Paula Writes

Before I discuss the problems I’m experiencing with blogging and social media, it’s important to mention that I’m also going through much more serious health and life problems, and have been at rock bottom.

This makes anything else that much more difficult to deal with, including the issues with my blog and social media – in particular, a technical issue relating to Pinterest.

I’ve had this blog since July 2017, and have a very small, but appreciative, following.

With a few notable exceptions, my family and friends are extremely unsupportive, when it comes to my writing. They don’t support my blog, or what I do on social media. It’s hurtful, but it is what it is.

But it does mean that I’m almost entirely reliant upon building an audience online. When I finally release my WIP and other books – here’s hoping – I certainly can’t rely upon any of the usual “guaranteed sales”. You know the jokes about only selling to your mum, nan, and brother? In my case, definitely laughable.

Still, other writers, in the history of time, have succeeded without support, and I’m determined to keep going, anyway. I believe in what I’m trying to achieve, through my various writing projects, and won’t give up that easily.

In terms of social media sites, the truth is, I’ve often felt that I’ve been spinning the wheels.

And lately, I’ve been struggling to do even that.

Some, such as Twitter and Instagram, have strong, positive writing communities, but in truth, they drive relatively little traffic to my blog. Not that that is by any means the only reason to participate in social media networks, of course – but, let’s face it, it’s a consideration.

Pinterest has been my favourite social media site, for some time now – whether you choose to classify it as a social media network or a search engine, given that it has definite features of both.

Pinterest tends to be positive, inspirational, and fun, and it’s definitely known, in the blogging community, as one of the best sites, from the point of view of increasing website views.

But a couple of days ago, Pinterest incorrectly marked my website as spam.

After searching around online, I finally managed to come up with an actual email address for Pinterest, which was easier to use than the website contact forms, with categories that seemed not to entirely fit my precise difficulties.

My account, in other respects, is still – touch wood – functioning fine. But I can’t Pin anything from my website, or attach a link from the site to any Pin, and neither can anyone else. Any of my Pins already in the system lead to error messages, stating that my website is spam.

Well, look around. This is a small blog, focusing primarily upon writing craft and related subjects. The content definitely isn’t spam. There aren’t ads or affiliate links, spammy or otherwise.

 

I’m hoping that the issue will be resolved soon, but it’s really set me back. I don’t have the heart to keep posting on social media, in general. It’s difficult to keep going with my WIP and other projects. I’m not giving up, but do feel seriously discouraged.

If you would like to support me, please share this, or any of my other posts, on social media – although you won’t be able to do so on Pinterest, until the issue is (hopefully) resolved.

 

My most popular posts include: my Character Names post, and How To Create Believable Friendships in Your Fiction.

 

23 May 2019 addition: My Pinterest related issue was resolved, a few days ago. 

Whilst I’ve no specific reason to believe I did anything to cause the problem, I’m currently taking a very moderate approach to Pinning – not more than a single Repin of any of my own Pins.

I’ve stopped posting on group boards, at least for a while. I’m not entirely sure what can trigger Pinterest’s spam alerts, and it isn’t worth the risk, in my opinion. But I might change my mind, in the future.

I’m also working out how to manage my social media more effectively, and spend less time spinning those wheels.