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Re: PBC Spotlight: My Cancer Chic

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Anna Crollman, Creator 

Business: My Cancer Chic -- Wellness, Beauty and Style Blogger

Website: https://www.mycancerchic.com/

Pinterest profile: https://www.pinterest.com/mycancerchic/_created/

*Disclaimer: We recently announced an update to our content creation tooling on Pinterest that combines and simplifies our organic Pin formats. Due to these recent product updates, some articles posted prior to May 2023 may be out of date.
 
MyCancerChic has partnered with Pinterest in previous activations and campaigns, however she did not receive compensation in exchange for this success story.   

 

Hiya Anna! Tell us a little bit about yourself and your business. 

 

Hi friends, my name is Anna Crollman, @mycancerchic on the PBC. I define myself as a creator, a breast cancer survivor, a blogger and a beauty/style enthusiast. I am also a mother to an almost 2 year old and work full-time in local government.  

 

How did you discover Pinterest? 

 

I first discovered Pinterest as a teacher in 2010 when I was a new educator looking to make a difference in the education world. At that time I didn’t create content but was a power user pinning everything from teaching ideas to all of my wedding content later in 2013. I also became obsessed with the fashion world on Pinterest and was a huge follower of blogs in the 2012-2014 timeframe. When I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 at age 27, I saw a huge gap in content for young women navigating cancer and decided to start my own blog to inspire other young women.

As a lover of fashion and beauty, I refused to let cancer take that away. I wanted to share my process of thriving through cancer with others who needed that inspiration. Pinterest was my major focus. I knew if I was looking there for inspiring content other young women in similar shoes were as well. It was in 2015 that I made the jump to Pinterest creator but I still had no idea what I was doing from a marketing standpoint, I was just having fun. 

 

Talk to us a bit about your journey using our creator tools and services -- how have you used Idea Pins to grow your audience? 

 

Since 2015, I have been pinning all of the images from my blog religiously and it paid off. My chemo hair regrowth images are the first images you get when you search google and at the time around 90% of my website traffic was coming from Pinterest.

When Idea Pins dropped and I had the chance to join the Creator’s Community I was thrilled to explore a new avenue of content - more intimate video content. Previously Pinterest hadn’t been as intimate for me and I wasn’t able to get to know my audience as well as I had on other platforms because of the lack of interaction. Creating Idea Pins opened a new way for me to inspire, connect with my audience and share more of the unfiltered authenticity I was used to sharing on other social platforms. 

The payoff from Idea Pins has been huge for me. While my reach has gone up and down from 1 million per month to at times 10 million it’s my audience growth that has been most consistent. I gained 10,000 followers in about 10 months and I find that the audience continues to be engaged and supportive for the long term. I continue to reflect on my content and put my passion into Idea Pins that bring me joy and inspire and educate my audience on everything from coffee recipes to beauty tips and breast health advocacy. 

Idea Pins have also challenged me creatively in new ways and helped me revisit my blog post content that may have become outdated. I am doing more regular review of my metrics, my blog performance and creating content that meets my audiences needs while also staying aligned with my goal of helping others thrive through adversity with self-confidence and style. 



What does your future with Pinterest look like? 

 

I am in it for the long haul when it comes to Pinterest. I hope to continue to foster and grow my evergreen content that performs year after year as well as experimenting with new content and adapting with my audience. I love that Pinterest grows with me and as I evolve as a person and a creator there is always a space for me to be my most authentic self and thrive. 



What inspires you to create content on Pinterest? 

 

My inspiration comes from the world around me, my amazing community on my blog and Pinterest, from my own story of overcoming cancer and infertility,  and from other inspiring content I find on Pinterest. First and foremost I try to ensure all content I create is tied to my own experience and helps others in some way either educating or inspiring. I try to create content on Pinterest to make others feel less alone, inspire them to tell their story and thrive through whatever life throws their way with a big dose of delicious coffee, fun outfits and motherhood. 



What are your goals as a creator on Pinterest? 

 

My #1 goal as a creator on Pinterest is to create a loyal following that engages with my content on Pinterest and is inspired enough to visit my blog consistently for in-depth content and resources. I want my audience to get to know me. 

 

We wanna know… what’s your #1 secret to driving engagement with your audience? 

 

My #1 tip for driving engagement is to constantly look at your analytics and get to know your audience through the content they search for and what they engage with. When I first started creating Idea Pins I focused on my normal content categories of fashion, beauty, breast cancer & wellness, but during the pandemic I got an espresso maker and decided to share an Idea Pin about my coffee. It got over 3 million impressions and from my audience review I found out my community loves coffee. That has helped inform my future content and continue to engage my audience on a topic they love. 

 



What other features have you found beneficial as a creator?

 

I love group boards for design or photo shoot projects. They are such a great way to brainstorm and get on the same page. I also love the AR Try on feature for when I am shopping for makeup. I even created an Idea Pin about it!

Product tagging has also been a game changer. I love being able to link the exact products I used and shop products directly from other creators’ content.

 

Anything else you’d like to share with the community? 

 

I love connecting with other creators and cheering each other on. Let’s connect at @mycancerchic -- we are in this together and the creator world can be harsh and discouraging sometimes. At times it feels like no one sees your content or cares about it, but don’t let the metrics get you down! Continue reflecting and improving and you will continue to build an amazing portfolio of your creations. Let’s continue to share with one another and learn from each other’s challenges and wins.

 

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Thanks for sharing your Pinterest journey with us, Anna!! 

**If you're interested in being featured on the PBC in our next spotlight, please fill out this form.**

 

18 Comments
mycancerchic
Problem-solver

Thank you so much for the opportunity to share my story! 

michaelbliss
Pinterest Pioneer
Pinterest Pioneer

@mycancerchicYour Nespresso coffee pin is one of my favorites! Thank you for sharing your ideas and your story! It's very inspiring!

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

Thanks so much for the support @michaelbliss 

PinterestGabby
Community Manager
Community Manager

Your story is so beautiful and inspiring, @mycancerchic, thank you for sharing with the community! ❤️ 

findyourdazzle
Just visiting

Loved reading this feature on you, Anna! So excited to see that you're featured  😀

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

thank you so much @findyourdazzle  💕

BAlexanderLA
Just visiting

Thank you @mycancerchic  for sharing your truth

owlbbaking
Loves to help

This is so great @mycancerchic !! Appreciate you sharing this - it's so great reading up on your journey!

emilyfabulous_blog
Just visiting

@mycancerchic  Thank you for sharing your story and your journey, it was so inspiring! I just followed you from @emilyfabulous_blog and can't wait to see more of your pins!😊

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

thanks so much for the support @owlbbaking  love following you s well. 

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

@emilyfabulous_blog yay thank you so much. It's so nice to connect and I'll check out your page as well!

quirkehour
Just visiting

Wonderful story and so inspiring!! 

everydaylifewithlaura
Loves to help

Beautifully written! I love your transparency!

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

Thank you so much @everydaylifewithlaura @quirkehour 

pinterestmarketingexpert
Jack-of-all-trades

Congrats on your amazing journey Anna @mycancerchic 

mycancerchic
Problem-solver

thanks so much @pinterestmarketingexpert 

mulberrycolors
Pinterest Pioneer
Pinterest Pioneer

I find analytics helpful too, but as you said sometimes some pins & idea pins that you might be very proud of just don't receive the same # of impressions. You just can't let #s drive your interest & creativity👍

seehowgarden
Just visiting

Thanks for sharing such a meaningful story and your journey, it's been an inspiring, adventurous journey. I just followed you from @seehowgarden  Niche selections  and can't wait to see more of your pins!�