I was recently in a blogging group online and a new blogger had asked simply, “What are group boards on Pinterest?”

Another chimed in, “Where do I find them and how do I join them?” 

I was a little bit shocked, to be honest. 

Not because I’m a know-it-all. Not because I did all of my own research, taught myself a lot of blogging-related things, and have been using group boards for a long time now. (If you’re just getting started, this tutorial will help you make great Pinterest images, fo’ free.)

Nope, I was shocked because if you are a blogger and you are NOT using group boards on Pinterest, you need to get on that like…yesterday. 

Why?

Because Pinterest sends thousands of bloggers millions of page views per month. You need traffic to have a successful blog. There’s no argument there. 

Pinterest is a HUGE tool for driving that traffic.

I personally see anywhere from several hundred to several thousand page views from Pinterest EACH DAY. 

Other bloggers see millions per month from Pinterest. 

So if you’re new to the blogging world and are ready to take it all by storm, this post is for you!

What are group boards, anyway?

They are exactly what they sound like. A person/business starts a board, and collaborates with other Pinners to contribute to that board. The more collaborators, the better for exposure. When I pin to a group board, my pins are no longer just visible to MY followers, they are also visible to any followers of that board. That includes the followers of every contributor to a given group board. 

That means that group boards are basically awesome.

Say that I create a board on which I am the only contributor. If I pin something to it, that pin is only visible to my 11K followers. 

But say that I create a group board that is all about blogging (which I totally have and you can find here). I can either invite other Pinners to join me on that board, or Pinners can request to contribute.

When I pin to that board, not only is my pin visible to that 11,000+ followers, it is ALSO visible to Becky Blogger’s followers, because she is a collaborator on my board. Since she has 5,000 followers, the potential reach that my pin has is now 16,000 people!

(You can hopefully see why more contributors = better.)

So basically, more group boards = more exposure = more potential traffic. 

Are you using group boards to maximize your Pinterest referrals?

So, when should a blogger start participating on group boards?

The answer is now! You don’t have to wait around at all. You can create your own group boards and invite other bloggers in blogging groups or via email. Just ask – most people are super happy to have new group boards that they can pin to.

Otherwise, you should start looking for group boards to join as soon as you have a Pinterest account associated with your blog. It doesn’t matter if you only have a few followers. (See my Pinterest strategy in this post to start working on growing a strong following.)

Here’s how to create your OWN group boards: 

  1. Go to “My Profile” while logged into your Pinterest account.
  2. Click “Create a board” on the far left of your page:
     
    createboard1
  3. Fill out the form COMPLETELY, using keywords for your board name and in your description. Make sure that it’s not a secret board. 
  4. Add collaborators. You can add people that you’re following, invite people whose email addresses you know, etc. Add as many relevant people as possible.
     Want to know how and why to use group boards on Pinterest?

Bam! That’s all there is to it. 

Note: You can also make your existing boards into group boards by simply editing them to include collaborators. 

So, where can I find other group boards to contribute to? 

You don’t have to just scour Pinterest looking for group boards. (However, if you come across a great group board, don’t hesitate to shoot the creator an email or a message asking to join!)

There are, in fact, a few other ways to find group boards more quickly. Just bear in mind that different bloggers/Pinners may require certain things in order to be accepted or invited as a contributor to their group boards (i.e. it might be required that you follow them).

Here are a few things that I suggest:

  • Join blogging groups on Facebook. Many of them are dedicated to Pinterest, and many more of them are “bloggers helping bloggers” type groups. They are overall designed to help bloggers get help and grow their blogs. If you join one, just follow the rules. I am in a TON of blogging groups on Facebook, but you’ll definitely want to check these out, because they often have collaboration threads where you can find group boards: 

     

  • The Pin Junkie’s group board directory.  This is just another big directory like Pin Groupie, but it can’t be filtered – it’s just a big list – without follower counts, collaborator counts, etc.
     
  • Pin Groupie. This, in my mind, is the best and fastest way to find and join group boards. You can search for boards based on the number of followers a given board has, categories, specific keywords, and more.
     Finding group boards.
    I personally like to search with on keywords based on the main content of my blog. Since I mostly blog about blogging, making and saving money, and mom-related stuff, I usually spend my time looking for group boards along those lines. (PinGroupie links to each board and the creator.) When choosing boards, I usually pay most attention to the number of collaborators and followers:
     
    pingroupie2

 

Once you’ve chosen a method for finding group boards, you can start requesting to be a part of them.

Try making a list of the ones you want to join, then writing down the email of the person you need to contact. I have found that emailing is the most common way to ask to join group boards, because messages on Pinterest are either overlooked or “against the rules.”

I also suggest that you start a word document and draft a generic email to send group creators who don’t have strict rules. This can save you loads of time, since you only need to copy and paste. It can be super simple, saying something like this: 

Subject: “Group Board Name”

Hi Chantal,

I came across your Pinterest group board called “Blogging Tips + Tricks” and would love to be a contributor if you are still accepting collaborators. I have followed you on Pinterest and would love to contribute some of my own pins to this board. 

The email address associated with my Pinterest account is youremail@gmail.com. 

Thanks for your time, 

Chantal Steele from busybloggingmom.com

Note: It is super important that you include your email address (the one that you use for Pinterest) in the emails to make it quick and easy for board owners to invite you to boards. 

It’s as easy as that! 

So now that you know HOW to join group boards, what are you waiting for? 

Homework assignment alert! This week, find and request to join 5 group boards! The more the better.

Ready to get started?

I created a printable group board tracking sheet to help you quickly find tons of group boards, then reference later as you get ready to send emails. OH YEAH!

Happy blogging!

clementinesignature