How to Get People to Save Your Pins on Pinterest

Getting saves on Pinterest is more than just a passing metric, it’s a powerful signal to the platform’s algorithm that your content is valuable, helpful, and wanted. This in-depth guide outlines the most effective strategies to design Pins people can’t help but save, ultimately boosting your reach and driving long-term traffic to your website.

Why Saves Are the Gold Standard on Pinterest

First, let’s be crystal clear about what a "save" actually is. A save happens when another user sees your Pin and actively clicks the "Save" button to add it to one of their own boards. They are essentially bookmarking your content for future reference. While metrics like impressions and outbound clicks are nice, saves carry a different kind of weight.

Here’s why they matter so much:

• It Signals Extreme Value: A save is behavioral proof that your Pin solved a problem, offered inspiration, or provided information so useful that someone wanted to keep it. This tells Pinterest your content isn't just scroll-stopping, it's genuinely helpful.
• It Supercharges the Algorithm: Every time your Pin is saved, Pinterest takes note. High save rates tell the algorithm that your content is high-quality and relevant. As a result, Pinterest is more likely to show your Pin to a broader audience, feature it in search results, and recommend it in users' home feeds.
• It Creates Long-Term, Evergreen Traffic: A Pin can be saved and re-saved for months, or even years, after it's published. Unlike a tweet or an Instagram story, a successful Pin has an incredibly long shelf life. Every save gives your content a new opportunity to be discovered by a fresh audience connected to the user who saved it.

Think of saves not as a one-time interaction, but as an engine for continuous, organic distribution. It’s what transforms a single Pin from a fleeting post into a reliable, evergreen traffic source.

The Foundation: Creating Content Worth Saving

Before we get into specific tactics, we have to start with the most important principle: you can't hack your way to saves if your content isn't genuinely save-worthy. People save Pins because they want to return to them later. Your job is to create content that serves that exact purpose.

Focus on Evergreen and "Future Use" Categories

Some types of content are inherently more saveable than others because they are designed for future action or inspiration. These usually fall into a few key buckets:

• Tutorials and "How-To" Guides: Step-by-step guides are a goldmine for saves. Think "How to Propagate a Snake Plant," "How to Create a Capsule Wardrobe," or "Beginner's Guide to Using Canva."
• Recipes and Meal Plans: Recipes are arguably one of the most saved categories on the entire platform. People save them to their "Weeknight Dinners" or "Healthy Breakfasts" boards to try later.
• Tips, Checklists, and Listicles: "10 Tips for Solo Travel," "The Ultimate Spring Cleaning Checklist," or "5 Ways to Style a Bookshelf" are all easily digestible formats that promise high value and are perfect for saving.
• Inspiration and Ideas: People come to Pinterest to plan their lives. Home decor ideas, workout routines, outfit inspiration, vacation itineraries, or gift guides are content they’ll bookmark for future reference.

Content that won't get a lot of saves is often timely or promotional, like "24-Hour Flash Sale!" or "Join Our Webinar Tomorrow!" This content might get clicks, but it lacks the long-term utility that drives saves.

Design Pins That Look “Saveable”

On a visual platform like Pinterest, aesthetics matter tremendously. The way your Pin is designed can instantly signal whether it’s high-value information or just another ad. Here are the design essentials:

• Stick to a Vertical Aspect Ratio: This is a hard-and-fast rule. Pinterest is a vertical, mobile-first platform. Your Pins should always be a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 pixels wide by 1500 pixels tall) to take up maximum screen real estate.
• Use High-Quality Photos and Videos: Grainy, dark, or generic stock photos send the wrong message. Use bright, clear, and compelling visuals. Authentic, user-generated-style imagery often outperforms overly polished stock photography.
• Add a Bold Text Overlay: Your Pin's text overlay is its headline. It should be easy to read on a mobile screen and immediately communicate the Pin’s value. Use a clear, bold font to make a promise to the viewer. For example, a Pin with the headline "5-Minute Mediterranean Salad" is far more compelling and saveable than one with no text at all.
• Incorporate Subtle Branding: Add your website URL or logo at the top or bottom of your Pin. This simple addition ensures that as your Pin circulates throughout the Pinterest ecosystem, your brand recognition grows with every save and reshare.

Actionable Strategies to Seriously Boost Your Pin Saves

Once you’ve nailed the fundamentals of creating valuable, well-designed content, you can use these specific strategies to encourage users to actively save your Pins.

1. Solve One Specific Problem

Vague content is forgettable. Specific content is saveable. People save Pins because they address a precise need or question nagging them at that very moment. The more tailored your solution, the more likely someone will feel compelled to keep it.

Compare these examples:

Mediocre: "Tips for Eating Healthy"
Highly Saveable: "10 High-Protein Breakfast Ideas Ready in 5 Minutes"

Mediocre: "Home Office Ideas"
Highly Saveable: "How to Organize a Small Home Office for Maximum Productivity"

The second options are instantly more practical and saveable because they solve a narrow, relatable problem.

2. Create List-Based Pins and "Roundups"

Brains love lists. They're scannable, easy to digest, and promise a neatly packaged bundle of valuable information. Using numbers in your Pin headlines makes your content immediately more attractive.

Examples of highly saveable list-based content include:

• "7 Ways to Style a Classic White Tee"
• "5 Must-See Cafes for Your Next Trip to London"
• "15 Best Indoor Plants That Are Impossible to Kill"
• "The Top 10 Cleaning Hacks That Actually Work"

When someone sees a rich list or roundup, their instinct is often to save it because they won't remember all the points at once. It’s an easy win.

3. Write Descriptions That Reinforce Value and Keywords

The Pin description adds context and tells Pinterest exactly what your Pin is about. Pack your description with relevant keywords your ideal audience would use in their search. After defining your keywords, use a sentence or two to reinforce the Pin’s value and encourage a save.

For example, for a recipe Pin, you could write: "Tired of boring salads? This healthy avocado and chickpea salad recipe is ready in just 10 minutes and perfect for a quick lunch! Save this Pin to your 'Easy Lunch Ideas' board so you never run out of inspiration. #healthylunch #saladrecipe #10minutemeals"

4. Casually Drop in a Solid Call to Action (CTA)

Sometimes, all you have to do is ask. You can influence a user's behavior with a simple prompt.

Try placing a small, unobtrusive text box on your Pin image with a gentle CTA like "Save for Later" or "Pin this Recipe". You can also add a call to action into your Pin's description. Try one of these simple phrases:

• "Save this to your 'Dinner Ideas' board for later!"
• "Pin this for your next project."
• "Save for later so you don't lose this!"

5. Use Your Boards as Strategic Filing Cabinets

Think of your Pinterest boards as organized libraries for your audience. When users find a Pin they like, they will often explore the board it's saved on to find similar content. By creating boards with specific, keyword-rich titles (e.g., "Boho Living Room Decor" instead of just "Decor"), you make your content more discoverable through search.

When you fill these niche boards with high-quality, relevant Pins, you encourage users to explore your entire collection. This can lead to them saving multiple Pins from you, not just one, reinforcing your value as a creator and curator in their eyes.

Advanced Tip: The "Future Self" Test

When you're creating content, apply the "Future Self" test: ask yourself if the Pin is something a user would thank themselves for saving a month from now. Does it solve a recurring problem, provide timeless inspiration, or offer a guide they will want to reference again?

Content that passes this test - like a classic recipe, a seasonal planting guide, or a workout plan - has long-term utility. It is designed to be returned to, making it inherently saveable. If your content is only relevant for a day, it may get clicks, but it won't earn the saves that drive sustained growth on Pinterest.

Final Thoughts

Unlocking success on Pinterest ultimately comes down to creating content that solves problems and inspires action. By focusing on creating evergreen Pins that readers instinctively want to bookmark for the future, combined with strategic design and descriptive text, you can turn the platform into a powerful asset for building brand awareness and driving traffic.

Making plenty of Pinnable content takes consistency. As your content strategy grows, staying organized becomes key. We built Postbase to make that part easy. You can plan, create, and schedule all your social content from a single visual calendar, which simplifies your workflow and ensures you’re always publishing valuable content when your audience is most engaged.