How to Get Started with Pinterest

Pinterest is great and it is really easy to get started.

Sorry, I get ahead of myself; I guess you want to know what Pinterest is? Well Pinterest is the fastest growing, most visually exciting – and easy to operate – social media platform. Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web on pin boards that you create.

And because it is Social Media you follow people and they follow you and you can browse their pin boards and discover new things … and get inspired.

For me, Pinterest is a tonic – I love relaxing into visual after all the words I deal with all day. I so enjoy finding and sorting all the beautiful images.

OK, so let’s get started – Go to Pinterest.com and get yourself registered. You can log on via Facebook or Twitter as well.

The most important part of this is to get the little Pin it button into your Toolbar. If you have any problems you can read all about it at Pinterest’s Help – they also have a video to show you how to do it

Right, now you are set to go.

Where to find Images for Pinterest

There are a few main areas where you can find images for your boards –

On Pinterest itself – Click the Red logo and hover over everything (this is when you are logged in and you can see your pins on the left side) you will always a stream of images which come from the people you follow. (Go and look for interesting people and follow them)

The second source of images is anywhere on the Web. If you see a picture you like on a website, you Pin it up in your Toolbar. (the dropdown menu will allow you to put it in a category)
Then, you can upload a photo to Pinterest from your computer by clicking the "Add" button on your navigation bar. This is a great option for pinning images that aren't already hosted online.

How to create and Name New Pinboards

New pinboards can be created anytime by clicking the "Add" button on your Pinterest navigation bar. Don't forget to categorize your board and name it something clever or eye-catching to gain other pinners' attention.

The best advice I can give anyone is to look at some boards and get ideas and to start with maybe six or eight boards and get some nice images on them before you start inviting the whole world. If you’re a foodie, you can have various food pin boards – Soups, Salads, Deserts, Cakes, Vegetarian Food etc or if you are into Fashion or Sport or Dancing or Books or collecting you’ll enjoy Pinterest.

Some people use catchy titles for their Pinboards, others use plain ones.

I must rush back to my Pinterest, catch you later …