So, you want to master Pinterest? Here I'm breaking down the 8 things you can do today to start making your Pinterest better and start growing your website + blog traffic.

Pinterest is one of the best ways to gain blog readers, and it's fun too! It's no surprise that there are over 200 million users on Pinterest. It's the best place to go to find inspo and ideas for everything from your next shoe purchase to DIY ideas for potting plants. I personally go to Pinterest first any time I want to make a home decor change or when I'm looking for inspiration for photoshoots. Since it is a place where people are going to look for ideas, you want to make sure as a blogger or business that you are putting out content that is easily searchable and offers value to your potential audience (and new fans + customers!).

Here's 8 things you need to do now to get master Pinterest in no time. 

1) Use a scheduler

This has helped me and the brands that I work for so much. I honestly am not sure how you can grow your Pinterest without a scheduling tool. A scheduling tool can help you constantly have content getting pushed out, and even recommend popular times for when your content should be published (think nights and weekends). I'd recommend Tailwind for scheduling. They implement a button into your browser so you can pin content from all over the web and then have it go up as you see fit / schedule it. Click here for your first month free :) There's also Boardbooster which is great for re-pins and looping your old content - and it's only 5 dollars per month! 

An Example of what Tailwind looks like for Pinterest scheduling - simply drop you pins into the time slots for optimized time posting of your pins. 

2) Pin an average 10-25 pins per day (or more!)

That's right. It may seem like A LOT of pins, but this was told straight to me from the folks over at Pinterest HQ. Their highest trafficking accounts average 25 pins PER DAY. You should never pin less than 10. The more the better! If that seems hard, start with 10 and see how it positively effects your follower count and traffic.

3) Pin a mixture of your own blog's content and other user's content (UGC)

This is an easy way to diversify your content and gain new fans. Not all content should be from your own blog, website, or social accounts. In fact, a good rule of thumb is around 70% other people's content / 30% your own. You'll see it's easier to get to 25+ pins when you're doing more re-pins. 

4) Use text overlay on your own Pins.

This was also a "must" that was told to me by the Pinterest team. Images with text/ title overlay on them outperform other content consistently. Try using a simple template designer like Canva to design pins for every blog, it doesn't have to be fancy! 

5) Always make sure you have a high quality vertical image or dedicated pin in every single blog post you do.

This is like #4, part 2, but you should never publish a blog without at least one high quality vertical image in it, and/or a dedicated pin. Vertical images out perform horizontal images by far, and designed pins with text overlay out perform vertical images. Consider it like good, better, best. 

Example of a high quality vertical image vs. a designed pin

6) Use Hashtags!

Yes, they're not just for Instagram. Get ahead of the curve and utilize hashtags. This was recently rolled out again from Pinterest about 8 months ago, and their favoring content that is utilizing them. Plus, it's easily searchable for new people to discover you and your content.

7) Make sure your captions are keyword friendly.

Pinterest is like one, big, search engine. Imagine every time someone is searching for something that it's similar to google - but there's trending keywords. Just like SEO, you should make sure your images and content are keyword enabled. Pinning an image with a Balenciaga bag and blue shoes? Say that. "Love this shot of this Balenciaga bag and blue combat boots from All Saints! street style // NYFW // best women's fashion ideas // fashion blog // #streetstyle #NYFW #combatboots #balenciaga" This way you're describing the photo but also using some related keywords and hashtags that people interested in the content could be looking for. 

8) Diversify your boards

You might be a fashion blogger, a mommy blogger, or a business that sells wine, but you shouldn't ONLY pin about fashion, being a mom, or wine drinking. Consider your brand to clearly indicate a lifestyle. You want boards that showcase well what you're all about and that could potentially reach new and interested audiences. For instance, you could have a board about shoes, street style, and winter coats, but also have a weddings board, healthy recipes, fine jewelry, beach vibes, and travel inspo (if you're into traveling). The possibilities are endless! But the point is, make sure you're pinning about different types of things that relate to you, your blog, or your brand. 

Here's an example of some topics that I use if you're also a fashion and/or lifestyle blogger:

Now it's time to start implementing some of these into your Pinterest strategy! Feel free to reach out if you have more questions about any of these or would like me to include anything else in this blog.

 And of course follow me here on Pinterest, too!

xx Genevieve 

It's officially been 3 years since I started this blog. I feel so grateful and hashtag BLESSED to have been doing this for that long, but I also can't believe how much has changed since I first started this.

Wanna see my first post ever? (right this way) 

Anyways, here I was in 2014, a struggling wardrobe stylist with a Communications degree from LMU who had been thinking and talking about starting a blog for YEARS, thinking I knew everything about everything. "This will be easy", I said. "How have I NOT started a blog", I said. Fast forward 3 years later and all the shit I didn't know blows my mind. I had no idea how much work this would be, how life consuming blogging could be, how fun blogging could be, what amazing opportunities it would lead to, and all the friends I was soon to make. That's the beauty of starting a project like a fashion blog - you can just up and start it one day without even realizing the totality of the ripple effect it will soon have on every single facet of your life.

While The Style Sauce is MY passion project, and that is why I've poured myself into this blog (some days more than some), it really doesn't matter what the passion project is. I encourage you reading this to start whatever it is you've always wanted to do, and don't be afraid to fail in the process.

If you want to do something, especially if it's something that's big, don't expect it to come easy. Nothing in life is free, and all that stuff your Grandmother always said, well it's pretty much true. Here's my three tips for succeeding at any self propelled mission, whether it be a blog, a new album, a jewelry line, or mastering the art of cooking. 

1) Just do it. 

If I had a cookie for every blog I wrote and/ or shot that I never published, I'd be very very fat. I can't tell you how many times perfectionism and fear has been the downfall of me doing anything at all other than thinking - which technically isn't really an action. I still put out things that suck-because I'm busy, or I'm tired, or it just didn't come out how I envisioned it, or I think it's good but in a year I'll probably be like what the hell was I thinking?? I try not to beat myself up about it. Unless you want to sit around thinking all day, you have to accept that sometimes you're going to suck and be willing to fail. You're not going to start off being the best at something you're new at. Even if you're very, very talented, you are going to make some mistakes. Let that happen. There's worse things than failing - like not trying AT ALL. When you do fail, learn from your mistakes and keep it moving. Just don't do the worst thing - nothing.

2) Master the art of balance.

Ironically, being on the computer all the time sometimes stifles my creativity. I'm at the point here with this blog that I have to frequently make choices between having dinner with my boyfriend or going to an event, working out or writing a blog, just allowing myself to have downtime or being on ALL of the time (so exhausting, don't do that!). This is something I struggle with in blogging from time to time. I've made the mistake of over extending myself way too much. Sometimes, I think that I can do it all. Sometimes, I find that worrying so much about the back end of SEO and analytics, the editing process, how many clicks I'm getting, and the way my layout looks on a mobile device, takes away from the art of it all. I also find that neglecting myself or my relationships also doesn't do anything for me as an artist. 

At the end of it all, really, I'm here to be a creator. That's what I'm good at. All the other stuff is semantics. The better I become at balancing work and life the better I get at my job. Sometimes, my life gives me THE MOST inspiration to keep going and creating content and ideas to share here or on Instagram. Regardless of what kind of career you're after, you definitely need to have a balance, no matter what. 

3) Be humble, sit down. 

In the wise words of Kendrick Lamar, be humble, sit down. You don't know shit. The more you're hungry to learn, the more successful you're bound to become. I thought I knew everything when I started The Style Sauce, and really I knew a little bit about some things. I STILL don't know everything about blogging and the fashion industry even though I live and breath it, and that's why I'm still here. It's the perfect industry/ job for me because I never get bored. No matter how many times I pick apart runway trends, or how good my SEO strategy gets, I still will never know EVERYTHING. If you want to start a blog, you need to start reading, NOW! Go to every blog you like and study what you love and take parts of it and make it your own. (Check out this book about stealing like an artist, it's one of my all-time favorites) Read books, blogs, and magazine articles about other artists and writers and see what works for them. Always grow, always stay humble, and keep hustling. 

The past 3 years has taught me so very much, and I can't even express how much I am thankful for the opportunities I've been given even at the small level I'm at now as a blogger. I feel like this year I've finally been able to take it more seriously, started making some money at it, and it's looking like this whole thing could actually be a job for as long as I'll let it be which makes me SO FUCKING HAPPY. 

Thank you to everyone who has tuned in along this journey for the past few years, I'm so looking forward to the rest of 2017, which already has so much in store for me and this blog. When 4 years rolls around I can't wait to say DAMN we're killing it. 

Fingers crosssed. 

xx, Genevieve

Oh yeah, and let's talk about what I'm wearing in today's post!  Maxi dress is from Gypsy 05, the rose gold necklace and earrings from Krystle Knight, my favorite Australian jewelry designer who I'm sure knows a thing or two about the creative process :) Handbag is the Metropolis mini crossbody from Furla - I wear it way too much. 

Photos in this post courtesy of Anna Sandul, Copyright The Style Sauce 2017.