How To Get More Pinterest Followers in 10 Simple Steps

If you create content and own a website or blog, you most likely already know how important it is to have a solid Pinterest marketing strategy to grow your traffic and business. Part of that strategy is growing your Pinterest followers.

Woman holding a tablet with Pinterest on the screen

So, today I’m sharing 10 key areas to focus on to increase your followers on Pinterest.

However, before we start, let me reiterate just how important it is to utilize Pinterest as one of your key traffic-driving strategies…

The Value of Pinterest: Stats

  • 600 million people actively use Pinterest every single month
  • 80% of Pinterest users access via their mobile device
  • Pinterest is responsible for driving 73% of this website’s traffic and 77% of my lifestyle blog’s traffic
  • I currently gain approximately 250 to 350 Pinterest followers per month for my marketing services website (this site!) – follow me here
  • I also average 800 to 1200 Pinterest followers per month on my other Pinterest account

In addition to the metrics above, what makes Pinterest stand apart from any other social media network is the lifespan of its content.

👉 The average lifespan of a pin is 3 months to a year, although it can be much more! (I still have pins I created 8 years ago, driving regular traffic to my websites!)

Compare this to Facebook at 5 or 6 hours, X at 18 minutes and Instagram and 1 to 2 days, you can see why Pinterest can make such a massive impact to your website traffic and business.

Now that we understand the value of Pinterest, let’s talk about how to grow your followers.

How Do People Get So Many Followers on Pinterest?

Simply put…

They create and share excellent solution-based content and understand how to use Pinterest. To learn more about this sign up for my FREE Pinterest Starter Guide – Ideal for Beginners.

How to Get More Pinterest Followers in 10 Steps

How To Increase Pinterest Followers in 10 Simple Steps

 

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only share products and services I have personally used and love. Disclosure here.

#1. Create High-Quality Content

People go to Pinterest to seek inspiration, to find an answer or to solve a problem. Therefore, you must ensure that your content and specifically your pins cater to this.

Providing solution-based, problem-solving content also means that you know what people are looking for before you write an article.

How do you know what content Pinterest users want?! Because you do keyword research. See screenshots in Step #3.

  • Use Pinterest’s search bar to get see the actual words people are using to search – see the auto results suggestions
  • Look at the recommended colored boxes at the top of your search results page. These keywords are what people are using to find content.
  • Also, use SEO tools like Ubersuggest to understand what people are searching for. This is meant for search engines like Google, however using this tool can also help you confirm that the content you are writing is indeed being sought out in search engines and on Pinterest.

Doing a little prework before you write a blog post will help you out in the long run.

#2. Design Great Looking, Helpful Pins

Pinterest is a visual platform and people want to look at nice images! That is the truth.

Designing pins that look great and are helpful will get you one step closer to gaining more Pinterest followers.

In order to make sure your pins are helpful remember that you are talking to people. These individuals are looking for an answer, so make sure your communications are about them – not you!

Get tips on how to design high performing Pinterest pins and put these best practices into action now.

👉 Want some help with your Pinterest designs? Sign up for my free Pinterest templates here.

#3. Get Smart with Pinterest Keywords

Pinterest is different from other social networks as it has cutting-edge search technology to help people find what they are looking for.

You, therefore, want to optimize your Pinterest account for search. You can do this by including relevant keywords throughout your account in places such as your:

  • Profile
  • Board names
  • Board descriptions
  • Pin descriptions

We know that using the right keywords in your pin description can get your pins seen more on Pinterest and this is the same with your Pinterest boards and Pinterest profile.

By using keywords in the board name and board descriptions more people will find your boards when searching.

This means there is a much higher chance of them following specific boards too.

Here are a few ways to find the right keywords.

Use the Pinterest search bar and see the autofill suggestions.

Pinterest search auto fill for 'brush lettering'

Review the search keyword results at the top of the results page. Click on different keyword suggestions to get more detailed search queries.

Pinterest keyword suggestions

#4. Create Niche Boards

The more niche-specific your boards are the more chances you have of increasing your Pinterest followers.

For example: If you have a board called “Goals”, think about how you can be even more specific with this content.

This works especially well if you write a lot of content about goals.

You could, therefore, go even more specific and name it “Life Goals”, “Personal Goals” or “Relationship Goals”.

People have the choice to follow your profile (all boards) or specific boards.

If you have descriptive keywords in your board descriptions, this will be found for those looking for specific content. You will, therefore, grow followers one great niche board at a time.

#5. Create Your Own Group Boards

(Note: this is an older strategy that I wouldn’t prioritize in 2026. I have left it here though in case this is something you ever want to test.)

Open a few of your Pinterest boards to contributors. In order for people to contribute to your group board, they must follow you. This is a Pinterest requirement.

This can be a great way to increase your followers when you are starting out, however, keep in mind that you don’t want to add too many people to your group boards so you can control the quality of the pins being submitted.

#6. Ask for Followers!

This is an easy one. You want Pinterest followers? Just ask!

Places you can ask:

  • When you email your list – email blasts or newsletters
  • When someone purchases something from you (ideal if you have an online shop)
  • Have a podcast? Mention it there.
  • Includes in the footer of your website
  • At the end of a blog post (see below) – I like to add a section at the bottom of every blog post that mentions to follow me…
Let's connect on social media

Sometimes you just need to tell people what you want; it is really that simple.

#7. Promote Your Pinterest Account

There are a few ways you can promote your Pinterest account. Here’s what I recommend:

Use MiloTree to Get More Followers on Pinterest.

Try their 30-day free trial and see how it works for you.

What I like about MiloTree is you control where it lives on your website. I recommend the bottom right corner so it’s not intrusive.

You can also use it for other purposes, such as Facebook followers or to grow your email list.

MiloTree popup example - follow on Pinterest

Promote Your Pinterest Account on Other Social Platforms

‘Hey! Wanna pin together? Let’s connect on Pinterest’.

Don’t be shy. Ask your Facebook or Twitter followers to give you a follow on Pinterest.

#8. Use Tailwind

Automating your content keeps you active on Pinterest. Being active means more people will interact with your pins and follow you.

My Top 3 Tailwind Automation Tips:

  1. Set up detailed board lists, adding your personal and group boards. Make sure to keep them updated.
  2. Use Tailwind Tribes. Find Tribes that are relevant to your niche and add all new pins to your Tribes. Make sure to reciprocate pins related to your content.
  3. Keep an eye on your Tailwind insights and specifically board insights. Look at the Virality score and anything under a score of 1 keep an eye on. You want to contribute to boards that have the best performance possible.
Tailwind board insights screenshot

Not on Tailwind yet? CLICK HERE to get 30 days free plus $15 off when you sign up for a Plus account.

#9. Facebook Groups

Some Facebook groups have Pinterest Follow threads. This can be a great way to get your followers up when you are starting out.

If you are part of a reciprocating Pinterest thread, just make sure to only follow accounts that relate to your content. This will make it easier to repin related content to your Pinterest account.

Related: Best Facebook Groups for Bloggers

#10. Follow Those in Your Niche

Follow and pin from accounts with similar content to yours or content you feel your target audience is interested in.

Follower tip: Follow Pinterest accounts with a smaller following and interact (comment on pins and repin). People with smaller accounts will notice your interactions and will many times follow back.

 –

There you have it. 10 steps to get more Pinterest followers.

Have you been focused on getting more Pinterest followers?

Share your experience or ask questions in the comments below. 

More Pinterest Tips & Resources:

Yolanda Ridley Full Circle Digital

About Yolanda

Marketing Consultant & Web Designer

I help online business owners & content creators drive more traffic, leads & sales to stop guessing and start seeing real results.

With 25 years of online marketing experience, I teach proven strategies, tactics & tools to help you set & achieve your goals, in a way you never imagined possible. Learn more!

30 Comments

    1. Hi Deborah! MiloTree is a great little tool that reminds people to follow you when they’re on your site. Definitely worth a try 🙂 Long tail keywords are SO important as well so glad to hear you’ll be implementing this.

  1. Such a thorough post, thank you!! I will definitely consider creating my own group boards. I always thought no one would want to join but I guess if I invite people to boards which are already a bit filled up it could work!

    1. Hi Lucie – thanks – glad to hear it’s helpful 🙂 Yes, you can definitely create some group boards! My only advice is to make them niche and make sure contributors have great content for that specific niche.

  2. I just heard about MiloTree a couple of weeks ago. These are all good tips. I really need to work on my Pinterest plan! Thanks for the great info.

  3. Thanks for these great reminders. I had been receiving a few hundred new followers a month on Pinterest, and then a few months ago it just completely stopped. I need to try a few of these tactics to get moving again.

    1. Hey Jennifer! I’d love to know if these tips help you grow, so report back when you have a moment (after you implement all the steps). Thanks!

    1. Hi Susie – oh yes! More important than people realize, especially with Pinterest as people are there for visual inspiration 🙂

    1. That’s great to hear! As your followers grow and you release even more content you’ll find the 10 per week will grow!

    2. Hi Anne! That 10 a week turns into 20 and then 50 and so on! So keep it up! As your followers grow it will continue even more steadily.

  4. These are all great tips to be successful on Pinterest. I have Tailwind but I need to pay more attention to the analytics. Thanks so much for this post 🙂

    1. Hey Corinne! Pinterest Analytics are a gold mine for fantastic information! That and tailwind shares some good data too 🙂 Take care! Y

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