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Feeling discouraged, trying to gain new followers? This is for you!

michaelbliss
Pinterest Pioneer
Pinterest Pioneer

When I began creating content in late 2013 and early 2014, it seemed it took forever to gain 50 followers, then a hundred followers and after the first year, maybe 400 or so.

I remember spending hours searching online for the easiest and quickest way to gain more followers.

As of today (2-26-22) I have about 475,000 followers and a much larger, healthy, community. Only a small percentage of my community actually follows me, and the vast majority of my followers aren’t actually followers at all, but they visit, and consistently engage with, my Pinterest profile every single day.

I’ll like to share with you what steps I took along the way to grow my following, and more importantly, an engaged community.

Hopefully in the next couple of minutes, you can find tangible methods which can be applied to pretty much any business, service or blog you might have to grow a large, healthy and engaged audience, that are eager to see your content.

In the beginning, I was feeling discouraged of how slow my follows would come (and quickly go) and whatever I found online to grow new followers seemed superficial to me; I wanted a following that would engage with my content, rather than a number next to my name.

I wrote a ‘mission statement’ or ‘purpose’ or whatever term I used, and I made it simple:

“If I can create a positive experience, a positive place, and touch only one life in a positive manner, I will be successful”

Today, Pinterest is defined as ‘being inspired and inspiring others’ which is absolutely true. It’s as simple as that.

When I see ‘hey, I’m trying to get to 1000 followers’ or 5000 followers, or whatever the magic number is, I ask myself why?

Let’s say that if tomorrow morning, you woke up with 10,000 followers, 50,000, 100,000 or half a million, what would be different? What would change?

Would you post more often, would you post less? Would you use more video in your Idea Pins, what about music? Would you have one slide, 5 slides, 10 slides on your Idea Pins?

What about static pins? Don’t ever discount the reach of static pins!

What about engaging with your community, comments, messages, emails? Would you be put off by negative comments and feedback, and you WILL have tons of negativity as your community grows.

How would you spend your free time? Practicing and learning new ways to create engaging content that your community, audience, customer base, whatever you call it, would love to see? What about new software or even trying out an online service?

Whatever your answer is, then start doing that now. Today. Right now. Your content should appeal to 10 people or 10 million. Start acting as if you have a million followers because you may have even more in the years to come.

I asked myself these questions (with the exception of Idea Pins back then, but I do include them now), printed them out, and put them in my office, my bathroom mirror, in my car, right next to what I feel is my purpose being on Pinterest in the first place.

“If I can create a positive experience, a positive place, and touch only one life in a positive manner, I will be successful”.

When I took my focus off the number of followers I had, wish I had and what I didn’t have, and placed it on the quality of my content, I noticed a steady stream of new followers that came for my content and are still following me today.

I began to reach out to my community, no matter how small it was, and asked them what they would love to see more of, and less of, my following increased. My focus was on engagement.

“If I can create a positive experience, a positive place, and touch only one life in a positive manner, I will be successful”.

When I noticed my numbers were completely tanking off and on over the years for who knows why, and I began feeling discouraged, I returned to my goal of making one person’s life change in a positive way. That’s all I can do and it’s what I do best. I do my very best each day to create the most engaging content I can.

And so can you!

I see amazing, inspiring content from many of you here, on the PBC. I love seeing the dyi’s, the beautiful pictures you take, the before and afters, the behind the scenes of how you create your products, how you eagerly offer your expertise to help grow a business, how you are helping others ease into a healthier lifestyle, how you laugh putting on makeup, mix and match clothes, showing videos of your pets doing crazy things, how you are making interior design look way too easy, asmr type videos that help me sleep better, and even how to order the hidden, off menu items, at Starbucks (yes, you know who you are).

I see Idea Pins from many of you that open up to your struggles in life for the purpose of making sure someone else isn’t feeling alone with theirs. We all need to have this every now and then.

Pinterest isn’t social media, it really is all about inspiration.

Pinterest isn’t about numbers, it’s about inspiration.

Pinterest exists with the hope you leave feeling inspired and hopefully will inspire someone else in return.

You can do this in your business I saw, the service you offer, your blog I’ve read that has beautiful ways to improve life.

My experience will prove to you that if your focus stays on creating content that will engage a possible client, customer or reader, you will be successful, the right people will find you and be a follower for years to come.

If you stay true to yourself, and place the focus on how your business can enrich just one person today, my experience will prove to you that success will come quickly. Your following will grow and you will enjoy having a loving, engaged community that absolutely loves what you offer.

When you bring out the best of you, the best of your business, your service and blogs, and share it with us, the only possible outcome is success and a large, engaged community.

“If I can create a positive experience, a positive place, and touch only one life in a positive manner, I will be successful”.

40 Kudos
36 Replies
lifebetweenthedishes
Just visiting

I came here to ask this question, but this was an awesome response and makes so much sense.  I love the advice to go ahead and do now what you would do if you already had your goal number of followers.  Thank you for sharing!

1 Kudo
fastmoneyclicks
Just visiting

Truly, so inspired. Thank you for sharing your experience and insights.🌞

 

1 Kudo
nina_2690
Just visiting

This was very inspiring! I can't tell you enough how much this has changed my mindset. The quote is very beautiful and has a big impact on everyday lifestyles. Definitely going to try and read this quote at least twice a day.

Thank you so much! 🙏🏼🤍 

2 Kudos
johnsonmykeal321
Just visiting

Wow,thank you for the great.message,and sharing your grate experience with us, give me hope,thank you 

2 Kudos
smitasreen
Just visiting

Very inspiring@michealbliss.Ive been following your posts since my First Pinterest journey.I started creating new idea pins by compiling various artwork and quotes.I have gained following than expected as I did not think the audience would like my contents.I thank all of them.Please can you advice me as I cannot make video pins as easy as image pins.Thank you.

0 Kudos
reginavenetz
New member

Exactly how it is!

Thanks for sharing your words with us! That showed me again, that when you can inspire at least 1 person a day, that's 365 a year. So easy!

Thank for that

0 Kudos
1989tolim143
New member

I am not new to Pinterest I have had one since I can remember but it was only a few months ago I started to become more engaged and active. I started a business in August of 2022 and since that time it has been a struggle, I am not tech savvy, and I knew nothing about business I only had the idea in my head of what I wanted it to be and the dream I had as kid. When I was young the first time, I opened a history book I knew it was the place for me and where I fit then I eventually went to my first museum, and I was floored I could not believe the amount of history represented and contained in a small simple object on display. The story humanity right there it is what cultivated into my learning at a young age all about antiques and vintage items. Little pieces of history in the palm of your hand.

I say all this because recently I was faced with something that went against my inspiration my idea of what these items actually are and how they are defined. many would traditionally think of them as secondhand items and leave it at that. I don't see it that way I am like any other business I get product and and sell them. Why it seems to matter where I get them seems irrelevant to me it's like any other business once my business owns them, they are the product and property of my business. The same as any other business. 

I am not just selling items though; these pieces are our history each one has a unique story to tell us and a point in history to teach us about. Just as much worth to society as a whole as they are monetarily.

Pinterest is a place for new ideas, innovation, inspiration and pushing the boundaries of human creativity yet I feel rejected and ignored and my idea not given any thought. I am here to say that the pushing the boundaries and creative thought around the definitions we have should be considered. The very building blocks of inspiration and creativity stand on how we defined the world around us and involve and expand them to include new ideas.

I would like to hear the opinions of the community on this matter. What do you believe and how can I grow my business? Because I feel so many avenues are closed to me because of this my business is not going well and I am uncertain what to do. I get so much traffic and lots of interest in what i post here and on other platforms but in never results in anything. how can it be what seems like popular but not produce anything?

I look forward to and welcome any and all opinions and thoughts of how to optimize my business. 

 

0 Kudos