Me and Pinterest, we’ve been around the block together.

Over 80% of people finding my site via social media comes from Pinterest. That is an INSANE AMOUNT. Here’s how those numbers break down:

So, you know. I’m a lil protective of my Pinterest audience.

I didn’t understand Pinterest, or how to use her.

I was a recreational Pinterest user for years and years before it clicked that this was where all these successful bloggers were getting their audiences from. Once I realized that – that these women weren’t just getting lucky with their content – everything changed.

But then I had to unlearn all those bad habits I’d gotten into.

A good example: I would ignore Pinterest for weeks, and then, in one hazy night of couch lounging and Netflix marathoning, I’d find myself pinning recklessly into the wee hours of the morning.

Great for the alternate universe Oprah version of me that had lots of time and money to spend on DIYs, but not so great for real life me with a product to share.

In January 2016, I set out to increase my Pinterest analytics.

Once I realized Pinterest was going to be a driver in my content strategy, I had to figure out how to use it for my business – and fast.

I tried a few pinning tools throughout that era, but the only one that made it out alive was Tailwind. One of only two tools I still use today (the other is ConvertKit, but that’s a I-love-this story for another time.)

Tailwind boosted my analytics by 30% in one month! 📈

I wish I had more detailed numbers, but this is what happened over just two weeks in March 2016:

This follower gain was with only about an hour of time investment per week.

The truth is, you don’t need to spend a thousand dollars on an eCourse to see these kinds of results.

What does Tailwind Do?

Tailwind is a web-based tool for Pinterest (and Instagram) that you can access from your computer, tablet, or phone. You set Tailwind up once, and then you maintain a queue of pins that Tailwind will automatically post to your Pinterest account.

The beautiful thing about Tailwind is that it’s just EASY.

Here’s a quick look at my favorite Tailwind features:

Tailwind is 100% the magic behind my Pinterest success (and traffic.)

OK OK SO HOW DO I USE TAILWIND?

It’s so easy! I’ll help you.

The first thing you have to do is register for a new Tailwind account.

Once you’ve registered your account, you can either install the app to your phone (or tablet), or add the Tailwind extension to your desktop web browser.

Here’s a quick walkthrough of what Tailwind looks like on the backend:

The only thing you need to do to start using Tailwind is to register for an account and get the extension working on your tech of choice. HOWEVER. Once you’ve got the basics set up, man. Tailwind has so much more to offer than just being a pin scheduling tool.

HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVORITE TAILWIND FEATURES 🤓

Okay, my favorite thing about Tailwind is still the Board List feature. I use it ALL THE TIME.

Basically the idea is that a Board List makes it much easier to add the same pin to multiple Boards. So, when I’m scheduling say, a new post about blogging, I can choose my “blogging” Board List, like so:

And then I can set that one pin to automatically go out to ALL of the boards I’ve added to that Board List.

My second favorite thing about Tailwind is still the Scheduling feature. I remember being so impressed by it back when I first started my 30-day trial, and it’s still something I get a little dazzled over whenever I stop by to make sure it’s still looking good.

And she is looking good:

The posting schedule above was created by Tailwind for me. To add a new pin slot, all I gotta do is click the little + time (and also, I can add my own.)

AND NOW, A CHALLENGE I’D LIKE TO CALL “THE TAILWIND GAUNTLET”

Wanna see if your Pinterest account makes it through? It’s a two-parter, and it’s juicy.

First, register for a Tailwind account. Tailwind is currently offering a free month of Tailwind Plus (their pro/paid tier), so take advantage of that. You don’t have to provide your credit card information or anything like that.

Once you’ve registered for your account, check out the “Tasks” page. This is what mine looks like:

Each block on the “Tasks” page is a recommendation Tailwind has for you. To get through the Tailwind Gauntlet, you gotta knock out at LEAST half of these suggestions.

Once you’ve done that, fill up your pin queue:

Make sure you have enough pins to last a full week. You can double check this on the right hand side of your Schedule or Drafts pages, under the “Your Schedule” header:

All those little ghost squares? Pins I haven’t scheduled yet.

So, take an hour, use your browser extension or the app to fill up your schedule queue…

And then don’t touch Pinterest for 7 days.

Let the Tailwind Gauntlet run its course.

Once the week is up, take a look at your Pinterest analytics, and see for yourself what I’ve been consistently witness to for almost two years. Two years, and I’m still absolutely in love with this tool.

I HAVE SOME MORE PINTEREST JUSH FOR YOU, TOO

Seriously, Pinterest: can’t get enough of it. I’ve learned a lot over the last two years, and I recently compiled my top 66 tips into a longform post I think you might be interested in. It includes Tailwind, too!

If you wanna steal some of my very fav Pinterest strategies, check it out 💪