The Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Images

Pin Designs. Sigh, right? Newsflash: Making your own Pins can be a walk in the park – IF you know what you’re doing and set yourself up for greatness. The problem is, most biz owners don’t. From Pin image sizes, to board cover sizes, to carousel image sizes, it can be hard to keep everything straight for Pinterest image sizing. In this blog post, I am sharing my Ultimate Guide to Pinterest Images to help keep you optimized and looking amazing in the land of inspiration this year.

Confused by Social Media Image Sizing? You are not alone

The overwhelm with getting your images optimized for each social platform is REAL but I am here to help you when it comes to my favourite platform, Pinterest! My goal is to give you a quick and easy image guide so you don’t have to spend time spinning your wheels when you are creating images for Pinterest. I am sharing how you can ensure all of your Pinterest related images are within the current Pinterest best practices guidelines (these do change from time to time so always check to make sure that you are using the most up to date information).

IF YOU WANT ACCESS TO MY GUIDE TO MAKING SCROLL STOPPING PINS, CLICK HERE

Optimizing your Pinterest images is a critical step to positioning yourself on Pinterest. Did you know that images that are optimized for the platform perform 2-3x better than non-optimized content? YES. It’s a no brainer to me… Approaching your Pinterest content the same way you would on any other platform is an important step that so many businesses seem to miss.

Again and again, I see businesses just saving any old image on Pinterest as and it often feels like an after thought. Hello, you took the time to take an image that is the perfect size and crop for your Instagram feed, why not Pinterest? I often share this tip with my clients: when you are taking photographs, step back and make sure several images are taken that are captured with Pinterest in mind – get them on your shot list. This way, when you get to create your Pinterest graphics, you have the right images to work with.

The Perfect Size for Your Pins

Every Pin you create should have an aspect ratio of 2:3. What does that mean when you are editing for graphics for Pinterest? All this means is that your Pins should be 600px x 900px OR 750px x 1125 OR 1000px x 1500px. If you ever find yourself wondering how to figure this out, follow this simple formula:

Width x 1.5 = Height

Who knew your friendly Pinterest guru was also a mathematician? Not me. If this still feels like rocket science to you, use this online calculator.

The Pinterest Image Size Guide

Keeping up with the constant changes in the best image sizing for Pinterest can be a total pain so that’s why I am here. It went from those super long pins (you know the recipes ones!!!) to 735px by 1250px to the current recommendation. There is a lot of conflicting (+ outdated) advice out there when it comes to Pinterest. I am here to clear it all up.

I designed an infographic to help you find all of your Pinterest image sizes to maximize your Pinterest marketing strategy, all in one tidy, little place without the research.

Save your Guide to Pinterest Images

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Make Your Own Pinterest Image Template in Canva

Do you use Canva to design your graphics? It is my go to recommendation for small business owners.

If you do: Isn’t it great?

If you don’t: You gotta check it out. (Canva is a free, online graphic design tool and it will help take your images from meh, to incredible!). As a warning, the default Canva “Pinterest” image sizing is wrong. Don’t use that.

To create your OWN Pinterest image template in Canva:

• Log into Canva
• Click on “Custom Dimensions” – it’s tucked over on the right hand side.
• Enter your desired width and height. (For this example, we will use 600px x 900px).
• Click “Create New Design”.
• Once you’re looking at your design, in the bar along the top it will say “600px x 900px – Untitled”. Click on that, delete it, and then enter the name of your design. For example, Pin Image, Board Cover or Profile Picture.
• If you’re ready create an image, do so, then download your image.
• Close the design and it will automatically be saved in your Canva dashboard. So the next time you need to create a Pin, board cover or Pinterest profile picture, your template is all ready to go!

If making your own pins is a struggle, I would suggest heading to Creative Market and looking at some of my favourite Canva Pinterest image templates. Side note, that’s an affiliate link. That’s how much I love Creative Market. I am an approved affiliate partner.

How to Make Pins That Convert

Ok. So, you’ve got the perfect Pin size down. You have your Pinterest image template set up in Canva. So, let’s get creating! If you want to keep track of your Pinterest learning, grab my free Pinterest image guide/workbook to keep notes.

In the world of Pin images, not all graphics are created equal. If you can follow these simple steps, you may want to give your Pin a little talk about how to prepare her for all the clicks she’s going to garner, before you send her out into Pinterest world.

Vertical Images
It only takes a quick glance at your Pinterest feed to see that vertical images work. I can’t emphasize this enough. If you find yourself in a position where most of your image bank consists of landscape photos, don’t fret. Upload them to Canva and try to crop them in a way that works vertically. Tip for the future: Add vertical images to your image workflow. Take images know you need some nice clean portrait images for Pinterest.

Aspect Ratio
Pinterest may truncate images that fall outside of the recommended 2:3 ratio guidelines! What does that mean? Your images may be cut off. If your image is larger but follows the correct aspect ratio, Pinterest technology will shrink it down to fit within their guidelines, and all of that work you put into your custom Pin will have been for nothing.

High Quality Images
Avoid dark, hard to see, murky, busy photos (unless that’s the point!) Generally, you don’t want to confuse or overwhelm users. Pinterest recommends using photos that “stand out”, highlight your brand and give context to your content.

Text Overlay
Adding some copy is especially important when your picture doesn’t immediately reveal or share what your image is about. As Pinterest says “add text overlay to tell a better story”. The text should enhance your message with concise, short snappy copy.

If you’re not sure if your images are capable of standing alone without text overlay, test it! Try adding some Pins with, and some without text overlay, and compare their performance.

Logo
Including a logo on Pins is a great idea, especially if you are a “brand”. It aids transparency, and helps with brand familiarity for your audience. It should be subtle, but there. Also this helps to watermark your images to reduce your images being stolen by people who aren’t creative enough to come up with their own images.

Make THIS Year You Master Your Pin Designs

You’ve got the tools, now go forth and create Pins that catch eyes, drive traffic and tell your audience what you’re all about. People use Pinterest as a visual search tool, so give them images that tell them their search is over!

If you want to learn more about how to create Pinterest perfect images, sign up for my free Pinterest Image Guide! This guide is going to walk you through creating great pins that will get more engagement, more saves and ultimately, drive MORE traffic your to amazing business.

Looking to Master Your Pin Creation? No Problem!

Are you sick of scouring the internet, using your Pinterest time for research getting conflicting advice. Or reading an entire blog post, only to realize it was written five years ago?

Girl (or guy), I’ve been there and the memory makes my skin crawl. Grab access to my free guide on creating Pinterest images.

We all want a simple, straightforward answer, and when it comes to using Pinterest to drive traffic to your site, I have one.

In case it isn’t apparent yet, I love Pinterest, and I want you to too! But as Pinterest continues to evolve and change, it becomes impossible to produce timeless content that remains true over time. Hop onto my email list to make sure you are getting regular emails from me learning ALL the most important Pinterest things.