Quick Tip 10: My Secret Pinterest safeguard

​Disclaimer: I am in no way associated with Pinterest beyond being an enthusiastic user. I’m not being paid for any element in this post, nor have I been approached to write about it. I merely wish to share with you a tool that I find invaluable as a writer and believe you’ll find an asset to your writing.

If you haven’t yet read the rest of the posts in this series, I’ve popped easy links to my previous posts below.
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Right now, sit back and learn about safeguarding your boards against annoying spammy pins, inappropriate content, or broken links!

Here is my Pinterest secret weapon that you won’t see when you look at my account. It’s there working quietly in the background for your benefit, and you can take advantage of this simple trick too.
When I began using Pinterest, I found myself saving a few quick pins over a break time, often to a public board without having the time to click on it and read through the connected material first. I'd go back later only to find I'd saved a pin that promised tips and tricks, but gave me links to purchase an expensive book, or worse, led me somewhere I’d never intended to go. I'm also often frustrated by broken links. I hate to think how many people trusted a pin I'd saved, as I had, and been let down by my quick save!
That got me thinking about how I could safeguard my boards, and my followers, and still save the pin for a later look. I came up with a brilliant little trick that everyone can use to save those pins and check them when you’ve got time without showing them on the world: my YET TO CHECK board.

My Yet To Check Pinterest board with bright cover to make it easy to find! You won't be able to see this on Pinterest, so I've shown it to you here.

My YET TO CHECK board is a secret board where I save anything I can’t look at straight away. I’ve named it that way so it always comes up at the very bottom of my boards list, and I’ve given it a bright cover board that’s totally different to the rest of my covers so it’s quickly located. Every few days, when I’ve got a longer stretch of time, I go through this board and check through each pin. If it’s spammy or doesn’t give me quality information FOR FREE, I’ll delete the pin. If I like it, I’ll click ‘edit’ and move the pin to the appropriate board and section.

How to make one (save the handy infographic below for later!):

1. Click the + symbol and select create ‘board.’
2. Be thoughtful when you name your board – I used an end of alphabet letter so my Yet to Check board always comes up at the bottom. You might prefer to have this board at the top and have Another Look Needed as a title. Yes, you can reorder your boards, but I chose to go alphabetically just in case. You could try Save for Later, Unchecked Pins, or Z Pins to Check or A Pin to Check. Adding that ‘A’ or ‘Z’ allows you more freedom with board names but drives me a bit mad!
3. Select ‘Keep this board secret’ – this is the key – this board is for your eyes only.
4. An additional step that you might like to take is to use Canva.com (or similar) to create an eye-catching cover image that stands out from the rest of your boards. My bright red cover helps me locate this board quickly and efficiently when I’m short on time.​

Now, if you like the look of a pin but don’t have time to click on it or read the attached material, save it to your Yet to Check board to look at later!
Hey presto, no accidental inappropriate or spam content on your boards – Yet to Check saved the day (and potentially lost followers)!

YET TO CHECK is such a handy secret board and is really worth having. If you don’t like the name, add a Z to the front of the title you’d prefer, and get saving. My one caution about this board is to check it regularly, otherwise you’ll have a mountain of pins to check and never get through them all.
So, save yourself the hassle and potentially lost followers of hastily saved pins by dropping them into your secret YET TO CHECK board now!

If you like this idea or think somebody else could make good use of it, please pin the graphics or share this blog post.

Don't forget to catch up with any Pinterest quick blog tips you've missed too!
You'll find plenty of quick and easy tips and tricks to make Pinterest a valuable tool to your followers and  creative business!
​Happy SAFE pinning!

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