Pinteresting Strategies by Carly Campbell – an honest review!
I’ve been following Carly at Mommy on Purpose for awhile now, I just love her candid style and honest blogging. I had read the blurb on Pinteresting Strategies a number of times, and seen plenty of people recommending it.
But I was starting a blog on a zero budget and when there are so many blogging courses and eBooks out there, it’s hard to know what’s worth it. Pinteresting Strategies is the first blogging resource I’ve paid for and I am so glad I did!
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you click on them I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you.
About Pinteresting Strategies
When Carly initially put Pinteresting Strategies together it was an eBook, but she has since turned it into a course. I think mainly because Pinterest and it’s algorithms can be a bit of a moving target. So by hosting a course that people sign in to, Carly can keep it up to date and everyone can access the latest information. Win win!
What you’ll learn in Pinteresting Strategies
Carly’s course covers the following key points:
- Understanding how SEO works in Pinterest,
- How to set up your Pinterest account and boards the right way,
- Carly’s own strategy for manual pinning (that fast-tracked her to over 200k page views to her blog per month!), and
- How to track your progress, and know when to change tack (rather than pinning blindly).
First Impressions
My initial impression was that the course was quite short – which was fine, it’s not a $1000 course so I wasn’t expecting a massive amount of information. But let me tell you! Once I started going through it, gosh it is jam packed full of information. It’s the kind of thing you want to go through multiple times to really absorb the gems Carly has packed in. Lucky for us, she points out the most important bits of advice!
It’s tough to say whether it’s good for beginners, cos in reality everyone is a different level beginner. If you happened to have spent a bit of time on Pinterest already, just for personal use, but never blogged, then it’s definitely for you! And if you have blogged but are not that familiar with Pinterest, again – this is for you!
For me, I wasn’t a Pinterest user before I started a business account for my online store Manifest Your Vibes at the start of this year (2019), and then another account in June for my blog. So I can still remember pretty clearly all the basics I had to learn; setting up an account, creating a board and editing it, and creating new pins.
I guess I’m saying the course really is what it says – Pinteresting strategies. It’s not a beginners guide to Pinterest. It’s not just an intro. In saying that, I was never lost when going through the course. Carly makes it very easy to follow and throws in some videos so you can just follow along.
Advice to save for later.
I can see there are some things that I’m not ready for. Carly shows you how to check out how well a group board is serving you, but I just don’t have enough activity yet to be able to get the sort of insights that she gets. I’ve actually set up a task for myself ( I use Trello to keep track) for six months time, specifically to come back to Pinteresting Strategies and look over this bit again.
Related Posts: How to use Trello to organise and track your goals.
And I totally recommend doing this. When you starting out on any new venture, you’ll come across bits of advice that you know are gold, but you’re not really in a position yet to use. Note them down and give yourself a date to come back to it.
And advice to use right now. Like today!
And then there will be bits that you think you can use straight away.
So do it!
Carly puts so much emphasis on keywords, and shows a number of neat tricks to find the right keywords that I wanted to try it out straight away.
And just like when you see someone do a cool handstand and you think, oh I could so do that. And then you end up sort of crumpled up on the floor with a sprained wrist? 😉 Yep, that was sort of me. I was inspired mid-lesson to create a new pin and get it cranking through Pinterest. But even as I was uploading it I knew it was still pretty average :). But the point is, you have to start doing it. Without taking action and getting a feel for what’s good or bad, and hitting the odd awesome moment, you’ll never get anywhere.
My biggest take-away from Pinteresting Strategies?
Let me start with the runner up. Pinterest reach! There is no doubt, no doubt, that this strategy works. I started my Pinterest account for this blog brand-new on the 1st of June.
Note: The chart below shows the 31st of May, but here in New Zealand we’re ahead of the date/time game ;).
And I really didn’t know a whole lot about Pinterest. I was in there doing my thing, pinning, and stuff, getting a few small spikes on my own pins. But take a look at this and see if you can guess the date that I purchased Pinteresting Strategies. That’s how good it is!….
Yup, August 21. That, my friends, is an upward trend! Of course, it would be more impressive if I waited a few more weeks and got a massive increase, but I couldn’t wait to share this!
The most important takeaway?
But the most important takeaway I got from the course was clarity.
Understanding just how clear you need to be for people to find you. I understand that you need a niche (whether it’s very small, or a bit broader). And I understand that each blog should cover just one point. I understand that someone reading my blog, or looking at my Pinterest account, should be able to tell what I’m all about. Right?
But it’s not until you are trying to make a computer (specifically Pinterest’s algorithm) understand you, that it becomes crystal clear what that means. This course has made me rethink my boards, my categories on my blog and my overall approach in the best way!
Pinteresting Strategies is way more than learning how to manually pin on Pinterest. It’s about understanding SEO and teaching Pinterest about what you’re all about. I know that sounds a bit weird. But when I used to pin something, the suggested board that Pinterest came up with would be fairly random and often just the board I pinned most to. Now when I pin, Pinterest is almost always bang on where that pin should go.
Pinterest is getting to know me 🙂 We’re becoming friends. Not BFFs just yet, but definitely on our way!
You’ve got to start somewhere!
So maybe you’ve come here to check out the review because, like me, you’re on a pretty tight budget. Or maybe you are just overwhelmed by all the courses out there. I totally recommend this course! I think for what you’re paying, which is really not much compared to a lot of courses out there, you are totally getting great value. Carly knows what she is talking about!
And for me, just starting out, this was the perfect course to get ahead. Why not take advantage of other people’s knowledge and experience to get where you’re going faster?
Click here to enroll in Pinteresting Strategies today!
And if you’re still on the fence, why don’t you check out some of her free courses? You’ll get an idea of her teaching style and content, without having to commit to anything. There’s nothing to lose. Trust me, I know how important every cent is when you’re starting out!
Let me know if you found this review helpful! And if you’ve had your own success stories with Pinteresting Strategies or any other courses for blogging beginners feel free to share that too. 🙂
