Guest Post by the sterkly CPA network
Pinterest (which is pronounced pin-terest) is a social bookmarking site which enables users to “pin” their interests, as images, to categorized boards.
This relatively new digital sharing platform has thrived in the online jungle, where content is king.
This content is gleaned through user expression; sharing interests and making recommendations via pins, repins, votes, liking, and sharing to other social media platforms. The platform is easy to use, categorized extremely well and very present-future in the space-time continuum.
I would like to take a moment to let my inner-philosopher override the internet marketer in me to make a point of just how present-future positioned this social networking tool really is...
While most social media sites carry posts ex post facto (pun intended) that end up being pushed down a wall and ultimately getting lost in time, Pinterest does just the opposite. The philosophical idea behind Pinterest is more desire oriented, “what do I want…?” Is it a honeymoon destination? Or perhaps a DIY plant arrangement?
The categorized themes of Pinterest know no bounds and include everything from architecture to hair & beauty, graphic design to crafts, food to apparel and much, much more. Even weddings tend to be more inspirationally focused as compared to most past-present oriented social networking platforms.
Okay, enough of the love-fest. This is where I let my inner-marketer freak flag fly.
What’s really cool about Pinterest is that there are several ways affiliates can utilize Pinterest for offer promotion...
Let’s start with the most monetizable of these options: good ole’ display advertising – or in Pinterest terms, vision board referrals. With each pin, you are able to post images from the web to your board in just a couple clicks. You have the ability to link to wherever you’d like, and this is why affiliates can essentially use Pinterest as their direct traffic source or publisher site.
When first posting an image to Pinterest, the default link associated with the image post will actually be generated by SkimLinks, who serves as an affiliate to Pinterest to monetize on merchant offers.
Once you create a pin, however, you may immediately go back and edit the URL of your pinned offer to include your affiliate link and avoid the SkimLinks override. Please note that it will not suffice to insert your affiliate link during your initial pinning- rather, you must go back and edit the URL after your pin has been posted to ensure the conversion path includes your affiliate link.
It really doesn’t get any easier than to have pre-determined categories for targeting, paired with über amounts of demographic data to optimize with.
Pinterest is emerging as one of today’s fundamental forms of B2C marketing. Your pins essentially go into auto-pilot with features such as repining. Your pin could even go viral, in which fellow “Pinteresters” promote your brand awareness on a massive scale.
Also, by adding a “Pin It” button to your site, you allow visitors to pin offers from your site to their own Pinterest board.
Merchants may sell their products on Pinterest much like they would on Etsy by posting in the “gifts” section. Many merchants even hold repin contests to promote their offers. At the very least, the SEO benefits of backlinking to the #22 ranked site in America and #122 in the world (according to Alexa) cannot hurt.
Although every new platform is upsold in reviews for affiliate potential, Pinterest really stands out among its crowd in that it is able to keep users engaged for long periods of time and has the data to back it up.
A recent comScore study titled “What does the Louis CK Experiment Mean for the Future of Digital Content Distribution?” found that the average Pinterest user spends about 1.5 hours per month on the site and 15+ minutes per session. comScore also found that Pinterest’s unique visitor growth has proven to be outstanding. Check it out:
…not to mention current Experian Hitwise Data ranks Pinterest as the #5 top social networking site:
Taking into account their massive-yet-steady growth, their present-future minded theme, their simple pin-and-post display platform, and their religiously followed pre-determined categories, I’d say Pinterest is definitely worth a shot!
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much would those thousand words cost you in a CPC campaign?
- - - - - - - - - -
This article is provided by the sterkly CPA network and software bundling program which is the pioneer in bundled software & plugin offers for publishers. Join the pride to get paid for promoting free software apps such as FreeTwitTube, Overapps and ezLooker, a craigslist browsing tool.
About Lynn Terry
Also be sure to grab this FREE guide: "Learn How to Create Mini Niche Sites with Pinterest and Tumblr" from Traci Knoppe at http://pinterest.genesisblogging.com/ Enjoy! 😉
Thanks Lynn! 🙂
Thanks, Ma'am Traci for sharing your Free guide on creating mini niche sites with Pinterest and Tumblr. Your tips opened up my eyes to a new avenue of earning money online.
You are most welcome! 🙂
Great article. Thanks so much for this great encouragement and inspiration. I already knew what a fun site it was so I doubly appreciate this.
I'm really curious about Pinterest, I just started using it and I feel like it has a huge marketing potential!
Thanks for sharing this; I've been playing with pinterest and it can be a lot of fun.
Thanks Lynn for sharing Traci with me. Pinterest seemed very overwhelming and now I can see how to pin, repin better once I dive in. Some say fun, I am saying where. I'm sure I will get there.
Pinterest seems like a really nice thing and have got me really excited I must say, Lynn. I think it is the latest trend that will make affiliate marketing much more interesting and fun. I like your post and the content that you have put in they seem very helpful. I am hoping to reap the benefits of the system soon.
Thank you Lynn (and sterkly) for this article, very helpful!
I'm going to have to make me an account. I have yet to do so. Thanks Lynn and Sterkly for the information.
GREAT article Lynn. I had no idea that they were using SkimLinks! I don't know a lot about those except that Michelle MacPhearson said she was using them on a new site of hers.
The only links I have put on so far that don't direct users to my website were for free products I found that they might like because I wasn't sure of the "ethics" of using an affiliate link without disclosure. What are your thoughts on that?
So I guess even the links I posted to free kindle books were replaced by SkimLinks? hmmm, I had hoped that some of those would convert to sales as the pinners looked around Amazon over the specified time period that applies for Amazon affiliates... guess not huh?
Also, if you know more about SkimLinks it might be a great subject for a future article...hint, hint! LOL
Thanks again for this one!
Lynn, I can always count on you to have an article about the latest online craze. I didn't know about the skim thing so I guess I've got some editing to do on the pins that I do have up. Thanks for sharing.
CJ states that you must include their complete html code including image source. When I enter this on a pinterest picture, it says invalid URL. Any ideas?
CJ states:
"You must include all the above html in your links. Any missing html, including the image source, will prevent the link from tracking properly and result in a loss of commissions"
You know, hit like button on others interests or vote for something; sounds really interesting. Some people are equipped with unique hobbies or interests and this site will help us to know their thoughts and to share images with one another. Actually, the name itself is interesting. I will look forward to this site for more entertainment and I am really excited.
Lynn, this just proves once more that you are always on the cutting edge and out in front, always studying and sharing the nitty-gritty we need to know. Plus you always give some inside trick that is a MUST KNOW - like going back in and changing the url AFTERWARDS to solve the SkimLinks issue. Thanks for filling our Pinterest bucket with more good stuff. Just got Traci's report and anxious to devour it as well, thanks!
Pinterest is a great new marketing platform for affiliate marketers and social media marketers. Many are now curious how it works and how it will help them gain more traffic to sales funnels and grow their business and ultimately earn more bucks. I hope users will not abused it in the coming days.
Just downloaded my Pinterest and Tumbler Guide - Thank You so much.
I love Pinterest - can't wait to use for my affiliate marketing
Thanks very much for this great update on Pinterest, Lynn!
I'm at http://www.pinterest.com/DianaCWalker
I've only had my account for a couple of weeks but am addicted!
Haven't used it much for Affiliate marketing, but am getting more traffic to my sites. Haven't tried going in and changing the URL so far.
One Tip I have learned is -- When you Set Up your boards - Keep the Boards that are already provided - you can re-name them.
I think many people delete all the boards and add their own.
What happened with me (and maybe it is because automatically my original invitation went out to my Facebook friends) - was that I have about 400 or more now following most of my Boards... the ones I left intact.
But subsequently when I had people follow, some of the Boards that I added later, there are only 200 people following.
Am I explaining myself well?
I do realize that we can either follow "All" or just individual Boards of each person.
However, I do think that there is some advantage to keeping the original layout of Boards, and maybe adjusting the wording of the ones already set up.
Maybe it doesn't matter, but it seemed to make a difference for me.
What are your thoughts or experience on this, anyone?
Thanks
Diana
Hi Lynn,
Great article, I was looking for you on Pinterest using Pinterest search box, lots of Lynn Terry's. Searched for your name and pinterest together and found this article. I was hoping to click on your Pinterest Icon at Clicknewz but you don't have a link yet. Could you add one so it would make it easy to find your pins.
Thanks,
Mike
Hi Mike!
I don't actually have a Pinterest account set up for Internet Marketing. I do have one in my low carb niche, but that's it for now. 🙂