This blog post might catch you a bit off guard. I don’t actually hear it talked about very often, but holey moley, it deserves some time and acknowledgment. Okay, so what am I talking about in regard to your Pinterest marketing?
Your Pinterest mindset.
I know, I know, it doesn’t sound sexy. And isn’t providing a quick fix or some crazy solution. But in reality, though, it is a solution. Changing your Pinterest mindset might actually be the solution to your traffic problem because it will help you approach your Pinterest marketing from an angle that you might not have seen before.
My Background and a Growth Mindset
As a former teacher, something that I heard often was “growth mindset”. Not only did I hear it often, but I also had professional development meetings on understanding and implementing a growth mindset in my classroom.
See, in my school, it was actually required that we have growth mindset-based lessons. We taught our young students the power of “yet”.
Such a simple word! I would tell my students, instead of saying “I can’t do it”, they needed to say, “I can’t do it, yet“.
It’s crazy how that extra word totally changes things because it then implies they are working on it, and they will do it.
Now of course I used mentor texts, follow-up activities, etc., but I still believe in the power of “yet”, and that it’s something many adults need to adopt.
Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset
There are two sides to this coin though.
No one in the classroom, or in life for that matter, has to change their mindset.
On the other hand, the consequence is you’ll stay stuck, and you’ll keep a fixed mindset.
Not to get off-topic, but I’ve seen this so much in my own business. If I tell myself “I can never make X amount of money”, “I can never make a digital course”, etc, etc. Guess what? I won’t.
When we tell ourselves we can, and in the wise words of Marie Forleo, “everything is figureoutable”, it totally flips the script.
We just have to fight the good fight of a fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset.
How Mindset Pertains to Pinterest Marketing
Now how in the world does this have to do with Pinterest marketing? Well, it all comes full circle, I promise. Part of this full circle requires one more story though.
I was in a Facebook group, and someone asked a question about Pinterest. For a little context, it had nothing to do with Pinterest stats or what results people are seeing on the platform.
So of course there were lots of helpful responses, and then someone literally said, “Pinterest doesn’t work for people anymore. All of the bloggers and people who used to see tons of traffic and results are saying it no longer works”.
Shut the front door. That might have been my first thought when I read that.
What does that even mean, “Pinterest no longer works anymore”?
No more traffic? No more leads? No more sales? No more engagement?
I truly don’t understand.
I do understand some natural irritation with Pinterest, believe me, I do. As a Pinterest marketer, it is literally my job to get clients results on Pinterest.
And in case you weren’t aware, Pinterest took nosedive in July when a major, I mean MAJOR, glitch happened. Thousands (probably hundreds of thousands) of creator accounts were accidentally suspended.
Yeah, it was a mess.
After this happened, many people saw traffic go down, a loss in followers, etc. I saw this somewhat even with my client’s accounts, which is super disappointing because July is a big month for TpT sellers. Now, this wasn’t every account, but some.
So you are talking to someone who HEARS you. However, I persevered, and my amazing clients persevered, and every client account saw their stats recover (and go way up) in August.
So I think the moral here is that yes, platforms can have hiccups, but it’s a blanket statement to say that an entire search engine no longer works, for anyone.
Now, this would be an example of a fixed mindset – the belief that Pinterest doesn’t work in general.
There’s another version of a fixed mindset that also plagues business owners looking to market their business on Pinterest. This other fixed mindset is, “Pinterest just doesn’t work for MY business”.
This stems from business owners starting a new strategy on a platform that’s a search engine and approaching it with unrealistic expectations.
If you are expecting a lot of quick wins and fast growth when you get started on Pinterest, you will be disappointed.
Expect Pinterest to take 6-12 months, at least, to see results. This is me reminding you (yet again) that it’s a search engine! Honestly, probably 12-18 months is even more realistic.
It takes the platform time to index your content, understand what it’s about, and show it to the people searching for your solution.
Think of it this way. A new blogger wouldn’t expect to rank on the first page of Google the second week they started their blog, so why do we have these crazy expectations for Pinterest?
I’m going to say it. If you aren’t in it for the long game, and you aren’t willing to be consistent, Pinterest isn’t the best place for you.
But honestly, I firmly believe that owning a business, in general, is about the long game. Not very many people have stories of becoming millionaires by taking shortcuts and microwaving their success overnight.
Pinterest Marketing Mindset, and My Signature Course
I teach lessons on the Pinterest mindset in my course, Pinterest Marketing Magic, because so much of everything we do is a reflection of our attitude and mindset.
If you tell yourself Pinterest doesn’t work for you, guess what? It won’t.
You won’t be willing to test. You won’t be willing to adapt. You won’t be willing to make tweaks to your tactics, and you definitely won’t consider that maybe the problem is your strategy and not Pinterest.
So no, working on your Pinterest mindset doesn’t exactly sound “sexy”, but I think it’s a definite prerequisite to take a good hard look at how we’re thinking about platforms.
Bottom line: we need to be approaching Pinterest with a growth mindset and not a fixed mindset.
Want to learn more about Pinterest marketing DIY? Grab my FREE Pinterest strategy guide and get started today!
5 Ways to Develop Your Pinterest Marketing Mindset
So really quick, before I finish up, I want to leave you with 5 steps. These steps will help to change your mindset from fixed to growth when it comes to Pinterest marketing and how you will approach it as a business owner.
Step 1
Understand it’s a search engine, and tell yourself you will approach it with patience.
Step 2
Be willing to adapt. Platforms are always changing and if you don’t want to keep up with the changes, you’ll have to pay an expert who will.
Step 3
Take responsibility for your results. If you aren’t getting the traction you want, get back to the basics and put your ideal client first. Think about what THEY are searching for and what THEY need/want.
Step 4
Be intentional and consistent with schedulers. Don’t blame schedulers for the lack of results. They’re putting out the inputs we give them.
Step 5
Use data to drive your strategy. If you are getting traffic, but it isn’t converting, be willing to take that information. Think of it as a blessing because it’s showing you organically where bottlenecks are and what you need to tweak.
One Last Thought
If you’re ready to work on your approach to Pinterest and start a strategy that WILL pay off in the long run, grab my FREE Pinterest strategy guide or dive in and enroll in my signature course, Pinterest Marketing Magic today!
And thank you for coming to my Ted Talk. 
