It has the TikTok style “for you” and “following” pages, with Canva-style photo editing features, a Pinterest-style feel and grid, and a big emphasis on photo sharing like Instagram.

As a Pinterest strategist, I’ve been curious about this potential big competitor and want to share my thoughts on the new app, so far.

So, before we dig into the comparison – what is Lemon8?

It’s described as a “lifestyle community app” in the App Store. It’s made by TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance and targets a “youthful community” for discovering inspiring content.

I posted on Lemon8 with my initial thoughts, as you can see on my Lemon8 profile, and wanted to expand to share how I feel it stacks up against Pinterest.

Because this app is brand new, I’m sure a lot will change but as of right now, here are my thoughts on the app as of April 2023.

Review of Lemon8

1. This app already gives me way more of a social vibe than Pinterest and definitely works as a big competitor to Instagram. I’m feeling inspired by the way Lemon8 has brought to life that element of aesthetic + community. You can design content within the app, it is heavy on the photo-sharing element and feels more interactive.

2. It’s also emphasizing, even more, how much keyword research is relevant across social media right now! I teach a lot about keywords and this app is another version of how important it is to make your content searchable.

3. I’m really optimistic about this app’s staying power, especially with seeing so many creators I love to follow on TikTok over here already. It’s still in the very early phases, but I see a lot of potential, especially with the app originating from TikTok’s creators. I have personally found that TikTok has understood the “for you” algorithm much better than Instagram has.

4. I would love to see the categories increase to work for more niches. This has always bugged me about Pinterest because a lot of business owners want to use it too, beyond content creators who are in the fashion, beauty & wellness space.

5. I’m big on branding and finding it hard to do that with the templates & fonts given on the Lemon8 app. I would love to see this app evolve with more Canva-like features and make it easier to use your own branding within the app!

6. I’m also curious to see how long the posts continue to see traction. One of the biggest benefits of Pinterest is that your content can get engagement for months and even years after you post. It’s too soon to tell how that will work on this app.

How Lemon8 compares to Pinterest

While these apps are similar, one of the biggest differences with Pinterest is the lack of social interaction. It has long been known more as a search engine.

Strengths of Pinterest include:

• Saving to boards and being able to organize ideas so efficiently
• The shopping element
• Easy to find what you’re looking for and able to click out to websites
• Better for business owners in driving traffic and sales

Strengths of Lemon8 include:

• Designing pins within the app. Idea Pins have this but it’s so limited
• Community vibes
• Caption-focused (people don’t seem to actually read pin descriptions & they’re often used as a summary for what people can expect when they click through)

Why Pinterest isn’t going anywhere

I often think that competition is a great thing – to help apps evolve and come up with solutions that are designed to benefit the users.

I think Pinterest can learn a few things from the way Lemon8 has set up the app for engagement and community building. And I would love to see Lemon8 include more features from Pinterest – like being able to drive traffic outside the app.

I love the Canva-style design element within Lemon8 and while we’ve seen this with Idea Pins and video-related creation within Reels and TikTok, this feels refreshing and different. It feels playful, which a lot of content creators have been craving.

Regardless of where things head with Lemon8, it’s exciting to see a photo-sharing app give Instagram some competition and I’m hopeful that it goes somewhere.

I’d love to hear your thoughts. What do you think about Lemon8? Have you hopped on yet?

Pinterest has over 450 million users every month, making it the perfect place for you to showcase your expertise, display your work, and give your best tips to your ideal audience.

If you’re already leveraging platforms like TikTok or Instagram and seeing success as a content creator, it can only strengthen your media kit to add Pinterest as another platform.

Let’s dive into 6 ways you can make some more money from Pinterest marketing.

1. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular way for bloggers and content creators to earn money.

As an affiliate, you promote products on your blog or social media platforms and earn a commission on each sale made through your unique affiliate link.

Pinterest is a great platform for affiliate marketing because it’s highly visual and allows you to create boards based on different product categories. You can also tag these affiliate links in Idea Pins, which can increase your chances of making sales.

To get started with affiliate marketing on Pinterest, find an affiliate program that aligns with your niche. Look for products that you believe in and would be excited to promote. Then create boards and pins that showcase these products and link to your affiliate link.

Pinterest has certain affiliate networks that are currently approved.

2. Sponsored content

Sponsored content is another way to make money on Pinterest. You partner with a brand and create pins that promote their products or services.

When creating sponsored content, it’s important to disclose the partnership. You’re able to do that inside Idea Pins.

To find sponsored content opportunities, reach out to brands that align with your niche. You can also join influencer networks that connect content creators with brands looking for sponsored content.

You’ll need to create a media kit to showcase your Pinterest stats and demographics to show the brand how you’ll promote their product, along with your past work.

3. Promoted pins

Promoted pins are sponsored ads that appear in a user’s feed, search results, or related pins. They can help you reach a wider audience and increase your chances of making sales or driving traffic to your website.

To use promoted pins, you’ll need to designate a budget. You can set a daily or lifetime budget for your campaign and choose targeting options such as demographics, interests, and keywords.

When creating promoted pins, make sure they’re visually appealing and relevant to your target audience. You can use A/B testing to determine which pins are the most effective.

According to Pinterest, their ads have a 2.3x more efficient cost than other social platforms and retail brands have seen 2x higher ROI, so it’s worth considering!

4. Offer products

If you have expertise in a particular niche, you can create and sell digital products such as e-books, courses, and printables on your website or through a third-party platform like Etsy or Shopify.

Pinterest is a great platform for promoting your digital products. Create pins that showcase your products and link to your website or online store where customers can purchase them.

When creating digital products, make sure they’re high-quality and provide value to your target audience. You can tag your products directly in the pins – whether it’s a standard or idea pin to increase your click-through rate.

5. Use Pinterest to drive traffic to your website

Creating visually appealing pins that link to your website or blog can help drive traffic to your website. This, in turn, can increase your ad revenue or the chances of getting hired for content creation projects.

When creating pins, make sure they’re visually appealing and relevant to your target audience. You can also use Pinterest’s analytics to determine which pins are the most effective and make adjustments to your strategy accordingly.

Creating a funnel can help you leverage the leads you get coming in from Pinterest to convert them into sales!

6. Join the Pinterest Creator fund

While Pinterest has shut down the Creator rewards program at the end of 2022 where it was paying users to create Idea Pins, they do seemingly still have the option for you to apply for the Creator fund.

From the Pinterest website: “This new initiative is focused on the growth and success of underrepresented creators: people of color, people with disabilities and members of the LGBTQ+ community. The Fund’s goal is to foster creator talent through financial and educational support while aiming to make Pinterest an increasingly inclusive and diverse platform.” Applications are currently closed.

Up next: Learn how to create a cohesive, on-brand Pinterest presence.

With so many podcasts vying for listeners’ attention, it can be challenging to promote your show and attract new listeners.

One of my favorite platforms to reach a broader audience and grow my listener for Life Goals In Progress and Playground To Purpose is Pinterest.

In this post, we’ll explore six ways you can use Pinterest to get more podcast listeners.

1. Create shareworthy blog posts for each episode

Creating a blog post for each episode, also known as “show notes,” is a great way to provide additional context and information about your podcast.

However, instead of just recapping the episode, you can make your blog posts share-worthy by including additional information, tips, or insights that weren’t included in the episode. Or, at least structure them in a way that makes more sense in blog form: Outlined with subheadings.

Audio doesn’t perfectly translate to blogging, so repurpose the content in a way that works for the blog medium.

You can include quotes, images, links you mentioned in the episode, or other visuals that will make your blog post more engaging and interesting. This way, you can use your blog posts to attract new listeners and give your existing listeners something to share with their friends and followers.

2. Embed your podcast into your blog post

Once you’ve created a share-worthy blog post, it’s time to embed your podcast episode into the post itself with links on where they can listen.

This will make it easy for your readers to listen to the episode and encourage them to subscribe to your show. By embedding your podcast into your blog post, you can also help boost your show’s ranking on search engines like Google, which can help attract new listeners.

3. Create multiple pin graphics with call to actions

Time for some Canva pro magic!

Pinterest is a visual platform, so it’s essential to create eye-catching pin graphics that will encourage users to click through and listen to your podcast.

You can create multiple pin graphics for each episode, each with a different design, but with a consistent call to action to listen to the episode.

This will help you reach a broader audience and give you the option to test different versions of your promo graphics to see what captures the most attention.

4. Design an aesthetic roundup graphic of podcasts

Another way to promote your podcast on Pinterest is to create a roundup graphic of podcasts for your demographic.

You can include your podcast in the roundup, along with other podcasts that your listeners may be interested in. This will help encourage your listeners to share your content and reach new audiences. Make sure the graphic is visually appealing and aligns with your brand’s aesthetics.

For example, if your podcast is about social media marketing, you could do something like 10 Best Podcasts For Small Business Owners. Share the love! You could also tag the users included to encourage them to share!

5. Adjust the pin title to try out different versions

When publishing and scheduling pins, it’s important to test different titles and descriptions to see what resonates with your audience.

You can create multiple versions of the same pin graphic, each with a different title or description. This will help with finding the right keywords to reach your ideal audience. Try more than one thing to get your pin traction. You never know which version could go viral.

6. Create Idea Pins with snippets from the episode

Idea Pins are a new feature on Pinterest that allows users to create a series of images or videos that showcase an idea that someone can take action on.

You can use Idea Pins to share snippets from your podcast episodes, such as quotes or soundbites, in a visually appealing way. This will help you reach a broader audience and give your followers a taste of what your podcast is all about.

I love ones that are vlog-style with the inspiring sound clip from the episode.

Promoting your podcast on Pinterest can be an effective way to reach a broader audience and grow your listener base.

By creating share-worthy blog posts, embedding your podcast into your blog, creating multiple pin graphics, designing an aesthetic roundup graphic, adjusting pin titles, and creating Idea Pins, you increase your chances of getting your podcast to grow organically!

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First, here’s why email is actually SO important for your growth, especially if your primary marketing strategy involves social media.

Social media algorithm changes

Instagram’s algorithm changes regularly, and it can be difficult to maintain a consistent reach – especially in 2023. Building an email list ensures that your audience will receive your messages directly in their inbox, regardless of any algorithm changes.

1:1 communication

Email marketing provides direct communication with your audience, allowing you to send personalized messages, special offers, promotions, and updates about your business. This builds trust and loyalty with your audience. Plus, they can actually respond to you and it invites real conversation.

Diversify your marketing channels

Relying on one platform can be risky and leaves you vulnerable to changes in algorithms or potential account loss or suspension (or an account shutting down, like Vine or the potential TikTok ban). Building an email list diversifies your marketing efforts and you own your list.

Increased conversion

Email marketing has a high conversion rate, allowing you to nurture your email subscribers into paying customers.

Long-term relationship building

Email addresses are valuable assets that can be used for long-term marketing efforts. You can use your email list to promote new products, offers, or to retarget customers who haven’t made a purchase yet or recently.

Why you should create a freebie or lead magnet to promote on Pinterest

Creating a lead magnet is an good way to generate leads for your business.

A lead magnet is a helpful resource or offer that you give away in exchange for a prospect’s contact information, such as their email address.

By providing a free resource that solves a problem or addresses a pain point for your target audience, you can establish trust and authority in your industry and build a list of potential customers who are interested in your products or services. This allows you to nurture those leads over time and ultimately convert them into paying customers.

It’s also an enticing reason for someone to actually click through to your website and get on your list! Gone are the days where you can say “sign up for my newsletter” and have that be enough for someone to give you their email. Give them a bite-sized resource that actually helps them!

Here are some tips for how to promote your freebies on Pinterest:

1. Create scroll-stopping Standard Pins

The first step in using Pinterest to grow your email list is to create engaging pins that promote your lead magnets or free resource. Create images that capture attention (we use Canva!), compelling headlines, and clear calls to action to encourage users to click through to your website and sign up for your email list.

2. Use Idea Pins to promote your list

Does your free resource solve a problem? Do you have a newsletter made for a certain audience? Do a carousel-style idea pin that encourages people to sign up for the email list and shows how to do so. Idea Pins, as of early 2023, are not able to link out but that feature is being pushed out and will be available soon.

3. Optimize your website for conversions

Once users click through to your website from your Pinterest pins, make it as easy as possible for them to sign up for your email list. Use clear and prominent opt-in forms and landing pages that offer value to users and encourage them to sign up.

4. Create relevant boards

Creating relevant boards on Pinterest that align with your lead magnets or freebies can help attract users who are interested in the content you’re offering. Pinterest needs to index your content, and having clear board titles for your pins helps you reach the right people.

Pin relevant content to these boards and include calls to action.

5. Showcase your freebie

Give people a reason to click through to get your freebie. Show them a preview of what the free resource looks like on the pin image itself.

Create a mock-up of the resource that links to the freebie. Is it a multiple-page PDF? Is it a video workshop? Is it a deck? Give them a little taste of what they can expect!

6. Embed your free resource into your blog posts

Have blogs that are related to your free resource? Embed the opt-in form into your blogs to encourage subscribers to the blog content you’re promoting on Pinterest, too! You can even create graphics that have the title of the blog post with a call to action in the image for the free resource. That way, you’re not feeling like the promoting of your freebie is exhaustive and you can keep your feed feeling diverse while still getting a ton of pins about your email freebie.

7. Use Pinterest ads

Using Pinterest ads can be an effective way to promote your lead magnets or freebies to a larger audience. Set up Pinterest ads that target users who are interested in your brand or content, and include clear calls-to-action that encourage users to sign up for your email list.

Pinterest has the kind of reach that can help you grow your email list fast, if you have a resource that speaks to your audience’s needs, stops their scroll and captures attention, and provides a solution in the best way for your audience. Note that this definitely takes time and conversations with your audience to figure out! Play with it, and don’t be afraid to try more than one free resource to promote on Pinterest.

Speaking of Pinterest, pin these for later!

And I’m not just talking about scrolling and creating your vision board, because I feel like we all love Pinterest personally. But, I’m talking, sharing your content on Pinterest.

Pinterest is a super visual platform that offers an excellent opportunity for your creative business to showcase their brand aesthetic.

From the colors, fonts, and imagery used in your pins to the overall vibe of your profile, your brand aesthetic plays a crucial role in attracting and engaging your target audience on Pinterest. Here are some tips for crafting a cohesive brand aesthetic on Pinterest:

1. Define your brand identity

The first step in creating a cohesive brand aesthetic on Pinterest is to define your brand identity. What is your brand all about? What values do you stand for, and what makes you unique?

When I kick off with a Pinterest client, I’m thinking about their main pillars and their target demo. What makes them unique? What’s their specific voice and vibe? And how can we create boards and a cohesive vibe that represents that?

2. Use your color palette

Your color palette is one of the most critical elements of your brand aesthetic. Choose colors that align with your brand identity and use them consistently throughout your pins and profile. You can use tools like Adobe Color to create a color palette or Pinterest itself to create color schemes.

3. Use consistent fonts but add some flair

Fonts also play a significant role in your brand aesthetic. If you have branding, use it! Don’t stray from your branding. You want your pins to be recognizable, so when someone is scrolling and already knows you, they immediately know it’s your content.

If you don’t already have professional branding, you can find some good font combinations on… you guessed it, Pinterest.

Choose two or three fonts that complement each other and use them consistently throughout your pins and profile. This will help create a cohesive and recognizable brand identity.

To add emphasis and create scroll-stopping images, add emphasis on your pins. Emphasizing or bolding important words can capture attention quicker.

4. Curate images that align with your brand

The images you use on Pinterest should align with your brand identity and color palette. Curate images that are visually appealing and align with your brand’s message. Using a mixture of original and curated images will help keep your profile fresh and engaging.

Need to use stock photos? Here are some good ones:

• Unsplash
• Pexels
• Adobe Spark
• Pixabay
• Dreams Time
• Death To Stock
• Styled Stock Society

5. Use pin templates

Creating a consistent style for your pins is essential to your brand aesthetic on Pinterest. This includes using the same font, color palette, and imagery in each pin. Consistent styling will help your pins stand out and make your brand more recognizable to your audience.

Use templates from:

• Canva
• Creative Market
• Envato Elements
• Etsy

Alternatively, if you have it in the budget, you could hire a designer or use your current designer to create templates for you to work with.

6. Create board cover images

Organizing your boards by category and using branded cover images will help create a cohesive profile aesthetic. Use your brand colors and fonts in your board covers to tie them into your overall brand aesthetic.

I don’t always create board covers for clients I’m working with, but if it works for your branding and helps you make everything feel more on-brand, I recommend doing that.

Basically, just create a simple template alternating your brand colors with the title of your board in the image.

7. Keep things clear over clever

While it’s tempting to make your board titles look aesthetic, avoid it.

Board titles and descriptions are important for helping users discover your content on Pinterest.

Use clear and descriptive titles and descriptions that reflect your brand values and messaging, and use keywords that are relevant.

8. Be consistent in tone and messaging

Consistency in tone and messaging is key to creating a cohesive brand aesthetic on Pinterest. Use a consistent brand voice in your graphics and board descriptions, and make sure your messaging is aligned with your brand values and positioning.

While people aren’t reading your pin descriptions much (except on Idea Pins), you still want your tone of voice to feel on-brand.

Crafting a cohesive brand aesthetic on Pinterest requires a combination of defining your brand identity, choosing a color palette, using consistent fonts and imagery, and organizing your profile.

By creating a consistent style for your pins and profile, you’ll attract and engage your target audience, build brand recognition, and drive traffic to your website. Take the time to define your brand’s aesthetic and create a Pinterest strategy that aligns with your brand identity.

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There are a lot of simple ways to add pinterest habits to your pinning routine, so you can make the process to getting more visibility effortless!

Whether you own a small business, you’re a content creator or a blogger, Pinterest is a powerful platform to leverage for long-term visibility.

Pinterest habits for brand visibility in 2023

1. Make multiple graphics for every piece of content

Gone are the days when you can repost the same graphics over and over again. Basically, think about quality over quantity now.

Pinterest wants you to have “fresh content” as you would have on any other social media network. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t promote that blog post a million times – just use different graphics to do it!

Whether it’s a blog post, a podcast episode, or a YouTube video, make multiple images to promote the piece.

There are tons of templates on Canva for you to use for free that will give you a diverse range to promote! But, I like to keep it on brand, so that when one of my pins comes up – whether it’s for me or a client, it’s clear without them even seeing the brand name that it’s time. That’s brand recognition, friend!

I can’t tell you how many times people say, “I can’t remember where I found you, but it was probably Pinterest.” If for no other reason than they continue to see and recognize our pins on the platform.

2. Play with different keywords

One of the best Pinterest habits to get into is adjusting the headlines and descriptions of your pins, each time you pin for the same piece of content.

Give yourself an opportunity to reach more people by trying out different keywords.

Keywords are what someone is searching on Pinterest. And Pinterest figures out who to push your content out by the keywords you use to describe the image or video you’re pinning.

Short-tail keywords:

Blue swimsuit

Long-tail keywords:

Midnight blue one piece swimsuit for summer

Use more long-tail keywords, but also, diversify your descriptions for the pins you promote, leading back to the same content. Why not try different ways to talk about the same image, to increase your chance of being seen for them!

3. Use Tailwind to schedule in advance

Tailwind allows you to see when the best time to pin, based on your engagement.

You can also visually plan your feed, and schedule your pins months ahead! Tailwind is still the best platform around for this, and it’s a Pinterest-approved platform.

Get a free month of Tailwind through our referral link.

4. When you post a TikTok or a Carousel, repurpose it into an Idea Pin

TikToks and Reels are performing really well on Pinterest, when they are around inspiring others to do something.

Not everything (especially some trends) will work for Pinterest, but a lot of the content that is motivational, inspiring, educational, or shows someone a new perspective or way of doing things, can go viral.

Why not make the most of content you’re already creating?

Take off that watermark, and repost it as an Idea Pin. 

Idea Pins are Pinterest’s feature that is similar to TikTok and Reels which is basically a carousel of images and videos to show someone how to recreate an idea. But, there’s no problem with creating an Idea Pin that is just a singular video (aka a repurposed TikTok video.)

You are allowed to tag related keywords, and even tag approved affiliate products! You can add stickers, sounds, and split the clips inside the Pinterest app.

Oh, and Canva Pro is definitely the easiest way to resize your carousels from Instagram to fit with the Idea Pin sizing!

5. Create a Pinterest funnel

You want to bring value to your audience, so think about where you’re directing them and what they want to find when they click through. What’s the funnel experience?

Ideally, the Pinterest funnel would look like this:

• Lands on page   Reads blog post Downloads freebie Goes through email sequence Buys service

Or…

• Lands on page Sees more details about the shoes that she loved on Pinterest Adds to cart Purchases Added to email list Receives discount code for next purchase Becomes a repeat customer

Otherwise, they might get to your page and feel like, “This wasn’t what I was expecting to find” and simply drop out. Or, they might be interested in your content, but because you don’t have a call to action, exit and never find you again.

Create an opportunity for people to get more value from them, even if they’re not immediately ready to work or buy from you.

6. Respond to comments

Gone are the days when Pinterest is just a search engine. It’s now operating as a social media network too. And that means the algorithm is factoring in comments as a part of the engagement.

Make responding to the comments part of your pinning routine. And try finding a few accounts to engage with regularly too.

7. Keep up with trends

Pinterest is always months ahead of trends, and it’s the go-to place where people are planning for their future. Use the free tools they offer like trends.pinterest.com, so you can be ahead of the Pinterest trends.

This will definitely increase your chances of virality, and help you figure out what keywords are spiking in popularity.

Are you already doing some of these Pinterest habits? Which ones will you get started with implementing?