How To Make the Most of Pinterest

I am a huge fan of Pinterest. It has become the online version of tearing bits of magazines out for future reference for me. {I’m not the only one who has done that am I? I’ve only done it to my magazines}
It can be overwhelming at first. I know it was for me at any rate. I’m going to share my tips on how to make the most of your time using Pinterest.

Install the Bookmark

Unless you are going to just repin what other users have pinned you’ll need to install the Pint It Bookmark. 

Pinning and Pin Boards

When you see something online that you want to remember and share with other users, click the Pin It bookmark.

This menu will appear allowing you to select the image you want to represent your pin. Click on the image you want to use.


This screen then appears. For me coming up with a category and description for the pins is the most difficult part.


Fill in your category and description and click “Pin It”


This is what shows up if you’ve put in the required information. Even after 6 weeks of usage I don’t always remember every time.

The individual pins make up a pinboard. My Fabulous Foods pinboard is shown below


I mentioned re-pinning earlier. Here’s how you do that.

Click the handy repin button


Select or create your category and hit repin.
You can also follow users or individual pinboards

When you find a user or pinboard you’d like updates from just click follow.

That should cover it, if you have any questions or comments let me know and I will answer them as best as I can. You can also follow me on Pinterest if you’d like.

How Not to Get Overwhelmed Blogging

 

Help Key by Petr Kratochvil

In the time I’ve been seriously blogging, which isn’t that long, I have picked up a few tips and tricks that make blogging a little less intimidating.

Give Days a Theme

On Cookin’ Mimi, Mondays are when my menus are published, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are recipe days, and Friday is Recipe Round-Up. I don’t post on Saturday and Sunday unless something unusual has happened.

On this blog, Tuesdays are the top ten list,Wednesdays are my Simple Pleasures post, Fridays are for my 3 in 30 check in and Saturdays my weekly linkage is posted. Sunday and Monday are my free days here.

You don’t have to get quite as structured as I am but having at least a general idea is helpful.

Editorial Calendars Are Crucial

I used to be a write what pops into my head blogger. That doesn’t work so well for me with two blogs. By having an editorial calendar set up I can fill in ideas I have for posts.  Each blog has its own color and I can easily see what post needs to be written and when it needs to be finished.

If you are on Wordpress (self-hosted) there is an editorial calendar plug-in and if you aren’t it is really easy to set one up on Google Calendars.

Schedule Time Off

You have days off with any other job and blogging should be no different. I take Sundays completely off from blogging and do minimal blogging and social media on Saturdays and Mondays. An occasional media fast helps as well.

Keep a Running List of Post Ideas

I have done a better job of this with my food blog. I use the notepad on my smart phone with recipes I want to make. The post ideas don’t have to be very detailed, just something to get the ball rolling.

Find Two or Three Resources to Read

There are a multitude of how to be a better blogger forums and blogs out there.  My suggestion to you is to find a couple of resources that have good content for any size and stage blog.

My recommendations are:

• Blogging with Amy
• SavvyBlogging.net
• The #savvyblogging Twitter stream

Things I've learned lately

• When you open your door and see a stray dog the appropriate response is to slam the door and run away while screaming "Run for your life!"
• How much children's television characters annoy me is proportional to how much my nephew likes them.
• When you can do the dance the Noodle Gang does on Elmo's World: Wild Wild West while in another room you have seen the video one too many times.
• 
  If I were Chicken Jane I would let Scot and Dot be smashed by the ox in the box or stuck in the giant marshmallow.
  
  

And that my friends, is what I have learned lately thanks to my two year old nephew