Assignment 3, Bootcamp #6 - Pinterest Marketing, Part 2

[iCraft Admin]

This week, I'd like you to continue with the activities from last week, since many of you experienced issues with setting up accounts on Pinterest and lost some time in the beginning of the week.

The Assignment:

• Continue creating boards on Pinterest, pinning products from your iCraft store (to more than 1 board is ok), as well as products from your fellow Bootcamper's stores. Also, follow more members on Pinterest that have pins related to your products/interests.
  
  
• Create a few shared (group) boards and invite some of your crafting friends and your fellow Bootcampers to add items to your boards. Group boards is a great way to promote your items to a wider audience. Learn more about Pinterest Boards - How To Use Pinterest’s Group Boards To Get More Exposure For Your Business - and how to create Group Boards on Pinterest.
  You will need people's names or emails in order to invite them, so please exchange emails through Private messaging on forum or through Contact Seller link on each store page.
  
  
• Keep reading materials from last week and share your learnings with the rest of the group throughout the week.
  
  
• Report your progress and ask questions any time you have them.

Good luck, everyone! 

[Jewelry Made With Love]

My full name is Cynthia A Cavender, email is cynthiaacav@yahoo.com.  Please list your info so I can add you to my group board. Thanks

[Unique Bundle]

I'm not going to be able to do much work on this until friday.  Something quite unexpected has come up.
I'm still not sure about how it works and do not have the time to read about how to make Pinterest account work/pinning etc.  It's taking too much time to read , digest and implement right now. 
I'll try to enlist someone to come and sit with me in person who knows how this all works.  It's just taking too much time right now.  Sorry.

[Lannie]

Hi Unique Bundle,
Thanks for letting us know your situation. Please just do what you can and feel free to ask any questions. We're all at different stages in our learning and comfort, and will always try to help.

[Lannie]

To tell you the truth, I'm a bit surprised to find that I'm enjoying Pinterest. It takes some focus to get the hang of it though. And you have to get used to the way it's set up. I sometimes get confused with where I am on the site and what can be done from that screen. Hopefully it will get better with time. So I have a Board called  Beautiful things at http://www.pinterest.com/tinyknitting/. If you follow me I can invite you to join the group.

How are you guys doing?

[Unique Bundle]

Sorry, I'm trying to understand how it works, and following the Pinterest steps, but I'm just not getting it at all.  I do not have anyone I can draw actual one on one in person, may have to drop out this time and do some rereplacement then come back next time.  I don't know???  I'll keep plodding along, but wanted to check in .  What I've tried to do does not seem to be doing anything?  For now..

[Lannie]

Unique Bundle: Please let us know what part you're not getting. The other participants and I may have some ideas! Also, I found the Help Section actually quite helpful. It's in the Pull Down under your account name at the top right of the page.

[Lannie]

How are you doing with Pinterest Group Boards? 

Group Boards are shared space, by invitation only. They are the only way to Pin on someone else' s board. Could be great for collaboration, and planning, and to showcase a group's talents and creations.

By the way, iCraft's Pinterest address is http://www.pinterest.com/icrafthq/

[Hofkissed]

I both love and hate shared groups! I was already a part of many within my stamping community. It's great that there's the potential to get your pins out there to a broader audience (but if the group isn't shared by many or doesn't have many followers, the chances aren't increased that much). I don't like them because you can't always control what people pin and if people pin items that compete with mine, it could hurt my business. Just my two cents...

Overall, I love Pinterest. I have for years. It can be very distracting and addictive at times though!

[Lannie]

Even though you can't control what people pin,  the 'invitation only' part of Groups will hopefully get the contributors that would be helpful to your business. Also you can remove both pins and people from your boards - obviously you'd need to monitor your Group boards.

I like the idea of using the breadth and variety of the internet to gather information that interests you and is useful to you, kind of a sifting process.

[iCraft Admin]

Could everyone please post a report for the last week?
What has been done? learning etc. Thanks!

[Hofkissed]

Well, I love Pinterest and am on it at least once a day - whether to post things or to look for inspiration. I think I was already on the right track with pinning, group boards, followers/following and so on before this boot camp, but I did really enjoy all the articles that were posted here in the discussions. They were very helpful!

[NoriandChasesCorner]

  I agree with Hofkissed on the Pinterest. I'm not real keen on the group boards either but I have different reasons for why.  I have already started a twitter account but so far I'm not impressed at all. I am hoping that as I learn more, it will become a more useful tool. I will have to double check what my Twitter account is, I will post it on this weeks assignment.

[Unique Bundle]

Well, I'm afraid I'm going to be a Boot Camp drop out.  I've tried to post boards and figure it out.  After spending time on it , reading how to do it and then getting back to the board, there is nothing there and I have to start all over again.  It's just not working for me, and I have too much going on to feel this frustrated and spend the time accomplishing nothing.  For those of you who have pinned and followed or what ever else you do, my shop, please know I tried to do the same.  Maybe next time, but for now it's just not going anywhere positive for me.
On a positive note however..., I did set up a Pin for my shop and will seek out someone who can help me in person to proceed with the process.  I can't even figure out how to update my shop items, so you see… I'm a slow learner.
Thanks everyone and best of luck going forward!

[Lannie]

Unique Bundle, how very troublesome for you! I think you've been a really good sport and it's clear that you've tried hard and done your best to encompass all this new information with so much other stuff going on in your life. I'm sorry you're dropping out.

Please, if you don't find the answers to your iCraft store questions in the iCraft Help Section (https://icraftgifts.com/help/sellers/), feel free to ask on the forum. iCraft sellers often have the answers to questions from other iCraft sellers - you know, been there, understand the ins and outs, figured it out.

All the best,

Lannie

[Lannie]

Report re Pinterest: This was a great overview of marketing on Pinterest. I think as I work more with the program I'll become more comfortable and I'll be able to use it more effectively.

I must say I quite love it! Must remember to keep focused, and not let it take over my life - I can see how it could become a major time suck!

NoriandChasesCorner: I'm curious - can I ask what your reasons are for not liking Group Boards?

[iCraft Admin]

Unique Bundle,

I think we could've helped you with Pinterest more if you were more specific, like I am stuck on page x after doing y. We need more details, so we could recreate your situation.

Same applies to your difficulties with updating your iCraft store. Did you go to "View All Products" page? Simply click on the product title or on the green edit icon below product titles on that page and make all the necessary changes on the next page. Make sure you click on "Submit" button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.Hope this helps.

[Unique Bundle]

Thanks, I figured out the update, but it takes so long, I thought it would be something simple like clicking  an "update" button and it's done.
Problem is I have limited pockets of time to dedicate to the bootcamp.  When I have difficulties, since this is all so foreign to me, I need an answer pretty much in "real time".  A day or so later, I have to revisit the problem, think about it and then try to apply the help.  My brain isn't wired the way it must be for online "stuff".  At leas for now, I just don't have to time to go back and forth.  I need to attack it when I have a moment and clarity of what the situation is.  I'll do some home work on my own to try to understand the workings of Pinterest and jump back in possibly at a later date.  I'm not interested in Twitter and most social media's, and feel the time to do so, takes away from production..  It's all good, I learned some and will take that and propel my self forward at a speed that I can handle.  I'm a person-person/talk type and really do not connect to online stuff, but I feel good that I gave it a try and will continue at a speed that is comfortable for me.  Thanks for all the help, I did make some progress and I wish to stop while I feel good about that.