The Secret To Designing Viral Pins
Today, I’m talking all about how you can create amazing click-worthy pins. Plus I’ll be showing you my own pin design secrets along with how my pins are doing on Pinterest (with my exact repin numbers).
Something I’ve been thinking about lately is… What exactly makes a pin go viral? Is there some secret recipe for creating viral pins?
Lately, I’ve been testing out some new pin designs on Pinterest.
The manual pinning strategy I discovered puts heavy emphasis on creating brand new pins and multiple pins for one blog post. For the longest time I dreaded creating new pins, and because of it, I really didn’t practice what I preached.
I was guilty of creating only one pin per post, maybe two if I had the inspiration. One of the best things about Pinterest is that you can create multiple pins for one URL and not have it considered a duplicate pin.
This means more chances for you to promote your content and get it circulating on Pinterest.
If you follow me on Pinterest, you might have noticed that I’ve been experimenting with some different pin designs over the last couple months… and it’s actually (dare I say) FUN for me to create them and see which ones are doing better than others.
So all this has gotten me thinking… why do some pins do better than others?
Is it the image, the colors, the fonts used or having compelling text overlay?
I honestly think that it is the perfect combo of all three of those elements along with a solid Pinterest strategy.
Your pins are the foundation of a winning Pinterest strategy.
When you have a beautifully designed pin, along with the strategies that will actually get your pins in front of your target audience… it’s the perfect recipe for a viral pin.
On the flip side, all the strategies that will help you get your pins seen by your target audience won’t matter if you have a pin that doesn’t engage people.
Let’s look at some of the pin designs I’ve been experimenting with along with their stats…
This pin (above) went mini-viral using only manual pinning. It had around 850 repins after 30 days.
After that pin went viral I decided to try and replicate it (but I made some slight changes). The pin above was saved ONLY to my Best of Board and my top 5 group boards using my manual pinning system. It got a flurry of repins resulting in over 100 repins in the first week.
I also created these templates, I have 3 or 4 in this style. But these 2 have done the best. The repins to date are 311 for the beginner’s guide and 418 for the manual pinning system after 45 days.
These are my newest pin templates. I just finished my first round of manual pinning with the podcast one and I’m happy with 167 repins to date after only 7 days. I’m still manually pinning the Pinterest SEO, the one to which I added a cursive font. After 3 days it only has 21 repins… we’ll see what happens with that one when I’m finished pinning it this month.
There are color variations and different layouts but you’ll notice that I use the same font in all of the above pins as well as making sure I brand them all with my website at the bottom.
Now, do I think you need to stick with the same colors and style in your pins?… Yes and no.
Here’s what I mean… you want pinners to be able to recognize YOUR pins in the feed because this helps build brand awareness. A lot of people say this is why you need to stick with the same pin style or template.
BUT… I have what’s called shiny pin syndrome… this is when I see beautifully designed pins pop up in my feed and I automatically think my pins suck! And I want to go and create shiny new ones. Can you relate?
Do I think that this is a bad thing? I used to feel that way but I love experimenting with different pins. A/B or A, B, C, and D testing different pin designs is one way you can really see what’s working.
The simple act of keeping your blog name or logo in the same spot on your pins will still give your pins familiarity. This will ensure you get recognized even if you experiment with off-brand pins.
Now, that brings us to… what is the secret to designing a viral pin?
And honestly, I have some theories but I don’t think there is an exact science to it. Here’s what I do know… if a pin isn’t driving traffic to your blog then you can and should create a shiny NEW pin. Try using a different headline or different colors or different fonts.
Here’s what I do know about pin design…
- Make sure you have a vertical pin. Pinterest has always recommended 600×900 px (but now they say pins will get cut off after 1260 px)
- Choose beautiful images that actually convey what your pin is about (if you’re using them)
- Make sure your text is large enough to be easily read from a mobile device. Over 80% of pinners are on mobile!
- You also need to make sure you’re writing a compelling headline on your pins to make sure you get that CLICK!
- Make sure you brand your pins with your blog name or logo
I would love to help you learn how to design better pins. That’s why I’ve decided to create a free challenge for you. The 5-Days to Better Pins Challenge will show you how to create better pins that will drive massive traffic to your blog. This 5-day challenge will be hosted live from April 30th to May 4th, 2018.
If you’re interested in joining us you can sign up below. I hope to see you there!
Awesome tips Kyla. I am still working to get my first viral pin but I feel it coming on. š
I love your tips Kyla and I am madly in love with all of your pinterest graphics. They’re perfect!
Great share Kyla. I’m struggling to design viral pins and this post has given me a new insight. I’ll steal your pin design ideas and try something similar. Thanks š
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Thank you so much for the advice! Interest is such a new way for me to express myself and Iām sure this will be so helpful for me. š