As you may have heard, food is bigger than ever on Pinterest. If I said that having a Pinterest strategy was a must for food bloggers, would you say, “Yep. Of course it is. It’s pinning recipes and pictures of food!” If so, I hope you’ll listen to today’s conversation with Lauren, of Six Sisters Stuff, where we discuss all things Pinterest marketing for food bloggers.
Lauren and her 5 sisters (that’s right, 5 sisters!), began Six Sisters in 2011 to keep up with each other as they were beginning to start their own families and move away from home. But as the blog grew, and they began to have people besides each other and their mom viewing the site, they knew they needed to be consistent with pinning. Their strategy at the time was for each sister to take a day of the week and pin on that day. No plan, no strategy for growth.
As things continued to grow and their following got bigger and bigger, they realized that their blog was no longer just a way for them to keep up with each other. It had become a place where folks were coming for recipes and crafts, and these folks were pinning the sisters’ content on a regular basis.
From Blog to Business
After about 6 months, the girls knew that their little family communication tool was well on its way to becoming a real business. From that first 15 cents they made, to employing all of the sisters, their parents, and even some of the husbands, the sisters have had a ball growing their business and working together.
When their mom and sister Stephanie attended a blogging conference, they just happened to sit at a table with a book publisher who told them that their type of business was exactly what his company was looking for. Within 6 months, the sisters were working on their first cookbook.
Since that time, the cookbooks have kept coming, and at the time of this recording they are about to release their 6th cookbook!
Jumping into Pinterest
The sisters weren’t even using Pinterest at the beginning of their business. What they were using though, was Google Analytics. And their analytics kept telling them that the majority of their blog traffic was coming from Pinterest.
They had no idea what this Pinterest thing was, or how all those people had found the photographs of their recipes, but they knew they had to figure it out. Once they saw that it was basically “free advertising” for their blog, they decided to jump right in.
They began by pinning one recipe every single day from their website. It grew to five pins a day quickly. And then…they were each taking a turn pinning every other hour every day. Can you imagine the stress and the work involved with that strategy, especially when you are a new mom or full-time college student?
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through these links, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Click here to read my full disclosure policy.
Learning Food Photography
Back in 2011 when the sisters started, Pinterest was full of horizontal images. Fast forward to today, and things look very different on the platform than they did back in 2011. Along the way, the girls had to learn about food photography.
Each of the girls purchased a camera, and they dove into research mode. They bought e-cookbooks, took courses online and in-person, consulted with friends, bought props, and focused on their end goal. From the beginning of their research, their focus was on their brand, figuring out how to distinguish their photos from other food bloggers.
Some sisters definitely had an affinity for photography more than others. But they all just kept working on it until each one was comfortable with the camera.
*A tip that Lauren shared is that each sister owns the same props, so that their photos are branded and consistent.
Finding Your Own Style
One of their main goals was to have their brand be seen as “real” and “approachable”. Their photos reflect that goal. They wanted anyone scrolling through Pinterest to see their photo and immediately feel like it was doable.
They have certainly felt the pressure to do things differently. A quick scroll through Pinterest will give you magazine worthy photos of food. But it was just important for the sisters to keep their recipes and their photos as “real” as possible. Not to have their food look too fancy and too complicated, but easy and accessible enough that the average family could make it for their own dinner.
Tips for New Food Bloggers
When Lauren and her sisters began their site back in 2011, the food blogger niche was not what it is today. There was less pressure for things to look a certain way, and much less competition. I asked Lauren for some tips for those who are wanting to get started in food blogging, but feeling very unsure of themselves.
- Don’t compare yourself to other bloggers. This includes numbers, followers, photos, size, shares, etc. Focus on what you are doing.
- Don’t give up. It takes time to build up followers and page views, so be patient. Have the determination to keep going.
- Have a plan. Organization is key, along with having and executing a plan. Be sure to set goals and work toward them.
- Grab your social media handles early. Even if you don’t know if you’ll use them, get them anyway before they’re gone.
Connect with the Six Sisters
Blog
Pinterest
Instagram
Facebook
Photography course – https://pinchofyum.com/tasty-food-photography
Join Food Blogger Pro as well! I’m an expert over there and it’s an amazing community for food bloggers.
Do YOU know a thing or two about Pinterest marketing for food bloggers? Are you a food blogger whose had success using Pinterest? We’d love to hear about your best tips in the comments below.
FYI — I have a private Facebook group where I love to chat all about Pinterest. Join me.
Time Stamp-
Intro
3:50 From Blog to Business
7:15 Jumping into Pinterest
8:45 Food Photography
12:35 Finding Your Style
15:25 Tips for New Food Bloggers
Hi Kate,
Very useful stuff to know pinterest marketing very well, best for food bloggers. I love the tips for food bloggers which are specially for newbies to know food blogging very well. The photographs of recipes so attractive and this way we can choose pinterest marketing. Also, good knowledge of food photography is very useful in food blogging. The tips on it is highly recommended.
The excellent knowledge of maintaining different social media accounts helps to connect with audience. Also, starting a food blog with powerful plan is the key of success of your startup blogging.
This post is so inspiring so many thanks for sharing it.
With regards,
– Ravi.
I love listening to your podcast Kate! I never miss an episode! I have a question, I searched a bit on your website but wasn’t able to find an answer (Although I was only reading blog titles), is there a “best time of day” to pin on Pinterest? Is it unique to your own following? If so, how can I find that information?
Thanks so so much!
Brittany
It doesn’t matter as much with the Smart Feed. They choose when your pins get dripped out to your audience. Some will see if right away but it’s pretty small amount. Others will see it in search, etc.
Tailwind will give you optimal times for your account so I usually just follow that rule.
And thanks for listening!!
It is truly a great and useful piece of info. I’m happy that you just
shared this helpful information with us. Please stay us informed like this.
Thanks for sharing.
Your story is inspiring, I loved reading it. Thanks for sharing this information on Pinterest marketing. This is truly useful and informative blog. Keep your passion for helping out to the bloggers and peoples who are interested in doing business in this. Your journey from blog to business is really nice. Wish you all the best.
Wish you the best as well!
Hi friends, how is everything, and what you wish for to say about this
post, in my view its actually awesome for me.
Hi I am so delighted I found your blog page, I really found you by mistake, while
I was looking on Aol for something else, Anyhow I am
here now and would just like to say thank you for a fantastic post
and a all round exciting blog (I also love the theme/design), I
don’t have time to go through it all at the moment but I have book-marked it and also added
in your RSS feeds, so when I have time I will be back to read
much more, Please do keep up the awesome
work.
When I initially commented I seem to have clicked the -Notify me when new comments are
added- checkbox and from now on whenever a comment is
added I recieve 4 emails with the exact same comment.
Is there an easy method you can remove me from that service?
Many thanks!
I have no control of it on my end.
It’s going to be finish of mine day, but before finish I am reading this great piece of writing to improve my knowledge.
Hey there, You’ve done a fantastic job. I will definitely digg it and personally suggest to my friends.
I am confident they will be benefited from this web site.
wonderful post, very informative. I wonder why the other experts of this sector
do not understand this. You must continue your writing.
I’m confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!
I go to see daily some web pages and information sites to read articles, but this webpage gives feature based articles.
So now it comes full circle back to the consumer who’s taken on the role
in the blogging site administrator. However, every time a blogger does enjoy what he writes about, he’ll probabnly follow it for a time.
The informal design of you site givfes Internet consumers the opportunity to familiarize yourself with the people who are
behind the business enterprise better, that makeds it easier for them to trust you and also put
moiney into your site.
Thank you a lot for sharing this with all of us you actually understand what you are speaking about!
Bookmarked. Please also discuss with my web site =).
We could have a link change contract between us
How did the guys at dayzgameserver unban me?
This is so great stuff that I decided to read it twice. Thanks so much for sharing.
Hey there, You have done a great job. I’ll certainly digg it and
personally recommend to my friends. I am sure they’ll be benefited from this
site.
1multichannel and a powerful performance with maximum speed delpivered through thhe
power of 3 grams Intel Core Processors. This business of trading iss difficult enough and
we should reap the benefits of every edge in the market which
can be found to us. Possible complications inlcue drug reactions, infection, bleeding, or perforation in the digestive tract which can require surgery.
It looks very yummy.
Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe with us.
Thanks to my father who shared with me about this website, this blog is in fact remarkable.
Great post. Thank you for sharing.
Social Media Management Agency
Glad you enjoyed it!