What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a virtual pin board, created about two years ago, but recently it’s been taking off like wildfire.

If you’re anything like me, I love pin boards! A favorite recipe, a cute outfit, a great photo, we either stuff it into a drawer (never to be found again) clip it to the fridge (where it falls in-between the fridge and the cabinet) or pin it to a cork board with all the others. On Pinterest all we have to do, when we find something we’re interested in, is click the PIN IT on the bookmark bar. Then, create different boards to organize the topics, and it’s there for us when we’re ready for it. We also can share with our friends and they can share with us.

There is another side for bloggers and retailers: The pictures which get pined on any one persons’ board, once clicked, will go back to the original source. So say we saw this really cute pink dress on BFF’s board, we can click the photo and find out they sell them at Macy’s for $50.00. An even better example for someone like me, a new author, make a ‘pin’ of the novel cover and then link it back to it’s website where it can be bought or downloaded, and get your friends to re-pin it on their boards under ‘Must Reads’ or whatever title they create. You can also comment on the photo. I put the synopsis under the photo.

Here’s how to start:

1. Go to pinterest.com and ask for an invite (or find a friend on Pinterest to invite you).
2. Create your profile. (I included my novel coming out and synopsis)
3. Set up your boards (you can always add more as you go along)
4. When your given people to follow with similar interest, do it. This will give you a whole new set of ‘friends’.
5. Start pinning! (I went on Amazon.com and type in things I wanted to pin)

You can also upload photos from your computer and ‘pin’ them to your board. My novel is under production with a publisher, so I don’t have an ISBN number yet, so I download the HD Image they gave me of the cover. It’s already been repined a few times and I just started.

In a nutshell, that’s all there is too it.

Feel Free to come see me once you sign up! Don’t forget to re-pin TWISTED ROOTS. 

Shelly Goodman Wright
Author of TWISTED ROOTS, a Christian Romance/Suspense Novel coming Spring 2012
Author of The Irreversible Catastrophe of Professor Babcock in Steampunk Tales Issue 12 http://www.steampunktales.com
Contributor to Fresh Ink Magazine, Colorado Springs, Co