February 7, 2013 | L.R.Knost-Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources L.R.Knost-Little Hearts/Gentle Parenting Resources

Pinterest Savvy~Meet the Author

Today only, Pinterest Savvy is FREE on Kindle! To celebrate, Melissa Taylor is giving away a Kindle Fire HD on her blog, Imagination Soup!

If you’re like me you probably heard about Pinterest from a friend, signed up for an account and pinned a few cool pictures, but really had no clue what Pinterest really had to offer. I know I found myself trying to figure out Pinterest etiquette and how to create the best pinnable images and the best times of day to pin and so, so much more. Google was my go-to for looking for how-to’s, but sorting through all of the information and links was time-consuming and didn’t always yield the results I needed.

Enter Melissa Taylor, Pinterest ‘insider’ extraordinaire. I lucked into a pre-launch copy of her new book, Pinterest Savvy: How I Got 1 Million+ Followers, and all of my questions were answered so simply and clearly that I just had to share.

Here are just a few of the things Pinterest Savvy has to offer:

The basics of getting started
Pinterest etiquette tips
Best times of day/week to pin
How to create the best pinnable images
Tips for growing your business with Pinterest
Secrets from top pinners
And so much more!

Being an author of several books, myself, I’m always curious to hear from other authors about their experiences and motivations, so I emailed Melissa and asked her a few questions:

1. You have well over a million followers on Pinterest. I know you share all of your secrets in your new ebook, Pinterest Savvy, but can you share one or two here as a ‘sneak peek’?

Want more followers? Comment on pins and use hashtags when you pin and repin. Emphasize your niche and make Pinterest boards accordingly.

2. In addition to giving newcomers a very easy-to-read crash course in getting started on Pinterest, you also share some great tips for optimizing website traffic generated by your pins. What, in your experience, is the single most important tip for directing people to your website from Pinterest?

Make your own website “Pinnable”. In other words, be sure your images are amazing and interesting, and that you have a Pin It button installed.

3. Is there one tip you give in your book to small business owners that you could share briefly here?

Find the best way to connect with your specific audience, whether through YouTube videos, guest Pinners, contests, or partnerships.

4. What would you say to small businesses who haven’t taken advantage of the incredible opportunities for marketing available on Pinterest?

Pinterest is free marketing! The benefit of which will increase your online presence and brand awareness as well as your sales.

5. Your tips on creating the best photograph/graphic image for Pinterest are excellent. What’s the worst mistake you’ve seen people make with the images they pin from their websites?

Don’t leave your image titles as if they’ve just come from your camera. So no “DSC_404”. Instead, change the title to an accurate description such as “Top 10 Tips for Candle Making.”

6. Okay, last question. Many people who enjoy the kind of success you have tend to keep their secrets to themselves to guard their position. What prompted you to so openly share what you’ve learned about maximizing your presence on Pinterest?

More than sharing, it took me awhile to embrace that I had something to say that would help people be successful. A mentor of mine encouraged (pressured?) me into writing the book. I’m very grateful he did!

Also check out: 20 Parent Savvy Pinterest People to Follow

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imagination soup Melissa Taylor is an award-winning educator and writer. She writes primarily about education, children’s literature, and technology for publications online and in print such as Parenting.com, Scholastic Parent and Child, Babble.com, Colorado Parent Magazine, and others. Her first book, Book Love: Help Your Child Grow from Reluctant to Enthusiastic Reader, was published November 2012 to critical acclaim.