Marketing takes up a lot of your time and for businesses that are planning to be around for a while, finding sustainable strategies that generate passive traffic and run on longevity is key for long-term success. For many of us, search engine optimization and Pinterest seem to feel like a lot of work, yet the long-term impacts of the efforts on those two platforms is unmatched. In today's episode, Kara Duncan joins us to share the value of blogging and pinning your content to Pinterest, along with a few tips to getting the most out of your content as a business!

Today’s episode is brought to you by DIY Template Shop! Grab the exact email, form, and workflow templates that I include inside the CRM Blueprint Course. Steal my templates and customize them to match your brand and process. Use the code PODCAST for 10% off.

Mentioned in this Episode

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Connect with Kara

Website: thekarareport.com

Instagram: instagram.com/thekarareport

Podcast: thekarareport.com/podcast

Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Business First Creatives Podcast.

2

You are listening to episode number two

in the Marketing with Intention series.

3

And it's because so many of

us Think that Instagram is

4

specifically what marketing is.

5

And so you guys will figure out

in this series, there is no one

6

talking about Instagram, like no

one, especially today's guest.

7

So today I have Cara

Duncan of The Cara Report.

8

She is an awesome copywriter.

9

She also has her own podcast.

10

So if you're looking for a little

inspiration with your marketing,

11

it's a good podcast to listen to.

12

But in addition to all that,

Kara is my blog writer.

13

And so I know that she has a lot of

good things to say, mostly because

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I pay her to do these things for me.

15

Kara, hello, and welcome to the podcast.

16

Yes,

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Kara: I'm so excited to be here because

I love listening to your podcast, so

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it's so fun to be on the other side.

19

Colie: yes, yes.

20

All right.

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So last week we chatted with

Taylor and she told us all about

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strategic marketing in your business,

how not to market by accident.

23

And so, because you know for a fact that I

am putting so much of my marketing energy

24

currently into blogging, I was like, Oh

my gosh, Kara has to come on and talk

25

about all things blogging and Pinterest.

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Yes, guys, she is a two for one.

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We are going to talk

about both of these today.

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The care first to start me out,

like what gave you the push to

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blog and pin for your own business?

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And then what made you do it for others?

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Cause I mean, you do it so well, but I

mean, everybody's got an origin story.

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What's yours.

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Kara: Yeah.

34

Oh, it's such a, like a fun typical,

like not a straight line journey.

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Actually, I started my like OG moment

was like, I started a blog when I

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was planning my destination wedding.

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'cause I was like, oh, there's

no information on planning

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destination weddings at the time.

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So then that blog turned into

a destination wedding planning

40

business for other people.

41

And then during.

42

Like COVID, I obviously business for

destination weddings was a little slow.

43

And so I was like, okay, what can I do?

44

You know, like looking at it and I'm

like, you know, what works really well

45

for me that I always get asked about is

like how I get clients for my destination

46

wedding business, which was almost

exclusively blogging and Pinterest,

47

which honestly was a wake up call.

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Because if you asked me where I was

spending the most time, it was Instagram.

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And I was like, Oh, there's

really something here with

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this blogging and Pinterest.

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So basically, yeah, since 2020,

I've been doing it for other

52

people and it has just been so fun.

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Yeah.

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Working with other business

owners is the best.

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Colie: Oh my gosh.

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So that's so interesting

because I didn't really know.

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So you were doing like more

B to C and now you do B to B.

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Oh my gosh.

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We could go off on like

a whole tangent on that.

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Okay, so how long have you been offering

blogging and Pinterest marketing B2B?

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Kara: Four years.

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Yeah.

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Just over four years.

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Colie: As your client,

I know what happens.

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I hire you, you end up making

a fabulous blogging plan

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where you have sent it to me.

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But I'm really interested, like,

how is it that you go about

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choosing topics for your clients?

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Because I will admit, it isn't that you

haven't picked any topics yet where I was

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like, uh, hell no, that is not for me.

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As you know, there were a few

that you sent me and I'm like,

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no, I've already got a blog post.

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It's really similar to that.

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Or I've got this podcast episode

that I've already recorded.

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And so that doesn't need to be like

an original research blog post, but

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in general, like, how is it that you

come up with ideas for your clients?

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Kara: Yeah, so I always think one

of the things people struggle with

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with the marketing is you kind

of have two types of marketers,

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even if they're business owners.

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It's like you have the creative type

and then you have the data type, right?

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I'm more the data type.

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I feel like I struggle to have

a creative idea in my body.

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So that's also another reason

why I love blogging and Pinterest

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is like, it is 100 percent me.

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keywords.

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Like I'm looking at like what is going

to rank on Google, what is, you know,

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related to content that you already have.

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And I'll just like go down those

rabbit holes, find like keywords

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that I think will be best, and

then kind of create a topic around

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that really solid starting point.

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So, and you, Colie, are like

a good example because you

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have a ton of content already.

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Right.

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So I feel like for anyone like

listening, that is just kind

95

of like dabbling their toes.

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It's really easy to find

the first 30 keywords.

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Like it really is.

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And then as you go, it's

not that it gets harder.

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It's just sometimes you then have

to get a little more creative or how

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do you combine topics or collaborate

with people or stuff like that.

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But really like if you're just looking

at keyword, um, And you could use

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something free like Uber Suggest or

something paid like SEMrush or Ahrefs.

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And yeah, just start with keywords

and just go rabbit holing from there.

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Colie: Okay, I feel like we

have to bring up Instagram.

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Not that you and I want to focus on

Instagram marketing, but I do feel

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like there is a significant portion of

creatives in particular that are like,

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no, like Instagram is where it's at.

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Like I love conversing with my people

and maybe we'll talk about threats.

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But I wanna focus on Instagram right now.

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What would you say to someone

that's like, okay, but I'm, you

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know, I'm marketing on Instagram.

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Why do I need to blog?

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Like, I feel like we need to have a

conversation about the benefits of

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blogging so that more people will be

like, oh, that's why I should blog.

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Kara: Yeah, for sure.

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So, so many reasons.

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And yeah, it's kind of like, I kind

of like think about blogging as like

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investing in the stock market where

like everyone kind of knows they should

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do it, but not everyone is making it

a priority for many reasons, right?

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So, The reason I think people are so

attracted to Instagram is it is like

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such a quick win kind of platform.

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Even if you're not getting like the

ROI you used to from your Instagram

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marketing, you're still getting

the likes and the conversations.

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And it really makes you feel good.

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And like you're moving the

needle in your business, right?

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Versus blogging, where let's be honest,

you're like sitting in a room by yourself.

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You're hitting publish.

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You don't even know if anyone's

going to read it in the near future.

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So The reason that blogging is

so important is one is so much

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longer lasting than Instagram.

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So like I have blog posts from like

two, three, four years ago, they're

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still on page one, still ranking very

well, still bringing in new clients.

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So that's like, if you're going to

focus on creating content, Why not

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invest in something that is going

to have that longevity versus like

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some people have like 1000 Instagram

posts that they posted over 5 years.

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And it's kind of like, I don't

want to say useless now because

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you can always repurpose it, but

like, it's done a majority of what

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it's ever going to do for you.

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And so that's the 1st reason is

just the longevity is so much.

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Stronger on blogs.

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And then the other reason

is that it really compounds.

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So like, like I was saying with a thousand

Instagram posts, let's say you have that.

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It's really hard to like, I don't know,

make lemonade, lemonade out of that.

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But like with blogs, every single time

you blog, you have a new chance to

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rank for your keyword and not just one.

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One keyword, but sometimes

multiple keywords.

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So like if you blog once a week

for the next year, you have 52

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blog posts at the end of the year.

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So even if then 2025 is crazy and

you slow down, like you still have 52

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that are potentially working for you.

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Colie: Yeah.

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I mean, with SEO, your blog

posts continue to work for you.

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next year, the year after and so forth.

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But you actually said something

that was really interesting that

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I've never really thought about.

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So in terms of Instagram,

it is very visible.

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Like you, you in one way

are building a community.

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You're often having a conversation

with the people who are actually

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interacting with your content.

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Like they're posting, they're

liking, you can like them.

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If it's someone that's never

posted on anything before, I

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don't know about anybody else.

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But the first thing that I

do is click on your name.

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And go look and see what else you've done.

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I mean, Sarah, my virtual assistant.

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If she is listening to me,

I actually said way back.

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And I think episode 25,

that's why I hired her.

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She randomly like

followed me on Instagram.

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And I think she posted on like

one of my posts and I was like,

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Oh, she's a virtual assistant.

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So I clicked on her name.

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And then I went to her Instagram

and I was like, Oh, and then I think

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I went to her, like I clicked on

her website from the link in bio.

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And then when I got there, one of

my photography friends was like

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one of her first, um, testimonials.

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And I was like, Oh, I'm immediately in my

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Kara: she's the one.

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Yeah.

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Colie: Yes.

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What does Sarah do for you?

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Can you, can you give me the download?

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I mean, but so that is a very

like specific rabbit hole that I

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went down, but I am also one of

those people that takes action.

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I mean, I saw something on Instagram.

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I went to the website.

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Hello, everyone needs a website.

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I didn't read any blog posts

that she had, but maybe I would

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have if I hadn't seen Carolyn.

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So, you know, front and

center on her homepage.

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But if you think about blogging, I feel

like blogging has so much more data that

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you can actually track versus Instagram.

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So on your blog post, I mean,

you could have different links.

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that take them to the contact page.

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You know, you're using your, your

links to your UTMs that come after.

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And then you would actually know

like, Oh, this person specifically

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came from this blog post.

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Like, I think it's much easier

to specifically attach an ROI.

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to a blog post.

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If you're doing the right things versus

Instagram, where you don't really

200

know which one of your posts it was

that like caught their eye and they

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came to your website or they DM you.

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Now, the only way that you could

actually do that would be like

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with many chat automations.

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Cause hello, if they DM you a

word and it's a word that you've

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only used on like one post.

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Hello.

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That's where they found you.

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But I just, I've never really thought

about the instant gratification that you

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get from Instagram versus a blog post.

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But then that blog post, it

works so much harder for you.

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And I think some people are like,

Oh, but you know, I'm doing all this

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blogging and I'm not getting anything.

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Yeah.

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You got to wait at least.

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Well, actually you are the expert,

so I'm not going to give my opinion.

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Hey Cara, how long does it normally

take for someone to see a return on

217

investment for a single blog post?

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So if I wrote one today, like you

gave me one last night and I have not

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published it yet, but if I published it

today, Like how long does it start to,

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how long is it going to take until that

blog post starts to get some traction?

221

And also, what are the things

that we should look out for that

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may help it get traction earlier?

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Kara: Yeah, definitely.

224

So it's, it's one of those

things that's hard to say.

225

So on average, it takes 90

days for a blog post to get

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Colie: I was going to say three months.

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Kara: Oh, did you?

228

Yes.

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However, if Google trusts your

website, like if you're being

230

consistent and putting out like

weekly blog posts and stuff, Google

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scans your website a lot sooner.

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It gets ranked a lot faster versus

if you have like this one singular

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amazing blog post, Google might find

it at 90 days, but it's not shooting

234

you straight to the top because it

doesn't like trust your website.

235

the blog post or the source yet.

236

So it is kind of one of those things,

but yeah, on average, when somebody

237

is like looking to make blogging a

strategy, I always tell them like

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six to 12 months of consistency,

which I know feels like forever,

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Colie: So long.

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Kara: so fast though.

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Like it really does.

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I feel like, cause you've been

in business a long time, right?

243

It's like a year feels like nothing now.

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When I started my business,

it felt like forever.

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Colie: Yeah.

246

Well, I will say I have a lot more SEO

juice on my photography website, even

247

though I have not updated anything on

that website in at least four years,

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like, like pre pandemic, like nothing,

no switching of the images, no switching

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of no writing new blog posts, nothing.

250

And the funny thing was,

you know, we work together.

251

I go, I'm looking at the analytics now

to see how my blog posts are doing.

252

And when I look at referrals, My

photography website is still referring

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the most people to my new systems website.

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And I think that's absolutely bananas.

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But I also think that it's just a true

testament to how well all of that work

256

that I put into that photography website

is still doing to bring me leads.

257

Because of course, the one thing that

I did, okay, I guess that's a lie.

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I have updated in four years, but

only one particular page and that's

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the Dubsado page that Dubsado

page on my photography website.

260

I changed it.

261

So that instead of people booking Dubsado

services off of that, it's basically foot.

262

Well, 1 page is forwarding

you to my new website.

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Another 1.

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It's just every time they click a link.

265

It takes you from the photography

website to the version.

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That's on my systems website.

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But, I mean, it's.

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That is still like a good chunk

of my traffic every single month,

269

which I just think is bananas.

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But if someone doesn't want to wait six

to 12 months, Cara, and they don't want to

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just pray to the Google gods to crawl my

website and find me, what are some things

272

that we can do to kind of help that along?

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Kara: Yeah, for sure.

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So always, so getting more backlinks,

which that's like more of a, I don't

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know, it can be hard to get backlinks.

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When you're looking at like other

websites quoting you, but you can always

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create black backlinks on Pinterest.

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Even if you're not using Pinterest as

like a Pinterest marketing strategy,

279

having links to your website from

Pinterest will automatically boost

280

your kind of authority of your website.

281

And then also just like heading

to Google search console and

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submitting your blog post.

283

is a key.

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Yeah, exactly.

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Cause then you're like telling

Google like, hello, I have a

286

new blog post, come find it.

287

And it's also a good way.

288

Then you can kind of check back like a

week or so later and sometimes like you'll

289

get data there where Google will be like,

I found this, but I didn't index it.

290

That's typically a sign that you need to

make some updates and like add more value.

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Quote unquote.

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Because it's like,

okay, Google found this.

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Google's not interested.

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Not so harsh, but like,

you know what I mean?

295

Like, you know, like this is

okay, but it's not necessarily

296

what we want or whatever.

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And you can add value in so many ways.

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Like it doesn't necessarily

mean more and more text.

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It can be like Adding more resources,

like if you're writing a blog post about

300

Dubsado and you're like linking at the end

of your blog post to more Dubsado posts,

301

or it can be something like updating your

images, or it can be something like just

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submitting it again and trying again.

303

If you're like, no, this,

this is my best work.

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Try again.

305

Um, but it's just so helpful to know,

like, or if Google hasn't discovered

306

yet, like, is there some sort of tech

problem that needs to be addressed?

307

Colie: I mean, that's so interesting.

308

Cause number one, I've never

had something that was rejected.

309

And so I'm going to be

looking for that now.

310

I will say one of the things that

I discovered that was like a whole

311

section of my pages, and it's not

really related to blogs, but a whole

312

section of my pages, most of my shop

pages were not indexed and it was I

313

had asked Google not to index them.

314

Like I was using a template and

it must've been that like, I

315

was using my Black Friday one.

316

Which I didn't want it to index.

317

And then I duplicated it and

made it something else and didn't

318

realize that I had that checked.

319

So, Hey, everybody, if you're a show it

user and you ever check that box that

320

says, ask Google not to index, make sure

that every time you duplicate or you write

321

something new, that you have taken that

off because learn from my mistakes guys.

322

But.

323

One of the blog posts that you wrote

for me last month, I believe it was

324

when, cause usually for you, like

I'm in there, I'm reviewing it.

325

If I make a change, I do.

326

But then when I hit publish,

I'm immediately going to

327

console and just putting it in.

328

And then every once in a while, when I'm

doing that, I'm like, Oh, I should check

329

to see if my last few podcast episode

show notes were automatically indexed.

330

And a majority of the time they are like,

so, and that, that's, that's, The last

331

one that I checked, it had only been

like two days and it was already indexed.

332

So I was like, yes, Google

is indexing my shit fast.

333

This is awesome.

334

Kara: Google knows that you're

updating your content regularly,

335

which is such a good sign.

336

Colie: Yay me.

337

Okay.

338

I didn't realize that, but it's awesome.

339

I mean, cause right now I am

technically blogging about twice a week.

340

It's the podcast show notes and then

either something that you've done or

341

something that I've let me, let me Doing

quotes whipped up because I mean that

342

air table blog post that I did recently.

343

It wasn't really me whipping it up,

but I'm very proud of that blog post.

344

It's

345

Kara: Oh, it's so good.

346

Colie: So you mentioned Pinterest.

347

So now I feel like we

should kind of switch gears.

348

We've talked about blogging.

349

We've talked about the benefits going

on to Pinterest because Pinterest

350

is something that I 100 percent

know that I need to do now that I am

351

really trying to do my system stuff.

352

But I think one of the things

that stopped me in the past.

353

As a photographer, I will say this,

you have to make sure that someone's

354

local to you, or it doesn't matter

how many hits you're getting unless

355

you're a traveling photographer.

356

And I was a traveling photographer.

357

So that part didn't bother me, but my

most viral pins are fresh, 40 eights.

358

And so I don't, I almost don't

care how much you pay me.

359

I am not going to fly to you at the drop

of a hat when you've had a baby to get

360

into the hospital before you check out.

361

Like that's just not a thing.

362

So I was just like, as a photographer,

like pinning just never really made sense

363

to me because I was getting all sorts

of Pinterest traffic from those pins,

364

but everyone was immediately bouncing.

365

because I'm not located

anywhere near them.

366

So that's like my little, my

little tale of why Colie doesn't

367

really do a lot in Pinterest.

368

But Kara, I'm going to kind of ask you the

same question I asked you for blogging.

369

Like, why should we care

about Pinterest marketing?

370

And what does it give us that perhaps,

Instagram, I know I said that word again,

371

Instagram or blogging doesn't give us.

372

Kara: Yeah.

373

So Pinterest is kind of like,

it's such a unique platform in

374

that it is very top of funnel.

375

So like before you start Pinterest,

you need to make sure your website

376

is set up to convert in some way.

377

So like you said, if you're

converting Fresh 48 sessions.

378

It's a little tricky, but I always

find like this is like where we always

379

have to like check our vanity, right?

380

Because so many times people are

like, I want to grow my Pinterest.

381

I want 100, 000, a million

monthly impressions, whatever.

382

And especially like with local

businesses, it's so hard.

383

Like you just have to get

comfortable seeing smaller numbers.

384

And being like, but those are

the people that I want, and

385

that can be so challenging.

386

And then the other thing to remember

is that pins show up on Google.

387

One, your boards will show up on Google

if people are searching for stuff.

388

And two, they'll show up literally

in the image tab on Google.

389

So sometimes people If you have a

solid Pinterest strategy, sometimes

390

people are finding you on Pinterest,

but they're not attributing Pinterest

391

to like the source of how they found

you, so it can be tricky to track.

392

Like you kind of mentioned earlier, UTM

codes can help with that if you're like

393

trying to track where people are finding

394

Colie: you can put UTMs on Pinterest.

395

I did not know that.

396

Kara: yeah, you sure can.

397

So that's a good idea.

398

And then just keeping in mind.

399

One, you have to have fresh content,

whether that's like blog posts or

400

podcast show notes, or like new products

being added to your shop or something.

401

Pinterest doesn't want you to

just like keep pinning to the

402

same link over and over again.

403

And Pinterest traffic

doesn't like that either.

404

They want to like binge your content and

like have something there to consume.

405

And then you as a business owner

need to realize that they are

406

brand new cold traffic and you need

to like get their email address.

407

Or if you're not great at email

marketing, I always like to include

408

like a come find me on Instagram.

409

Like if you're great at nurturing

people on Instagram, even though, you

410

know, we talked about how Instagram

is like for growth, but Instagram

411

is a great nurture technique.

412

Like if you are an extrovert, especially,

and you love having your conversations

413

on Instagram, having something to

like help you drive cold, fresh eyes

414

onto a platform that you like, that's

already working for you is a great idea.

415

It's also like.

416

easier to outsource because

it's not your personality.

417

Outsourcing Instagram is hard.

418

Colie: Mm hmm.

419

I agree.

420

I mean, I find it difficult.

421

Like, I've never really considered

myself to be a picky designer, right?

422

But when someone does something,

I'm like, instantly, I'm like,

423

no, I wouldn't have done that.

424

And it's not even like, It's

not even like I can explain it.

425

Does that make sense?

426

Cause like every time it's like this

one tiny thing that's different and

427

I'm like, I can't, I don't know.

428

So yes, I'm

429

Kara: And if it feels like

wrong, it can't be on Instagram.

430

Like people have like a little

bit more like on Pinterest.

431

Like I didn't love every

graphic, but like who cares?

432

Cause nobody's binging somebody's

like Pinterest feed, right?

433

It's like, okay, we

tried different designs.

434

Maybe like some, maybe

you don't, but like.

435

The point is to get people to

the website where it can be a

436

perfectly branded experience, et

cetera, versus like Instagram.

437

You're like, Oh no, that one piece

of content will bother me forever.

438

Cause like, I wouldn't have said it

like that or designed it like that.

439

Colie: I mean, girl,

there is something to say.

440

I think I've realized

something about myself.

441

I like content that I

can update my podcast.

442

If I've recorded an episode and

I, there's a little bit in there.

443

Like, for example, one thing that has

been really difficult is in so many

444

episodes, I'm talking about how my CRM

blueprint course is just for Dubsado

445

users or just for photographers.

446

And so I'm like, if this is a podcast

episode that I'm actively sending people

447

to, because the rest of it was great,

I might want to go back into script.

448

edit the part out where I say

it's just for photographers

449

and then update the podcast.

450

And then anybody going forward that

gets the new podcast episode, like the

451

link is the same, the description could

be the same, or I could change it.

452

But like I have updated that episode to

where no one going forward will mistake

453

it for only being for photographers.

454

Same thing with blogging.

455

And I've told you this, and I don't

know if anybody else agrees with

456

me, but half the time I tell Karen,

no, I don't, I don't even care.

457

We hit publish.

458

And if there's something that I want

to change later, I will change it and

459

then I will just resubmit it to console,

to Google, because there are things

460

that I am going to want to change.

461

For example, you know, our

HoneyBook versus Dubsado blog post

462

that was so amazing that you wrote.

463

I already had to update it because in

there we said that Dubsado's mobile app

464

was in beta and it released last week.

465

So I already had to go and update

it to say, no, this is no, I mean,

466

it's still not as feature rich as

HoneyBooks, but it is now not in beta.

467

Anybody can get it from the app store.

468

I mean, that was already, and it took

me like five seconds to update it.

469

And then I resubmitted it to Google

console, even though I really don't

470

think that I had to, because I didn't

change all of it, but I didn't want

471

like that one bit about the app

being in beta to be the thing that

472

like Google latched onto because.

473

You know, remember we don't get to control

what Google latches onto in a blog post.

474

Like it gets to decide what it thinks

is most important, but I just love

475

content that I can go back and update.

476

And on Instagram, you

can update a caption.

477

You can't swap out images on YouTube.

478

You can't swap out the

video like you can on Vimeo.

479

If anybody's listening, I

would really like to be able to

480

swap, swap out YouTube videos.

481

Like that would be on my Christmas list,

482

Kara: Yeah, the fact that you can do

it on podcast episodes is like great.

483

Colie: It's so fantastic.

484

I mean, just think about it.

485

If it's an episode where you now have

a new perspective and it was like a

486

short, because I used to do short 10

minute episodes and I wanted to just

487

re, you know, re record so that it

was updated for my current feelings.

488

If something has really changed, I

love just being able to swap that

489

audio file and go on about my business.

490

Kara: Yeah, and I also think to hop

on what you were saying with updating

491

stuff for anyone like listening that's

like struggling with Perfectionism or

492

anything like that It's so nice to be

able to like put blog posts out into the

493

world and like you said update them later

But also just not spend eight hours on

494

every single one See which ones rank and

start performing and then update those

495

ones and like put your effort there Like

actually to your point about Pinterest.

496

I had a real go Go viral about

like five wedding packages under

497

5, 000 for my wedding business.

498

And it's like, it was bringing

me a bunch of American traffic.

499

I'm in Canada.

500

I can only work with Canadians

and that I don't do it anymore.

501

Obviously I have a team that handles

it, but it was like, I have this blog

502

post that's getting a ton of traffic.

503

So I like whipped up a little ebook for

like 17 started selling it and like, I'm

504

not getting rich on it or anything, but

it's like a few hundred bucks a month.

505

Like it was well worth my time to

like Do it once three years ago.

506

Do you know what I mean?

507

Be like, this blog post is doing well.

508

It's doing well on Google and Pinterest.

509

I'm going to like focus on just updating

that one to see like how I can kind

510

of get whatever I can out of it.

511

Versus like if I tried to make every

single blog post perfectly, I don't

512

know, like not that you want to put out

garbage, but I just mean like put it

513

out and then as things do well, look

at how you can make them even better.

514

Colie: Yes.

515

Okay.

516

I'm going to ask you a few really

specific Pinterest questions.

517

These are like questions that I've

had in my brain, and I just know if I

518

have the question someone else does.

519

Kara: Yeah.

520

Colie: I feel like Pinterest, like a

couple of years ago, just exploded.

521

They tried to be more like Instagram

or YouTube and the YouTube shorts.

522

Like now you can do the videos,

you can do the idea pins,

523

and you can do regular pins.

524

If someone is coming into Pinterest

for like the first time, they're a baby

525

person, you know, well, not a baby person.

526

If someone is coming to Pinterest

for the first time and they are brand

527

new to Pinterest marketing, what

kind of pin should they focus on?

528

Or is it really the best strategy to

kind of diversify and get different

529

kinds like you would on Instagram?

530

Kara: Yeah.

531

So Pinterest has made a bunch of changes.

532

They have a new CEO.

533

That's kind of like, I feel like

simplifying it because it was getting

534

to like trying to compete with the other

platforms and it really is its own thing.

535

So they got rid of idea

pins or story pins.

536

And now it's really just like

standard pins or video pins.

537

And here's what I would

say about that video pins.

538

Similarly to Reels, they might get seen

more, but they rarely get clicked on.

539

So like, I might post like

one or two video pins a week.

540

Usually it'll be a repurposed Reel

of like, face to cam, usually.

541

Because anything with music, the

music's gonna get taken down, so

542

like, voiceovers don't really work.

543

Be real, like, eh.

544

Like, if you think about Pinterest users

buyer behavior, They're, they're not

545

really looking for that kind of content.

546

So like definitely 95 percent of my

effort is going toward static pins.

547

Colie: Okay.

548

Kara: Yeah.

549

Which are easy.

550

They're the best.

551

Really?

552

Colie: Now I'm going to follow

up with the second question.

553

The thing about static pins

that I can never decide.

554

So you write this amazing blog post

and I don't know if you noticed, but

555

I created, well, my designer created,

I told her what to do and she did it.

556

Great.

557

Delegation it basically had two

columns and it was comparing

558

and contrasting the different

things for HoneyBook and Dubsado.

559

Now I went directly to the blog

post and added that to the end.

560

And then I pinned it directly

from the blog post onto Pinterest

561

versus going to Pinterest and

like making a pin from scratch.

562

Kara, does it matter which one you do?

563

Kara: No, no, it doesn't matter.

564

Yeah.

565

Sometimes like people argue either way,

but to me, it's kind of like when people

566

think Instagram prefers one thing or

the other, like we're just guessing.

567

And really like I've

had success with both.

568

Colie: Okay.

569

So it is totally okay to like use

the schedulers and make the pin.

570

And as long as you're putting in

the appropriate URL to direct that

571

traffic back to the blog post that the

content is related to, it's the same

572

as if you go to the blog post, you

hit pin and you send it to Pinterest.

573

Kara: Yeah, yeah, you bet.

574

Easy.

575

Colie: Okay.

576

When it comes to marketing, I feel

like we've already, we kind of said it,

577

but I'm going to say it very bluntly.

578

If you have the bandwidth, I'm

pretty sure your recommendation

579

is one blog post a week.

580

Is that right?

581

Kara: Yeah, yeah,

582

Colie: Okay, let's talk about Pinterest.

583

It seems like that takes

way more effort, Cara.

584

How many pins do you recommend

that people do each week?

585

And then how many pins should

people do from one piece of

586

content, like a blog post?

587

Kara: Yeah, okay, let

me do some math here.

588

I'm like, I usually say like, anywhere,

depending on how much content you have,

589

it can be like 5 to 20 pins a day.

590

Colie: Oh!

591

Kara: just don't want to Yeah, I know,

I'm like, how much is that a week?

592

But it can be like, When I think of

a pin, it can be like one image to

593

like three to four different boards.

594

So it's not necessarily like you

need to create 20 new graphics a day.

595

You can kind of repurpose them.

596

that is usually what I would

recommend just because Pinterest

597

is always like blogging.

598

It's already slow.

599

Like I say, six to 12

months of consistency.

600

So if you're doing like one to two

pins a week, it's just going to be

601

very, very slow to see results for you.

602

and yeah, I just don't want that for you.

603

That's basically it.

604

So I will try to on average do

five and usually about five.

605

Colie: okay.

606

So if you're telling me to pin

five different pieces of content

607

from one specific, um, blog post,

do I blog all five of those in one

608

week or should I spread it out?

609

Like, what's your, what's your, what's

your idea on like a publishing calendar

610

cadence, if you will, from one blog post?

611

Kara: Sure.

612

So like without making it too

complicated, I would say you want to

613

pin like, let's say have five and I'm

just going to pin like one Monday,

614

one Tuesday, one Wednesday, et cetera.

615

And then the next week I would pin

the same pins to different boards.

616

If that makes sense, and do that for

like three or four weeks, depending

617

how many relevant boards you have.

618

You don't necessarily want it.

619

It's like one of those things where you

don't want it to seem too formulaic,

620

but also we need systems for everything.

621

So,

622

Colie: that's super interesting.

623

I have always just re pinned the

same pin to a different board.

624

Clearly, that sounds like that is

not what I'm supposed to be doing.

625

When you say, when you say pinning it to

an, I'm, I'm assuming you mean re upload

626

it as a different upload, or is it just

that I'm taking it from one board and

627

basically adding it to another board?

628

Kara: So in Tailwind, and I think

Tailwind is the only one that you can

629

do this, you would just pin to like

multiple boards at once, and then you

630

can like, it in essence turns that

into let's say four different pins.

631

On other schedulers, I think

you have to upload it manually.

632

Colie: Okay, well, I use metrical,

so I can't automatically send it to

633

different board to different boards.

634

Yeah, I was trying to make sure I was

using the correct terminology, but what

635

I could do is after I pinned it one time.

636

I could then duplicate it and

make it the exact same thing.

637

And then I would just

choose a different board.

638

And then for the next week, I

would choose a different board.

639

So I can do that manually.

640

I mean, guys, if we're talking about

how long after you create the one pen, I

641

think it would take me less than a week.

642

It would take less than two minutes

to get it duplicated and repinned and

643

scheduled to different boards, in

future weeks, it would take less than two

644

minutes to like duplicate it five times.

645

We're not talking about a lot

of time and energy, but I have

646

been mostly doing video pins.

647

So now that Kara has given us her

wisdom, you guys are probably going

648

to see a lot more static pins from me.

649

Um, in the future,

650

Kara: Yeah.

651

Yeah.

652

I mean, video pins are good

for sometimes getting reach.

653

It's just most people are not listening

to Pinterest like with volume.

654

Right.

655

So

656

Colie: we'll have captions.

657

Does that help?

658

Kara: Do you ever like sit

and watch a video with just

659

captions with your sound off?

660

Colie: Oh, I, sometimes I do if I'm

somewhere that it's inappropriate

661

for me to be watching a video.

662

I can't really think of any, I mean,

like, if I was at my kid's school waiting

663

for her, orchestra performance to start.

664

You're damn right I'm looking

at it with some captions.

665

Or, I mean, I, I think the listening

audience will enjoy this one.

666

My husband, like, if I get up in the

middle of the night and I can't go

667

back to sleep, I am too lazy to get

out of bed, so I will pick up my phone.

668

I will turn the brightness all the

way down to the lowest setting and

669

I will just have it muted and I will

be like scrolling through my reels.

670

And yes, I am just reading

the captions at that point.

671

But I've never done that on Pinterest.

672

I just want to say good point.

673

Good point.

674

Kara: Yeah.

675

That's funny.

676

Colie: right.

677

So I think we've talked about like the

intersection of blogging and Pinterest,

678

but if someone was going to jump into

both those markets at the same time,

679

like what kind of time commitment are we

talking about someone setting aside in

680

order to start going on both platforms?

681

And maybe we're not talking

about like full force.

682

Like, what if I just want to dip

like one toe into the water and

683

see what it's like on both sides?

684

Kara: I would say like two hours, two

to three hours a week, realistically.

685

Colie: And, I mean, how much

energy, how much time and energy

686

do you spend on Instagram, Cara?

687

Kara: Oh god, very little.

688

I feel like I go through phases like other

people, but like, Instagram is not a huge,

689

you marketing channel for me, honestly.

690

So it's like, if I'm on there more,

it's just like, cause I have extra time

691

and I'm, yeah, having like fun with it.

692

But yeah,

693

Colie: So it's not the

marketing channel for you.

694

That's all right.

695

Do you have any closing tips?

696

Just, I mean, cause your, your brain is

just so awesome and amazing for marketing.

697

So do you have any tips for anyone

about marketing with intention

698

versus throwing spaghetti on

the wall and seeing what stick?

699

Like how can we all be more

intentional with our marketing?

700

Kara: Yeah, I feel like kind of the

whole topic of this episode was just

701

like putting maybe not all your energy

into things that don't pay off right

702

away, but like some of it, right?

703

And like it will pay off and just like

being mindful, I guess, of like your

704

time spent on other platforms before

you're like, I don't have time for

705

another platform because chances are

we all have time that we could scale

706

back on other things that are like, you

know, the feel good feel good platforms.

707

I'm like, I just want to like.

708

I beg every single person to

take blogging seriously because

709

it makes such a difference.

710

And like I said, if you can

stick to it for like six, 12

711

months, I know it's a long time.

712

Uh, but once you see the momentum,

you're like, I'm never stopping this.

713

And if I do stop this,

I'll still see the results.

714

So it's like a really, a true win win.

715

And I would also say if you're like,

I can't give up those like quick

716

win platforms right now because I do

need clients, you know, immediately,

717

and I'm not in a position to

necessarily invest in the longterm.

718

Starting with like just blogging and

using that as like a cornerstone piece

719

and then using the content that you

create on your blog post to create reels

720

and to pull carousels from is such a

good way to like, reuse that energy,

721

Colie: I wish people could see my

face when you said that because I

722

was literally, guys, going to come up

behind her and say, and listen, every

723

single minute that you spend creating

content for your blog, you are saying

724

probably some pretty important shit

that you could then take and reuse.

725

Repurpose, Recycle, whichever

word it is that's the word of the

726

day, you could totally take that

and use it for Instagram Reels.

727

And we haven't talked about email

marketing, but I do have a conversation

728

later in the series where I am

really going hard on email marketing.

729

And so.

730

Just remember, whatever content you

are creating for a channel, there is a

731

way for you to either repurpose it or

use that idea to create more content

732

about that topic for another channel.

733

So nothing that you do

is going to be in vain.

734

I mean, I was already thinking to myself,

Hey, any new static pins that I make,

735

because Kara told me to, I'm going to be

able to just reuse those on Instagram.

736

I mean, you know, Especially in my

stories, guys, you can reuse all of this.

737

So I just personally, the purpose of me

creating this series was to get you to

738

be more strategic and more intentional

on where you are spending your time

739

in order to market your business and

your services, Cara, Thank you so much

740

for joining me for this conversation.

741

It was amazing.

742

And, you know, I will just,

I love to chat with you.

743

I love our little boxer chats.

744

And so this was just a good

opportunity to get you on my screen.

745

So I could be like,

746

Kara: Yeah, no, thank you

so much for having me.

747

I can't wait to tune

into the whole series.

748

I think it's going to be so good.

749

Colie: it's going to be so good.

750

All right, everybody.

751

And as Cara said, this

is only episode two.

752

In what is many more to come.

753

So please make sure that if you have

not subscribed to this podcast, that

754

you do so now so that all of the

future episodes in the marketing with

755

intention series are downloaded directly

on your podcast device of choice.

756

All right.

757

That's it for this episode.

758

See you next time.