Many bloggers and businesses are turning to Pinterest to supercharge their growth. However, having someone in-house do Pinterest marketing doesn’t make real economic sense for small businesses.
Solution?
Outsourcing! That’s where you come in as a Pinterest virtual assistant to help them grow their accounts, drive traffic to their websites and grow their revenues.
Well, that sounds exciting, but how do you actually become a Pinterest Manager?
- Do the research and know what you’re getting into
- Find a company to work with
- Take on specific projects for them, like pinning their products or promoting their services.
- Work with them to determine your rates and any other payment terms
- Get started! You’ll need to create an account on Pinterest so that you can pin things for your clients and start building up followers too!
Who is a Pinterest Virtual Assistant?
A Pinterest virtual assistant is someone who manages Pinterest accounts for others, commonly small businesses or bloggers.
Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the fastest-growing social media networks in existence right now, and businesses are flocking to Pinterest with more and more frequency.
It’s exciting, but it also means that they’re going to need help managing their new account before they can start actually making money with it.
Are You Qualified to Work as a Pinterest VA?
Pinterest is a unique social media site with its own specialized knowledge, and you’ll need to know a few things before you get started working for other businesses on Pinterest.
You should already know your way around Pinterest and have a solid amount of followers for yourself before you start working as a virtual assistant on the platform.
If you don’t have experience yet, there are opportunities to work with businesses on Pinterest while learning at the same time!
Always research any potential hire thoroughly before taking them on. You don’t want to get on the wrong side of the law because you were too eager to jump into your first Pinterest job.
What Do Virtual Assistants Do?
Virtual assistants are a mix of many things, all designed to help others manage and grow their online presence.
Pinterest virtual assistant work is a lot more than just pinning pretty pictures, though! You’ll be researching your clients’ target audience, taking care of customer service issues, organizing their content so that others can find it as well as reporting your progress to the client.
As a Pinterest Va, your tasks include:
- Designing new pins
- Coming up with unique custom pin templates
- Creating new boards for companies
- Researching their target audience and competitors
- Building up their follower base on Pinterest
- Pinning interesting things related to your client’s services or products
- Coming up with new ways to promote their business through Pinterest
- Scheduling pins using a scheduler like Tailwind
- Suggest new post ideas or updates
- Optimizing profile, boards and pins for Pinterest SEO
- Reporting your progress to the client
- Hiring other Pinterest VAs (or taking on new clients)
What Are Some Examples of Pinterest Actions?
Pinterest virtual assistant work can seem a little nebulous at first. You’ll be working with another business or individual who wants you to help them grow their social media presence, but how exactly do you do that?
We’ll start with just pinning their products and grow to include other types of Pinterest marketing activities. We’ll walk through the process and discuss some action steps along the way too.
Action 1 – Creating a Pinterest Marketing Strategy for Your Client
Start by brainstorming with your client about exactly what you’re going to do for them. Think about how you can help expand their business through Pinterest.
Engage your creativity and have fun thinking of all kinds of Pinterest marketing strategies that will help your client
- How often should you pin?
- How many pin images should you create per post?
- How many boards should you create? Which ones?
- What types of pins to create? Post pins, product pins, Idea pins etc.
- Should you make boards for their different products, or should all the products go on one board?
Questions like these will help you figure out how to best serve your client and accomplish your goals.
Once you’ve got a preliminary strategy in place, you can move onto the next action step.
Action 2 – Creating a Hook for Your Pins Templates.
The success of every Pinterest strategy depends on how well you can hook people in.
Your pins need to stand out and create an interesting call to action that encourages people to click or repin your images.
Pinterest users are always looking for unique content, so it’s important when creating the pin images that you:
- Use images that are visually appealing
- Include a catchy (but not cheesy) tagline on the image
- Attract attention with your custom pin template. Make sure it includes a unique design that will make you stand out.
- The text in the pins should be easily readable. Use a friendly font, increase sizes and choose colors that complement each other well.
Your clients are looking to create a memorable brand that people will recognize and remember.
Action 3 – Creating Interesting Pins Based on Your Client’s Needs
Remember, the purpose of this is to help your client grow so they can hire you for more work in the future!
You’ll be creating pins with great photos, unique descriptions and attractive custom pin templates.
When your clients are hiring Pinterest VAs, they’re looking for people who can keep their audience engaged and coming back for more content!
Pins that use call-to-action buttons or include a unique promo code will also be effective on Pinterest.
Always brainstorm with clients about what they want to achieve and come up with fresh ideas together!
Action 4 – Building Your Client’s Followers
The more followers your clients have, the more effective your pinning strategies will be. So one of the things Pinterest VAs do is help clients grow their Pinterest follower base.
To grow a following, start engaging with other Pinterest users and encourage engagement on your client’s boards as well. This can be done by following relevant Pinterest users and checking out the content they are posting.
When you spot interesting images or pins, like and repin them to help get your client noticed. Include comments with your likes as well to build a better relationship on Pinterest.
Engage on other people’s boards and pin their content to increase the chances that they’ll follow you back.
After some time, you will start seeing connections and followers come in. Encourage clients to engage their audience with questions and offer them special deals if they share or repin certain photos.
Action 5 – Using Analytics to Track Growth
As you start doing more pinning for clients, it’ll help to have access to Pinterest’s analytics. You can then get more information about your pins and user demographics so you can use that data in the future.
Analyze how often images are pinned from your client’s boards, how often they are repinned, where those pins originate from and how long users spend on each board.
Use this data to determine what types of pin images work best for your client’s audience and what boards need more attention. If a certain type isn’t getting much engagement, then try something new and see the results that it brings in instead.
Action 6 – Measuring Results
When you’re doing Pinterest marketing for your clients, don’t forget to check the results and track your progress. For example, how often are you getting new followers? How many repins do you have on each image?
Note these details down in an organized manner so that it’s easier to go back later and analyze which pin images are working and which aren’t.
Ask your client for feedback about their Pinterest account as well, so you can make updates or changes to keep the audience engaged.
Gauge the results of each board by looking at how many followers they have gained from that board, how much engagement is happening there and if more pins are being added.
Action 7 – Pinning Strategically to Boost Engagement
Pinterest users enjoy boards that are often pinned to and include images with different types of content. The best way to build a following on Pinterest is by creating boards that appeal to various interests and have something for everyone.
You can also boost engagement by saving the most popular pins to boards too. That way, your client will get more traffic for every pin they create and use this strategy to their advantage!
It’s important that you find ways to engage users, so they come back again for more content. This can be done by creating more content on the blog and pinning them on Pinterest.
You can use Tailwind as an assistant to schedule pins throughout the day on autopilot, too, saving your client valuable time.
Action 8 – Making Sure Your Client’s Pins and Boards Are Well-Maintained
Pinterest content is only effective if it remains fresh and relevant.
You should check in with your clients now and then to see if they have new products or services that need to be featured on Pinterest, for example. You’ll also want to delete old pins that are no longer relevant or work with your client to redirect popular pins that lead to 404 pages.
You should also think about ways to help your client maintain their Pinterest account. As a VA, you can do this by periodically monitoring boards to find dormant ones and pins for broken links or products out of stock.
This will help ensure that their followers find them on Pinterest and stay engaged with the content.
Action 9 – Optimize Client’s Websites for Pinterest
To take full advantage of Pinterest Marketing, ensure that your clients’ sites are optimized for Pinterest.
Your client’s website should have share buttons in a prominent place on each page and their blog posts so that people can easily pin content from it.
They should also add a description to each pin that includes a link back to their website and then use the title field in Pinterest to add any further details.
You also need to create a custom pin image for each post and upload it to WordPress with pin-description metadata.
A great way to do this is by using a plugin like Social Warfare Pro. This plugin allows you to:
- Add interactive social sharing buttons that can be customized to your liking.
- Add one or more pin images to WordPress posts.
- Add custom pin image description.
You can get your license to Social Warfare Pro plugin here
How to Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Now that we’ve established a basic overview of what Pinterest virtual assistants do, let’s look at becoming one.
Make sure you’re ready – If you truly want to become a Pinterest virtual assistant, then you need to be prepared for it.
If you want to become a Pinterest VA but have no experience with blogging or website management, I suggest starting with the basics.
Take a look at popular blogs and find out what it is that makes them work. Find out which bloggers are getting the most readers from Pinterest and why they have such an engaged audience.
Here are the top-5 steps to becoming a Pinterest Virtual Assistant:
1) Create a Beautiful & Engaging Pinterest Profile.
For you to be hired as a virtual assistant, you’ll first need to have a highly presentable Pinterest profile.
By having an active and engaging Pinterest account, you can demonstrate your ability to create well-organized content. This shows potential clients that you can manage their Pinterest boards and get high engagement out of them.
Make sure your Pinterest profile meets the following requirements:
Profile name – This should be easy to remember and describe who you are (i.e., Blogging for Pennies, Pinterest Virtual Assistant, Online Marketing for Small Businesses)
Profile photo – You’ll want to have a professional-looking headshot that is relevant to the work you do. You don’t need any graphics or text on the image, but it should be clear and easy to recognize who you are when people browse through your profile.
Category boards – Create a board for each type of work you do. If you offer Pinterest management services, then create a board titled “Pinterest Management.” You can still have your own boards that show your personal interests as well, but when people are looking to hire someone, they’ll be able to see what you’ve done professionally in an instant.
Activity – Make sure you engage with other people on Pinterest. For example, if you have an interesting board for travel, find some awesome pins of cities you’ve traveled to and like them (you can always click “not interested” if it’s not relevant). Not only will this show that you’re engaged with Pinterest, but also, people on your profile will be more likely to follow you.
2) Develop Your Pinterest Virtual Assistant Packages
You’ll need to think through the different Pinterest management packages you would like to offer and create a pricing page that tells potential clients how much each package costs.
I recommend making your prices competitive so that they will feel compelled to hire you over other virtual assistants, but still fair enough where you can make a profit. Here are some great tips on how to create the perfect pricing page.
Here are some other things to consider when creating your packages:
- How many hours per week will you be available?
- Is there a minimum amount of time (i.e., clients must buy at least 2 hours), or can they sign up for as little as they’d like?
- Will you offer free Pinterest management in the beginning just to have the chance to work with them?
3) Offer to Help for Free in Your Client’s First Pinning Project.
You’ll be most successful in selling yourself if you can demonstrate your Pinterest skills by helping a potential client with their first project.
If they are new to Pinterest, then offer to build a board full of pins for their blog post, give them ideas for how to use Pinterest and provide tips on their current boards.
By doing this for free, you’ll be giving yourself an opportunity to show off your skills and make a great first impression while potentially gaining more clients in the process.
Alternatively, if they already have an active Pinterest presence but want help with engagement, then offer to help them develop a pinning strategy or a discounted audit package.
4) Create a Portfolio Website.
Many of your potential clients will want to see examples of the work you’ve done in order to feel that they’ll be getting quality services for their money.
You can do this by creating a portfolio website where people can check out your sample works, testimonials and supporting graphics.
There are several great portfolio themes that you can use off the shelf, and they even come with a built-in widget to showcase your Pinterest boards.
If you’re not sure how to set up your own website, follow my guide on building a website or a blog with WordPress.
5) Find Clients through Social Media Channels, Forums & Blogs.
There are a number of different sources you can use to find potential Pinterest Virtual Assistant clients:
- Find people who have pinned images that relate to your niche on Pinterest. Then, reach out to them and offer your services.
- Use the Twitter search by keyword or hashtag to find people interested in Pinterest Virtual Assistance jobs.
- Use forums or blogs specific to your niche and look for people who need help with Pinterest marketing.
- Join relevant Facebook groups that are related to your niche. Ask questions about Pinterest and locate members who are interested in hiring a virtual assistant for their business.
- Look for work on Fiverr – you can create gigs around Pinterest management, Pinterest VA, Pinterest graphics design services etc.
How to Promote Your Pinterest Management Services
There are two main ways you can promote your Pinterest services:
1) Reach Out & Connect with Previous Clients.
If you had good professional relationships with previous clients, reach out to them again and see if they need help with Pinterest, especially if you know they’re having difficulty with it.
Since they already know you and can vouch for your efficiency, they might be more willing to work with you again!
2) Attending Events And Networking.
There are so many events that you can attend and network with people in fields related to Pinterest Marketing, especially if you live in a large city where there’s an abundance of entrepreneurs, social media experts and online marketers.
If someone needs help with their Pinterest account or has any questions about it, give them your business card and tell them that you are a Pinterest manager. If they have any other questions, offer to take their information and call/email them later so you can help them with anything related to Pinterest Marketing.
3) Leverage the power of SEO
Your Pinterest VA website is more than just a portfolio. Instead, it should serve as a way to attract prospects and convert them into clients.
Therefore, this means that you have to be intentional with the pages and posts you create and the keywords you target.
When people search for “Pinterest virtual assistant” or “Pinterest marketing,” you’ll want your website to show up in the SERPs.
The best way to do this is to create a new webpage that has your Pinterest virtual assistant services and link it back to your profile. This should be the first thing people see when looking for someone who can help with Pinterest.
4) Create Relevant Pinterest Boards
When you promote your Pinterest virtual assistant services, make sure to include Pinterest boards that represent what you’re offering.
For example, if you specialize in helping people manage their Pinterest SEO efforts, why not create a board with the most recent and relevant updates for it?
This way, when prospects actually check out your Pinterest account, they’ll be able to get the information they need without searching for it.
5) Examine what Your Competition is Doing.
If you come across competitors who are serious about Pinterest, examine what they’re doing with their profiles. Look at the boards that they curate and see if there’s any room for improvement.
Do your competitors have engaging and well-filled out profile pages? Is their website linked to their Pinterest account? Do they have boards that are specifically for Pinterest SEO?
If you find something lacking, then take the time to fix what can be improved. This will do you good when prospective clients check out your page and see that you’re well-equipped to handle their specific needs.
How much do Pinterest Virtual Assistants make?
Since Pinterest is a relatively new platform, there aren’t any statistics on how much Pinterest VAs make in terms of salary.
However, I can tell you that as long you know what your services entail and the value they bring to clients; your earnings should be more than just pocket change.
I have seen Pinterest VAs charging from $15 an hour to $50 an hour and more!
How much you charge will depend on the clients you want to attract, your success with Pinterest marketing and how you market your services.
Honestly speaking, as long as you know how to sell what you’re offering, you’ll be able to charge more for your services.
Wrapping Up
Pinterest is an effective platform to make money online as a VA. By utilizing some of the strategies in this article, you’ll be able to reach more prospects and increase your income.
As always, I’m happy to answer any questions that you may have. You can post them in the comments section below.
Thanks for reading!
