Pinterest Secret Boards Tips and Tricks
Have you noticed that little “Secret” toggle button on Pinterest when you’re creating a new board? Wondering why you’d want to keep a board a secret? If you’re not already using the Pinterest Secret Board feature, read on to learn 7 ways to use Secret Boards on Pinterest. Because who doesn’t love a good Pinterest Hack?
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Here’s what Pinterest says about the secret board feature:
“Only you (and anyone you invite) can see your secret boards. Secret Pins and boards won’t appear in your home feed, in search, or anywhere else around Pinterest.”
Here are 7 Ways to Use Pinterest Secret Boards:
While this list is mostly geared towards bloggers and people using their account as a business for marketing purposes, you may get some ideas for using Secret boards as a personal account user as well.
Non-Niche Related Pins
Some people have what are known as Bait Boards on their profile. These are used to entice followers outside of their main niche.
But if you really want to be taken seriously in your niche, it’s best to just stick to what you know. Decide who your audience is and create and post content for them.
For example – My business is about providing people with tips to succeed with blogging, online marketing, and social media. Having a board about my favourite vegetarian Crock Pot recipes is SO far off-topic, it may make me look less professional and potential followers may take my content less seriously.
That’s the sort of board that belongs on a personal Pinterest page. But that doesn’t mean I don’t stumble upon things of personal interest while I’m on Pinterest as my business.
Enter Secret Boards.
You can now have as many secret boards as you like (within the 350 overall board limit).
So go ahead and create a board for those off-topic, personal items. Just select “Secret Board” when creating/naming it. Pin any non-niche related pins there so you can come back to them later.
So avoid bait boards. Use these methods to get new Pinterest followers instead.
Blog Post or Pin Design Inspiration
Sometimes I’ll see a really eye catching pin title and it gives me an idea for a blog post I’d never thought of before.
Or sometimes a colour or font combination on a pin design makes me stop scrolling.
I save those pins on a secret board for later. Then when I’m sitting at my computer with absolutely no idea what to write about, or no creativity for pin design, I refer back to that board for motivation.
Let me be clear… I do not steal the content those pins lead to.
However, sometimes just the title alone is enough to make me realize I have something unique to say on that same topic. I always put my own spin on things based on my own experiences and recommendations.
I also do not replicate a pin design to use it as my own. But it’s important to note what pins make US stop scrolling and understand how to apply similar methods to our own pin designs. Because stopping the scroll IS the name of this Pinterest marketing game, right?
P.S. If pin design isn’t your jam, grab yourself some FREE Pin Templates HERE.
Building a New Board Up Before Making it Public
Would you follow a board that only had 1 or 2 pins within it? Me neither.
Having a board with only a couple of pins makes you look unprofessional. No one is going to take you seriously as an expert in your field if you have so little information to share.
If you discover a new topic you’d like to cover, create the board but keep it marked as “Secret”. Continue to add pins to the board until you’ve got a good variety of pins. I tend to go with a minimum of 10.
This also gives you time to find high-quality content instead of just pinning to fill the board up.
Adding top-ranking pins to your new boards not only helps Pinterest understand what your board is about, but it also ensures you’re providing value to potential users.
You can also take the time to add a custom board cover with your branding on it and a well-keyworded board description before making it public.
Once it’s ready, toggle off the “Secret” button and your viewers will instantly have access to a new and very professional looking board full of high-quality content.
One thing to note. Once you change it from Secret to Public, ALL the pins on the board will be posted all at once.
Avoid looking spammy or annoying by inundating your followers with 50 pins all about the same topic. (I know….so many things to remember with Pinterest!)
Related Reading:
How to Set Up a Pinterest Business Account (the right way!)
Storage and Organization
I like to keep a copy of all my own pins and affiliate pins on a Secret Board I have for my own pins. This way I can find my pin descriptions, titles, and URL links all in one place.
This really comes in handy when making NEW pins for older blog posts. This way you can simply copy the description and URL from your secret board and paste it into your new pin. Saving you from having to rewrite a perfectly keyworded description all over again.
I do change the description and title a little each time. Pinterest loves new and it never hurts to target different keywords. But this method at least gives me a good base to start from.
Bonus Tip: Take the organization one step further by breaking your secret board into sections. Mine has a section for my own pins and another section for affiliate pins.
Pin Now, Read Later
We have all found pins and blog posts while searching Pinterest that we are interested in but just don’t have time at the moment to REALLY read and focus on.
I have a secret board for just those pins that I want to read later and learn from but don’t necessarily want to share with my audience.
Or maybe you’d like to make sure it’s good content BEFORE sharing it with your followers. It’s always a good idea to read the post first before pinning to make sure you’re sharing relevant and helpful info.
Use Secret Boards for Collaboration Projects
This one is more for personal use than a blogger or online marketer. But depending on your niche or project, I can see it coming in handy.
You can create a secret Pinterest board but add collaborators so you can work on a board with others. You can save pins to that secret board and only the people you’ve added as collaborators will see those pins.
This works great for things like work projects and events like surprise parties or wedding planning with your bridesmaids.
My favourite idea is sharing Christmas wish lists with family members. Anyone else’s mom asks for gift ideas every year??
*Post updated to include a 7th way to use Secret Boards*
Test a Pin’s Appearance on Mobile View
Since most readers scroll Pinterest on their cell phones, it’s so important to make sure your pin stands out in the user’s home feeds and is easy to read.
If you’re not quite sure about your pin design, save it to a secret board before making it public. Then open Pinterest up on your phone and have a look.
Are your fonts big enough now that it’s so much smaller than it was when you designed it? Does it stand out and grab attention? Adjust if needed before you publish and enjoy knowing you’ve given that pin a great chance at getting clicked.
Related reading: 7 Honest Reasons I Didn’t Click Your Pin
There you go! Now that you have some ideas, simply create a new board and toggle “Secret” when you name it. That’s it!
Where are my secret boards on Pinterest?
I’ve had a few people ask me this. To find your secret boards, click on your “Saved” tab on your profile. Scroll through all your personal boards and group boards. Your secret boards will have a lock icon in the top left corner.
They used to be all grouped at the bottom. Which was easier to find, in my opinion. But now Pinterest has them all mixed in with regular boards as well.
In Conclusion
I hope this list gives you some helpful ideas to utilize the Secret Board feature. It really can help you keep your Pinterest account organized and can also act as a virtual planner and To-Do List.
And if Pinterest is still a big mystery to you, I can’t say enough good things about the Pinteresting Strategies course. It’s by far the best investment I’ve made for my blog.
Do you have any other useful ways to use Pinterest Secret Boards?
Related Reading:
Common Pinterest Mistakes to Avoid
How to Save Time With Pinterest Pin Templates
How to Write Better Pin Titles (that actually get clicked!)
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How to Use Secret Pinterest Boards to Your Advantage
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I love the idea of pin now and read later! I often want to read a post I find interesting but after I pin it to my regular boards, I can never find it. Having all these posts in a secret board makes so much sense!
Mariam
bossbabechroniclesblog.com
Thanks for the comment, Mariam. Happy pinning!
I love this!! Definitely pinning it. I never thought about keeping a board secret until it was properly populated. Thank you so much for sharing love!
Thanks for pinning! Glad you enjoyed it!
Great tips that a new blogger can use! I like the look of if your blog as well.
Thanks so much, Denise!
I often look at my Pinterest and notice that I need to organize it more. I have various boards, some which are related to my niche and some which aren’t, but are nice to have for others. I was always told to hide non-niche related blogs but I don’t think that is the right way to go. I think we need something different to entice new people in. Plus it means that you can re-pin from non-niche related blogs too but still have it organized.
Thanks for the comment, Nyxie. When it comes to boards outside of your niche, I think there is no set rule. Do what works for you and your brand and enjoy the benefits 🙂
I didn’t realize secret boards can be this useful. Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome, Herah. Glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment.
Thanks for sharing! I honestly needed this so much (and I didn’t even know it!). I have been struggling with my more personal boards, not knowing what to do with them. Now I do, so thank you!
You’re so welcome! Happy to be helpful!
These are some great ways to use secret boards in Pinterest!! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks, Sasha. Happy to share!
Great post, I like the idea of building a board up before making it public!
Thanks, Katrina! I love taking my time adding pins to a board I’m building up. That way I can pin quality content without rushing.
This is so smart! I had never thought of saving pins and organizing it later. Thanks for the tips!
Thanks, Cloe! Glad you found it helpful.
Hi and thanks for this post. Does pinned to a secret board hurt the original pin poster at all? Is it better to have a pin posted to a public board?
Hey Michelle! Pinning someone else’s pin to a secret board won’t hurt the original pinner. I don’t believe it has an impact on them at all. They won’t even see their pin has been pinned. It won’t show up in their activity tab and they won’t get a notification it’s been pinned. It doesn’t show up anywhere on Pinterest other than your secret board.
If people are pinning YOUR pin, you definitely want them to pin it to a public board. That’s what will help your pin get found/seen by others. But it won’t do any harm to that pin if they pin it to a secret board. I hope this helps 🙂
Thank you! I don’t use private boards but this post really gave me some great ideas and I’m going to start. Great post!
Hi Janice! Thanks for the comment. I’m glad you found some helpful tips on using Pinterest Secret boards 🙂
Love the storage and organization tips! Great tips. Thanks for sharing.
I love using secret Pinterest boards to organize myself better. Thanks for the comment, Suzi!
I have a couple secret boards but I hadn’t thought of all the uses. Great ideas!!!
I’m glad you got some fresh ideas for Pinterest secret boards! They certainly aren’t necessary, but they do come in handy from time to time.
Thanks for the ideas. I do have a couple of secret boards I used for repins that aren’t related to my niche. They also help to keep me organized and looking good on Pinterest.
Yes! Secret boards are awesome for pinning things outside your own niche. I use it for recipes all the time.
Yes! I just started using secret boards. So helpful especially when just scrolling and you see something you might want to write about later.
Totally! I honestly tend to open up my secret Pinterest boards anytime I have a spare minute to read. I know I’ll always find something there I’ve been meaning to learn more about.
I have secret boards but not sure how to utilize them more, thanks for these tips! Interesting and something I can also make open to public next time.
So glad you found some helpful tips on how to utilize your secret boards more 🙂
Oh I do so many of what you said with my secret boards. Great Article.
Thanks Aditi! They can be so helpful!