Thursday Press #161: not the kind of manifestation I wanted
[5 DEC 2024]
You’re staying with extended family over the holidays.
You’ve already gotten water, said your good nights, and turned off the light, but when you go into the bathroom to get ready for bed… disaster strikes.
There’s not enough toilet paper to do your business and you have NO clue where to find more.
There’s not one of those handy organizers or a stack on the back of the toilet, so now you’re left wondering if your see-you-once-a-year family members are the kind of people who shove a few extra rolls under the sink or if they’re the professionally organized closet TP stash kind of people.
Spoiler alert: it’s not under the sink.
Now you’re left wondering if you make the most of the 2 squares of 2 ply left or hike up your pants for an awkward “heyyyyy, Grammy?” convo outside the bedroom door.
I don’t know about you, but just imagining this situation has got me SWEATIN’. 🥵
And in fact, it had me actually sweating last week.
See, this original story appeared in Issue #28, just swap the family for friends, and the pretend situation for REAL.
This was supposed to be a hypothetical, not a real-life emergency situation.
Alas, I wrote my own fate.
And since that was one of my favorite newsletters ever and it was so long ago, it had to be revived.
(Am I giving away some of the ~magic~ by telling you this is a repeat? Maybe. But the rerun ends here, it’s time for a new episode)
While my grandmother is typically the type to Marie Kondo organize every square inch and label even the smallest of containers, there was no toilet paper in sight.
I checked under the sink.
I checked in the guest bathroom.
I checked in the linen closet.
No luck.
Where was it?
Costco-size packs of toilet paper that would’ve made 2020-me green with envy were stacked in the (also immaculately organized) garage.
I can tell you rn I would NOT have looked there.
The way I felt at 11 p.m. in my grandparents’ basement bathroom is exactly how your audience feels when they land on your website from Pinterest and don’t know where to go next.
If you promised them a free download, where is it?
Did you promote one thing only for the link to take them somewhere else?
Are your services clearly linked in your navigation?
Do you have your pricing laid out or a way to contact you?
At the very least, do you have plenty of calls to action to tell your new digital visitor where to go and what to do next?
Don’t leave your potential clients sweating in your online bathroom, First name / dude.
Because while Pinterest can get people to your website (and lots of them), it can’t guarantee they’ll do anything after that.
What Keywords *Can't* Do For You
Over the past few weeks, I’ve talked a lot about keywords.
If we’re being honest, I’ve spent the last several years talking about keywords.
I’ve told you how to choose the right keywords, the importance of using specific keywords, and the role keywords play in Pinterest SEO.
While all of that is 100% important, there’s something else you need to know…
Keywords can’t do everything for you.
Keywords are a key factor in your brand’s visibility.
You’re not a museum exhibit; though, you’re not here just to be looked at.
Keywords can also help attract the right audience.
But it doesn’t matter how good your fishing skills are if you can’t take the fish off the hook once you’ve reeled ‘em in.
Keywords can lead your audience to your online watering hole, but it’s up to your website to make that horse take a drink.
Museums, fish, and horses… oh my! What’s next? A yellow brick road to the Emerald City?
You also can’t use keywords to mislead your audience.
You might think it’s as simple as using the most popular keywords you want to rank for on your pin, but if it doesn’t match the actual content, you’re in hot water baby.
That’s why we need to channel the kind of label-making, file-folding harmony that makes me want a walk-in closet the size of my bathroom.
What does this look like in a practical sense? Glad ya asked…
On Pinterest, you’re going to:
Keep your keywords relevant and descriptive
Don’t try to trick your audience
Use simple terms your people are searching for
But the real magic comes with the experience on your website. It’s the man behind the curtain, if you will.
Far too often, I see business owners with pins leading to broken links or just a homepage.
Then, I can’t even find all of their offers or opt-ins from their website!
Those are priiiime spots we want to lead people, so don’t keep them buried in a tiny CTA in one single blog post.
Make it ridiculously easy for your people to opt-in and buy from you. Here's how:
1. Make sure all your links are accessible to all pages of your website.
I’m glad you’ve got your lead magnet linked in your IG bio, but people landing on your page from Pinterest can’t find it! Add an opt-in form to your blog posts, home page, wherever!
2. Make it easy for people to inquire to work with you.
I want you to book those high-ticket clients as much as you do! So make it crystal clear exactly how new website visitors can do that with contact forms or booking links on every page.
3. Sprinkle your website with CTAs.
The biggest missed opportunity I see is with business owners who have the best intentions in mind to provide value to their audience in their blog posts. But at the end of the blog, the readers are left wondering “What now?”
(now we’re back to the whole undesirable sweaty-bathroom sitch)
Want a checklist of exactly how to optimize your website & content for Pinterest? Good thing I've got juuuust the thing ⤵
How to Make Sure Your Content Converts from Pinterest
While I can't make your website convert for you, I can give you all the tools and resources to get as many people as possible to your website using Pinterest!
We're less than a week out from the Pinterest SEO Workshop (mark your calendar for Dec 11 if you haven't already!) and you can still grab a seat at 20% off 👀
Here are the dirty details:
WHAT: 90-min, live hands-on workshop covering —
How to choose the right keywords to get your pins in front of the right audience
Where to use those keywords so Pinterest knows exactly how to categorize your content
How to write pin copy quickly without second-guessing every word
How to decode Pinterest's algorithm and understand how it sees your content
WHEN: December 11th at 2 pm EST
HOW MUCH: $97 ($77.60 if you buy today with the code THANKS20)
WHO: You, hopefully! All Pinterest experience levels welcome!
And of course, if you can't make it live, it'll all be recorded for you to watch at your convenience!