Pinterest is a powerful platform for driving traffic to your blog or business, and mastering a manual pinning strategy can significantly boost your reach and engagement. In the past, I struggled to boost traffic on Pinterest and I took multiple courses that all said the same thing: just pin more and suggested I use a scheduler to help me carry such a heavy pinning load. I did exactly what they said, and still Pinterest traffic didn’t increase, instead it seemed to do the opposite! 

So, imagine how stressed I was then. After putting in hours of creating fresh new content for Pinterest and my stats seemed to go backward instead of forward! One day I decided to throw all of that advice away, and take a much more simpler approach and developed a manual pinning strategy that I could handle and keep a close eye on. To my shock and surprise, it worked! I finally started seeing a boost in pin impressions and engagements and clicks! 

Naturally, I needed to share this with my audience as I know you are probably having the same struggles and getting the same advice. There are many benefits to a manual pinning strategy and by focusing on this hands-on approach, you’ll have full control over your content, ensuring every pin you post aligns with your brand and audience. Here’s a detailed guide on how to implement a successful manual pinning strategy on Pinterest.

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Why a Manual Pinning Strategy?

While many opt for schedulers, but a manual pinning strategy has its advantages:

Personal Engagement 

You can engage in real-time with your audience and track your pins’ performance. Pinterest has a free scheduler that lets you do just about everything those paid for schedulers allow you to do, but what is better is that you get to control everything. 

I always thought Tailwind was hard to use, and maybe that’s why I struggled because I still don’t to this day fully understand all the features. But the Pinterest scheduler is simple and I find that I actually schedule my pins a lot faster than I ever did with Tailwind. 

Plus, I can see all my stats and upcoming pins right on my profile. 

Better Control

You can adjust your pinning frequency and timing based on what works best for your audience.

Another great thing about using Pinterest is that you can review your analytics right on your dashboard. It tells you everything you need to know about your audience so you can continue to adjust your content and pins to meet their needs. 

Organic Growth

Pinterest favors authentic activity, and manual pinning can help boost your organic reach.

I have this recurring fear that one day Pinterest will mark me spam, totally ruining all my hard work. The best way to avoid that is to actually use the platform, and the best way to use the platform is to be on it. So, manually pinning makes me be on Pinterest a lot more than if I were to use an automated scheduler.

Related: The Worst Blogging Advice I Ever Received

How to Set Up a Manual Pinning Strategy 

Set Up and Optimize Your Profile

Before you dive into pinning, ensure your Pinterest profile is optimized to attract your target audience.

Profile Name & Bio

Use keywords related to your niche in your profile name and bio. This helps with searchability and it tells Pinterest what type of content you’ll be creating. 

Board Organization

Create boards that align with your brand or blog topics. Make sure they’re clear, organized, and have keyword-rich descriptions. You might love to pin low carb recipes, but if you’re not blogging about low carb recipes or creating them yourself, don’t have a board about that topic. You should only have boards about what you write about. Any off topic boards need to be made private so you don’t distract your audience or confuse Pinterest. 

Pin Descriptions

Write compelling descriptions with relevant keywords for every pin. This helps your pins show up in Pinterest search results. Make sure you’re writing these in sentence form, don’t just throw a bunch of random keywords in the description box.

Create a Manual Pinning Schedule

Consistency is key when deciding to use a manual pinning strategy on Pinterest. Instead of randomly pinning throughout the day, establish a schedule that allows you to stay active while not overwhelming yourself.

How Often to Pin

Optimal Frequency

Aim to pin 5 to 10 times a day, if you’re just starting out, stick with 5, you can increase this number as you get more content. You can experiment with the frequency that works best for your audience.

Spread Out Your Pins

Avoid pinning all at once. Spread your pins throughout the day. Set specific times (e.g., morning, noon, and evening) to pin actively. Don’t pin the same link more than once in the same week.

For example, you write a blog post about selling clothes on Facebook Marketplace and create 5 pins for that post. All of those pins will link back to the same post, so don’t post them all on the same day. You should have them at least a week apart. So schedule one pin for that post today, then the next after 7 days, then the next 7 days after that date and so on. 

When to Pin

Analyze Your Audience

Use Pinterest’s analytics to determine when your audience is most active. Generally, the best times to pin are evenings and weekends, as users often browse Pinterest during their time off from work or when they’re trying to relax before bed. Pinning during these times ensures you’re audience is going to see what you put out there.

My personal strategy is to schedule my pins from 7pm to 9pm each day, and that seems to work the best for me. 

While you can follow general timing tips, it’s important to experiment. Try pinning at different times and monitor which hours bring the most engagement.

Pin High-Quality Content

The quality of your pins can make or break your Pinterest strategy. Ensure that each pin you post is visually appealing and adds value. 

If you struggle in this area, follow someone who is successful and has a large audience and gets a ton of views on Pinterest. Look at their pins and see what they’re doing and take notes to apply to your own pins. 

Create Click-Worthy Pins

Vertical Images 

Pinterest favors vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 x 1500 px). These take up more space on the feed and grab more attention.

Eye-Catching Designs

Use vibrant colors, easy-to-read fonts, and bold text overlays. Canva is a great free tool for creating pin designs.

Consistency

Use a consistent color palette and style for your pins to establish brand recognition. Your audience should easily be able to identify that this pin belongs to you. Staying consistent is what works the best, but in the beginning experiment with different styles and see what gets picked up by your audience. 

Curate Other People’s Content

This part of the strategy is a little controversial. Some people will tell you to  only pin your pins. But, if you’re a new blogger you won’t have much material to pin on Pinterest isn’t just about promoting your own content. Curating and sharing high-quality pins from other creators in your niche helps to engage your audience and attract more followers. 

Follow The 80/20 Rule

Aim to pin 80% of your own content and 20% from other creators. This balance ensures you’re not overly promotional while still providing value. In the beginning this might look more like 50% your content and 50% others, and that’s okay, just make sure when you’re pinning content from others it is relevant to your boards and audience.

Pin to Multiple Boards

If you’ve created multiple boards, don’t just pin your content once. A single pin can be shared across several relevant boards, helping you increase its reach without creating new content each time.

How to Distribute Pins

Relevant Boards

When creating a pin, choose 3-5 boards that are most relevant to the topic of that pin.

Fresh Pins

Rather than repining the same image repeatedly, create multiple variations of your pins (with different designs and text overlays) to post to different boards.

Engage Actively with Pinterest

A manual pinning strategy isn’t just about posting content; it’s about being active and engaging with the Pinterest community. This engagement increases your visibility and builds your account authority.

Engage with Other Pins

Like and Comment

Take time to engage with other users by liking and commenting on pins in your niche. This can attract followers to your profile and increase your account’s activity. 

I saw a huge boost in my stats when I started commenting on other pins. It put my name out there and if people liked my comment, then they were more likely to click on my profile and check out what I’ve been posting and gain another follower. 

This is such a simple tactic and it is something that isn’t talked about in most Pinterest guides and courses that I have seen. If you’re going to comment, make sure it adds some sort of value. Tell people you tried the pin, or read the article and learned from it. Don’t just comment something generic. 

Follow Boards

Follow niche-related boards and engage with content that your audience might also like. This helps you stay connected with your audience’s interests.

Pin Regularly and Consistently

Consistency Matters

The Pinterest algorithm rewards consistent activity. Even if you can’t pin daily, aim to pin at least a few times a week. You’ll stay relevant and maintain visibility.

Pin Variety

Mix up your pin types—static images, video pins, and carousel pins all have their place. Videos, in particular, are gaining popularity on Pinterest and can help you stand out.

Don’t be afraid of creating video pins, you don’t have to be a video expert to do this. If you’re already creating your pins in Canva, check out their moving graphics. Just add one of those graphics to your pin and viola! You know have a video pin to upload. 

I always create at least 1 video pin for every blog post I create.

Analyze and Adjust

A manual pinning strategy requires regular tracking and adjustment. Pinterest analytics will give you insights into which pins perform best and which strategies need tweaking.

Key Metrics to Track

Impressions

How many people see your pins? Impressions help you understand your reach.

Engagements 

This includes likes, comments, and repins. High engagement indicates you’re pinning content that resonates with your audience.

Link Clicks

This is one of the most important metrics if you’re driving traffic to your website or blog. Track which pins generate the most clicks.

Make Data-Driven Adjustments

Adjust Your Schedule 

If you notice higher engagement during specific times or days, adjust your pinning schedule accordingly.

Duplicate Successful Pins 

If a particular pin performs well, repeat that process for more pins to pin to different boards to maximize its reach.

Final Tips for Success

Stay Active

Pinterest favors active users. Try to pin at least 5-10 times a day, spread out at different intervals.

Use Keywords

Pinterest is essentially a search engine. Using relevant keywords in your pin descriptions, board titles, and bio will improve your chances of showing up in search results.

Fresh Content

While repining is important, Pinterest loves fresh content. Regularly create new pins to keep your account active and engaging.

By following a manual pinning strategy on Pinterest, you can build a genuine connection with your audience, improve your pinning technique, and have full control over your account’s growth. Stay consistent, be strategic with your pinning schedule, and always prioritize quality over quantity.

With the right balance of pinning and engagement, your Pinterest presence will flourish—without relying on scheduling tools!