How to Make Money on Pinterest: A Comprehensive Guide for Success

Discover effective strategies and tips on how to make money on Pinterest. Learn how to leverage the power of visual marketing to boost your income and achieve financial success. 

Are you looking for ways to monetize your Pinterest account and turn your creativity into a source of income? Look no further! In this comprehensive guide, we will share valuable insights and effective strategies on how to make money on Pinterest. With its visual focus and massive user base, Pinterest offers incredible opportunities for entrepreneurs and content creators to generate revenue. Let’s dive in!

Drive traffic with ads

Sometimes, you have to invest money to make money. Relying solely on organic reach has its limits.

To expand your reach, allocate some advertising budget towards promoting your pins. Promoted pins can be optimized to achieve various goals, such as driving traffic or increasing your Pinterest followers.

Promoted pins blend seamlessly with regular pins and are displayed in your target audience’s home feed, category feeds, and search results.

There are different types of ads available, including shopping ads that directly feature products from your catalog.

(If you need assistance in selecting the right ad type, we have a simple guide covering everything about Pinterest ads.)

But are ads worth the investment?

Let’s examine the experience of Nena & Co. when they transformed their product catalog into Pinterest ads.

As a sustainable handbag brand, they were able to reach a whole new audience interested in zero-waste and ethically sourced products.

This resulted in an 8x increase in return on ad spend and cost 34% less compared to other platforms.

Nena & Co. sustainable handbag more humans, less machines

Enable direct purchasing on Pinterest

For brands with e-commerce offerings, Pinterest presents a natural opportunity to drive traffic and generate sales.

Utilize pins to showcase your products and guide followers back to your website for shopping. Alternatively, you can take advantage of Pinterest’s shopping tool, enabling users to make purchases directly within the app.

Please note that in-app checkout is currently available to a limited number of merchants. If you meet the following criteria, you’ll qualify:

– Use the Shopify app

– Have a Shopify store with a U.S. billing address

– Use only Shopify feeds (without active non-Shopify feeds uploaded to Pinterest)

– Accept returns

– Provide an email address for customer support inquiries

– Exceed the monthly checkout conversions threshold

– Adhere to Merchant guidelines

Once approved for the in-app checkout feature, your product pins will display a “Buy” button below them. Clicking on the button allows users to select product details like size or color before being redirected to a checkout page within the Pinterest app.

Even if you don’t currently have access to the in-app checkout feature, you can still create visually appealing pins and direct viewers to visit your website for purchasing the product.

Become an affiliate marketer

Affiliate marketing isn’t limited to just blogs. You can also utilize direct affiliate links on Pinterest to connect with pins.

By sharing your affiliate links on Pinterest, you have the opportunity to earn a commission on sales when Pinners make a purchase.

Additionally, you can direct people to affiliate-related content such as your blog posts or videos, which helps engage and inform your audience before they make a purchase.

To become a successful affiliate, here are some tips and tricks:

1. Create themed boards: Instead of randomly grouping unrelated affiliate links together, curate pins around a central theme. This allows Pinners to discover an overall vision and decide if they want to replicate the aesthetics or ideas.

2. Write thoughtful descriptions: Express why these affiliate links or pins are important, use relevant keywords, and include hashtags that can enhance visibility in Pinterest search results.

3. Be authentic: Avoid solely promoting affiliate links. Create pins and boards that genuinely reflect your brand and provide value to your audience.

4. Use high-quality media: Invest in creating inspiring and visually appealing images or videos for your pins. Don’t compromise on quality.

5. Follow relevant guidelines: Stay updated with Pinterest’s Affiliate Guidelines and adhere to local regulations, such as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s Endorsement Guidelines, to ensure compliance. Avoid spamming the platform, as it may result in being blocked.

Help people shop your look:

Shopping is a priority for many Pinterest users, with 75% of weekly users stating that they are always shopping.

Showcase styled outfits or beautifully designed spaces to inspire your audience. Tag the specific products in your photos so that your followers can easily shop for those items themselves.

Pinterest offers the option to tag products within Idea Pins, making your pin shoppable and convenient for people to find and purchase the products you recommend. This feature is also beneficial for influencers and brands looking to showcase their own products.

For example, Pinterest features a video where a woman demonstrates multiple beauty products she uses, with the products tagged within the video. 

Woman with beauty serum on Pinterest

Source: Pinterest Utilize Idea Pins to tag and recommend products to your audience, making it easier for them to shop the items you use. This functionality is valuable for influencers and brands aiming to showcase their products effectively.

Read More – Best Time to Post on Pinterest

Partner with a brand and Make Money on Pinterest

Influencers and brands are a perfect match, just like peanut butter and jelly. To facilitate their collaboration and ensure transparency, Pinterest offers a paid partnership tool.

Here’s how it works:

1. Create an Idea Pin within the app.

2. Tag the brand and add the paid partnership label.

3. The brand approves the tag.

4. Voila! Your pin now prominently displays the brand name at the bottom.

Here’s an example to give you an idea:

The Epic Table cook like a chef brand partnership

Source: Pinterest

Brands are willing to pay you for creating such content and sharing it with your audience. They may even include your pin in their advertising campaigns.

And the good news is, there are plenty of brands actively seeking to collaborate with creators.

For instance, Gatorade utilized the paid partnership tool to partner with some of Pinterest’s most popular fitness creators. The content was then used in their advertising campaign, which resulted in impressive outcomes for Gatorade, garnering over 14 million views.

Gatorade chest press challenge paid partnership

But how can you secure these valuable brand partnerships?

Firstly, you’ll need an engaged and specialized audience. You don’t necessarily need a huge follower count to land a brand deal, but you should know how to effectively pitch your brand to potential partners.

Join the Pinterest Creator Fund

The Pinterest Creator Fund offers numerous benefits to those who are accepted into the program.

But what exactly is the Pinterest Creator Fund?

It is a five-week program designed to support content creators. Participants learn about creating inspiring Pinterest content, gain industry insights from experts, and have the opportunity to secure brand sponsorships.

And here’s the exciting part: participants can receive a total of $25,000, which includes a cash grant, ad credits, and an equipment stipend.

The Creator Fund aims to promote the growth and success of underrepresented creators, specifically people of color, people with disabilities, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.

Wendy Traylor fitness nutrition and balance

Source: Pinterest

Every quarter, Pinterest announces a new Fund cycle with a specific theme. The first cycle in 2022 focused on Fashion and Beauty, while future cycles will cover topics such as Food, Lifestyle, and Wellness.

Currently, the Creator Fund is available only to underrepresented creators in the United States. However, Pinterest has expressed its intention to expand the Fund to include underrepresented creators in Brazil and the United Kingdom in 2022.

To stay informed and be among the first to know when the Creator Fund opens, make sure to sign up for the Pinterest creator newsletter.

Join the Pinterest Creator Rewards program

If you are not eligible for the Creator Fund, you might find that Creator Rewards is a better fit for you.

Creator Rewards is a program offered by Pinterest that allows creators to earn money by creating original Idea Pins based on Pinterest prompts.

According to Pinterest, each prompt will have specific engagement goals, such as a target number of saves, reactions, or takes on your Idea Pin. When you achieve these engagement goals, you will receive rewards in your bank account the following month.

Please note that Creator Rewards is currently in the testing phase, so only a limited number of people qualify to apply.

To be eligible for Creator Rewards, you need to meet the following criteria:

– Have a Pinterest business account

– Use the Pinterest app on your phone

– Be 18 years of age or older

– Be a legal resident of, and located in, the United States or the District of Columbia

– Have at least 250 followers

– Have created at least 3 Idea Pins in the last 30 days

– Have 150 saves of your published pins in the last 30 days

– Create original content

To apply, you will need to check the Pinterest app on your mobile device for a “Get Started” button. If you don’t meet the qualifications, you won’t see this option.

Here are some tips for earning money on Pinterest:

1. Start working on a Pinterest marketing strategy to attract an audience.

2. Engage your audience and aim to increase clicks and revenue.

3. Focus on drawing in more attention and viewership to your content.

4. Remember, the more eyeballs you attract, the higher the chances of earning income through Pinterest.

It’s never too late to begin your Pinterest journey and explore various ways to generate income.

Implement Pinterest SEO

Keywords act as a facilitator, connecting content and users to form a perfect match. By utilizing the appropriate keywords to describe your content, you enhance the chances of people discovering your pins, whether through direct searches or Pinterest’s recommendation algorithm.

To optimize keyword usage, consider incorporating them in the following areas:

1. Pin description
2. Text overlay
3. Board title
4. Board description
5. Profile description

While Pinterest SEO is advantageous, you may wonder where to find the keywords that Pinners commonly use. To identify the most suitable keywords, begin with a broad term relevant to your business and enter it into the Pinterest search bar.

For instance, if you’re a travel blogger focusing on Mexico, input “Mexico travel” into the search bar. Below, you’ll notice colored tiles suggesting related keywords, helping you refine your keyword selection.

Create a media kit

If you want to collaborate with paid partners or attract sponsorships for your Pinterest boards, it’s a good idea to create an influencer media kit.

An influencer media kit is a document that showcases information about your followers and engagement.

It gives a snapshot of your brand and demonstrates what you can offer in a partnership with a company. It may also include pricing details for specific advertising opportunities.

You can create a stylish PDF using a graphic design template and make it available for download, or you can display the information directly on your main website or blog.

Having a media kit ready makes it quick and easy to initiate conversations about potential partnership opportunities.

Schedule your pins

To expand your reach to a wider audience on Pinterest, it’s recommended to add new pins gradually instead of uploading a large number all at once.

Scheduling your pins in batches is the most effective way to get into a creative flow with your content. It also saves you from logging into Pinterest multiple times throughout the day.

Ensure that you’re proud of the content you create and that it provides inspiration or assistance to your audience.

If you need further guidance on setting up your Pinterest business page, check out our helpful guide on how to start using Pinterest for business. This will help you transform your pins into profits.

Save time managing your Pinterest presence by utilizing Hootsuite. With a single dashboard, you can compose, schedule, and publish Pins, create new boards, Pin to multiple boards simultaneously, and manage all your other social media profiles. Try it out for free today.

FAQs:

Q1: Can I make money on Pinterest without a blog or website?

Yes, you can! While having a blog or website helps drive traffic and conversions, you can still monetize your Pinterest account by becoming an affiliate marketer, selling digital products, or offering consulting services directly through Pinterest.

Q2: How long does it take to start making money on Pinterest?

The time it takes to make money on Pinterest varies depending on several factors, such as your niche, content quality, and marketing strategies. With consistent effort and effective tactics, it’s possible to start generating income within a few months.

Conclusion:

Making money on Pinterest requires a strategic approach and consistent effort. By optimizing your profile, creating high-quality visual content, and leveraging Pinterest SEO, you can tap into the platform’s vast potential for generating income. Remember to engage with the Pinterest community, collaborate with brands and influencers, and continuously refine your strategies. Embrace your creativity and passion, and turn your Pinterest account into a lucrative source of income.