i.e., the messy (but actually-useful) breakdown on how to get more eyes on YOU

I didn’t mean to go viral on Pinterest.

Well, actually I was on a break. One month of silence because I was exhausted, busy building another brand, and honestly too overwhelmed to care anymore. And while I was away, my account jumped from 120k to 200k impressions. And the pins that blew up weren’t even special.

Though I was pleasantly surprised, I wasn’t that shocked. Pinterest may seem random (i.e., the pins you worked the least on and uploaded directly from your Photos folder very well could take off with no title, no description, and no hashtags.) But it’s actually not; Pinterest just doesn’t reward perfection. It rewards emotional intelligence.

So instead of giving you a sanitized playbook, I want to give you a real one. The one that accidentally kinda made the algorithm obsessed with me.

It’s called SCAMPER, an actual brainstorming framework that I’ve adapted to fit a broad strategy that will helps us break the rules with grace.

Let me show you.

S — SUBSTITUTE

Pinterest coaches will tell you to “post consistently,” “use keywords in your descriptions and titles,” “add SEO,” and “replicate trending pins.”

But I wasn’t that consistent, often times only used a couple hashtags in my descriptions, and merged my favorite pin aesthetics to test different combinations of what worked for others.

But the main thing I’ve taken from all of this variance:

Substitute perfection with emotion.

If the image doesn’t make someone feel something, it will fail.

And what I’m currently working on: Substitute rigid CTA with identity CTA.

Not “read more.”

But “become the girl you’re pinning.”

What emotion do you want people to feel before they click your pin?

C — COMBINE

Pinterest is a moodboard search engine. And understanding duality is leverage.

My virality came from combining:

• mindset content + aesthetic collages
• identity archetypes + micro advice
• romantic visuals + buyer psychology
• daily-life relatability + big-dream energy

When you combine things that aren’t supposed to go together, you create something people haven’t seen yet. They fall in love all over again and Pinterest rewards the renewal as if it were gold.

What are some combinations from your favorite pins you can use today?

A — ADAPT

I adapted trends the way people adapt thrifted clothes:

Tailored. Worn upside down. Styled.

I adapted arc-culture (“winter arc,” “redemption arc,” “that girl era”) into a whole world with a website and blog posts, with the pins acting as a Narnia-style door that leads into a safe space for your glow-up.

I adapted vision boarding into an actual funnel, where resonance → profile click → blog read → email list.

Nothing about this was completely my own.

Everything was borrowed and reimagined to suit all of our ever-changing needs.

See how good something familiar and something new can feel together?

M — MODIFY / MAGNIFY

Pinterest users love to feel and imagine their future.

So I magnified the visual depth to create something vivid and crystal clear.

I simplified the text and shrunk the learning curve to zero, intensifying the vibe.

Less words. More color.

No “guru.” Just “girl, me too.”

This is where I saw the shift.

What pins have you seen recently that have done something like this? How could you make that your own?

P — PUT TO ANOTHER USE

This is the quiet part no one says out loud.

Most use Pinterest for aesthetics when it could be used for anthropology and psychology.

Think about it: every profile on Pinterest is a window into who that person really is — not who they pretend to be on Instagram.

Pinterest is the truth of raw desire and longing made visual.

Pinterest is the archive of a million quiet wants of people all over the globe. Note the common problem everyone wishes they could fix, solve it and wrap the solution in a neat bow.

So I started using my pins like invitations with “here’s the next version of you waiting on the other side.”

That’s what makes people click.

What was the last pin you clicked out of pure curiosity? How can you evoke curiosity with your visuals alone?

E — ELIMINATE

I eliminated these things:

• trying to teach everything upfront
• over-explaining
• caring about vanity metrics

Removing noise made the signal louder.

What three elements of your pins may be blocking a clear signal?

R — REVERSE

I reversed the typical marketing workflow.

Most people do:

niche → keywords → value → visuals → vibe.

I flipped it:

vibe → emotion → identity (can be many) → visuals → keywords.

Pinterest is a vibe platform that speaks to a vibe economy.

Treat it that way and it stops punishing you.

What is the main vibe of the world you’re building for your brand? What actor or actress would play the main character in this world? What would be the title sequence song?

The Truth About Virality

I didn’t go viral because I hacked the system.

I went viral because I understood the duality of the platform and the psychology of the people who use it most.

Pinterest is not about impressing people.

Pinterest is about enabling them to become who they desperately want to be.

When you understand that, and deeply, your account blooms without you having to babysit it.

The Part I’m Not Sharing

There are so many layers of this strategy I’m leaving out because I simply don’t have the time. The gist is: the real magic happens when you put in your 100 hours to research, test and validate a custom “vibe” people actually want to see and NOW — and this is what I’m currently prioritizing.

If you want to help with this specifically —

✦

Build with me

Get guidance on using Creator Search Insights, Pinterest Trends, Google Trends, Exploding Topics and PinClicks (wow a lot) to develop a full campaign for your brand with a 1:1 or group session.

Or you can take a look at this Prompt pack I use to plot with ChatGPT (the SCAMPER framework is in here!)

Wherever you are in the process, I created The Lipstick Effect to be a table we can all sit at to glow up with Pinterest. Pull up a chair.