It’s another year full of opportunities, and with it comes helluva lot of changes.
Before 2017 ended, I made big changes in my career as a freelancer. I quit my 8-month old job as a social media specialist and decided to focus on becoming a Pinterest account manager.
I have been a social media specialist for over 5 years, and while it’s still in demand, I decided to focus on just one platform and teach myself to become a Pinterest expert.
Why? Here’s a few [good] reasons:
- Facebook is a bit frustrating, and worse, if you don’t pay, you won’t get any traffic. Regardless of how many page likes you already have, only 1% of that will see your ‘un-boosted’ daily posts. Every movement you make in Facebook is equivalent to $$$. And you cannot really make a solid conclusion based on their analytics.
- I’d rather be an expert in one than a jack of all trades
- I consider myself a Pinterest addict, which would make work a lot more enjoyable.
I am still learning a lot about Pinterest, and thankfully, I am passionate about continuous learning. Ever since I relaunched this blog, Pinterest has been my main marketing strategy. I read tons of articles about Pinterest marketing, success stories of bloggers and eCommerce entrepreneurs claiming Pinterest to be their #1 source of traffic.
All the while, I thought it was Facebook that’s highly effective in driving traffic to a website but I was wrong, dead wrong.
Pinterest is the underdog and highly underrated marketing tool, which is why I have decided to make the switch.
I did a lot of research, applied what I learned, and used tools that are proven to be highly effective. In short, I was my own guinea pig.
Was it easy? Of course not. Learning everything about Pinterest is fun but convincing clients and employers to hire me to manage their Pinterest accounts was a bit of a challenge but I won’t let that, or anything, discourage me.
So, here’s how I did it —
Step 1: To get more Pinterest-related work, I shifted from Online Jobs to Upwork for 2 reasons mainly:
- I get a higher hourly pay rate
- Pinterest-related jobs can be easily identified
Step 2: Once I made that shift, I optimized my Upwork profile and clearly stated the kind of job that I do — Pinterest Account Management. Doing so would help clients narrow down their choices of freelancers. [Note: a social media specialist and a Pinterest account manager offer highly different job skills and qualifications.]
Step 3: After I had my profile optimized, I applied to several job ads, finishing all my available connects in Upwork. Crafting an AWESOME cover letter is a MUST to give potential clients/employers a good enough reason to actually review your profile.
Step 4: Play the waiting game. With all the applications I’ve sent out, which was around 30, my batting rate is 30%. Meaning, out the 30, I got 9 replies. I’d say not bad at all.
Step 5: Impress the clients/employers, those who replied, that I am the perfect fit for the job.
Fortunately, I have enough skills to convince one client to hire me to manage her Pinterest account within just a week after my last job ended. It wasn’t a full time job, 20 hours a month to be exact, but I was earning twice as much. Beginner’s luck perhaps but I was happy nonetheless because I was learning a lot.
Also, the saying — Fake it ’til you make it! — worked in my advantage.
During the interview, I claimed that I was well-versed in ALL Pinterest automation tools [I’m only vaguely familiar with those tools], and the moment I was hired, I spent hours learning the automation tool. Thank goodness I am a fast learner and my learning curve is steep.
In a week’s time, I was able to make recommendations and my first ever client was happy with my work.
However, working 20 hours a month won’t give me the income that I need for the travel lifestyle that I am planning for myself for 2018. Worse, I was stressing out that I won’t be able to make ends meet again.
Learning from past experiences, I decided to just chill and calmed myself down. I have faith that Universe got my back, ALWAYS. Besides, we’re approaching year-end so the clients are not really keen on hiring.
The last days of 2017, I spent writing my last blog post for the year, decluttering, and preparing for my trip to Hong Kong [my 3rd international travel for 2017].
Since the entire family decided to celebrate New Year’s in Hong Kong, I used my time there to regroup, make goals for 2018, and spend time with my family and my cutest nephew.
I adjusted my travel plans, continued sending out job applications in Upwork after upgrading my account so I can get more connects, and started my 365-day photo challenge in Instagram [where I will feature travel photos every day for the entire year]. Hopefully, I can be consistent about it.
Anyway, my persistence in looking for Pinterest-related jobs paid off! I was hired just a few days ago to manage the Pinterest account of a big eCommerce platform!
And here’s what’s great about this job —
- It’s a 20-hour workweek,
- I can work in my own time and anywhere in the world,
- My hourly rate is higher than my current client
Talk about hitting the jackpot!
Downside? This would be my first time handling an eCommerce Pinterest account so I should do better than to have a fake it ’til you make it attitude. But I do love the challenge because that meant I would be learning a lot, which would contribute highly to my skillset.
Update: To-date, I have managed more than 30 Pinterest accounts and grow those accounts organically.
This truly excites me because, finally, I will have the resources to create a sustainable travel lifestyle, the life that I want for myself.
It has only been 8 days since 2018 started and I have high hopes that this year will be my best year yet. Things are looking up indeed!
How’s your 2018 so far? Have you made good progress yet with the goals you want to achieve? Leave a comment below, I would love to hear from you!
On the other hand, if you are interested in becoming a Pinterest account manager, sign up now and I will provide you with a step-by-step guide.
Pin for later!