Post 587: Tech Series 3: How to Be Pinteresting

Tech Series 3: Pinterest is Interesting

The Prince William Art Society (PWAS) Artistry Spin Blog will explore the use of technology and its impact on the world of art. There are so many tools and resources that can benefit the artists to not only create artwork, but to inspire them, to share their work with the world and to potentially sell their artwork. We'll review and offer suggestions on some of the top trending tech on the web, popular for artists, and those wanting to find out more about art, and perhaps, discover YOUR art.

Social Media and Pinterest

Social Media is a pain. Social Media takes time out of your day. Social Media can be a glorious way to be discovered by people that never knew you, or that you are an artist, anywhere in the country - unto the world and galaxies beyond. So, social media can be seen as a necessary evil, but I've covered that in other PWAS Artistry Spin blog posts (see https://artistryspin.blogspot.com/2025/06/post-585-tech-series-1-instagram-for.html). Choose your pain and stay in your lane whether it be Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter / X, TikTok, or Pinterest (or other route).

For this blog post, the next online platform for artists that we will look at is Pinterest in this tech series. Be sure and see the first two in the series as well. 

 

View of PWAS on Pinterest with Organized Saved Pins 

 

Pinterest for Dummies / the 101 on Pinterest Marketing Crash Course 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaHDsr6-3hs  

Pinterest is quiet like a library, while Instagram is loud like a bar

 

How to Use Pinterest! (Complete Beginners Guide)  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qquNgrSHh9k 

What is the difference between Instagram and Pinterest? Yes, both are visual platforms.  

"Instagram is primarily a social networking site for sharing photos and videos, focusing on real-time updates and connecting with a community. Pinterest, on the other hand, functions more like a visual discovery engine and search engine for inspiration, with users curating content for later use and potentially discovering new ideas from others' boards." - AI Overview 

So that looks like it could be a very interesting spot of visual artists to be in to me.  

Pinterest is a good place to find out about art, artists, and all things interesting about art and art ideas - besides all those scrumptious looking recipes.. Discover art because Pinterest is basically a search engine that can be used to find art – potentially YOUR art, via photos (mainly) rather than by video or reel as on Instagram. 

When you follow someone’s profile or a board on Pinterest, the pins they create will begin appearing on your home feed – and vice versa when they follow you. It’s a good thing to be followed, but a better thing is to have the traffic Pinterest sends to your feed. Having quality optimized content in your consistently posted pins gets you in a position to be searched on and found.

You can create a personal account or a business account which is good to know before you begin as your art can be a business account. 

"Pins" are the bookmarks that save the ideas, tips, images, products, and videos of interest to you and that you share with others. What I really like about it is to include a link that goes to whatever you want the viewer to see or do.

Create a Board - sort of like pinning a note on your bulletin board, you can position and categorize the pins you collect in a very organized way. Check out the PWAS Pinterest page here. Hey, while you are there, give a follow!

As an artist (potentially trying to sell art), you may want a few of these sample categories, thinking ahead on the pins you may want to collect and add to your board and for your potential followers that may want to save and share as well:

• Acrylic Paintings
• Art Shows 
• Watercolor Paintings 
• Art Business
• Oil Paintings
• Art Supplies 
• Prince William Art Society 

You get the idea. You can create up to 2,000 boards. AND you can follow up to 50,000 users. 

All About Pinterest 

 

Why Creators Should Prioritize Pinterest in 2025 4 Reasons 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VciME2rsfow  

 

View of PWAS on Pinterest with Organized Saved Pins  

Let's Get Your Pin Duties Started

Creating a Pin On Pinterest: Your Complete Success Guide 

How Loud Does Your Pin Scream?

A pin must scream loudly over the zillions of other pins so that users Stop and Scroll. Followed by them clicking on the link you provided to learn more – which could lead directly to your website, your art for sale, anything you want them to learn about you. We want your Pins to be shouting, "Check ME out!".

1.      1. Create a Pinterest account, individual and/or business with your artist Name

a.    Profile Details Name is 30 characters

b.    Bio is 160 characters

2.      2. Get the app for your phone, as that is the main way that most people view Pinterest.

3.      3. Plan your Pin, Pin schedule – daily (and time of day), weekly, monthly and how to make your "Pinteresting".

a.    Target Audience - who are the people most interested in your art?

                                          i.    Remember most users are on mobile

b.    There's a Problem - popular Pins identify an issue

c.     Solve the Problem - popular Pins solve an issue

d.    Benefits to the viewer - popular Pins identify the "What's in it for me?"

e.    Easy to Use Graphic Design Tools like Canva

4.       4. Create a Pin, Pin Basics

a.    Pin Image – quality image

                                          i.    4 Types - Image Pin, Video Pin, Rich Pin, Product Pin

                                         ii.    Be Tall and Vertical 

                                        iii.    Add a text overlay

                                       iv.    Your branded Pins for your business – consistency in visuals so that your pins might be easily recognized as belonging to you. You can do that via consistency in:

1.    Color Palette

2.    Background

3.    White Space on Edges

4.    Add your URL on the overlay

5.    Margins 1/4 to 1/2 inch 

6.    Use easy to read fonts – only a couple of changes in font types, set with a hierarchy in the elements and alignments. No need to get so fancy that a viewer can’t read it.

b.    Pin Title – 100 characters, a clear Keyword rich headline

c.    Pin Description - optimal length of characters is 100-150 is where the main focus is but you are allowed up to 500. Ensure the beginning of the description has main keywords.

                                          i.    Pin File Size - 1000x1500 pixels with an aspect ratio of 2:3 width to height

                                         ii.    CTA – include a call to action in every pin

                                        iii.    Include relevant hashtags # (they are a part of the 500 character count)

d.    Pin Link – where do you want the viewer to go to learn more? *THIS is important!

e.    Pinterest Board – organize your own boards to reflect your art areas of interest.

                                          i.    Board Name is 50 characters

                                         ii.    Board Description is 500 characters

f.      Pin Tags – select the appropriate tags. For an artwork, look up the subject of the art piece. Here are a few of the "Art Topic" ones I've found:

• Posters, Prints, & Visual Artwork
• Wall Galleries
• Virginia
• Contemporary Artist
• Watercolor Artist
• Acrylic Painting
• Mixed Media Painting
• Oil Painting
• Wall Hanging
• Wall Painting
• Wall Art

g.    Select Product – if needed

h.    Publish OR schedule it to post later  

                           i.    Set a day aside for monthly social media scheduling to save time for yourself - so you don't have to necessarily live pin every day.

5.      5. Create Templates of your branded art business pin styles – about 5-6 different types to repurpose, repost, repin – to help you save time and effort.

6.      6. Research the Tools to use to make Pin Making easier. You know....work smarter not harder.

a.    Canva

b.    You can use many of the suggestions from these 2 PWAS Artistry Spin blog posts to help:

Tech Series 1 Instagram for Artists

Tech Series 2 Are You Reeling on Instagram?

 

Let's answer some common questions about Pinterest. 

How Often Should I Pin?

Now we get into the meat and potatoes. Quality over quantity. Five to eight quality content pins posted daily have the longest lifespan, save rates and engagement according to those that do the stats. You may want to begin with 3-5 daily and watch your analytics to find your best engagement topics, times, and sweet spots.

What Time of Say Should I Pin?

You need to find what works for you but the statisticians that study these things say that Weekday evenings are better than am posts. And Sunday afternoons are better than say a Friday evening or Saturday - folks must be too busy to scroll?

8-11pm for Recipes and DIY projects – try 3-4 pins in peak times to test

2-4pm for those home décor and fashion pins

See How Often Should You Post On Pinterest (Revealed)

How do I get people to follow me?

Patience, Grasshopper. Pin consistently, often, and let people know you are ON Pinterest (friends, family, other followers elsewhere) by including your Pinterest icon on your website, art store, other social sites, posts, comments, email subscribers, sky writing.... 

Can you turn off notifications?

Yes! And you have options.

Can you edit your comment?

Yes! 

What keywords do I use in my content?

Yes! Check out this post - Maximizing Pinterest Keywords: A Guide for Artists

What Should I Pin?

Post Ideas and Suggestions (I’ll be updating these so stay tuned)

1. Your original content to drive traffic to your own website, blog, Etsy store, online store
2. Your Studio Tour
3. Lessons Learned after a project or art show
4. How you prepare for an art show
5. How you create a Go Kit for an art Show 
6. Seasonal Art
7. Gift guides featuring your art and art merch
8. Fresh How to guides, instructional, tutorials
9. Latest Art
10. Pet Portraits
11. Art Product Tips
12. Your art merchandise for every single item you sell
13. Find what doesn’t belong in my studio
14. A Day in Your Artist Life
15. Caption This or Title This Painting
16. Art Motivation and Quotes
17. Celebrate Something – a milestone, an anniversary, an art sale, an art award
18. Behind the Scenes
19. Before and After – great for artists
20. Productivity Tips
21. Nostalgia Pins
22. Re-pin other people’s pins into your own board of interest to your own target audience
23. What NOT to do
24. How to info
25. Pin Video content too!
26. Create infographics about anything art
27. Ooops I spilled the paint
28. What should I add to this painting?
29. Drop a Selfie of you doing something
30. Have your logo in the photo
31. Create a pin for an art commission you’d like to offer
32. Create a pin for your art merchandise
33. Create different overlays for the same blog post and create different pins

And For Further Reading About Pinterest - as you can see, I believe in doing the research. I don't think you need to pay for a class or a "social media expert" when all the info is already - out there. Out there should be an AKA (as known as) the internet.

The Right Way to Use Pinterest

Get More Art Website Visitors Using Pinteret

The Most Popular Pinterest Categories in 2025

30 Days of Content Ideas to Boost Engagement on Pinterest

As I have pointed out in other blog posts on Artistry Spin, when I do research for topics with timely advice and how to information, it makes sense to observe the date an article or post was published so that you have the best info available. Prices change, websites are updated, features are added with upgrades to their functionality, so newer content plain makes sense.

Now, go forth and Pin Me! Let me know if you get going on Pinterest or Instagram so we can follow each other! And follow this blog too. Comment? Do you have any tips to add? Add one below and find the Blog Echo!. 

BLOG ECHO: Find the quote reference for a 1970s TV series and post the quote and Series Name in the comments below...

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Author: Donna Liguria is the Blogmaster for the PWAS Artistry Spin Blog and Donna's Cave Paintings Blog, and an artist member of the Prince William Art Society (PWAS) in Woodbridge, Virginia. And she takes on the PWAS social media duties as well (help me!) Donna specializes in acrylic painting of landscapes, seascapes, historic locations, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at DonnaLiguriaArt.com and her Donna's Esty site to shop her art. 

Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows or join us for our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center at 12298 Cotton Mill Dr, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm (typically, but check the website in case of any changes.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment (below)! ...Remember, comments are monitored so they will not show up immediately.

 

BLOG ECHO: A new feature on some of our blog posts. I'm looking for a specific reference to a movie, a TV show or series, a quote, or common saying 'hidden' in the blog post. Find it and pop it in the comments below with the show or item it is referencing to see who gets it first! 

The 1970s TV series Kung Fu, Master Po says "Patience, Grasshopper"

pinterest-site-verification=3ad32cc9cfeae507ba5a382d62fcee17

Post 482: Getting Your Art Out There: Social Media, Your Art, and Your Art Group

Getting Your Art Out There: Social Media, the Internet, Your Art and Your Art Group

Does an artist need a website? Does he or she need to be on social media? Most artists just want to paint! What do you say? Or would you rather just be out there pounding the pavement trying to get your art into a gallery? How about an artist co-op?... Let's explore some artist promotional options.

Social Media Today

We've all seen it. Go to a restaurant and at one table a family are having dinner, yet all four are holding a phone, their fingers are flying, scrolling, commenting, liking and sharing. Or a table with a few friends sitting together, yet all of them have out their phones in hand and doing the same. Their food arrives and they barely set the phone down to eat! 

 

Photo by Timothy Hales Bennett on Unsplash 

Wouldn't you think that they would be discussing what is going on in each other's lives and around them?

 

Cell phones, perhaps a necessary evil in some ways, yet... how about social media to promote your art?

Although being on the internet and on social media has its issues - it is where most everyone in the world goes to for information. From "Where is the closest coffee shop" to "Things to do near me", to laughing at all those goofy cat videos, most of us use the internet every day. We just ALL need to manage and balance our time wisely when it comes to social media to avoid going down those "rabbit holes near me".

And on the internet, this is where many art lovers go to find out more about the art culture near them, the art shows they might attend, and the types of local art talent, art classes, galleries and creative opportunities available on their side of town and where they might go visit. Social media is where artists can build a following and let their followers know what they are working on and where their next show is.

- I see a social media presence as imperative to showing your art to the world. There is time involved - yes. But the costs can be very low if not free. Schedule some space in your day and/or week and stick to it when you develop your strategy.

An Artist Website of My Own

Every day at an art show, the gallery we are in, or an art meeting, we meet artists that will show us their art on their phones. This is great, we enjoy seeing their artwork. But do they have more than a gallery on their phone?

 

Artists that want to make art sales should have a website (and business card!) these days! The act of having a website online for your art is the equivalent of leasing a building space to display your art in your home town. The big difference (other than cost) is that the website address (URL - or link) can be seen worldwide while someone needs to walk through the door of the rented space. 

 

Advertising that you have an art space - even on the internet means that it is up to YOU to find a way for people to find YOU. The artist will hand out those cards for someone to learn more about what they do and the internet is about linking to what you do.

Artists have many options in creating an online presence with their art store. There are options for free and low cost, and many are easy to set up, while others do take some skills. Knowing coding is beneficial but not necessary. As the saying goes, "you get what you pay for", but honestly, there are some good options without knowing any computer code. 

 

Depending on what you want to get out of your art business will determine how far you want to go to have people discover, admire and to buy your art. 

Having an online presence is especially important when handing out your business card (which you should have as well), so that someone knows where to go online to check out your art.

 

See Vistaprint Business Cards

- I can't tell you how many times I've been asked for a specific artist's business card, and the artist doesn't have one. 

Often, when entering art shows, the artist is asked to enter their website URL so that the jurors can see and learn more about them too. 

 

I see having a website of your own with your name, like https://donnaliguriaart.com, as all important for an art profession/business, but at a minimum, having an art presence on something like the Prince William Art Society's Showcase page is a way to have a low-cost presence option. Check the options available to you in local art groups. https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/artist-gallery

An Artist's Social Presence

Part of the process while getting your website built, is getting your social presence started. This gives you places (links) to post your signs or flags leading people (and Google) toward your website (link). The internet is all about links connecting. The more links that connect to you, the hashtags #, the mentions @, likes, comments, sharing, etc - the better connections to find you and your art.

 

I've been calling a social presence as the Big Five - the places to be as far as social spots, and they are:

 

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

Pinterest

YouTube 

...and TikTok would make it the Big Six to many...

There are others but these have been where the bulk of people are. These are where artists are found, their fans and followers are and how they communicate with each other. There are art shows and events, invitations, and so much more - AND ideas!

Your social presence in many of these sites most typically start with your friends and family building as your initial fan base. Consistency is KING in posting, and there are ways to help. As with anything, the research must be put in to find what works best for you, your style of art and where your potential clientele are.

See Explore the 11 Best Social Media Platforms for Artists - note that Facebook isn't listed here, and I find that interesting. Also see Mastering Social Media for Artists: Strategies to Gain a Competitive Edge

 

How to Create an Artist's Successful Facebook Page

How to Use Instagram to Become a Successful Artist (8 Proven Strategies for Art World Success)

My Art Group Online

As stated above - go where the people are - on the internet, and in your local art culture right around you. Find the art groups and art shops and do the research to understand the fee structures, opportunities, volunteering requirements - everything. Find the group(s) that will work best for you and the time you have but honestly, not just how they benefit you but how you can be a benefit to them. Remember give and take?

Research keywords: art group, art society, art guild, artist community, arts center, art council, art alliance, art league, art cooperative, artisans, art creatives...

I see it as it is everyone's job in an art group to spread the word about the art group. This is no "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas". I help promote my art group, the Prince William Art Society, which helps bring attention to the entire art group, the art shows we do, the fun we have, the good we try to do in our local community, and more. By helping PWAS, it helps me too. What do you do to help?

When I post something, it goes out to my friends and family. I do not reach YOUR friends and family - your fan base on your own social sites, unless you do the likes, shares, etc.

By YOU helping to share, like, comment, reposting YOU are not only helping the art group, but helping yourself, especially when you can additionally add your links and your own hashtags to a post as well. 

For the Prince William Art Society, adding hashtags like those listed below are ways to help tag and search for more info about each hashtag.

#PWAS #PrinceWilliamArtSociety #PWCArt #pwasartstore #SupportLocal #virginiaart #virginiaartists #PWASOnlineArtStore #PWASArtGroup 🎨📸🖼🖌and if it is more about me, I'll add #DonnaLiguria #DonnaLiguriaArt

Take advantage of your art group's opportunities in the way of committees, art shows, volunteering and what is available on their website. Joining an art group, the artists can build connections, partnerships and collaborations that help open new avenues to you that perhaps you hadn't even thought of.

• For the PWAS members, there is an Artist Showcase which is a personalized artist page for an annual $25 fee.
• There is also a PWAS online Art Store where all members are welcome to show one piece of artwork for sale. Additionally, there is a private Facebook PWAS Chat group for members only where art discussions, polls, sharing of art news and show opportunities are posted. If you are not online, you miss out.
  

Art Galleries, Artist Co-Operatives, Artist Collectives

Getting art into art galleries may depend more on the scale of gallery you are shooting for and where. Smaller town and city galleries may be far easier than the big city spaces...but like most things it depends on you and your talent, your drive/goals and the 'who you know'.

See How to Get Your Art in a Gallery: A Step-by-Step Guide

Art Galleries, like a "vanity" gallery, tend to take a higher percentage of the art revenue sold. The expectations of an art gallery would be the professionalism in presentation, operations, quality...etc.

There are many Artist Co-ops in most communities and being cooperative means that all artists have to work, distributing the labor evenly and fairly.

"An artist cooperative (also co-operative or co-op) is an autonomous visual arts organization, enterprise, or association jointly owned and democratically controlled by its members. Artist cooperatives are legal entities organized as non-capital stock corporations, non-profit organizations, or unincorporated associations. Such cooperatives typically provide professional facilities and services for its artist-members, including studios, workshops, equipment, exhibition galleries, and educational resources. By design, all economic and non-economic benefits and liabilities of the cooperative are shared equally among its members. Cooperative members elect their board of directors from within the membership." - Wikipedia

See Should You Consider Joining a Co-op Art Gallery? and Start a Co-op Gallery: 8 Tips

Artist Collectives are "An artist collective or art group or artist group is an initiative that is the result of a group of artists working together, usually under their own management, towards shared aims. The aims of an artist collective can include almost anything that is relevant to the needs of the artist; this can range from purchasing bulk materials, sharing equipment, space or materials, to following shared ideologies, aesthetic and political views or even living and working together as an extended family. Sharing of ownership, risk, benefits, and status is implied, as opposed to other, more common business structures with an explicit hierarchy of ownership such as an association or a company." - Wikipedia

Of course, the grander an art district and the art culture is in your area, the more artists are vying for wall space in the locations and shows advertised. And in some of the art spaces, you will need to apply and go through a selection process to be included, while also paying a monthly fee and volunteering. Explore all of the art options available to you and how the traffic (foot and car) is around said spots.

Art Fairs

Art Fairs and Popup Shows can be a good way to sell your art, but the time and work involved, the equipment needed, and many other details including vendor fees and the weather can make and/or break the artist/show. Also, having a helper or an art partner with you to share the work may help with the "solo or duo" art fair. It's a lot of work, but many artists do quite well.

Or being in an art group at an art fair means that your art showing space may be smaller, you'll also pay a commission, and you will need to help setup and take down, but workload and costs are minimized/shared. The art group may have their own tent and equipment, lessening your start up costs.

See How to Art Show and Lessons Learned

Nonetheless, a social media presence and a website are still quite beneficial in the promotion of the show you are attending so that all your family, friends and followers will know to come visit you.

As said earlier, all of it is building links, connections, doing the research, exploring your options, trying this thing or that, and finding where you fit. What works, what absolutely does not, not only where your art sells, but where do you LEARN MORE at, and hopefully have fun too? 

The main point is - start somewhere. Today.

What would you add to the points I have here? What works for you?

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Author: Donna Liguria
An artist member of PWAS in Woodbridge, VA specializing in acrylic painting. She paints landscapes, seascapes, animals and many subjects. Visit her Website at https://DonnaLiguriaArt.com & her Blog at https://donnascavepainting.blogspot.com/.

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Local Art: The Prince William Art Society is a 50+-year-old non-profit art group in PWC for the appreciation of fine art throughout the county and Northern Virginia. Visit us at any of our local art shows and our monthly meetings - held on the 4th Monday of the month at the Tall Oaks Community Center 12298 Cotton Mill Drive, Woodbridge, VA at 7:30pm.

Want to join PWAS? Go to https://www.princewilliamartsociety.com/membership

Have an idea for a blog post? Are you a writer and want to help with the blog? Let me know! Thank you for visiting, and remember to Share, Follow, and Comment!