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Home » Pinterest Tips » How To Join Pinterest Group Boards [And If You Should]

How To Join Pinterest Group Boards [And If You Should]

Updated on: July 24, 2024 by Louise Myers 10 Comments

Want to join Pinterest group boards? Save time! First find the good ones from these sources. Then use these tips to join group boards that actually perform.

Want to join Pinterest group boards?

The internet is awash in advice to do so.

I have some helpful tips for you, but I warn you not to spend too much time and effort on joining group boards.

Yes, there are good ones. I’m on 3 that get me better engagement than most of my own boards. I’m grateful to be a collaborator!

However, I’ve been on dozens that are probably worse than a waste of time, by dragging me down with their lousy engagement and often widely varying content.

Unfortunately, these are the same ones that are easy to join. Read on…

How To Find Pinterest Group Boards

In order to join boards, you first have to find them. This is the easy part. The hard bit is, most of the time, you can’t tell which are accepting contributors.

When you find a group board possibility, you’ll need to click through and see if the admin has left instructions for joining. Some will say they’re closed to new contributors. As a former group board admin myself, please respect that.

I recommend you follow these guidelines for finding boards that might benefit you:

  • Fits your niche. The tighter it’s niched, the better. DON’T join open, all-topic boards.
  • Has a few active contributors (2 – 20 seems ideal, but stick with fewer than 50).
  • The admin and contributors’ Pinterest authority is similar or better than yours (another reason open boards don’t work: too many weak contributors).
  • Follower number only matters in relation to their credibility to Pinterest. You probably want to avoid boards with less than half your lowest board follower count.
  • Few rules other than staying on topic and not spamming. Too many rules are a headache to keep track of and not worth your time.

Here’s where to look:

1. Group Board Lists

One place to look is on these dedicated web pages.

PinGroupie: Fortunately this site is active again, so you can find fresh information sorted in various ways.

You might be prone to sort boards by the highest number of followers, but followers don’t equal results. I’m on a board with 19K followers that outperforms a board with almost a million – and I mean fivefold. Right now, followers seems to be a useless metric (except as noted above).

If I were to use PinGroupie, I would look in my niche and sort by fewest collaborators. Because those will outperform “open” boards to the nth power.

To use PinGroupie, look in your niche and sort by fewest collaborators. Because those will outperform "open" boards to the nth power.

BoardBooster: Sorry, this has shut down.

On Boardbooster, you can see and sort by number of followers, active contributors, and new Pins per day. Fewer contributors and Pins per day seems to bring best results.

2. Facebook Groups Dedicated to Pinterest

There are at least 3 Facebook groups that help unite group board admins with seekers.

Pinterest Group Boards: At almost 11,000 members, this is the biggest, and well moderated.

Pinterest Group Boards: About 2,000 members as I write this.

Pinterest Group Boards | Repins | Followers | Traffic: Group boards and more.

3. Check Influencer’s Pinterest Profiles

Check profiles of Pinners in your niche. If you see more than 1 face in the circle, that indicates a group board.

Check profiles of Pinners in your niche. If you see more than 1 face in the circle, that indicates a group board.

4. Network With Your Business Buddies

Check with connections you’ve made in your niche to see if they know of group boards you might want to join.

Related: How to Evaluate Pinterest Group Boards – and Why You Must

How To Join Pinterest Group Boards

1. Connect first

I get these emails all the time:

I love your blog and your content! Please add me to your group board!

Then I scan their Pinterest profile: Not a single Pin of mine in sight.

PLEASE be genuine! Phony B.S. is a huge turn-off.

Connect with people you’d like to Pin with by:

  • Sharing their content.
  • Commenting on their blog and pins
  • Being active (not self-promotional) in their Facebook group.

A genuine connection will go far for your success on Pinterest – and everywhere.

2. Follow the instructions

My board description said for months that I wasn’t accepting new contributors. Yet I’d get requests all the time.

PLEASE Read the board description to see if they’ve left instructions. Then follow them.

3. Don’t assume

If there are no instructions and few contributors, don’t assume the group board is open.

You can still try to contact the board owner as mentioned below, but don’t expect an answer.

And PLEASE, if you get a response that you don’t like, take it like a grownup. If you get a NO, don’t reply “That’s unprofessional,” as happened to Kate Ahl.

4. Reach out to the board owner

The board owner is the first photo, and also in the URL of the group board.

You can attempt to contact them:

  • Via Pinterest message.
  • Through their Facebook group.
  • On their website contact form.

The Pinterest group board owner is listed in the URL, and is the first picture shown.

5. Give them a clue.

Why should they add you? Let them know!

If you’re applying to a board where anyone is added for no reason at all – I guarantee that’s a crummy board. So don’t bother.

But DO let the board owner know what you will contribute to the board!

  • Provide a link to your blog or store website.
  • Include your Pinterest profile link.
  • Be sure your main blog or product board – the one to which you share all your own content – is obvious at the top of your Pinterest profile.

6. Possible end-around.

If you don’t hear from the board owner: see if you know a current contributor and ask if they can add you.

Most smart owners have disabled this feature – and even if they haven’t, they could still delete you. But, you can try.

If not Pinterest group boards, then what?

You may have noticed: I’m not a big believer. At least, not in the way Pinterest group boards are generally used.

So what can you do if group boards aren’t working for you?

  • Don’t spend too much time trying to outwit group boards, or “force” them to work.
  • Groups that happen naturally between people who know each other will work best.
  • Try Tailwind Tribes or Facebook share groups where you can pin on-niche content.

Focus on things you can control:

  • Pin content that people look for on Pinterest (inspirational).
  • Incorporate keywords that Pinners are searching for.
  • Create great headlines and text on Pins.
  • Test and improve your Pin designs.

Work on the things you can control, like content and keywords, and don’t worry too much about group boards.

Now that you’re ready to conquer Pinterest group boards, be sure to share this post with your friends and followers.

Want to join Pinterest group boards? Save time! First find the good ones from these sources. Then use these tips to join group boards that actually perform.

Filed Under: Pinterest Tips Tagged With: pinterest for business, pinterest group boards, visual social media

About Louise Myers

Louise Myers is a graphic design expert whose designs have been featured by Disney, Macy's, WalMart and more. Her straightforward writing style empowers small business owners to make their own graphics for social media success!

Comments

  1. Michael Holmes says

    April 9, 2020 at 7:23 AM

    Hey Louise,

    Great post! You should update it a little bit. Board Booster was recently shutdown 🙁

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      April 9, 2020 at 8:51 AM

      Yup, ages ago, right?

      I will probably merge this with my other group boards posts bc I have way too much content here to keep updated! Eventually…

      Glad you liked it and thanks for the reminder 🙂

      Reply
  2. Anastasia says

    January 21, 2020 at 10:55 AM

    Thank you for this post. I have been scanning Google for advice about Pinterest Group boards because I have seen HUGE losses in impressions and engagement lately (35% drop). Your post series about group boards have been helpful. I think I will leave the group boards I joined in the last weeks because I think that this is the reason why it’s been going down hill…

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      January 22, 2020 at 9:41 AM

      It certainly could be! Best of luck.

      Reply
  3. Jacy Jay says

    April 8, 2019 at 11:12 PM

    Thank you for telling us about the pin groupie. Never know about it until I read this. I’m still new to Pinterest and still trying to learn

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      April 9, 2019 at 9:29 AM

      You are welcome!

      Reply
  4. Meenakshi says

    February 1, 2019 at 1:53 AM

    Hi! Very nicely explained. Step by step. Awesome.

    I was searching for this info from the last few weeks. uh !!! Soooo relieved!

    Thank you for helping ppl.

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      February 8, 2019 at 9:28 AM

      You’re welcome.

      Reply
  5. Bella says

    July 22, 2018 at 8:34 PM

    Thanks Louise for this honest post. As a new blogger every place I turn I am bombarded with the advice of joining gazzilion boards and posting there incessantly. Rarely do I read people advising one to be judicious in choosing their boards, or joining them at all.
    Love your suggestions of the alternative options.

    Many thanks again

    Reply
    • Louise Myers says

      July 28, 2018 at 10:03 AM

      You’re welcome Bella! More important now than ever since Pinterest has said they won’t be showing pins from group boards as much.

      Reply

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