What goes into writing a Pinterest profile? Probably more than you think.

The answer to everything is on Pinterest.

Need to build your blog? Get on Pinterest.

Trying to boost your sales? Get on Pinterest.

Want to succeed in affiliate marketing? Pinterest.

Find funny quotes to share on your business page? Pinterest.

Everywhere you look, someone is telling you to get onto Pinterest. But, being on Pinterest isn't enough. You still have to give people a reason to follow you, share your pins, and ultimately follow your pins back to your shop, your blog, or your community.

That's where your Pinterest profile comes into play. By writing a good Pinterest bio, you can not only help other people discover you (and your brilliant content), but you'll also compel them to follow you and continue sharing your content – thereby expanding your reach and increasing your views — both of which should be part of your overall strategy if you're going to use Pinterest as part of your marketing plan.

Here are three steps to writing out the perfect Pinterest bio to attract more followers.

1. Make sure your name Includes your Branding.

You have 30 characters to use for your business name on Pinterest — use them wisely. In most cases, you want to use the name of your business or your blog title so your branding will be consistent with the rest of your social profiles.

If you have a short name, like I do, then you will want to try to include a phrase that explains who you are a bit more. No one really understands who “Brenda Ster” is until they meet me. But most people do understand what “social marketing strategist for direct sellers” means, so I paired the two up for my business name:

This is important because while most people on Pinterest are probably not searching for “Sassy Suite,” many are searching for “social marketing” — and we want to show up when people search for that.

2. Make sure your Pinterest profile photo shows who you are.

Unlike Facebook, most of the traffic coming to your Pinterest profile is going to be from people who don't know you — so it's more important that your profile photo be of you and your smiling face. You can make it of your logo if you want, but that cuts the personality right out of your business — which means you would have to work harder at the other aspects of your profile to make up for it.

Only use your logo if you're using it across other channels. If at all possible, you should be using the same profile photo on every social platform that you use for business. This will make sure that you are a part of your branding, so people will begin to recognize you on various channels.

3. Make sure your Pinterest description explains what you do.

Your Pinterest description has just 160 characters to explain who you are, what you do, and convince people to follow you. And the easiest way to do that is to write how you help. Are you a coach? Great — what problems do you help solve? Are you a blogger? Then write what people will learn from your blog. An advocate for something? Awesome!! Be sure to include how you are advocating for your audience.

The real trick is to make sure that your Pinterest profile explains who you are without spelling it out for everyone. You don't get a lot of space here (only 160 characters, remember?), so you don't want to waste any of that by saying “I am a blogger” or “I am a coach.” Don't write it, just prove it by letting people know what they will get by following you.

Take a look at my profile for example. I am a social marketing strategist…what will you get from following me on Pinterest?

• Learn how to use social media for business
• Use that knowledge to boost sales and gain new clients
• Pinterest Marketing
• Instagram Marketing
• Facebook Marketing

You'll notice, I skipped over “I am a social marketing strategist” (it's in my title) and the “I work with direct sellers” (also in my title) and the “I'll teach you how to…” bits and we went straight for the keywords people search for. In fact, I've used specific keywords throughout my profile to help make sure that my profile comes up whenever people are searching on Pinterest:

Bonus number 4 — claim your Website!

If you have your own website or blog, then you don't want to skip this step!! (If you don't have your own website or blog, why not? Maybe it's time to take a look into blogging).

By claiming your website, you ensure that your profile gets attached to every pin that comes from that site — no matter who pinned it. This makes it much easier for new people to find you. Plus, by claiming your website, it means you won't have to use up some of that precious real estate in your description to place your website:

If you can't claim your website, don't worry. You can still add the website URL for your replicated site into your description.

So, what goes into putting together the perfect Pinterest profile?

A lot, actually! To write the perfect profile, you have to think about what you want to say, and how you're going to say it. Most of us can explain what we do and for whom when we're given free reign to talk about ourselves, our passions, and our business. But stepping into restrictions like those on Pinterest makes it so we have to really think about what we want to say and how — we have to turn our business into a 160-character elevator pitch… that's less space than even a Tweet! And every character needs to earn its spot on that profile.

#EmpowerSocial