My first blog, acrylicpaintingschool.com, covers acrylic painting, crafts and art supply reviews. I built it myself, without AI or agencies.

Before Google’s Helpful Content Update, it reached 75,000 monthly pageviews and earned about $2,000 a month. Google, Pinterest and YouTube all sent steady traffic. I ran ads through Mediavine, got accepted to Raptive (formerly AdThrive), tested it, and returned to Mediavine.

Then the HCU hit.

Masha has worked in digital marketing since 2016, as a CMO and as the owner of an ads agency. Today she runs Pinterest, content and email for bloggers and brands.

Today the site sits at 16,000 monthly pageviews, a 79% drop. That still puts it ahead of most competitors in my category. Many of them lost almost all their traffic.

The chart below shows the median traffic for my category, as Google reports it.

I couldn’t rely on Google anymore, so I shifted my focus to the channels that still worked.

• My YouTube videos kept their page 1 positions on Google.
• My tutorials dropped off page 1, but my hands-on reviews still rank there. That keeps the door open for brand sponsorships.
• My email list stayed mine. It averages a 51.6% open rate and a 7.58% click rate.
• Pinterest still sends traffic, and it earns the most: a $44.30 session RPM, my best of any source.

Pinterest: Consistency Over Volume

I pin 2 fresh pins a day, sometimes more, and I never skip a week. Consistency matters more than volume.

My numbers for the last 30 days are up, while many accounts across niches report drops:

• 1.16M impressions, up 7.5%.
• 39.4k engagements, up 8.8%. That’s an engagement rate of about 3.4%, which is solid for an account this size.
• 5,070 outbound clicks, up 14%. That’s real traffic to my site every month.

This isn’t my peak. From January to March 2026, I had months with almost 10,000 outbound clicks. Summer dropped organic clicks to 143 a day. Today they average 169 a day and keep rising.

My current top pins:

After the HCU, I changed how I run Pinterest:

• I pin 2 fresh pins every day instead of in bursts.
• I create new pins for old posts with a proven history.
• I add fresh URLs, mostly roundups.
• I expanded from painting into crafts and opened new boards for that content.
• I plan seasonal pins 8 to 10 weeks ahead.

Pinterest brings at least 22% of my total traffic. The real share is likely higher, since direct traffic hides some of it.

All of this takes me about 2 hours a week and I have a VA to help me with scheduling.

AI

In 2026, getting cited by AI search is something many brands are just starting to ask for.

My articles already had solid SEO, clean formatting and real depth. Now AI search tools cite them as sources.

It is ironic how those same things were key to SEO to rank on Google a few years ago, then Google changes that, and now AI and snippets still use the same rules.

It means my SEO, blogging, and writing skills can still perform and drive traffic.

Organic Traffic

Even with zero-click search and the HCU, organic search remains one of my top 3 traffic sources.

My first-hand detailed reviews get both AI citation and rank above Reddit.

Email

It is the era of emails and email collaborations. I was part of free and paid ones and both showed amazing results.

Collaborations bring highly motivated people who click and open, I have readers who have 90% open rate.

Youtube

I have only about 1800 subscribers but many of my videos are on the first page of Google for years already.

In some cases I occupy both AI overview and first video position, so even if my site is not ranking, I have a chance to get a reader or viewer.

Verdict

The client: My own site: acrylic painting tutorials, art supply reviews, and printables. At its peak it had 75,000 monthly visitors and earned about $2,000 a month through Raptive and Mediavine, suffered through HCU traffic loss.

The challenge: Google’s Helpful Content Update cut monthly pageviews from 75,000 to 16,000, a 79% drop.

The strategy: I shifted focus to channels Google doesn’t control. I used Pinterest for search-driven discovery, YouTube for video answers, and email to own the audience directly. On the site, I kept investing in hands-on reviews, the content type Google still rewards.

The results:

• Pinterest: 1.16M monthly impressions, 5,070 monthly outbound clicks, both still growing (+14% clicks in the last 30 days)
• Non-sponsored reviews still on page 1 of Google for almost all reviews
• YouTube videos ranking on page 1 and cited in AI search answers
• Email with 51% average open rate

What this means for you: I build traffic that doesn’t depend on one platform. I can do the same for your brand.

Work With Me

I’ve worked in digital marketing since 2016, as a CMO and as the owner of an ads agency. Today I use the same system from this case study for my clients.

I can help with:

• Pinterest management: fresh pins, keyword research, boards and monthly reporting.
• Pinterest Ads. Best for brands that sell physical or digital products.
• Email marketing in Kit: welcome sequences, automations and weekly newsletters.
• SEO content: articles and roundups in travel, food, art and marketing, written from real experience. From $150 per article.
• Managing a team of VAs and writers. I have experience hiring people to build marketing departments, as well as screening VAs through test tasks.

Want to see how I test and measure? Read my 73-day Pinterest Ads case study.

Email me at hello@unitedcreativepublishers.com with your site link and your main goal. I will reply within 24 hours!