Introducing Pinterest Templates

Customizable templates are easy to use!

Pinterest likes to see unique, compelling pins on the feed. Why wouldn’t it? The problem here for authors is that authors don’t usually have the time to sit designing pins all day, only to then spend ages scheduling them.

So, I’m introducing…

Pin templates.

What are Pin templates?

Canva already has a library of Pinterest templates that you can use, but everybody’s using them. You can just grab them and go, and with so many of them being free to use, you’ll start seeing the same pins popping up on your Pinterest feed. Wow, all they’ve changed is the title or website link.

Your pins aren’t going to stand out if you keep relying on the same templates.

What do you need to do to stand out?

When someone opens Pinterest (mostly on their phone) they’re looking at 4-6 pins at any one time. If they’re all a similar colour scheme, similar message or similar layout, the eyes become blind to anything special about your pin.

There are thousands of templates out there to buy already, but I’m designing templates for authors, not bloggers. I am designing templates that I would use to market my own books. If you’ve seen my Pinterest account, you’ll see that I’m not messing around here. It was only when I was designing my own pins that I thought hang on, there are hardly any pin templates out there for authors. Sometimes I just want to use a template, but I’m often forced to make my own design. I don’t mind doing this—designing stuff on Canva is fun for me, but I know others find it a royal PITA.

It’s hard to get started on Pinterest when you’re trying to write, too. Nobody seems to have the answers, either.

Pinterest gurus will give you straightforward advice when it comes to designing pins. They will give tips just like the ones below, because they’re generic and apply to almost everyone out there with a blog or youtube channel. These tips are great if you’re a lifestyle blogger, a crafter or a cook, but not if you’re an author:

• How to [something your audience wants to learn]

• Best [tools/tips/practice/products/platforms]

• Step-by-step [guide, video, instructions]

• Tips for [solving a specific problem]

• Beginner’s guide to [a skill or hobby]

• Most effective ways to [do something]

• Strategies [like ‘how to grow on Substack’]

These tips are excellent if you’re designing pins that will showcase your blog posts, tutorials, podcast episodes or other lifestyle content… but what about authors? When I’m designing pins for my craft blog, I don’t have to think twice. If I don’t feel like designing my own pins, there are plenty of templates to help me get started. However, when I’ve been making pins as an author, I’ve found it to be a completely different kettle of fish.

Marketing your book as an author on Pinterest is surprisingly easy. If your cover is good, you’re halfway there. Not every pin can just be of your book cover though. That will get uninspiring, quick!

Pinterest is a visual search engine, but searches will start to track the same book cover coming up over and over again.

Why is this a problem?

Would you want your feed saturated with the same, dated content all the time? Probably not.

Changing the images for your links (like, back to your book’s landing page or author website) is a game changer. The algorithm is like ‘this is new!’ when actually, it’s just the same book in a different image. This is a tiny tweak that we all need to utilise to keep Pinterest looking at our pins.

The pins I’ve had the most success with are pins that:

• Showcase the book’s cover. Readers judge books by covers so you really need to use it.

• Add a bit of review text to show that people have read and enjoyed it.

• Show the reader the full blurb.

• Use narrative hooks to try and encourage the reader to want to know more.

You will also need to write a title and description to go with each pin, but as for the basics, the picture really has to tell it all.

That’s why I’ve started making templates for authors to customize and use on their own Pinterest pages.

So far, I have science fiction templates available and fantasy templates available. There will be more! I will also be making templates for other social media channels to help you get more out of your writing time.

Each template is fully customizable, meaning you can change the colours, fonts, images and whatever else needs a little tweak to make it yours.

Not seeing a template pack that’s right for you?

If you’re struggling to find Pinterest templates for your genre/line of work, please let me know in the comments and I’ll see what I can do. I’m going to be making more templates for Substack posts as well as books, so stick around!