to follow them first so pinterest will let me add you. I’ll try to add you again in a bit & fingers crossed it will go through. Thanks for visiting! 🙂

  4. says

    You have great Pinterest boards and this post is a great reminder for everyone! Nothing worse than only seeing boring product covers replace all the beautiful things that used to be in your Pinterest feed. I’m all for quality pinning! I’m already on some of your collaborative boards, so thanks for the invites!
    Kim from Life Over C’s

      • says

        I should never touch my computer before coffee!! I accidentally pressed ignore instead of accept. Would you mind sending me the request again. I don’t even remember which board it was. 🙂 http://www.pinterest.com/lifeovercs

        Thanks! So sorry about that. I’m off to drink some more coffee! (It is morning on my side of the world. )

        • Diana says

          No problem at all! I think it was just the back to school board so I sent you another invite for that one. My other boards say that you have already been added but let me know if that is a mistake- sometimes pinterest can be a little glitchy. 🙂

  8. Kristen says

    Diana,
    Your board are amazing. You have them organized so specifically. That will be my task over the next week. Your tips are fantastic for building an audience. Do you pin daily? I would love to join your collaborative boards. I’ve already followed all of yours. Thank you so much for the opportunity.

    http://www.pinterest.com/kristenkonechy/pins/

    Kristen

    • Diana says

      Hi Kristen! Thanks for your nice comment! I do pin daily but usually in 10-15 minute little bursts a few times a day- luckily I still really enjoy pinning so it doesn’t feel like too much of a chore. I’m off to add you to the boards. 🙂

    • Diana says

      Hi! I just tried to add you & pinterest wouldn’t let me 🙁 Sometimes that means that you just need to double check that you are following the boards you want to be added to and sometimes it just means that pinterest is being cranky 😉 I’ll try to add you again in a bit & fingers crossed it will work this time! Thanks for commenting 🙂

    • Diana says

      Hi Jessica- thanks so much for visiting my blog! I just checked out your new store & I love your St. Patrick’s Day unit- it looks super cute (I’m your new follower too!) TPT is so much fun and so addictive 🙂 I would love to add you to my boards but pinterest won’t let me do that until you first click follow on the boards you would like to be added to. Sometimes even then it can have a 24 hour lag time before it will let me add you so I’ll try again in a bit.

    • Diana says

      Oh my goodness your pinterest boards are awesome!! 🙂 I think pinterest is feeling a little glitchy tonight because it wouldn’t let me add you to the boards but I’ll try again in a bit. Thanks for visiting my blog!

    • Diana says

      Hi Laura! I just sent you invites to all of my boards in case you are interested in joining those ones too- thanks for stopping by! 🙂

    • Diana says

      I just sent you the invites- thanks so much for visiting my blog! I am a big fan of your store 🙂

    • Diana says

      Hi Donna! Thanks for stopping by my blog. I just tried to add you to the boards and pinterest wouldn’t let me- it can be fussy sometimes with the collaborative boards. I’ll try again to add you and hopefully it will go through this time. Thanks! 🙂

    • Diana says

      Hi Jennifer! For pinerest to let me add you to the boards you have to first follow the boards you’d like to join. Then I can add you and you can start pinning. Once you are a member of a collaborative board all you have to do is click pin it as usual and you’ll see the name of the collaborative boards you belong to in the drop down menu of boards to choose where to place your pin. Let me know if you have any other questions & I’ll be happy to try to help 🙂 Diana

    • Diana says

      Hi Karri! Thanks so much for visiting my blog. I added you to my boards so just let me know if the invites didn’t go through and I’ll send them again. Happy Pinning!

    • Diana says

      Hi! I’d love to add you to the boards. Just be sure to follow the boards first so pinterest will let me send you the invites. Thanks for stopping by! Diana 🙂

    • Diana says

      Thanks Jennifer! Pinterest isn’t letting me send you the invites which can sometimes mean that you first need to follow me before they will let me send invites. I’ll try again though & hopefully they will go through. Diana

    • Diana says

      Thanks Vanessa! I just sent you the invites- be sure to let me know if they don’t go through. Diana 🙂

  30. Chasity Comerford says

    Thanks for taking the time to post this. I’m in the beginning stages of opening my TPT store and found this post while researching. I’d also like to be added to your board if possible. Have a beautiful day. http://www.pinterest.com/7creations

    • Diana says

      Thanks, Chastity! I I tried to add you but I don’t think I have the correct pinterest page for you. Let me know about your link and I’ll try to send the invites again. Diana 🙂

    • Diana says

      Thanks, Jen! I just sent you the invites. Let me know if you’d like to join any other boards as well. Diana 🙂

    • Diana says

      Thanks Jennifer! 🙂 I just tried to send you an invite but pinterest is not cooperating with me at the moment… I’ll try again & hopefully it will be straightened out. Diana

    • Diana says

      Hi Sam, I tried to add you to my boards but pinterest wouldn’t let me… sometimes it’s just glitchy but sometimes it means you need to follow my boards before it will let you be added. I’ll try again later 🙂

  39. says

    Hello!!
    This is very helpful article and i like the way you select the picture with it…u must be a happy teacher….I would love to join your collaborative pinterest boards.

    • Diana says

      Hi Amy! I tried to send you invites but they wouldn’t go through. Sometimes it means that you need to first follow the boards you’d like to join and sometimes it just means pinterest is being cranky 😉 I’ll try to send them again in a bit and hopefully it will work for us. Thanks! Diana

  43. Beth says

    Thank you so much for the very informative post. As someone who is just starting to promote their products on TpT, I found it very useful. I have started following some of your boards and would love to collaborate on them if there are still openings. Here is my info:

    https://www.pinterest.com/bidettel/

    Thanks,
    Beth

    • Diana says

      Hi Jessie! I just tried to add you but pinterest wouldn’t let me. That can sometimes mean that you first need to follow me before it will let me add you. Sometimes pinterest is just glitchy though too so I will try again later to add you. Thanks 🙂 Diana

    • Diana says

      Pinterest wouldn’t let me add you so be sure you are following the boards you’d like to join and I’ll try to resend the invitations. Sometimes pinterest is just being glitchy though and the invites will come in later. Let me know if they don’t show up for you. Thanks! Diana 🙂

  48. says

    Hi! I’m new to selling on TPT and I have not heard of collaborative boards. I’m a fourth grade teacher, so my resources are more geared toward 3-5, so I’m not sure if your boards would be good for me. How do I find ones that are at my grade level? Thanks so much!! So much to learn, so much to do!! I’m trying to do all I can to get my products out there! Thanks~Jen

    • Diana says

      Hi Jen! Pinterest can definitely be overwhelming when you start trying to market your products instead of just enjoying your personal account! I would be happy to add you to my 3rd, 4th, & 5th grade boards. Just leave your pinterest link below and I’ll send you the invites. To find other upper grade boards you can try looking at accounts of upper grade TPT sellers and seeing which collaborative boards they are a part of. Not all boards are adding new pinners but it’s worth a shot to ask and find out. Good luck! 🙂 Diana

  56. Kristen says

    Hi Diana!

    Loved this post. It was very helpful since I am new to Teachers Pay Teachers and have been looking into collaborative boards on Pinterest! I would love to join your 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade boards since I am a 4th grade teacher. I’ve already followed your boards 🙂

    https://www.pinterest.com/kristengutt/

    Thanks so much!
    Kristen

  57. Kelly Ganzenmuller says

    I am so glad you wrote this post! Very helpful and thorough! I would love to be added to your collaborative board! Thank you!!!!!

  62. Lisa says

    Such awesome advice!! I will have to save all this information! I would love to collaborate on your collaborative boards, I’m K2 special Ed

  68. Hope Newport says

    Katie,

    All of your posts on Pinterest boards and Pinterest etiquette are so helpful. I cannot believe I have been pinning in a world without knowing all of this or joining groups for years. I am ready to become a more professional pinner though and would love to join your group if you still have room. 🙂

    Hope
    http://www.pinterest.com/teachwithhope

  69. Marie (Toni) Echaves says

    I am just beginning to sell on TPT and just learning to use Pinterest. I would love to join your collaborative boards.

  74. says

    Great advice!!! Thank you!! If you’re interested, i will love to collaborate on your board. I’m a k-2 teacher in a Dual Language setting so all my products are in Spanish.

Trackbacks