Pinterest SEO for Substack: How to Get More Traffic & Sales
How I use Pinterest to drive organic traffic, clicks and sales to my Substack — without ads or daily engagement.
If you want to understand how to increase your organic traffic, growth, and sales not only for your Substack newsletter but also for another online business you may have, stay until the end of this post.
My name is Ana, and over the past year, I rediscovered not only Substack but also Pinterest as a platform that helps me increase my traffic, attention, engagement, and sales across social media, including for my Substack newsletter.
Not through ads or AI knowledge, but through my own experiment and hours of hard work. Especially when it comes to figuring out how the Pinterest algorithm works.
Currently, I get over 102K monthly views on Pinterest. That’s exactly why I also promote every monthly edition of my Substack Visibility Project on this platform.
Today, I’m giving you part of my knowledge completely for free because over the past few weeks, while consulting people both on Substack and Pinterest, I’ve been getting the same question over and over again: When will I make my first sale?
A question that has followed me for months, but perhaps now is the time to tell you that your first paid subscriber, sale, or even higher organic traffic depends precisely on you and the strategy you choose to implement.
I’ve already shared how to set up your Pinterest profile, but now it’s time to take a deeper look at Pinterest - a side of it that very few experts talk about.
And AI isn’t always right when it comes to gathering the RIGHT information.
Pinterest is a search engine that works through visual elements, rather than a social media platform. You don’t have a feed with Notes, nor do you have the option to write long-form posts.
The goal of Pinterest is to work as a search engine that shows the right pin to the right target audience, so that when a user clicks on it, they are taken directly to your:
Physical product
Digital product
Substack newsletter
Etsy/Shopify online store
Personal blog/website
Pinterest is the main marketing funnel channel for many creators, especially those who run small brands or are independent creators.
🔦If you want your writing to reach the right audience, join Not Exactly Ana as a paid subscriber and become part of the Visibility Project. Now is the perfect time to join the new edition because there are still spots available.
(button works better from the web page)
Rule 1: Keywords are your traffic booster on Pinterest
The Pinterest algorithm works based on keywords, which, as I’ve already described in my Pinterest guide, you should place in:
Title
Description
Hashtags
Recently, Pinterest also added a Beta version of Pinterest Trends, where you can quickly and conveniently check which keywords and topics are currently trending. You can also use the search function, which helps determine which keywords are currently receiving more interest.
For additional SEO optimization, I recommend using an AI tool such as Claude to create SEO-optimized titles + descriptions based on the data from Pinterest Trends for the current month.
This way, you automate part of your Pinterest work to some extent, while also managing to attract traffic from search engines such as Google, for example.
Rule 2: Your visual elements need hooks
One of the most important rules on Pinterest is that the visual element works in your favor. This is where tools like Canva work perfectly for creating your pins.
If you’re wondering what kind of designs attract attention, I recommend trying the following searches in Canva:
Content creator
Aesthetic grid
Instagram post
You’ll then see many impressive designs that you can personalize and use to create pins that genuinely attract attention.
One of the most important things when creating a pin is the HOOK you place directly on the visual element.
Not in the description or the title, but in the image itself.
For example, if you’re promoting a Substack post, besides remembering to add a link to your post, when creating the pin, your image should give your audience a clear idea of what the content is about.
Examples of such sentences are:
I wish someone had told me this sooner...
5 ways to do X
10 years ago, I could have prevented this mistake...
The lessons I wish I had learned sooner...
4 facts about writing that will leave you speechless...
See what I mean?
Short hooks that are completely enough to encourage your audience not only to save your pin, but also to generate exactly the outbound clicks that lead to your website
Rule 3: Pinterest is influenced by seasonal trends
One of the things people rarely tell you is that Pinterest works around seasons.
But also, many creators start publishing content for a specific season at least a month before it actually arrives.
The reason is that people on Pinterest search for things in advance - whether they’re products, articles, or something else. Very often, they are not searching for them at the last minute.
That’s why right now is the time to start publishing your fall pins, so Pinterest can boost your pins when the season arrives.
In the same way, Christmas content can be created as early as the end of October because Pinterest traffic is LONG-TERM.
Pins you created a year ago can still bring traffic to your website or even generate sales months later - and why not even a year later.
Personally, this happens with some of my Substack products, because I haven’t promoted them in my newsletter for a long time, yet thanks to Pinterest, I still receive quite a few sales every month.
I also get traffic to articles I published many months ago.
Rule 4: Don’t go a week without publishing pins
Pinterest is one of the platforms that relies on your consistency.
Not on quick hacks, but on your consistency in publishing.
Can you reuse different designs over time? Of course.
Can you reuse titles and descriptions that you’ve noticed are working? Of course.
Can you disappear for a month without publishing and expect the platform to keep bringing you high results? I doubt it.
Pinterest requires your activity, but not through engaging with someone else’s audience - through PUBLISHING.
Publish frequently and try not to go even a week without posting.
Create a few designs and, if necessary, rotate them during the weeks when you’re experiencing a creative block.
That’s the only way the platform will continue working in your favor and your impressions will keep increasing.
Instead of final words, I’ll answer the biggest question:
WHEN WILL MY PINTEREST STRATEGY START WORKING?
The truth is that the minimum amount of time before you start seeing an increase in Pinterest impressions, and with that additional traffic to your website, is at least 14 days after publishing a specific pin.
The best results, if you put in enough consistency, will come about a month later, precisely because Pinterest was created as a search engine that brings long-term traffic without requiring you to engage with your audience every single day.
I’d love to know how many of you use Pinterest, as well as what your own observations have been, so we can start a nice discussion in the comments.
I’ll be happy to answer everyone’s questions, and if anyone would like to professionally trust me with their Pinterest strategy, you can send me a message.
📌Starting this month, I’ve launched my limited 1:1 coaching sessions.
These are conversations with me where we’ll map out your Substack journey together so you can achieve the results you’re aiming for.
If you’d like me to share my experience with you and show you how to apply it to your own Substack, join by clicking the button below and choosing the 1:1 Substack Session plan, or feel free to contact me if you have any additional questions.
I’m planning to launch a podcast for Not Exactly Ana .That’s why I decided to start saving for a camera to finally bring this project to life. So if you’ve ever wanted to support me with a “coffee,” know that this is what I’m currently saving for - and what I’m planning to invest in.
I have been wanting to understand how to use Pinterest for business for a while. This sounds like a great opportunity.
Thanks for sharing