In December 2011 my wife suggested that I try Pinterest, a new social
media. “What is Pinterest?” I asked. I had never even heard of Pinterest. Being an
artist and a jeweler she was much more tuned in to this sort of thing than I
was. She thought I would enjoy the pictures and the visual nature of Pinterest.
I was hooked right away.
Photography is a hobby of mine. Being a pilot for a major
airline, I got to see a whole lot of the world that a boy raised in the Midwest
had no expectation of ever seeing.
For many years I carried my camera with me on trips. From the cockpit and on
layovers I shot lots of pictures. My wife told me at one point that I had
enough pictures of clouds and that maybe I should try another subject. Those
were not her exact words, but you get the idea.
Once I got started on Pinterest, I thought I had the perfect
place to showcase my aerial photography. After uploading my personal favorites
on Flickr, I started transferring my pictures to Pinterest. Unfortunately, the
Pinterest community wasn’t as impressed with my photography as I was. Very few
of my pictures were repinned, liked or commented on. The court of public opinion was quite ruthless in it’s
ruling on my Pinterest site. This was very discouraging for someone who thought
he was a pretty good amateur photographer.
By the end of my second month of pinning on Pinterest, I
swallowed my pride and started to let the court of public opinion be my guide
rather than my nemesis. Gradually I found pins that fit my boards and the
Pinterest community responded favorably. I was actually getting repins. People
started to like some of the pins on my site. Soon a routine of tracking my new
followers every morning evolved. A new obsession was born. Tracking new
followers took the place of taking pictures of every cloud I flew through.
This is the first in a series of articles describing how I
attracted a large following on Pinterest. The lesson here is listen to your
followers. If you are a photographer, check your ego at the door. Set realistic
goals and expectations. I am as guilty as anyone about leaving an unpopular pin on too long. Listen to your followers and they’ll tell you the truth. The numbers don’t lie. Let them be the guide for you as you build your
site.
I hope you enjoyed this article. Please follow us and watch
next week as I write about the next growth phase for Dan330.
