How to Create Click-Worthy Pinterest Pins That Drive Traffic

In this tutorial, I’ll show you exactly how to create Pinterest pins using Canva, my design platform of choice for making social media templates.

Scroll-stopping Pinterest images are key to driving Pinterest traffic

Any old image you post on Pinterest will likely go unnoticed under a flood of other content that is far more eye-catching than yours. That’s why you need to create Pinterest graphics that stop the scroll.

Pinterest is a powerful, visual search engine.

The attractiveness of your pins is crucial to generating clicks to your website. Your gorgeous pin should captivate Pinterest users before they decide to buy or read what you have to offer.

When it comes to creating visually compelling Pinterest pins, you may wonder where you’ll find the time (and energy!) to create images that drive traffic to your website.

What makes a good pin on Pinterest?

Eye-catching Pinterest pins (not to mention, board covers) that stop the scroll all have one significant trait in common — they inspire users with their original ideas and aesthetically pleasing design. Here are the creative best practices I follow when making pins:

• Create high-quality, vertical images with an aspect ratio of 2:3 (Pinterest recommends 1000 x 1500 px) to attract attention in the Pinterest feed.
• Add text overlays using easy-to-read fonts and colors. I like using Canva’s color palette generator to find colors that complement or contrast with each other perfectly.
• Avoid using images that don’t reflect your brand or the product you’re selling. For example, if you sell clothes, don’t make pins with a close-up of a model’s face. Instead, make the piece of clothing your selling the focal point of the image.
• Always include your logo or website URL somewhere on the pin. The bottom middle is my go-to spot, but you could always add it anywhere to the top of your design. However, avoid the bottom right corner, as this area can be covered up on mobile.
• Use purposeful copy on your pins that are easily digestible, to the point, and capture the idea you’re selling to your audience.
• Include an irresistible call to action somewhere on the pin that tells the user exactly what you want them to do next. Some examples include, “shop the look”, “try the recipe”, “learn more”, etc. Avoid using phrases like, “click here”, and “tap here”, as they could trigger the Pinterest algorithm to restrict the reach of your pin.
• As you may know, user experience is important to Pinterest. To ensure pins don’t look spammy, avoid overusing the same Pinterest template more than once or twice for the same URL.

You can also check out my creative design resources for free and premium tools for creating professional designs for your Pinterest account.

How to make Pinterest pins on Canva

Canva is, in my opinion, the very best beginner graphic design platform for small businesses and one of my favorite creative design resources.

Beyond Pinterest pin design, you can use Canva for a myriad of marketing tasks. From business cards to logos to Instagram templates, and so much more. There are a seemingly endless number of creative ideas within Canva for you to explore and tons of tips, tricks, and keyboard shortcuts to help you create pins fast.

Ready to get started? Whether you use 20 different Canva templates or one single template with different images, you can easily build your very own Pinterest pin template.

Make it even easier by using the FREE 10 Pinterest pins template that I created for you below!

Duplicate the pins I’ve supplied for you or add your own to create a complete 20 Pinterest pins template that you can use to follow along with my 20 Pinterest pins tutorial below.

From here on out, I’m going to assume you’ve made the smart choice of switching to Canva Pro. Some of the design features I use in my FREE Pinterest template are only available to Pro members.

Step #1: Upload images to Canva

Canva makes it super simple to upload your own photos. Open the folder containing the images you want to use and select all to easily bulk upload them to Canva.

What if you only have one image you want to use?

That’s totally fine.

It only means that you’ll have to be more creative when designing your new pins! Here are some ideas to try in Canva to alter your single image:

• Flip – You can flip your image vertically or horizontally to give it a different look.
• Rotate – Rotate your image to show off your image from a different angle.
• Zoom in – Zoom in on aspects of your image you wish to draw attention to.
• Filter – Play around with the many image filters Canva provides to create brighter or darker images.
• Background Remover – You can find this tool under the Effects tab. Use it to remove the background of an image to showcase your object. This works especially well if you run an e-commerce or Etsy shop.

Here are 3 creative new pin examples using only one image and utilizing the tools I mentioned above:

Step #2: Make a Pinterest template with multiple pages

Add either my free Canva templates, purchased Pinterest Canva templates, and/or ones you previously made yourself all to the same Canva Pinterest template. This will save you lots of time when it comes to creating and downloading your Pinterest pins.

To do so, use the “folders” tab within your Canva design dashboard to pull previously create Pinterest pin templates into your current design template (make sure all your designs are 2:3 aspect ratio).

If you choose to reuse the same template leading to the same URL, be sure to change your text overlay’s colors and always switch up your image for each pin template.

Here are a few examples of pins for the same blog post made with either a slightly altered text overlay, different text, or completely different images:

Think about it from a Pinterest user’s perspective for a minute: As you’re scrolling through paleo dark chocolate cake recipes trying to find the right one, would you find it less spammy to see 3 visually different pins leading to the same URL or 3 that were completely the same?

I don’t know about you, but I’d prefer the former. While making pins, always keep the user experience in mind and you’ll never have to worry about being flagged as spam.

Step #3: Customize your Pinterest pin templates to your brand

Now that you have your Pinterest pin images and designs together, it’s time for the fun part….designing in Canva!

Pro tip: You can easily save and reuse this template an infinite number of times by clicking “share” in the right-hand corner of your design dashboard, “more”, and then “template”. 

Using your custom Canva brand kit, begin applying your brand’s colors, fonts, and images to each of your pins until it matches your aesthetic.