How I Got My First 1,000 Email Subscribers from Pinterest

Read on to find out how I got my first 1,000 email subscribers (and counting!) from Pinterest! Hint* It wasn’t from a blog post!  

Hey there! I’m sooo excited as I write this post, as I feel it is a strategy you can implement quickly and easily into your online business.

Pinterest is a huge source of traffic for me, and I know it can be for you too! I recently enrolled in Melyssa Griffin’s Pinfinite Growth course, and that is really helped me narrow in on improving the SEO of my boards, as well as scheduling campaigns with Tailwind, an awesome scheduling tool!

But the most exciting thing I recently found was that I could gain email subscribers with my lead magnet (a PDF/Checklist/Freebie that you give to your target client when they sign up for your email list) through Pinterest – without even writing a blog post!

Here’s how I did it

First, I created an AWESOME lead magnet. One that is both helpful for my target client (i.e. bloggers/online business entrepreneur/solopreneur) as well as thoughtfully designed. I created the Weekly Content Planning Workbook. A printable PDF that contains a weekly strategy for staying on top of your blog, newsletter and social media content – also including monthly at-a-glance calendar to keep you on track. I created it in InDesign and used colorful typography and graphics. Once finished, I saved my design as a PDF into my Dropbox folder.

Then I went to my MailChimp account. From there I created a new list, designed my forms to match the Pinterest graphic that I would be creating, and added a “Final Welcome Email” with the download to my Dropbox link (of the printable) included. If you’d like the deets on how this is all done, Melyssa Griffin has an awesome MailChimp tutorial HERE.

From there, I created a new landing page in Squarespace. “Landing Page” is just a fancy word for creating another “Page” under your “not linked” section in Squarespace. It’s basically where I am going to link to (instead of a blog post) so that it gives the reader the main option of opting in to receive the free printable once they’ve clicked on my pin from Pinterest. I made sure that I put a graphic of what the planner looked like, as well as direction on how to use it, along with a large button that said “GET THE FREE WEEKLY CONTENT PLANNER BINDER.” From the button I created, I then linked to my MailChimp account so they could opt-in to my list and get the free printable delivered to their inbox.

Here’s where the magic happens

Enter Pinterest! First I should note, I do have my account set up as a Business account in Pinterest. Also, I have “Rich Pins” enabled. If you’d like to learn how to do this, click here to read how on the Pinterest site. Then, I created a LONG, vertical pin (sized at 735 x 2000 pixels in Photoshop). I used a flat lay mockup photo to showcase my pretty printable. I showed a snapshot of the first page on a clipboard, and then at the bottom I made sure that I showed all the pages – so that you could see all the different colors for each month’s planning page. See below:

Once inside Pinterest, I hit the red plus sign to “upload image.” I made sure to add my vertical pin, as well as the url to the landing page within Squarespace that I had created. I also added a good description with all of the relevant keywords, and to “click through to read more.” From there, I pinned my image to my own blog board, as well as other relevant boards and group boards that I belong to.

The results have been amazing! Within a month I got over 60 subscribers, and I’m still seeing new subscribers from this each day. I think the key to great results is frequent pinning (which Tailwind can help you with) and belonging to relevant Tailwind Tribes in your niche.

Within MailChimp, I have also set up an Automation which sends out a welcome email to my new subscribers the day after they sign up for the freebie. I am excited to get to know my new subscribers, and keep engaging with them on a regular basis!

I’m hoping this helps you to see how great Pinterest can be for referring traffic to your site, as well as gaining new email subscribers!

Let me know in the comments if there’s anything you’ve tried recently to gain subscribers, I’d love to hear about it!

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