Driving Pinterest Traffic With MFP Images

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   WryLiltposted 11 years ago

   I posted this a year or so ago, but I thought I'd repost for those who were interested in drawing Pinterest traffic. Using this method my highest pinned hub has around 43,000 pins, with my second highest being around 29,000. The rest of my hubs vary, depending on topic and Google traffic. 
   
   I call these MFP (Made For Pinterest) images. They're simple to make:
   -Find an image that you are allowed to use with alterations (remember copyright!)
   -Use your own graphic editing program or Picasa or Picmonkey to change it as you wish.
   -Add a teaser or the title of your hub to the image.
   -Place this image at the top right of the hub.
   
   How does it pull traffic?
   -It has the double attraction of containing a link to information AND being a nice image.
   -You can pin it to Pinterest yourself.
   -People who visit your hub and want to bookmark it will pin it to their own Pinterest boards.
   -The teaser makes people want to click through and read more if the topic interests them.
   
   Here is a mockup example:
   
   
   Does this breach Hubpages watermark rules?
   When I emailed Hubpages, they did not give a yes or no answer. However they did say that as long as the image was high quality and the text compliments the image instead of detracts from it, it usually is not an issue.

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      Simone Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thanks so much for sharing this tip, WryLilt! Fabulous advice.
      
      About our watermark rules: We consider watermarks to be URLs, brand names, names and logos. If images have captions or titles placed on them, they're fine on the moderation front- we do NOT consider those to be watermarks.
      
      We love to see people making Pinterest-friendly images like this. Thanks again!

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you for the clarification Simone I do know that last time a few people were a little hesitant about using these types of images for that reason.

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      quicksandposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Hi WryLilt, I have not had much luck with Pinterest although I created images using Paint.net (specially for Pinterest) which differ from the images I've placed on my HubPages articles. Nevertheless I have not given up. I wont!

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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Quicksand, from a quick look at your hubs I think your problem is that your images are just one colour and text!
         
         Pinterest is about vibrant and interesting images - have a browse and see the types of pins that are getting lots of repins.

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      Deomar Pandanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Deleted
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         WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Ah, in that case this method will come in even more handy then
         
         People who would be less likely to click because of such changes will still be more likely to click if the picture has a teaser that grabs their interest!
         
         Edit: Do you mean the "Website" button at the top of each pin? Even with that, clicking the image still takes me to the original site?

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            Deomar Pandanposted 11 years agoin reply to this

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               ktrappposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               I am using the new version of Pinterest and when I view the enlarged versions of images, there is a "website" button. Either clicking on the large image or "website" button takes me to the source website.

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      Parallelsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Awesome method. I had stayed away from Pinterest because I didn't really understand how to use it to my advantage like this.

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      nArchuletaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you so much for posting this. It never even occured to me. I've already posted most of my articles to Pininterest, but from now on I'm going to add the text.

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      Louise Latelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      WryLit - do you have any good tips on how to add text to your images? What software do you think is best to use?

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   Astra Nomikposted 11 years ago

   I am a big fan of Pinterest and it is good and very active. I am always amazed how many people are there repinning what I pin in it. I learned how to create "MFP" pictures from a lady here on Hub Pages called Cheeky Girl, who uses photoshop a lot to make great graphics for her hubs. This is an excellent thread. And yes, watermarks are dodgy for here as they can be seen as urls or brands, that might be protecting their work, so people generally don't use them here. However there should be a way to somehow "mark" hubs so they cannot be stolen or copied. (That's another topic for another hub thread.)

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   Beth37posted 11 years ago

   Oh my word, I have one follower on pinterest, and that's b/c he took pity on me. First I have to figure out how to get some followers before I can drive traffic to my site. lol

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      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      If you use this method you technically don't even need a Pinterest account

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         nArchuletaposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         The images on your pages are so beautiful, Beth37. I could see this technique really working for you.

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   ktrappposted 11 years ago

   WryLit -  I appreciate you starting a thread that offers truly helpful advice. Your positive tone is like a breath of fresh air.
   
   I recently was reading a test that a food blogger that gets a lot of traffic did, testing to see if images with writing on them outperformed images without writing, on Pinterest. In their case, since they start with magnificent photos in the first place, adding text didn't show an advantage. That's not to say that other people's images with text on them, like your example, won't do well, it's just in their case, it wasn't necessary.
   
   So, sometimes a fabulous mouth-watering photograph of food, for example, might be good enough. Glimmer Twin Fan's peanut butter pound cake comes to mind. I recently saw it on the "popular" page of Pinterest and if you look at the Hub it now has over 50K views!
   http://glimmertwinfan.hubpages.com/hub/ … ake-Recipe
   
   With words or without words added to an image, keeping Pinterest viewers in mind when selecting/creating high quality MFP images is excellent advice.

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      Millionaire Tipsposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I would think it would depend on the image.  A photo of a food item implies that there is a recipe attached.  Photos of crafts probably imply that directions to make it can be obtained by clicking a link.  But other things - like financial stuff probably need words to explain what kind of information is on the link.

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   earnerposted 11 years ago

   Two quick questions, if I may.
   
   1] You said "Find an image that you are allowed to use with alterations (remember copyright!)". 
   Do you then attribute the image as yours, or to the originator?  I presume it's then 'yours'  I had peeked at your hubs yesterday and was coveting how many images you had that are yours..... now I know how you did that
   
   2] You said: "Place this image at the top right of the hub".
   When I first arrived, tests considered that one should leave the top right spot available for ad placements, which is why I split my first chunk into two, placing an image in the second module so the top right is available for Adsense.  I guess the answer to this is you're making a choice: Potential Adsense clicks -v- potential Pinterest traffic which might lead to a lower CTR, but overall higher clicks due to increased traffic.
   
   All the best.

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      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      1. Morguefile recently changed its rules so they are stricter than they were before, but here they are: http://morguefile.com/about
      
      2. Yes. Top right is prime real estate, so put whatever you think is the most likely to bring you money; whether that's an Adsense advert, an MFP or Amazon capsule.

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         earnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Thanks for the clarification.
         
         There are always new developments in the marketplace to keep up with .... and more tweaks needed for optimising hubs
         
         All the best.

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            earnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

            I would add in my own little "tip" - I am a bit of an obsessional record-keeper.  When using images I try to create a hidden text module in each hub at the end that tells me where I got images from and I copy./paste the license into that module.  This is so I feel sure I've used them correctly and can refer back if I ever need to
            
            For those that haven't spotted it, you can have a hidden text moule by ticking a little tickbox in the top right hand corner of the text module when it is in edit mode.

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               DreamerMegposted 11 years agoin reply to this

               Thanks. I always wondered why anyone would want to write a "hidden" module - what a good idea.

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   yupperclubposted 11 years ago

   I do not understand why people are so hungry to force traffic.  Just stick with hubpages methods and receive traffic naturally.  It is a better way to determine if your hub was really worth the effort or if it must be revised, requiring more work.  The idea is to improve writing skills...not just get "traffic."
   
   Patti

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      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      "Hubpages methods"? Hubpages is in favour of any way that optimises your traffic, whether it's on page or off page SEO, branding or other ways of drawing traffic. Hubpages is a business. You won't "receive traffic naturally" unless you have a bit of an idea of how to set up your content to GET traffic.
      
      You may be here to write, but most other people are here to be READ and some are even here to make MONEY.

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         earnerposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Hear, hear.
         
         
         I am here to make money - the writing's lovely .... but I need an income to live.
         
         And - I need to learn these tips/tricks as I work in SEO and offer web content writing and online webshop product description writing to companies..... and everything I know that "tweaks" results is a win!

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   Louise Latelyposted 11 years ago

   Great tip!! many thanks

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   yupperclubposted 11 years ago

   What's the point?  Traffic NUMBERS are not that important...it's the quality of the traffic you receive...what are you trying to accomplish with your 43,000 pins?  Are you a VODOO DOLL?

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      WryLiltposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Define quality of traffic? If you mean traffic that makes me money then yes, I'd say that Pinterest is very high quality traffic.

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         Louise Latelyposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         Wry Lit - I totally agree.

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