Selling A Service On Pinterest, Part 1 of 5

In his class book, Selling The Invisible, author Harry Beckwith has this to say about selling services:

Life is like high school. Those things that made you popular start mattering again. Hate it, fight it, march in the streets against it, but it is true. The competent and likeable solo consultant will attract far more business than the brilliant but socially deficient expert. In large part, service marketing is a popularity contest.

So how do you get popular on Pinterest?

Wait.

How do you get people to think you are popular on Pinterest?

Wait.

How do you get people to think we are NOT weird on Pinterest?

Well, I’m not sure. So let’s see if Rhett & Link (2 of the most popular guys on Youtube) can tell us How Not To Be Weird:

Ok, so we know we are NOT going to avoid being weird. So, let’s look at…

5 Ways To Be Popular As A Service Provider On Pinterest:

1. Show up. Are you pinning enough? And pinning the stuff that your crowd is dying to repin? Step 1 – show up more by pinning more high quality content.
2. Make a statement. Remember in high school when you bought those awesome shoes to make a statement about who you were and what you stood for? (Now you just have to pin them). Are your brand attributes clear to people who follow you on Pinterest? Or people who look at your profile and consider following you? I’m trying to position myself as a Pinterest Expert. That’s a characteristic or brand attribute I want to express and then consistantly reinforce.
3. Align yourself with the popular kids. Follow, repin, like and comment in a strategic way so people who see the most popular pinners content will also encounter you.
4. Feed The Hungry Masses. Forget being counter-cultural. People want puppies, how-to guides and island beaches. Give them more of what they want.
5. Share Your Expertise. Weave in educational information about your niche, inustry or product. Use infographics, interesting articles or video to educate your followers about your area of expertise. But be cool, don’t blow it. If you just put out some dumb sales pitch – you’ll be branded as uncool.
6. Keep trying. Did you ever meet the kid in 5th grade who wasn’t cool, but by the time you were Seniors he was very cool because each year he just kept moving in the right direction? Sometimes success takes time. Be faithful, be a learner, be unstoppable in your quest to be a successful service provider on Pinterest.

Good luck.