Boost Your Website Traffic with Flipboard: A Complete Guide

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Today, many bloggers and website owners are looking for ways to replace lost Google traffic. Social media websites and apps are a popular choice, but the biggest platforms like Facebook and Pinterest tend to get most of the attention.

Flipboard is an under-appreciated traffic source worth considering. I started a new site a few months ago, and I’ve been actively using Flipboard for the first time. I’ve had Flipboard profiles for other blogs or websites in the past, but never really understood Flipboard or took the time to learn about it. Based on my results from the past few months, I’m very optimistic about Flipboard, and I think more bloggers and marketers should consider it for generating traffic.

While I’m by no means a Flipboard expert, I think this article will be helpful if you’re new to Flipboard because it covers all the things I was unsure about just a few months ago. I’ll share what’s working for me and how I’m getting traffic to a brand-new site from a brand-new Flipboard profile.

🤷 What Is Flipboard?

Flipboard is a social news app that allows users to curate personalized digital magazines based on their interests. Think of it as a digital magazine rack where you can flip through various articles, videos, and podcasts from different sources—all tailored to your preferences.

From a blogger or website owner’s perspective, Flipboard provides access to a large audience of people looking for interesting content. While most other social media platforms fight to keep users on their platforms, Flipboard is all about sending users to other websites and blogs.

🙋 Why Use Flipboard?

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of social media and news platforms out there. Obviously, as a blogger or marketer, you can’t use them all. But here are some of the main reasons why you should consider using Flipboard.

1. It Works with Most Niches and Topics

Whether you write about travel, technology, fashion, food, or other popular topics, Flipboard can get you in front of readers who will be interested in your content. This isn’t the case with every social platform. For example, Pinterest is a much better fit for certain topics than others.

Of course, like any platform, Flipboard has some topics that generate more interest than others. But overall, it has a broad reach.

2. High Traffic Potential

With over 100 million active users, Flipboard offers a significant opportunity to drive traffic to your blog. Flipboard isn’t as large as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, or other leading social media platforms, but the traffic potential is very real. That’s partly because Flipboard users are actively looking for interesting content, so they’re quick to click on a link that captures their attention. Some bloggers get hundreds of thousands of visitors each month from Flipboard.

3. Potential for Consistent Traffic

If you regularly publish new content, it’s possible to get relatively consistent traffic from Flipboard. Each piece of content that you flip allows you to attract visitors, so frequent and consistent activity is key.

Of course, some of your content will do better than others on Flipboard. However, it’s not a feast-or-famine platform where your content has to go viral to get traffic.

4. It’s Free

One of the best things about Flipboard is that it’s completely free to use. You don’t need to run paid ads to grow your following or get exposure for your content. You can start and have success without spending any money.

5. Only Requires a Small Amount of Time

You can be an active Flipboard user and drive traffic to your site by spending 30 minutes or less each day on Flipboard. The work is easy and can be spread throughout your day. Whenever you have a few minutes to spare, open Flipboard or use the mobile app to flip some content. You can also easily outsource the work to a VA.

6. No Additional Images Needed

Flipboard is sometimes compared to Pinterest because both platforms are highly visual, but the key difference is that you don’t need to create images specifically for Flipboard, unlike Pinterest. Flipboard pulls in the featured image from your article. If you’ve been frustrated by the time needed to use Pinterest, you’ll appreciate Flipboard.

7. Works Well with Content Created for Other Social Media Platforms

The same types of content that work well on Facebook, Pinterest, and other social platforms tend to work well on Flipboard. If you’re already creating content with social media users in mind, you might as well try it on Flipboard.

8. Works with Multiple Content Types

From articles and blog posts to videos and podcasts, Flipboard accommodates various types of content. You can even flip photos and images if you’d like, although they won’t send traffic to your site without sharing a link.

9. It’s Fun

Spending 30 minutes a day on Flipboard can actually be fun as long as you follow users who share content that interests you.

💻 How Flipboard Works

Here are the basics of Flipboard that all new users should understand.

Magazines

Magazines are the backbone of Flipboard. They allow you to curate content collections on specific topics, making it easier for users to find and follow what interests them.

If you’ve used Pinterest, magazines are to Flipboard what boards are to Pinterest. You’ll create a magazine for any type of content you want to flip. For example, if you’re a food blogger, you may have magazines for dinner recipes, appetizers, side dishes, drinks, desserts, etc. You can put content into magazines like you put that content into categories on your blog.

Flipboard users can follow other users or specific magazines. Users who follow your profile will follow all of your magazines, but those who follow specific magazines will only see (in their feed) what you publish in those magazines.

The Feed

When you log in to Flipboard on a desktop or open the Flipboard mobile app, you’ll see a feed with content from the users, magazines, and topics you follow. Likewise, people who follow you or your magazines will see your flips in their feed. If they click on it, they’ll arrive at your website or wherever the content is hosted.

Ways to Flip Content

There are a few different ways you can flip content into one of your magazines.

1. Create a Flip

Click the “create a flip” link on Flipboard, select the magazine, and paste the content’s URL. Creating a flip is fast and easy. It will automatically pull in the title, meta description, and featured image.

2. Browser Extension

The Flipboard browser extension allows you to add content to your magazines directly from any webpage. This is handy for flipping content from any website you browse.

3. Social Sharing Buttons

Most blogs and websites that actively use Flipboard have a social sharing button or widget, making it easy for visitors to flip content. If you have social sharing buttons on your blog, include a Flipboard option. This encourages readers to share your content in their magazines.

4. From Existing Flips

You can also flip content directly from your feed or other users’ magazines. Just click the “+” icon and select the appropriate magazine. As an active user, you should be checking your feed at least once each day and flipping high-quality content into your magazines.

⌛ Time Sensitive

It’s important to understand that Flipboard heavily prioritizes new content. If you look at the feed, most of the content you’ll see is less than 24 hours old. Content older than two days will rarely get traction.

With that in mind, the sooner you flip new content, the better. Get in the habit of flipping it immediately after publishing.

👉 Note: You can’t fool Flipboard by simply changing the publication date in WordPress. If you want to get traffic from Flipboard to content that’s more than a few days old, you’ll need to publish it on a new URL.

👤 Setting Up Your Flipboard Account

When you’re ready to start, here are the steps to set up your account and profile.

Register

Start by visiting Flipboard.com or download the Flipboard mobile app. Sign up using your email, Google account, or Apple ID.

Verify Your Email

Check your email and click the link to verify your address.

Set Up Your Profile

Customize your username, add a bio, and upload a profile picture. Make sure to include relevant keywords to make your profile searchable. It’s also a good idea to include a call to action and encourage other users to follow you.

Create Your First Magazine

Think about the types of content you’ll flip and how you want to organize it into magazines. Chances are, your magazines will align with the categories of your blog posts. You can always add more magazines in the future.

📣 Group Magazines

Group magazines are collaborative collections where multiple users can flip content. These can be excellent resources, especially for a new user. When you create a new profile, you won’t have any followers. But if you get added to a group magazine, you can get your content in front of people who follow that magazine, amplifying your reach.

You’ll need an invitation link from the group magazine owner in order to join. There are a few different ways to find these opportunities. I recommend joining Facebook Groups like Flipboard User Group and The Insiders – Flipboard & Social Share Group, where active users often post invites to their group magazines. Brilliant Bloggers, a paid Slack group, is also an excellent place to find these opportunities as they have a lot of active Flipboard users in the group.

Additionally, you can comment on group magazines and ask the owner for an invite. Some group magazine owners even provide instructions for people who want to join.

👉 Tip: Sharing your content in group magazines can give you a nice boost before you have a significant following of your own, but you should also work to build up your profile and attract followers to your own magazines. Don’t rely on group magazines long-term.

🔑 Keys to Success with Flipboard

Now that we’ve covered the basics, here are some keys to getting substantial traffic from Flipboard.

1. New Content

To succeed with Flipboard, you have to flip new content. Trying to push old content will not work. Get in the habit of flipping your blog posts, articles, videos, or podcasts immediately after publication.

2. Entertaining Content

The type of content that does well on Flipboard is much different than the content you would create for SEO. While you might focus on answering specific questions or search queries to get organic search traffic, Flipboard users prefer content that entertains or inspires.

Browse through the content in your Flipboard feed and pay attention to those that have a lot of flips and likes. By focusing on the content that’s already doing well on the platform, you can learn a lot about the types of content that Flipboard users want.

3. Attention-Grabbing Titles

The title or headline is one of the most important factors in getting traffic from Flipboard. Craft compelling titles that spark curiosity and encourage clicks. Use power words and emotional triggers to make your titles stand out.

👉 Tip: Use ChatGPT to improve your titles and make them more compelling.

4. Images That Entice Viewers to Click

Choose clear, eye-catching images for your flips. Visual appeal is crucial for attracting clicks from Flipboard. Many users pay more attention to the images than anything else as they scroll the feed.

5. Quick Momentum

Momentum is important for visibility on Flipboard. The more your flips get re-flipped and liked shortly after being added to Flipboard, the better their chances of being shown to many users.

👉 Tip: Flip sharing groups are incredibly helpful for this. These are groups of active Flipboard users who flip each other’s content for mutual benefit. The two best groups are Brilliant Bloggers (paid) and The Insiders Facebook Group (free). Right after you flip new content, post it into these groups to start getting additional flips and build momentum.

6. Followers

The more followers you have, the more people that will see your flips. This can lead to website visitors and other users flipping the content into their own magazines. Build a following by consistently flipping great content and engaging with the community.

Building a following on Flipboard takes time, so be patient.

7. Frequent Activity

Stay active on Flipboard by flipping content daily. Regular activity helps keep your magazines fresh and relevant, which leads to more followers.

Flipboard is a platform where you need to be active daily to get the best results. If you log in once a week or once a month and flip your content, it won’t go anywhere.

8. High Volume of Content

Flipboard is better for websites and blogs that publish a high volume of content. Because the platform favors new content, and the shelf life of each piece is only a day or two, it isn’t likely to work very well for you if you only publish one new article per week or month.

There’s no exact amount of content that you need to publish, but the more, the better. I aim to publish five new articles per week, and that’s been working well for me. More would be better, but five per week is enough to get results.

9. High-Quality Content

The quality of your flips matters. This includes your own content, as well as the content from other sites that you flip into your magazines. When people check your profile or your magazines, you’ll want them to see high-quality content that makes them want to follow your profile or your individual magazines.

❓ Flipboard FAQ

Now, let’s cover some common questions. These include many of the questions I had myself.

Should I Flip Other People’s Content or Just My Own?

You should flip content from other websites and blogs in addition to your own. It’s fine to have a magazine exclusively for content from your website or blog, but you should also have magazines where you flip content from many different sources. This is especially important for new users who need to attract followers. Only flipping your own content likely won’t lead to a lot of followers.

How Much Content Should I Flip Each Day?

There’s no exact number, but I’d suggest at least 10 flips per day, including your own content and content from other sites. There’s no exact ratio or mix, but as a new user, you should be flipping more content from other sites than from your own. Personally, I’ll flip as much high-quality content as I come across. That might be anywhere from 10-50 flips per day, but I don’t pay much attention to the specific number.

Can I Flip My Content into Multiple Magazines?

Yes, you can, but you don’t want to go overboard. If your new blog post fits into two of your magazines, go ahead and flip it into both. I recommend flipping it into the most relevant magazine first and then reflipping it from there into another magazine.

You can also flip into one of your own magazines and then into a group magazine, or vice versa. It’s not a good idea to flip the same piece of content into too many magazines at once as this could come across as spammy, and it doesn’t seem to result in more exposure anyway. Personally, I flip it into no more than two magazines right away. Then I might flip it into other relevant magazines a few hours later after also flipping some other content.

Can I Flip Content into the Same Magazine Multiple Times?

It’s best to flip unique content each time to avoid appearing spammy. If you do flip the same content (from the same URL) into the same magazine multiple times, Flipboard will only show it once. If you browse through the magazine, you won’t see it multiple times.

👉 Tip: I use a Google Sheet to track which magazines I flip each post to and when. That way I know where it’s already been flipped and I can avoid spamming group magazines.

Can I Change the Publication Date in WordPress and Then Flip It as New Content?

Changing the published date and time in WordPress won’t fool Flipboard into thinking it’s a new article. PostPolish is a tool that creates redirects that allow you to flip old content so it looks like it’s new. I haven’t used PostPolish, and I have no idea if Flipboard approves of this practice or sees it as spammy, but it does seem to work, at least for now.

How Long Does Traffic from Flipboard Last?

Traffic from Flipboard will usually only last a day or two to a specific piece of content. However, if you’re publishing and flipping new content frequently, getting somewhat consistent traffic from Flipboard is very realistic. For example, if you publish new content each day, you’ll always have something to share on Flipboard.

Do I Need to Add Captions to My Flips?

Flipboard allows you to add a caption or description for each flip, but it’s not required. Some Flipboard users advise adding captions to every flip, and others say that the captions make no difference. Personally, I don’t add captions because it takes more time and because I’ve heard from several people that they saw no decline in traffic when they stopped adding captions.

💭 Final Thoughts

Flipboard offers an incredible opportunity for bloggers, content creators, and marketers to expand their reach and drive significant traffic to their blogs. Hopefully, this guide provides everything you need to get started.

I highly recommend joining Brilliant Bloggers. I have an Essential membership $12.99/month), and it’s well worth the price. The community is excellent for anyone who wants to grow a Flipboard following and get traffic.

I also recommend Insiders, a free Facebook Group with a daily thread where you can get flips for your content, and also flip other users’s content.