Choosing Pinterest Pictures

Curalate went through a sample of 500,000 popular pins, and whittled down the list to one that exemplifies the “perfect” Pinterest image.

See the perfect photo...iIt’s an illustration for a recipe from Paula Deen’s website, that goes with the recipe for Aunt Peggy’s Cucumber, Tomato and Onion Salad.

That top-notch image was pinned 307,000 times, liked 8000 times and has more than 300 comments.

And that's gotta be yummy for traffic.

Paula Deen's perfect image features food and dishes. Two subjects that are dear to my heart.

So I used food and dishes as the subject for my approximation, posted above in this article: cabbage slaw in a cup.

The china cup has red apples with green leaves. The Corelle plate features pink and red flowers, and more green details, in multiple shades. Also, the slaw is light green, similar to the cucumbers in the perfect photo.

Based on analysis of the perfect photo, I selected several strong colors, especially red, and approximated the gray background from the perfect photo as well. I made my photo square, but I could have used portrait format. I left out human faces.

There are more Pinterest photo findings by Curalate, reported in Wired.

In the days when viral was only a type of infection, I probably would not have seen this perfect photo. But if I did, I would have paid attention to it immediately.

The first thing I noticed was the vintage pink Pyrex casserole dish, in the Pink Gooseberry pattern. That’s my favorite set that I’ve used a lot. They range in size from small to large, and alternate the surface. Pink on white, and white on pink.

Then there’s the good looking summer salad with cucumbers and tomatoes. That will taste good for a picnic or summer party, or any other time when good vegetables are in season.

And the details are charming, like the dainty crocheted potholder underneath, and the rustic picnic table top.

You can think of Pinterest just like a set of physical bulletin boards, organized by topic, on which you can post images and things you like.

• When you set up your account, there is a standard set of board titles. You can start with these, add to or delete this list. When you go to pin an article on Wizzley, for example, you will get a drop down menu so you can select which board to pin onto.

• You can create your own boards by topic of interest. If you’re into Vampires, or Soil Science, or Rare Sheep Breeds, for example, you can create boards around those topics.

• You can follow people with similar interests. Either by the board, or all their boards. Others will start to find and follow you, too.

First, make sure at least one image is pinnable. They don't all have to be designed for Pinterest, but if at least one is, your article can benefit by another traffic source.

On Wizzley:

• Check your Options setting on your Wizzley article and make sure that the option for Pinterest is checked. (This appears to be the default on new articles.)
• Repeat your intro thumbnail elsewhere in your article. Two easy ways: add by itself in an Image module, or within copy in a Text module. You spent time choosing a representative image. Let it be pinned!
• Recrop your image if you wish, to repeat the same photo in a different version. One version could be a close up, and the other a wide shot. For Pinterest, portrait format or square images fit best.

On WordPress:

• In the WordPress world, select one image and Set Featured Image as part of each post. Otherwise, no image in your post will be pinnable. I don’t know which WordPress update included this change, but in my case, I have backfill to do on older posts.

The way I see it:

• Make your Pinterest pictures vertical, in portrait format, or square
• Select a photo with a strong graphic quality, or high “cuteness” factor
• Choose something colorful. The most pinned images are medium overall, with multiple main colors. Further, red was a top eye catcher.