Pinterest Long Image Tutorial By Tina Basu

Pinterest long image tutorial is not very easily found, and what if I told you that it’s by none other than talented Tina Basu, right from the horse’s mouth.

Before we dive further into the post, make sure you check the other interviews (to avail some discounts and knowledge in regards to fitness and blog)  Prerna, Dr.Bushra, Dr. Amrita, Shalini and Misha

It’s only fair to have a little chat with her and then, we jump right to the Pinterest long image tutorial.

Tell us a little bit about yourself.

Hola friends, I am Tina, a lifestyle and food blogger and a Graphic Designer from Bangalore. After my post-graduation, I went on to join one of the biggest FMCG companies in India as a Trade Marketing Officer. And I ended up working with them for 7 years. With my son Bluey’s homecoming, I decided to quit because I was not willing to trade his childhood for anything else. I enjoy being creative in whatever I do.

In my free time (that is if I get any) I love gardening, reading, and dancing. My creative journey in writing is captured on my blog which also resulted in me becoming a published author. Whereas my love for food gave birth to my food blog Twinkling Tina Cooks.

How do you manage two blogs and that to do well?

 I have been writing in my blogs from a very long time. The blogs have evolved with me. I remember starting my lifestyle blog as an online journal to write fiction and my observations of daily life way back in 2011. I used to write a lot of humor and various kinds of fiction pieces. What started as a hobby blog became my identity online and I have tried to nurture and grow it and take its own path.

My food blog is my obsession – I am very protective about it. I have an image in mind for a food blog ( I am so tempted to write I have a vision for it, but that would be too much). That’s exactly what I am trying to build and there’s a long way to go.

Maintaining two blogs at a decent level takes double the effort and a lot of time. But since I am doing what I love – I don’t mind putting that effort.

Spill some secrets on how to better our DA and what exactly does it stand for?

Blog SEO is so magnetic. It is a huge subject and the more you explore the more you want to know about it. I am not a tech guru but I like reading up on tech and back-end work. DA or Domain Authority is actually a search engine rank developed by the Marketing company called Moz. This rank is like an ID Badge showing how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). While a 100 DA is a dream for any website that is next to impossible unless you have millions of people on your site every day at any given time!             
The key to building a good DA (30 and above) is building link and network with other root domains.

Besides blogging, being a mommy you are also a  graphic designer. How do you wear so many caps?

 I have been a creative person since childhood. I was always interested in color palates, lines and forms. There was a time I used to do oil paintings and acrylic paintings – which are now gathering dust I guess! I did a Diploma course on Multimedia along with my graduation just because I was always fascinated with the world of design. Apart from graphic design I have done many crazy things like developing games, 3D animations, 2D animations and many more. I like the process of visualizing and making something from just a thought.

I like blogs that visually appeal to me – clean designs, soft hues, well-formatted blogs are treat to the eyes. That’s what I like doing to my blogs too.

What is a recipe that you swear by?

I have a major sweet tooth and I never say no to desserts. Brownies, truffles, cakes I am always ready for them. While it’s difficult to watch the calories when you have a dessert in front of you, but you can definitely watch the portion! I am a big fan of mug cakes and the Ultimate Chocolate Chip Mug Cake is my go-to recipe when I need a quick sugar fix!

If our readers are planning to start a blog, what would you advise them ?

I would advise them to realize why they want to start a blog. If you want to write about your daily life you will create a certain audience with a certain engagement. If you want to become a blogger – you need to first love writing and understand the mechanics on how blogs, websites works – the dos and don’ts. That will make the journey easier. But unless if you have the passion for writing or whichever niche your blog is about don’t start because ‘everyone is doing’. Sustainability is a big criterion for making a blog work. If you can’t maintain good posts regularly, your blog will lose its value!

Do you think blogging can be a full-time job? Can it really pay the bills?

I have quit my marketing job and am doing blogging full-time currently. The mechanics of successful blog is simple – it thrives on content, storytelling, regular posting, and traffic. If you can commit to working in these, it can not only pay your bills you can have a very good life on it. I follow many professional bloggers who have quit their day jobs and are making much more than what they were making as techies! I am a financially independent person and the best part is I am my own boss, and I get to work from home!   

Tutorial – How to Make Long Pins for Blog using Canva Free Version

Pinterest is a wonderful platform for visual search. I am forever on Pinterest whenever I have to search for anything – party décor, nail art, baby food, baby clothes ideas, DIY, recipes and almost anything under the sun. I use Pinterest extensively for my blogs – both food and lifestyle and have seen a good amount of traffic from Pinterest.

Pinterest is a visual medium and you need to up your graphic quotient to make people want to click your pin! While you need to use good quality, well-framed photos for Pinterest, you also need to know what works in Pinterest!

A lot of people ask me how I make the long pins on my food blog. Here are some of the long pins on my food blog.

These long pin images show up on feed easily and get shared in no time.

The characteristic of Pinterest lies in the vertical image. The platform doesn’t support horizontal / landscape photos in its feeds. It has a fixed width ratio. You can make the pin images as long as you want. For example, some infographics can be really long (read almost never-ending).

I like designing my pin images (or any web graphic) on Adobe Photoshop but you can create similar graphics on free photo editing sites like Canva or Pic Monkey. In this tutorial, I am using the free version of Canva.

How to create Long Pin Images? Tutorial by Tina Basu

1. Log into your Canva account. You can register for a free account with your email id or Facebook Profile.
2. Click on Use Custom Dimension on Top Right Corner

3. Give the dimensions as 735 and 1400 and click on the Button DESIGN!

Note: You can keep the width from 700 – 750. The length can vary according to the photos and its orientation. 1200, 1400, 1600 are good dimensions. Try not making it too long beyond 1600.

4 .It will open up a new blank Canva canvas and you can see the different blank layout templates on your left hand side of the page.

5.Click on the first layout and drag on the blank canvas in center.

6. Align the layout box to the center and make one at the end of the canvas. Copy and Paste this layout box and drag the second copy to align on the top of the canvas. You will now have image holders on top and bottom with a blank space in between.

7. Click on Elements left sidebar and then Shapes

8. Drag a Rectangle shape and create a box in middle covering the blank part. This is the box that will contain your text.

9. Now your layout is ready. You can keep it as a template for future graphics. All you need to do now is fill the image placeholders with your image and write the text.

11.Drag and drop the photos in the image placeholder

12. Change Color of the text box. Add Text, modify font or color to your preference.

For more tutorials check the Blog Beautiful Tutorials on my blog.