I have never been on a platform with so much controversy about how to publish a dang post! There are entire Facebook groups dedicated to talking about “native posting” versus “scheduling” and frankly, no one knows which is actually best! But here is my best take on posting to Pinterest!
Let’s start with native posting. That’s when you take your pin, go into your Pinterest business account, click “Create Pin,” and upload it right there.
Now, here’s where it gets a little messy: not all accounts look the same… sigh.
Some still have the “ad” or old “Idea Pin” interface where you can add tags.
Some have an alt text box.
Either way, this method of pinning pushes the pin straight to your “Created” tab. Pinterest just… likes to keep us on our toes!
Native Scheduling
Pinterest does let you schedule pins - up to 30 days in advance, with a cap of 100 scheduled pins total.
Sounds great, but the interface? Honestly, it’s all higgledy-piggledy. You can’t see everything cleanly at a glance.
The limits:
Max 24 pins per day
Half-hour posting increments
100 pins total in the future queue
If you’re really going to max it out, you can. But for most of us, that’s a lot to post in a day. Current wisdom says about 10-15 fresh pins a day is fine!
For me the huge con to this system is that you can’t pin ahead longer than 30 days and most of the gals that I see struggling are not consistent at pinning because of the limitations of the amount of pins and the time you can schedule ahead.
Easy Pin Scheduler
Easy Pin Scheduler a Chrome extension, and I love it! While it still has all the limitations of the native scheduler, there are some pretty fancy bells and whistles!
Functionally, it’s just a prettier face on Pinterest’s native scheduler - but it makes a huge difference.
You get a calendar view, so you can actually see where you already have pins scheduled!
How I use it:
First pin → post natively, manually
Second pin → schedule with Easy Pin Scheduler a couple days later
After that → move to Tailwind to schedule out months (years) ahead
Tailwind
Tailwind is an authorized Pinterest scheduler that I have used for years!
I used to go big here - scheduling 20 pins per blog post - but over time I noticed something… the most effective pins were usually in the 1–6 range.
Now, I do about 10 additional pins after the first two, spread out over time.
Pro Tip: If you are doing seasonal pins, schedule out most of them for this year and then get a jump on next year by scheduling a couple hitting next year’s season!
Where to Pin First
When you’ve got a brand new URL, pin your first pin to your most relevant board. Then, pin subsequent pins to other relevant boards - spacing them out about a week apart.
That way, you avoid looking spammy and keep your account in good standing.
Bottom line? I keep it simple:
First pin native
Second pin native-scheduled a couple of days later
Rest via Tailwind at a weekly interval
Space them out, keep them relevant, and don’t flood your feed all at once!
Hopefully this helps!
XOXO
Tara
PS - Where do you stand on this divide? Native scheduling, scheduling or both like me? Leave a comment below and let me know!
This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase through my link there is no extra cost to you and I could earn a commission.