Did you know pinterest jail was a thing?
We are discussing one of the scariest things pinterest can do. Put you in pinterest jail!
Did you even know that was a thing? I didn’t. But I just found out.
Imagine you’ve been on Pinterest for years, pinning your favorite articles, creating awesome boards, gaining followers, and more. Then one day, out of nowhere… you get the suspension bounce back and lose all access to everything you’ve worked for!
And let’s be honest, for most of us pinterest is one of the strongest traffic flows to our blogs, if not the main one. So to all of a sudden lose access really can be devastating.
If you have no idea what I am talking about, consider yourself lucky 🙂 . If you can commiserate, hopefully we’ll never have to be there again.
Either way, this post will outline, step by step, exactly how I was able to get out of pinterest jail and gain access back to my account in just under 24hrs.
If you’re there right now, do not fret. Let’s get going!
*What is Pinterest Jail?
Pinterest jail isn’t an actual real place. I am sure we all know that. However, what Pinterest does is basically suspend your account. Depending on what your were just doing, it can be detected as a flag alert. It uses spam bots and other formulas to see if your behavior on pinterest falls within the guidelines. If it gets detected for something negative, it will suspend you automatically and without hesitation.
You will remain in this suspension purgatory until you’re able to get yourself out. And trust me, it is all on you. You will remain suspended unless you, yourself, do something about it. Pinterest has no problem leaving your account suspended forever. So taking immediate action is key.
*What Can Get You in Pinterest Jail..
Before, we talk about the steps to get you out of pinterest jail, it is very important to know what can land you in there in the first place. And this my fellow Pinterests aficionados is almost anything. What I mean is, you don’t actually have to do anything illegal to land in pinterest jail. Here in now lies all the issues!
1. Breaking the Rules
Of course, if you go against the guidelines you’ll be sure to be suspended. This includes, anything vulgar, derogatory, pornographic, etc. This also includes spamming both with pins and emails, or if a report is brought against you.
For the most part, this shouldn’t be hard to follow. Just make sure you are considerate to your fellow pinterest users and act accordingly.
2. Accidents, Glitches, Mishaps, Oh My!
However, there are instances your account will still be flagged by the bots for something else. And this my friend, you can’t do anything about. Let me give you an example… My account was suspended last week because of a glitch in the system. Yes, you read it right…a glitch. That was the reasoning the pinterest team gave me.
The first thing I did that morning was sign into my pinterest account. I checked my analytics, saw two new followers and wanted to follow them back. I followed the first profile and everything was fine. However, when I followed the second profile I was immediately bounced out, and received a pop up that my account was suspended.
Of course I was extremely confused and thought perhaps I clicked on an inappropriate profile, but wouldn’t pinterest already protect you against that? Needless to say I had no idea what was happening and was so upset that I would lose all the data I had worked so hard to create.
The pop up also mentioned that I would be receiving an email from the pinterest team regarding the reasoning I was booted. No such email ever came. Do not wait for this email.
So there I was, stuck in pinterest jail, honestly not knowing anything about what had just occurred.
So let’s figure out how to escape! Or in pinterest terms, have your account reactivated. Either way, let’s get back on pinterest.
*What To Do If You’re In Pinterest Jail
1. Breathe
The first step if you’re in pinterest jail is to take a deep breathe. Trust me, I freaked out the first two hours, and no good comes of it. And honestly if you just read through this post, you should be able to get your account back in a few hours as long as you haven’t really committed anything against the community guidelines.
So yes, let’s start with a deep breathe.
2. Take Screenshots!
Before logging out of anything or closing the browser window to anything, I took multiple screenshots of the current situation so that I could visually show what pinterest page I was on and what activity had been done as I was suddenly locked out.
I took a screenshot of the suspension page with the persons profile I was trying to follow. I also took a screenshot of my email showing them I never received any email that was supposed to be sent by them automatically explaining why I was being suspended.
3. Fill Out Appeals Form
Go onto the pinterest website and click on the account appeals page, which you can do here. https://help.pinterest.com/en/article/account-suspension
Next, you’re going to want to fill out this form thoroughly. This is where you explain the problem in full. The more detail the better picture the representative will have.
This is also where you will include your screenshots! Super important! It’s much easier to understand the problem with a visual aid attached to it. Needless to say it also proves that you’re not just making something up too.
Also, be kind! Your email is being sent to a team of analysts who make the decision of whether or not to reactivate your account. They get hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of emails everyday. Being mean or upset or shouting will not get you anywhere with them. So be nice but be informative about the issue.
4. Fill Out the Appeals Form 10x.
Fill out the form 10 more times. No seriously! This may be my Type A talking, but knowing that the team receives enormous amounts of emails everyday, it just makes sense that mine may have gotten lost in them. So, if I want to make sure my email is being seen and not left for dead, I need to make sure I am on top of that pile.
Now don’t worry, you don’t have to write a completely new email appeal every time. You can if you want, but it would take a bit more time than this. I wrote three emails that I cycled through and resent, using their online appeal form, probably about every 2-3 hours. Hopefully this would make sure I was at the top of someone’s list at some point within the day.
5. Find a Distraction
Take another breathe and get on with your day. There is nothing worse than ruining your whole day waiting for something that might not come. Luckily, I had to go to work that day and was able to distract myself with my regular business. Then I would check back every 2-3 hours and resend something if I hadn’t received any updates yet. It freed my mind from being stuck in pinterest jail.
6. Contact Creators Support
This is a bonus tip! There is another email you can contact if you haven’t heard anything back from the appeals team at pinterest. This email is creators-support@pinterest.com.
believe Pinterest created this team specifically to help real bloggers and creators get out of pinterest jail faster if it’s a mistake. It’s basically a quick shot to the top. But remember, you can’t have really gone against the guidelines. Please stick to the pinterest guidelines when working on pinterest.
So, it was about 3/4 through the day and I have had no luck. I emailed an appeal one last time before bed and went to sleep.
I usually wake up pretty early, between 5am-6am, and on this day I checked my emails immediately. And there it was, about three email responses from the team about the glitch that occurred.
Basically, two members had seen my appeals later in the day and responded separately. They both apologized for the issue and reactivated my account as soon as they saw the mistake. I then received a third email from the creators account stating that they also looked into the problem but that it had already been rectified at that point.
My account was fixed and I was ecstatic! I was back baby!
7. Send Thank You Notes
Thankfully my account was back and I had just lost a little under a day of work and pinning. It was quite a fast turn around from some other stories I had read. One of two main things I attribute to that was my demeanor in communicating. I was cordial, respectful, and kind, even though I personally wanted to rip hair out.
And reading some other peoples stories, I knew I was lucky. But because I do believe my delivery had a strong role in my account coming back as soon as it did, I made it a point to send thank you’s to everyone who had worked on the problem.
Hopefully this won’t happen again, but a glitch is a glitch, and now I am in very good standing with 3 of pinterest appeals representatives who I know by name. If this were to happen again, I would follow everything I did but put ATTENTION to those three people who are already familiar with my account.
8. Save Your Emails
So I am already preparing for the next glitch that is going to occur. That’s how Type As work unfortunately, always preparing for the next disaster. One thing I definitely want in my arsenal is proof that pinterest has glitched on me before and I will provide that evidence if I need to in the future.
It doesn’t mean you will need them, but better safe than sorry. Especially if you’re dealing with a new rep.
*Summary
So there you have it fellow bloggers! The 8 steps that will get you out of pinterest jail. If you follow these steps you should be able to get your account back within a day. Keep on top of it, be kind, follow through, and don’t forget to breathe. It is so important to remain calm. As the saying goes… You attract more bees with honey than vinegar (CHECK SAYING). But just to be sure it truly sticks let’s list the steps one more time for easy referencing:
1. Breathe, it will be ok.
2.Take screen shots for evidence.
3.Fill out form on appeals page. Be detailed. Be nice.
4.Fill out appeals form 10 more times.
5.Distract yourself with something while you wait for a response.
6. Email ….. if you haven’t heard anything back yet.
7.Send thank you notes once resolved for continuous positive rapport with pinterest team.
8. Save email records!
Hopefully this helps anyone who is currently stuck or serves as a guide for someone trying to protect themselves against such happenings. However, as pinterest put it, it’s just an accident. So do what you can. The best is to be prepared and keep from overthinking. It will be fine but make sure to follow these guidelines.
And as always, If you have any questions, comments, or ideas please share them in the comments section below with your fellow parents! And definitely subscribe to the newsletter for updates and ongoing happenings at TylekTeaches.com. The subscription link is just on the right hand side of this post. See you there!
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