In this episode, I am sharing the story of one of the members of our Simple Pin Collective. If you aren’t familiar with the Collective, it’s our Pinterest marketing membership community.
Inside the Collective, you will find:
- a nine-module course
- live coaching calls with me
- content on every Pinterest topic you could ever think of
- mentors
- small groups.
It’s a comprehensive Pinterest marketing community.
The Collective is based on a membership model, which simply means that instead of one big sticker shock price for all that content, you pay month-to-month to receive all the benefits of the group.
Are you ready to uplevel your Pinterest marketing? Just head over to Simple Pin Media and enroll today!
It’s Not Always About the Numbers
Today, I’m highlighting a success story from our Collective. I wanted to highlight Trona of Aye Lined on the podcast because she has a great story about how membership in the Simple Pin Collective has positively impacted her business.
I fully admit to being a numbers girl. I want to see the stats. I want to hear about actual numbers to get a sense of the changes that have taken place in your business. But that’s not at all what this episode is about.
Related: Pinterest KPIs: How to Measure Success
What we’re going to share with you today is how a member found confidence in knowing she is on the right path and direction in her business.
I realized when I got finished talking to Trona that sometimes I get caught up in the metrics, and they aren’t always the best or most accurate measuring stick.
When you grow in confidence in your business, it allows you to take steps toward growth that might have scared you if you only had numbers to go off of. Collective members have so much support from the group that those steps no longer seem quite so scary.
Because of that support, Trona was able to branch out from her beauty blog to begin to serve clients in a niche that Pinterest called one of the top 100 trending niches of the year!
Related: Pinterest Trends Tool
Simple Pin Collective Member Spotlight: Trona
From Blogger to Pinterest Marketing Business Owner
Trona started a fashion and beauty blog seven years ago where she reviewed beauty products, makeup, and skincare. The blog was growing and she was seeing a lot of success with it.
But like many of us, she couldn’t focus as much time on the blog after she had a baby. And that took a toll on her blog traffic. She looked to Instagram to try to build the traffic back up. But as we know, Instagram isn’t a great traffic driver.
Then she heard about Pinterest marketing. Initially, she didn’t see the appeal or understand how it could help her as a blogger to grow her traffic.
Around that time, she discovered the Simple Pin podcast, and she dove into the podcast and other Simple Pin content. She started experimenting. Little by little, Trona began to see growth. She decided to share with her audience what she was doing behind the scenes.
That information she shared sparked questions from her audience. She created a newsletter to answer those questions, which ultimately evolved into Trona developing a Pinterest marketing business for small business owners.
How to Run Two Successful Businesses at Once
Trona didn’t set out to start a Pinterest marketing business. She was a beauty and lifestyle blogger looking to increase her traffic. But I find that a lot of women end up building a business when they least expected it (just listen to the Simple Pin Story!).
Trona had a blog that was once again growing rapidly, thanks to Pinterest. But now she also had people who wanted help learning about Pinterest marketing. And so, business number two was born.
When Trona joined the Simple Pin Collective, she still housed her Pinterest business within her beauty/lifestyle website. And the advice she received inside the Collective was to separate them as soon as possible.
She now uses her beauty blog for testing her Pinterest marketing and for learning SEO. She admits that managing two businesses is NOT the easiest thing to navigate.
Trona started her blog as a hobby. She struggles with chronic pain and other health issues and the blog was a way to occupy her mind and to enjoy her love of photography. But the Pinterest business has become her biggest money-maker, simply because she invests the most time in it.
Avoiding Information Overwhelm
I think some people are a little bit intimidated by the Collective, simply because there is such a large volume of content available to members. I asked Trona to share what she tackled first when she joined, and how she avoided feeling overwhelmed.
When Trona joined the Collective, she was already running her Pinterest business, so her knowledge of Pinterest marketing was pretty deep. However, she’s a great example of someone who doesn’t assume that they know everything.
She wanted to be absolutely certain that her foundation was solid so she started at the very beginning of the course material and worked her way through all of it. She wanted to be sure that she had the most up-to-date information and that she hadn’t missed anything important along the way.
Now that she is actively growing her Pinterest business, she accesses different kinds of content within the Collective as needed, in order to meet her clients’ needs and to have the latest information on each topic.
One of the most important things about Pinterest marketing is staying up-to-date with any changes on the platform (because Pinterest changes all the time). The Collective is updated immediately with any changes so you always know you have the latest information.
Simple Pin Facebook Group vs. the Simple Pin Collective
I get this question all the time:
I’m already a member of your free Facebook group. What would be the benefit of joining the Collective if I’m already a member of the FB group?
As it happens, Trona was a member of the Simple Pinterest Strategy Facebook group before joining the Collective, so I thought I would let her address this issue since it’s hard for me to answer as the owner of both groups.
She says that there is really no comparison.
The two are quite different. The course inside the Collective is extensive, and we do new trainings every month. But the support is what keeps Trona in the membership group.
Our mentors are experienced with Pinterest marketing and they know what they’re talking about. Their support is invaluable, as they’ve made a ton of mistakes and can help the rest of our members avoid most of them. They also know what it takes to be successful and they are willing to share everything with each other.
The Facebook group, while it does offer support, is huge and more generalized. It isn’t set up to meet the specific needs of its members the way the Collective is. There is no way a group of over 20K is going to offer the same support as a group of less than 150, with the owner heavily involved in that smaller group.
The Collective is Not Just About Pinterest Marketing
I love what Trona said when I asked her what her biggest “aha” moment or takeaway has been from being a member of the Collective:
The biggest thing for me was realizing that it was about more than just learning about Pinterest. It was the support and the confidence boost that the group has given me to pursue the dream of having my own business. — Trona
That perspective is something you only get when you are part of a group of people who have been where you are and who know what you’re going through. Knowledge isn’t enough; you need support from mentors and other people who understand you and what you’re facing.
Why You Should Join the Simple Pin Collective
Obviously, the Collective has played a significant role in the growth of Trona’s Pinterest business over the past year. She is now at the point of having to turn prospective clients away – a great place to be!
Should YOU join the Simple Pin Collective? What would make it worth it for you?
For Trona, the support of the Collective members has been the primary benefit that has made membership worthwhile. If building a business is your goal ()or you just want to better understand your own Pinterest marketing), the Collective is full of folks who know how to help you.
We take a holistic approach, with our courses, coaching, trainings, and additional content. You never walk away with unanswered questions or left wondering what you should do.
Being a small business owner can feel very isolating, and even more in these challenging times. If you’re ready to be part of a group that will support you and help you reach your goals, come join us in the Simple Pin Collective today!
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