Pinterest marketing is a powerful tool for driving traffic and leads, but if you want to truly succeed on the platform, there are a few things you need to have in place before getting started.
If you’re anything like me, the idea of starting something new is a lot more exciting than actually doing the starting. If it requires any more brain power than it takes to open up Instagram and start scrolling, it’s getting pushed down the to-do list.
Unfortunately, that old saying about how “if you fail to prepare, you prepare to fail” does hold some degree of truth…
Pinterest is one of those marketing strategies that can’t stand on its own if you want to get the most out of it. And if you’re planning on DIYing it, I promise you it’s a lot easier to start with the foundations in place rather than trying to do it all at the same time.
That’s why I’m sharing the 5 things you need to have before starting Pinterest marketing so you can maximize its power for your brand in 2025!
But first, is Pinterest marketing right for your business?
This might sound surprising coming from a Pinterest marketer, but not every business belongs on Pinterest. Sometimes it’s a case of the brand or audience not being the right fit for Pinterest, and sometimes it’s a case of it’s not right for you yet.
And sometimes, Pinterest might be a good fit on the surface, but if you feel good about your current lead generation, you don’t technically need to be on Pinterest. But since you’re here, I’m guessing you’re at least a little bit curious about whether Pinterest can help you drive more leads and sales…
What types of businesses does Pinterest not work for?
Generally, there are some types of businesses that just won’t see much success on the platform. For example, local, brick-and-mortar businesses that don’t have any kind of online presence or e-commerce component might not see results on Pinterest.
Of course, “results” is a pretty vague term that you have to define for your own business, but if we think about Pinterest results more generally as increasing brand awareness and website traffic with the goal of increasing income, Pinterest isn’t going to be it for those local stores.
That’s not to say all local businesses aren’t a good fit for Pinterest. Some service-based businesses, like photographers, interior designers, and event planners can see a lot of success on Pinterest in their specific area. That’s because the Pinterest users interested in those services are typically searching with specific location-based keywords.
Determining whether or not your business can benefit from Pinterest is all about where your audience is and what you want to get out of Pinterest marketing.
The other deciding factor of whether or not you should start using Pinterest for your business is if your business is currently ready for Pinterest.
When is the right time to start using Pinterest for business?
I talk a lot about how Pinterest is a long-term platform that takes time to grow. And while that’s true, it also leads to a few business owners asking me if they should start Pinterest at the very beginning of their business.
My answer? Probably not.
Pinterest doesn’t come first in the marketing order of operations, at least in my opinion.
Your other marketing efforts and overall customer journey should be prioritized first, and then Pinterest can come in to accelerate things.
5 Essentials You Need Before Starting Pinterest Marketing
1. You need to have a website
Sorry not sorry! This is a non-negotiable for Pinterest marketing success.
You’ll hear people say you can use Pinterest without a website, and while you can, that doesn’t mean you should. It’s my job as a Pinterest marketer focused on sustainable, ethical, and effective marketing strategies to help you do work that actually works.
And when it comes to the debate of whether or not you need to have a website to use Pinterest for your business, you’ll see much better results when you have a website to send users to, both in terms of performance on the platform and in actual conversions.
Pinterest prefers pins that link to your claimed domain
One of Pinterest’s biggest priorities is keeping its platform free of spam and unoriginal content (as much as possible — don’t get me started on AI). To do this, Pinterest allows you to “claim” your website domain, telling Pinterest that the content on that website is yours.
When you pin to that website, Pinterest has greater trust in the content because they know it’s originally yours. If you’re pinning to third-party services like Linktree, Stan Store, or Milkshake, or saving from other social platforms like Instagram or TikTok, those pins likely won’t perform as well.
You have more control over the user experience on your own website
When a Pinterest user lands on your Instagram post or LTK, it’s really easy for them to end up on another creator’s profile or leaving the page altogether.
On the flip side, when users end up on your website, they’re much more likely to keep browsing around on your site — as long as you’ve optimized your website for Pinterest traffic, that is.
2. You need to be consistently publishing long-form content before getting started with Pinterest marketing
I don’t care if it’s blog posts, podcast episode transcripts, or repurposed YouTube videos, but that educational, long-form content posted on your website is another Pinterest must-have!
Pinterest users are buyers, but they’re also researchers. Your Pinterest audience is a lot more “cold” to you than your following on other platforms, so they’ll probably need a bit more info before making a purchase or download.
Especially if you’re a service provider or creative entrepreneur trying to sell higher-ticket services and programs, you’re going to need more than just a sales page to get people to click and stick around.
Having some sort of value-add, educational content is super important especially at the beginning of your Pinterest marketing journey so you can start to build traction on the platform.
And personally, I think blogging consistently is the best for Pinterest. Here’s why.
I’d highly recommend creating 2-4 new pieces of content every month, but if you can’t do that, do whatever you can.
The other reason I recommend posting long-form content like blogs consistently is because it gives us more URLs to work with. Pinterest doesn’t want you to pin the same link over and over again.
Sooooo, if you have a lot of links to freebies, sales pages, what have you, you can get away with having a little bit less content.
In that case, I’d recommend writing at least 4-5 evergreen, cornerstone blog posts that you can continuously pin to along with your other offers and content.
3. Develop a lead magnet to call in your target audience
While I do think that blogging is the most essential part of preparing to start Pinterest marketing, having an optimized email marketing strategy is another important step in a high-converting Pinterest funnel.
So what does that email marketing strategy look like?
Ideally, you’ll have a lead magnet that:
- Calls in the right audience,
- At the right stage in their journey,
- And leads seamlessly into your primary offer
If you want to learn exactly how to do all that, I’d highly suggest taking Between the Lines Copy’s Email Chapter! This evergreen email marketing course is the perfect primer to a successful lead magnet + newsletter strategy.
BTW, you can save 10% if you use the code “BURK”. Or you can pay full price if you want but like… why?
Using a highly desirable lead magnet to grow your email list with Pinterest is much more effective than trying to get people to subscribe just to “stay in touch”. It also gives you yet another thing to pin on the platform!
4. Create a landing page for Pinterest
If you’re already taking the time to properly prepare to start Pinterest marketing, don’t skip this step! Having a lead magnet landing page hosted on your own website is ridiculously beneficial from a Pinterest marketing standpoint.
Benefits of Having Your Own Landing Page
- Pinterest prefers links to your claimed domain (remember the whole “you need to have a website thing?)
- You can give more context and info, increasing the chance of conversion
- Readers can easily navigate through the rest of your website
Getting ready to create yours? Here’s everything to include in your lead magnet landing page!
5. Optimize your blog posts for Pinterest traffic
Once you have a website, long-form content on that website, and a way to nurture your audience further with an email list, you need to have a clear plan of action for users after they consume your content.
We want your Pinterest traffic to convert to sales, leads, and dream clients, not just vanity metrics that don’t really do much for your bottom line.
The best way to do that is by making sure your blog posts have clear and intentional calls to action. Your blog CTAs should be relevant to the topic of the blog and included throughout the content of the post, not just in the conclusion!
Related Posts to Check Out:
More Ways to Prepare to Start Pinterest Marketing
While those 5 things are the absolute essentials you need before getting started with Pinterest, here are some other things you can do to prepare, whether you’re planning on doing it yourself or outsourcing to a Pinterest manager like me:
Organize all your brand assets
Digital organization is the key to a streamlined Pinterest workflow. Get a head start on it so you can jump right into content creation when you’re ready!
Start curating on-brand stock imagery
There’s nothing more frustrating than having to stop the flow of work to scour Canva for the perfect stock photo. You can either set aside a chunk of time to curate an entire library of on-brand stock photos, or add stock images you find to a consolidated folder as you run across them!
Familiarize yourself with Pinterest
Even if you plan to outsource your Pinterest marketing, having a baseline knowledge of how the platform works will help you feel more empowered to understand what’s going on
Figure out your goals from the platform
What’s going to make the time, money, and/or effort you spend on Pinterest marketing “worth it” for you? Is it a new client inquiry? A sale? A certain number of email subscribers?
Whatever it is, be clear on your goals so you can accurately determine how Pinterest is working for you and your business.
The One Thing You Don’t Need to Start Using Pinterest for Your Business
You don’t have to have digital products or a certain income level to use Pinterest.
You can absolutely market high-ticket services and book clients from Pinterest. Pinterest is a highly effective lead generation tool, and the idea that it’s only used for selling products or making passive income is a complete misunderstanding.
The most important component of success on Pinterest is having a plan to create consistent content that serves your target audience. If you have that, Pinterest can be beneficial whether you have 100 followers or 100,000.
Need help creating that plan? Grab the replay of the Pinterest Content Strategy workshop, where we go over exactly what it takes to succeed on Pinterest, what kind of content works best for Pinterest, and how to create a workflow to get that content on Pinterest!
Ready to get started? Here are your next steps…
So you’ve checked all the boxes, posted all your blogs, and double-checked those CTAs. Now what?
It’s time to start building your on-Pinterest foundation! Now that your business and marketing funnel are prepped for Pinterest success, you actually have to do the Pinterest part of things.
You can grab the free Pinterest Blueprint to follow along with every step of creating and optimizing your PInterest business account for maximum visibility and conversion!
