Three days after declaring I was going to delete my Pinterest account, I had an epiphany: portfolio showcase. Since Pinterest is such a visual social network, it’s the perfect place to highlight my copywriting work.

I already have an online portfolio, so why add it to Pinterest? It’s one more way to get my work in front of potential clients. It also shows current and potential clients that I know how to use the third most popular social network in the U.S. In her fantastic Copyblogger post, Beth Hayden shared some persuasive numbers: In January 2012, Pinterest drove greater traffic to websites than LinkedIn, Google Plus, Reddit, and Youtube—combined.

Beth convinced me. Now that I’ve figured out how to showcase my copywriting on Pinterest, I’m sharing what I learned with you.
Five tips for publicizing your portfolio on Pinterest

1. Most important: each portfolio “pin” should link back to your website (or your main online portfolio). If you simply post (“pin”) an image from your computer hard drive, you might lose track of where that image goes if it’s “re-pinned” and shared by others.
2. Add the “Pin It” Button to your browser, which is available at Pinterest Goodies. This little browser button will make it extremely easy to create a portfolio. (see #3)
3. Once you have the button, click on an image or post you’d like to add to Pinterest. Then click your “Pin It” button. All you have to do then is follow the prompts.
4. Match tone. Since Pinterest is a social network, keep descriptions of your work short. Save the longer, in-depth explanations or related case studies for your website. The pieces I highlight are upbeat, so I kept my Pinterest descriptions light, yet smart.
5. Link back to your Pinterest portfolio. I added it to my LinkedIn profile as a second “see my work” option and I’ve added it to other professional profiles sites.

How have you used Pinterest to highlight your copywriting?