Should You Hire a Pinterest Manager or Do it Yourself?

When deciding whether to outsource Pinterest strategy or to manage your Pinterest account yourself, there are several factors for bloggers and content creators to weight. This post should help you narrow down whether it’s the right time to hire a Pinterest manager (and I promise I’ll be honest because I only want to work with people who actually NEED us WHEN they need us).

Why Pinterest Matters for Bloggers and Content Creators

Not every content creator needs Pinterest, but most bloggers do. Here’s why I say that: if you only care about building a social platform audience (TikTok/Instagram) and not about long form content (blog posts, YouTube, etc), an email list or anything that’s yours, then Pinterest might not be worth the time or money to invest (though there are a lot of was to get ROI on Pinterest). If you’re a blogger then you have your own website that you need traffic to which is where Pinterest is crucial.

Pinterest is a search engine (akin to Google). It drives traffic to what you link to on the platform. Your goal as a business there is to send people off the platform to the links you post there. The best place to link would be your main content hub aka your blog. That allows you full control to attract new people further into your world so that they can get to know you and your content and stay to return back (as email subscribers, social followers, customers).

Pinterest is top of funnel for a blogger’s marketing strategy and it’s just as important as Google, because if Google dips… so does your ad revenue, product sales, subscriber growth, etc. Having something to balance that out with and ebb and flow alongside Google can be really comforting in the unpredictable world of digital marketing.

What Does a Pinterest Manager Do?

If you already decided that you need Pinterest for your business, but are unsure of what a Pinterest manager can do for you vs. what you can just handle internally, I’m happy to share more about what a Pinterest expert actually does and what they can do for you.

I obviously have to preface this by saying this has to be a good Pinterest expert. Someone with experience on accounts other than their own and someone with a proven track record. I know a lot of great Pinterest managers so if you need a rec and you’re not a blogger, let me know, and I can recommend someone.

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Here are some of the things a Pinterest manager will do for you:

• optimize your Pinterest profile and Pinterest boards (and/or create the profile from scratch)
• find keywords that people are searching for in your niche that you will use in various parts of your Pinterest marketing strategy (and can use in other parts of your business as well)
• create custom graphic templates for you to use to Pin different forms of content (I like to create my clients’ templates on Canva just because it’s such an intuitive platform that most are familiar with)
• look at your Pinterest analytics and evaluate what was and wasn’t working in your previous attempt to market your blog on Pinterest
• decide what of your content should go out on Pinterest and when (that means they share new content and old content in a way that’s “fresh”)
• post multiple times to Pinterest everyday (we do 5-10 pins/day, but it is sooo dependent on your business and what’s currently working on Pinterest best at that time)

Some of the services a Pinterest manager can do:

• Pinterest management: do everything and anything Pinterest-related and post daily for you
• Profile set up: if you are not currently on Pinterest, this allows you to get everything up and running quickly and then you can at least know the foundation is set up well
• Pinterest profile optimization: this is for businesses already on Pinterest that just want to be brought up-to-date with current best practices and want their boards and profile optimized for the Pinterest search engine
• Pinterest strategy call: help you determine what you should be doing on the platform and allow you to implement yourself
• Pinterest Q&A call: this is a great option for people who have an optimized profile, understand the platform and have probably learned via a course BUT have some remaining calls and want a Pinterest expert’s opinion

Benefits of Hiring a Pinterest Manager

• Experience: Pinterest managers know what they’re doing and not just right now, but over time on Pinterest. They’ve experienced many seasons on the platform and have been able to ride the waves for their clients’ accounts in the past.
• Time savings: Outsourcing a portion of your marketing allows you to focus on other aspects of your business including sponsored content, the content creation itself, Instagram and more while a good Pinterest manager helps that content go even further on Pinterest.
• Stay informed of current best practices: Like any platform, Pinterest changes constantly. There are updates to the platforms, changes in best practices, etc. that only someone really honed in on the platform a
• Quicker growth: hiring a pro usually means you grow quicker. Pinterest is still slow and steady, but having all the above expertise and insider info will expedite vs. you doing it yourself for the first time

Benefits of Managing Pinterest Yourself

• Upfront cost savings: This is an obvious one, but you save some money upfront (though you’ll hopefully see a return on your investment for hiring a manager)
• Understanding the platform: Even if you eventually want to hire out Pinterest management, understanding Pinterest can be beneficial for your business and for understanding if it’s being managed well in the future

Resources for DIY Pinterest People:

• An easy-to-follow e-book perfect for bloggers and content creators that want to set up the foundation correctly: my Bare Pinimum Profile Set up.
• The best Pinterest course is Amy LeBlanc’s Scheduling Shortcuts. **This is an affiliate link because I will make a commission should you decide to purchase.** I recommend it to anyone looking to deep dive into Pinterest for their business (like seriously deep dive, not just learn some beginner tips) AND to any and all Pinterest strategists, Pinterest VA’s, etc. It’s thorough, gets updated frequently and is data-driven.
• A great Pinterest podcast for beginners: Simple Pin Media

Key Questions to Decide Between DIY and Hiring an Expert

• Do you have the time to learn and implement Pinterest strategies?
• What’s your budget for outsourcing and/or education?
• How quickly do you want to see results?
• Do you enjoy the Pinterest platform or is draining to spend time there?
• Are you good at the implementation/in-the-weeds parts of marketing or do you prefer big picture?
• Do you have other priorities to focus on right now or do you have space to add this to your weekly task list (either to review changes or help a pro optimize OR to manually pin to your account)
• Do you have other sources of income while you wait for ROI on Pinterest?
• Do you have a way to convert people who come to your site (do you have digital product sales, an e-mail list, display ads and/or affiliate links)?
• Do you create consistent blog posts and how much content do you have backlogged that needs to be properly posted on Pinterest?

When Should You Hire a Pinterest Manager?

Listen, even if you’re a blogger that probably should be on Pinterest, it’s not always the right time to hire a Pinterest managers. Indicators it’s time to outsource vs. continue to manage in house include:

• seeing plateaus or consistent dips in your analytics
• not knowing what is current best Pinterest practices
• feeling overwhelmed and undereducated when it comes to the platform
• dreading having to go onto Pinterest
• feeling like you’re throwing spaghetti at the wall and hoping something works
• spending more time creating Pins than you’d like
• seeing success but not knowing why or how to capitalize on it
• having a direct way to make money from Pinterest (digital products, affiliates, display ads) but not knowing how to get the traffic

How to Choose the Right Pinterest Manager for Your Needs

The key to finding the right Pinterest Manager is just to make sure you’re finding the right one for you. You want that person to have experience not just on Pinterest, but within other people’s accounts and in their niche. I think only showing their own results can be a red flag that the person might not know how to duplicate it for others. I also think a generalist Pinterest strategist can take longer to get you results because they do not know what’s going on in the industry.

Make sure to ask questions, ask for case studies or example pins AND hop on a call with your potential Pinterest strategist to make sure this person is a good fit for you.

If you are not a blogger, but want to work with a Pinterest manager, send me an email (info@kaylawatkins.com), because I know some great ones!

Conclusion: Deciding What’s Best for Your Pinterest Growth

Whether you invest time in working on your account or training your team OR just want to outsource and take it off your plate, I hope this helps you make the right decision for you.

Bloggers (especially in the fashion, beauty, home decor, food and travel niches), the team here at KWLLC might be the right fit for you. I’d love to share more about how we could work together and see if we’re a good fit for scaling your Pinterest marketing this year.

If you’re wondering the differences between my current Pinterest packages (especially between the Management and Profile + Optimization and Retainer Strategist), this helps you break down my Pinterest management services.

What To Takeaway From This Blog Post:

• Pinterest is a long game – so if you don’t exactly have the time to learn, hiring a Pinterest Manager might be the way to go
• Starting with a Pinterest Audit is a great way to see if you want to take the next step in growing your Pinterest
• It’s never too late to learn how to do Pinterest the right way so DIY is a great option!

I would love to discuss which is best for you (I promise I’m always honest) if you’re interested.