Pinterest Marketing for Travel Bloggers and Businesses

I am loving this series we are in right now where we’ve been discussing using Pinterest in all sorts of different businesses. And today, I am continuing that series by talking about using Pinterest in the travel business. My guest on the podcast is Louise from Travel Pinners. In this episode, she’s shares all kinds of tips on Pinterest marketing for travel bloggers to help you maximize Pinterest for your business.

Pinterest Marketing for Travel Bloggers & Businesses

The #1 Mistake Travel Bloggers Make

When Louise got started doing Pinterest marketing for travel bloggers, the main thing she saw that was needed was consistency. Travel bloggers, by the very nature of their business, don’t always have the time they need to create beautiful pins, to create a pinning schedule, or to be consistent in pinning.

While creating content is a top priority for any blogger, creating content without marketing that content is not going to help your business grow. If a blogger lacks the time necessary to pin properly, they probably also lack the time to learn how to create Pinterest-friendly images, do keyword research, find their target audience, or the myriad other things key to a successful Pinterest strategy.

Creating Awesome Images

Here at Simple Pin, one of the things I have noticed about travel bloggers is that they have trouble creating those awesome images that are necessary for success on Pinterest. I asked Louise for some tips on how they can begin to create these images.

The first thing she tells her clients is to continue to take the photos that they like. She uses Canva to turn those photos into Pinterest-ready images. Most people shoot travel photos in landscape mode, and that’s fine if they are high resolution, great photos. They can be made into vertical images later.

Learning some new software would be her next recommendation. Something as simple as touching up your photos in a program like Adobe Lightroom can make a huge difference.

Avoiding faces in pins is a recommendation we have talked about before on this podcast. If you are taking a photo of a new place, try having the photo taken from behind you so the reader can get a feeling for what it would be like to actually be there.

Building Boards That Fit You

What about the travel blogger who is literally a world traveler? How do you build boards? Do you build by continent? By country?

Louise begins with this type of client by looking at the categories on that client’s blog. She then narrows it down to the categories that the blogger has created the most content for. The reason for this is so that when the boards are created, there will be plenty of content to fill those boards up.

She also uses the Pintrest Explore feature to get some of the broader topics from there, such as Family Travel, Outdoor Travel, Budget Travel, etc. Obviously, only use these titles if you have enough content to share on that topic.

And finally, if you specialize (now or in the past) in a certain geographical area, then that is a great place to start with boards.

The End Goal for Travel Bloggers

Once we get our Pinterest game going strong, it should be driving steady traffic to our blogs, where we hope our readers will either sign up for our email, purchase our product, or purchase something through an affiliate link. But what about travel bloggers? What is the end goal for them? And how can utilizing Pinterest help them meet that goal?

One of the main things that travel bloggers are focusing on is growing their email list. When Pinterest kicks in and begins driving traffic to your site, you should be collecting those email sign-ups! Then start communicating with those followers and nurture them through email.

Many travel bloggers have e-books that they have written. As you gain email subscribers, you can develop an email sequence to promote e-books or products to your audience. Pinterest traffic that is growing steadily can lead to the opportunity to work with brands as well.

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.

 

Pinning Consistently While Traveling

We have talked about some of the challenges of being a travel blogger while also maintaining a steady Pinterest presence. This is the reason that companies like Simple Pin exist — to make the work of Pinterest marketing less stressful and more successful for the business owner who can’t (or doesn’t want to) take it on herself. But what about the travel blogger who isn’t looking for someone to take over their Pinterest account, but just needs some tips or ideas for making it work?

• Work in batches. Design templates in Canva or another online tool and just swap out your photos/text/overlay.
• Batch schedule. Use a tool like Tailwind to schedule out your posts. Just an hour or two will give you time to schedule a month’s worth of pins.

The key to successful travel blogging and pinning is working as much as you can when you have the internet to accomplish it. If you have an hour or two to set aside, do as much as you can in that time and try to stay at least a little bit ahead.

What Type of Content Brings Results for Travel Bloggers?

Specific niches sometimes do better with certain types of content, so I asked Louise which types of content work best for travel bloggers.

The type of post that is titled “How to Do ___ in ___.” is very popular. For example, How to Save Money at Disney World.”

List posts also do really well, so think about writing a post like 10 Ways to Save Money at Disney World.” Packing lists are sure to draw traffic to your blog. “What to Pack for Disney World in the Summer.” (It’s usually over 90* in Florida in the summer, so if someone is traveling from the Upper Midwest to Disney in August, they need your packing list post.)

Keep in mind as you title and write your post that people want to be told how to do things. If they are planning a trip, they want the guesswork taken out of that trip. Your post should do that for them. Tell them specifically what to purchase for the trip (with affiliate links, of course!). Describe the “must-sees” and the “must-do’s” for where they are going. Provide a bucket list for their destination.

Pinterest Marketing for Travel Bloggers: Final Tips

• Louise strongly encourages travel bloggers to use keyword optimization to your advantage. Create your boards around your written content, and be sure that you use the terms that people most frequently search for on Pinterest.
• Make your board and pin descriptions unique to your own voice. Originality has a great impact in grabbing people’s attention and differentiating yourself.
• Don’t pin to group boards that aren’t relevant to your content or that lack engagement.
• Pin consistently.

Nobody is late to the Pinterest game…just get started! If you need help getting your Pinterest game strong, please contact us. We would love to help you.

• Connect with Louise at Travel Pinners
• Connect with Louise on Pinterest
• Get your Pinner’s checklist
• Article Louise referenced – Why Pinterest is the Best Online Marketing Channel for the Travel Industry 

FYI — I have a private Facebook group where I love to chat all about Pinterest. Join me.

Time Stamp-

 Intro
 2:00 The #1 Mistake Travel Bloggers Make
 3:30 Creating Awesome Images
 7:00 Building Boards That Fit You
 8:45 The End Goal for Travel Bloggers
13:15 Pinning Consistently While Traveling
16:10 Content That Brings Results
20:10 Final Tips