Pinterest for books: Is it for you?
After announcing my Pinterest training teleseminar, “Pinterest for Books: How Authors, Publishers, and Others Can Use the Fastest-Growing Social Network for Book Promotion,” I heard from an author who questioned whether Pinterest would be useful for him.
“I’m still not convinced that it would work for me, as it seems like Pinterest is more for females and topics that chiefly interest them,” he wrote. The target audience for his book is men, and he doesn’t think men are on Pinterest.
His message was a reminder to me that it helps to know the demographics of Pinterest users, so I shared the infographic below with him. And while I also confirmed that he was right — most Pinterest users are female — I also pointed out that more women than men buy books in general. For that reason alone, he doesn’t want to overlook women in his marketing efforts, whether he’s using Pinterest or another tactic. Women buy books for men as gifts, and his sounds like the perfect gift for birthdays, the upcoming December holidays, anniversaries, Father’s Day, and so on.
Is it for you?
So … should you learn how to use Pinterest for book promotion? Here are a few facts about Pinterest that might help you decide:
- It has grown to become the third most popular social media site in a very short period of time.
- Its users spend more time on that site than on any other social network except Facebook. That means they’re very, very engaged when they’re using it.
- The site has 12 million users – and by next month, that number will certainly be even higher.
- It generates more referral traffic to outside websites than YouTube, Google+, and LinkedIn combined.
To make an informed decision, you need to know your book’s target audience as well as the demographics of Pinterest users. Here’s more information on finding your target audience:
- How to find your book’s target market
- Finding your novel’s target market
- How to find your book’s target market with Twitter advanced search
Who, specifically, is using Pinterest?
Is your book’s audience using Pinterest? According to this infographic from OnlineMBA.com, women dominate the site. Most have “some college” education; almost half of the users are in the $50,000 to $99,999 income range. Can they afford to buy books? I’m thinking that the answer is “Yes!”
I always recommend learning as much as you can about a new resource before adding it to your toolkit. For me, that usually involves studying those who have gone before me to see how they use it and taking a class or reading a book on the subject. When I came across Pinterest expert Andreea Ayers and her resources, I asked her to help us figure this resource out with a teleseminar on how to use Pinterest to promote books.
If you think your audience is using Pinterest (the infographic above helps with that) or if you just want to learn more about this visual social network, listen to the audio recording of my interview with Andreea about “Pinterest for Books: How Authors, Publishers, and Others Can Use the Fastest-Growing Social Network for Book Promotion.” She shared a great deal of helpful information that I know you’ll find useful.
What’s your question about using Pinterest for book promotion?
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I’m a new author and my book, The Sunflower Principle is about to be released this fall. It is basically a self-help motivational and inspirational book with the primary target being women. I have already signed up for your teleseminar, but am wondering if Pinterest is a good source for me.
Donna, because your target audience is women and women are on Pinterest, it’s definitely worth exploring. Just as it is with other social networks, the trick is to use it effectively. That’s what we’ll learn how to do on the teleseminar. I’m glad you’ll be joining us.
Sandy
Donna, Pinterest is definitely a great avenue for you! Can’t wait to share some strategies with you on our call later this week!
Yes, I would say that it can help. You can gain some exposure to readers who might not know of you otherwise. But don’t do Pinterest or other social media just to lure in readers. Do it because you enjoy it.
If you’re just trying to push your book it is going to show and that will turn people off. I started pinning a short time ago so I don’t have much yet. My book cover is in there but I did all the design work for that myself. The main focus is on cool pictures – which is the way it should be. Don’t just use something because it is the new hot thing and you figure you can flog your book with it.
I agree, Mark. That’s excellent advice. Not enough people understand that it’s not about “Buy my book! Buy my book!” It’s about making connections in a meaningful and logical way.
Sandy
Sandra,
Thanks for hosting this important webinar on Pinterest. It’s critical to our success to evaluate new tools to see how they fit into our marketing efforts before we invest time and energy in them.
Once we decide to add a new tool to our marketing toolkit, we must next find the most efficient way to fit it in with our current strategy. That means linking to what we’re already doing or creating a strategy. I know that Andreea will address this in her webinar.
Hi Flora, just a quick FYI: It’s a teleseminar, so all you need to participate is a phone. You don’t need to be in front of a computer.
I think it will be a great session!
Sandy
Thank you all for your words of wisdom on using this new electronic tool. I am slowly moving into this century. I’m looking forward to more experiences and making new relationships on Pinterest.
Donna, I’m having a lot of fun with Pinterest — both professionally and personally!
Sandy
So excited for this teleseminar! You’re going to hear about so many great ideas and ways that you can implement Pinterest in marketing your books. See you all on the call!
I’m really looking forward to our conversation. I’m sure listeners will have many “aha!” moments.
Great blog. I tried pinning my book to the Book Cover page on Pinterest bu couldn’t get it to add.
Thanks for the info!
jeannie
Thanks, Jeannie. You can only pin to your own boards. To pin on someone else’s board, they have to share the board with you.
Sandy