Photo by Brett Weinstein

For writers who want to build a fan base and an author platform, Pinterest is an invaluable tool for promotion. By creating original content and gathering followers on Pinterest, you’ll add another important stream to your Web presence and drive traffic to your author website.

Five Tips For Author Promotion On Pinterest

Link Back to Facebook and Twitter
First, tap into your already-established social networks when you start using Pinterest. Pinterest supports cross-posting to Facebook and Twitter, so you’ll be able to connect with friends and followers on your other networks instantly on Pinterest. How cool is that? All that work that you’ve done on Facebook and Twitter will work overtime on Pinterest! You can also post your pins to your Facebook and Twitter feeds.

Create Boards to Supplement Your Writing
Working on the next great American novel? Let’s see it. Start a board to complement your writing. Nothing whets a reader’s appetite more than a display of inspiring imagery—they are apt to judge books by their covers, after all.

You can pin: your book covers, images that you use for characters, images that inspire you, pictures of things that are important to you, funny writerly comics, book covers of your favorite reads, typos that you see when you’re out and about, pictures of your favorite places to read, and much more!

For more examples of what works for authors, writers, and readers on Pinterest, check out some of the cool writer-centric things we’ve pinned on our Pinterest page! If you like what you see, you can always repin our content.

Pin Regularly
It’s easy to become overwhelmed with the thought of regular updates, but if you want to attract (and retain) loyal followers, reward them with consistency. Establish yourself as a curator of helpful information. Block out some Pinterest time every day or so, and make pinning a habit. This will help you stay visible to those who follow a lot of people.

You can make regular pinning more convenient by adding a “Pin It” button to your Web browser. When you find something you like, just click your “Pin It” button and add it instantly to your Pinterest page—and even your Facebook and Twitter pages.

Follow Other Pinners
“To be followed, one must first follow” is an old adage someone probably said. Pinterest is a quid pro quo game: Follow other pinners, repin some of their content, and reap the social media karma when they reciprocate.

Plus, repinning (rather than pinning totally new images) is a great way to keep your Pinterest profile active without having to do a lot of research yourself. You’ll build friends and followers, and you’ll have a lively, interesting page filled with images that showcase your interests and personality.

Write Searchable Pin Captions
Be sure to tag all your content appropriately, because your soon-to-be-followers will be searching Pinterest for particular key phrases. Help them find you with relevant and searchable keywords, even if esoteric Latin phrases better capture the tone of your boards. You can also categorize your boards so your pins show up in that category.

Examples of tags that have great, searchable keywords: Famous writers, novels I love, writers and writing, science fiction comics, poetry, etc.

Remember to check out Writer’s Relief on Pinterest, where we feature articles, inspiration, and even clients! Pin us—we’d love to go steady.

Question: Already pinning? Do you have any other tips for attracting followers?