Pinterest Completely Changed My Board!

[Brownielocks]

I wasn't sure if this should be in "Promoting" or here for General Discussion.  

I've used Pinterest for a few years now and posted all my products there as one form of promotion.  In the beginning I got lots of hits to my products. But.... For the past year, I've seen "no views" on anything, esp. new products I posted. No new followers.  So, I finally did a check.  When I Googled my Pinterest Board which was called, "Fun Products by Brownielocks" I was stunned.

NONE OF MY PINS WHERE THERE!!!  It was loaded with all sorts of commercial products, none of which were mine. Now, when I enter via Zazzle to add a pin (which I can) it looks like the old board on this end.  But the world is not seeing my Pinterest Board of my Zazzle products.  They have edited it without even telling me. 😞

Apparently, in order to have a board that sells products you must now create a "Business Pinterest Account."  And, they charge you.  They also want your name, your address, your phone etc.  I do not know how secure this is.

I just cancelled my Pinterest account.  They are unclear on what you'll get charged and it's not worth giving them all my personal information.

I thought I'd post this here for all of you Sellers with a Pinterest board and noticing no views and no sales after you've posted a product on your board.  They might have removed your Zazzle products like they did me, and now require you turn your account into a "Business" one with a fee.

[WHS_Designs]

@Brownielocks sorry to hear about that.

However, unless I'm mistaken and things have changed recently, a Pinterest business account is still free to sign up for.

[Brownielocks]

Well, perhaps getting one is? But, I was asked to create a promotion pin (Specific size) and you can make either one pin or what they call a "carousel" pin of 5 rotating images; and, then the next step was "Billing Options."  So getting one may be free but any promoting to the public has a price.  This is how I interpreted it.  I was stunned all my Zazzle products had been removed and all these different product pins were in their place.   Why I didn't get notified about this is so unprofessional.  

[DancingPelican]

The promotion pins are Pinterest ads and they do cost money. Your business account on Pinterest is free. You do not have to run any promotions or ads in order to pin to your Pinterest business account. I pin to mine all the time. I also occasionally will run a paid promotional ad when I want to put a design in front of lots of eyes.

[1234Shine]

@DancingPelican , How did the Pinterest ads work out for you?  Do you think it's worth it?

[DancingPelican]

I use the ads sparingly. They do brings in lots of views and saves. Only a few have converted to sales, but I figure it into my annual advertising budget and am happy with the little bit of money I have invested in it.

[Upbeat]

Hi, are there any restrictions or specific requirements for running Pinterest paid promotions for my Zazzle products? I couldn’t find any relevant information. Could you please guide me or direct me to a helpful page or document on Zazzle? Thank you!

[DancingPelican]

I have not been able to find definitive instructions in the Zazzle help pages regarding Pinterest ads.

[Upbeat]

Thanks ... so, can you provide any advice/guidance for me. I want to give it a try. 

[DancingPelican]

I just googled “How to create an ad on Pinterest” and followed their instructions. I kept my daily budget low and limited the duration of the ad campaign to something I could afford to try out. That is totally up to you how much you want to spend. I am not a Pinterest expert by any means, so I don’t feel qualified to advise in any detail. I would suggest reading articles on Pinterest ads and learn what subject matter experts have to say about it. Good luck!