Part One: Never Give Away Everything in a Pin Description
This wasn’t the Pinterest article I meant to write—but it’s the one that showed me how I think about platforms, narrative and persuasion, and what it means to give just enough.
This post is the first in an ongoing series exploring the hidden architecture of storytelling inside digital creation.
I’m interested in the tensions that shape how we publish, market, and build platforms—especially as niche creators who often blur the line between strategist, storyteller, and soul-searcher.
Narrative Mechanics for Niche Creators is where I unpack all of that—not as instruction, but as narrative inquiry.
These are essays disguised as tutorials, notes-to-self posing as blog posts, or sometimes just thinking aloud while making something real.
The Overgiving Instinct
I used to be paranoid about not saying enough.
Why?
I was worried they’d ignore me if I didn’t give them enough, they wouldn’t get me, so I gave a lot—read: too much.
My writing tactic just before I wrapped up and ‘gave enough’?
I gave a little more, just in case it wasn’t enough. Then I squeezed in something extra in case they needed that last bit to get them over the line. Convert them.
Before I knew it, I’d given everything away.
What was left to be curious about? Nothing.
Did I make them feel like they’d miss something if they didn’t click through?
No—because I’d already given them enough.
Except that “enough” was too much.
I’d given away the goods for free before I’d even given myself a chance to make a sale.
Pinterest in Translation
So why does this matter on Pinterest?
For those who are not familiar or have heard of it and might not be experts on it, here’s a quick intro to what it is exactly and why bloggers (mostly) and content marketers make such a fuss about it.
What You Probably Know about Pinterest:
• It’s a search engine.
• It’s a visual search engine.
• It has over 480 million users with gender-based audience distribution – important to know if you’re niche blogging or want to monetise a niche blog.
• It’s browser-based.
• It has SEO functionality and search power.
• It uses a keyword prompt system in its search bar.
• It works on both personal and business accounts.
• Pins resemble portrait cards and can be linked to websites.
• Each pin can have a headline, description, and hashtags.
• Pinterest allows you to schedule up to 30 posts per month.
• Users can pin their content or repin others to themed boards.
What You Probably Don’t Know about Pinterest:
• Pins can circulate for years. Social media content usually lasts minutes, hours, or days if you’re lucky.
• Pinterest has built-in analytics (for business accounts).
• It offers a Trends feature showing real-time content insights.
• Underperforming pins can be spotted and tweaked.
• Boards can be descriptive, aspirational, or even conceptual.
The Click-Through Problem
Over-explaining can feel satisfying. Or self-soothing. Or both.
Your communication needs to be about making sure the user receives only what they need.
Simply put: you’re not writing for you, but for them—your audience. Ultimately, your customer.
Over-explaining often stems from fear, inadequacy, people-pleasing, and control.
These might sound like therapy words, but for solo entrepreneurs—and that includes most bloggers and creators—they’re bundled into the pressure to succeed.
Click-through is the goal.
The prize.
The ‘thing’.
That prize lives inside the Pinterest funnel. What happens after the click (on the landing page, the product, the sign-up form) belongs to a separate system.
But inside the Pin description?
That’s pure primer.
So all I want you to do… is tease.
The Conundrum of Overexplaining
Nothing feels so right—and sometimes self-righteous—in the moment as explaining in layers. And nothing so cringey in hindsight.
Sometimes we’re just trying to be as helpful as possible.
Sometimes we’re natural wafflers.
Sometimes we double down to make sure the reader gets it. That tension is human. But it’s also strategic quicksand.
In this economy the fear that you’ll lose someone if you don’t spell it all out is real.
But overgiving kills curiosity. And curiosity is the currency that gets you the click-through.
Testing for the Right Dose
How do you distinguish between a thorough description and over-explaining?
Choosing a narrative style over a factual style helps. Most importantly, it’s about placing yourself in the mind of your reader.
If the description feels “finished” when you read it—test it.
Hand it to someone else. Literally. Not in graphic ‘Pin’ form—just the raw copy. Ask them what they’d click, what they’d scroll past, what they saw they needed, and what felt redundant.
Take that feedback, and edit your original copy ruthlessly.
No self-judgment. Just precision.
Ask yourself:
• What does the user need to know?
• What are you trying to sell?
• Is your message crystal-clear?
Once you have objectivity, then you can add nuance.
After that, infuse it with personality. Then you can write the cliffhanger that ignites the leap.
Using Intrigue as a Device
Intrigue can be subtle, vulgar, provocative, polarising, titillating, or sobering.
The cliffhanger, on the other hand, can be guilt-trippy, gaslight-adjacent, blatantly promising, riddled, or softly manipulative. But either way, it must be too good to ignore.
You’re leaving the door ajar—just don’t give them the whole room. Let the click be the final push open.
The Tease of an Intentional Gap
I’ve learned this from bingeing YouTube videos—not for the content, but to observe how creators construct narratives, if any.
What keeps me interested?
Not technical polish.
It’s what’s withheld. The intentional gaps in the storytelling.
For example, I watch a cooking vlogger who never lists any of the ingredients in her videos. Every time I find myself taking mental notes, squinting at textures, and trying to decode every move because the recipe is intentionally absent, I stay. I get hooked, thinking that if I don’t keep watching, I’ll miss out because in my mind, the revelation is just one scene away.
The Psychology of Incomplete Thoughts
People don’t always love incomplete thoughts. But they hate not finishing them.
Let me propose three user types:
1. The Know-it-all-Finisher: They’re already onto the topic. They want validation. When you leave a sentence trailing, they fill it in—then click to see if they were right.
2. The Curious Learner: They follow the thought all the way. They want closure. If you leave them on a ledge, they’ll click just to finish the arc.
3. The Impatient Skimmer: They want to know what you’re selling—fast. But if you give them a smart hook or an irresistible line, they’ll click. Begrudgingly, maybe. But they’ll click.
In Closing: Writing Through Platforms
How do I know all this?
Because I’ve written blog posts no one reads. I’ve pinned for months before I understood how people move. And mostly because I pay attention to how I consume.
Which words spark my click?
Which blurbs do I breeze past?
Which descriptions do I wish had said less?
Pinterest isn’t just a visual platform. It’s a slow-burning storyteller.
And you, creator? You’re not a blogger. You’re a cliffhanger builder. A narrative mechanic.
There’s more to say, but that’s for another Pin, another post, another quiet cliffhanger.
If you liked this post, you’ll enjoy this one on the effect infographics have on reader retention.
