Pinterest, a place for pretty pictures, new ideas, and planning your next big thing. Many people use it to find recipes, get home decor inspiration, or dream about their perfect holiday. But have you ever wondered How to earn money through Pinterest?
Yes, it’s true! While some just scroll through, smart people and businesses are using Pinterest to build their brands, get more visitors to their websites, and, most importantly, make money. If you’ve ever looked at Pinterest and thought, “I wish I could earn money doing this,” you’re in the right spot.
This guide will walk you through how to make money using Pinterest. We’ll cover different methods, share tips for success, and give you the knowledge you need to turn your Pinterest activity into a real moneymaker. Don’t think of it as just a hobby; Pinterest is a serious tool for business, and we’ll show you how to use its power.
Why Pinterest is Great for Making Money
Before we get into the “how,” let’s understand why Pinterest is such a good place to earn money. Other social media sites focus on quick updates, but Pinterest is different: it’s about finding things and planning for the future.
- People are Looking for Things: Users on Pinterest aren’t just looking around randomly. They are actively searching for answers, inspiration, and products. They have a goal in mind, whether it’s finding a craft idea, a travel spot, or something to buy. This means they are more likely to be interested in what you offer.
- Pins Last a Long Time: A pin can be seen and found for months, or even years. This is very different from posts on other sites that disappear quickly. So, your content can keep bringing people and sales long after you post it.
- It’s Like a Visual Search Engine: Think of Pinterest as a search engine that uses pictures. People look for visual clues to help them decide. Great, attractive pictures are your main tool.
- Easy to Shop: Pinterest has made it very simple for users to find and buy things right on the platform. This easy shopping experience is a big help if you sell things.
- Sends People to Your Website: Even if you don’t sell anything directly on Pinterest, it’s amazing at sending people to your website, blog, or online shop. These visitors can then become customers or lead to ad income.
Getting Your Pinterest Profile Ready to Earn
Before you can make money, you need a strong start. Making your Pinterest profile work well is key to getting followers, being seen more, and looking professional.
1. Get a Business Account: This is very important. A business account gives you useful numbers (analytics), lets you run ads, and gives you tools made for promoting things. It’s free and easy to change your personal account.
2. Write a Good Bio: Your bio is how you introduce yourself. Clearly say who you are, what you do, and what you offer. Use words people might search for. For example, instead of “I like pretty things,” try “Home Decor Ideas & Interior Design Tips | Helping You Make Your Home Beautiful.”
3. Claim Your Website: Linking and claiming your website shows it’s yours. Your profile picture will appear next to pins from your site. This helps people click on your pins more.
4. Make Nice-Looking Boards: Group your pins into boards with good titles that use keywords. Think of them as categories. Use nice cover pictures for each board to keep your profile looking neat.
5. Find the Right Keywords: Just like for websites, keywords are important on Pinterest. Find out what words your target audience uses when they search. Use the Pinterest search bar for ideas, look at related searches, and see what successful accounts in your area use.
6. Use Good, Vertical Pictures: Pinterest is mostly for vertical pictures. Make pins that are twice as tall as they are wide (like 1000 pixels wide by 1500 pixels tall). Use clear, attractive pictures or graphics that show what your pin is about right away. Keeping your colors and fonts the same also helps your brand look good.
7. Write Clear Pin Titles and Descriptions: Don’t just use the picture. Write clear, short titles and descriptions for each pin that include keywords. Think about what problem your pin solves or what idea it gives. Add a message asking people to do something, like “Click to get the full recipe!”
Ways to Make Money on Pinterest
Now for the exciting part! Let’s look at the different ways you can earn money using Pinterest:
1. Affiliate Marketing: Sharing Products You Like
Affiliate marketing is a popular and easy way to make money on Pinterest. You promote products or services from other companies and get a small payment (commission) for every sale made through your special link.
How it works:
- Join Affiliate Programs: Sign up for affiliate programs that fit what you do. Amazon Associates is a common place to start, but many companies and groups (like ShareASale, CJ Affiliate) have lots of products.
- Make Nice Pins: Create attractive pins that show the products you are promoting. Use pictures of the products in real life, styled pictures, or even short videos showing how they work.
- Write Good Descriptions: Write descriptions that explain why the product is good, why you like it, and how it can help people. Put your affiliate link in naturally.
- Be Honest About Links: Always say that you are using an affiliate link. This is the right thing to do and often required by law. A simple message like “This post has affiliate links, which means I might get a commission if you buy something through them” is usually enough.
- Send People to Your Website/Blog: While you can sometimes link straight to affiliate products, it’s usually better to send people to a blog post, review, or page on your website where you give more information, and then put your affiliate links there. This builds trust and keeps people on your sites longer.
Tips for Affiliate Marketing:
- “Shop the Look” Pins: Make collage pictures or styled photos that show many products from an affiliate program. Link each item.
- Product Reviews/Lists: Make pins that give honest reviews of products or lists of your favorite items in a certain group (like “10 Kitchen Tools You Must Have,” “My Favorite Eco-Friendly Clothes Brands”).
- Holiday or Seasonal Promotions: Connect your affiliate recommendations to holidays or current trends.
2. Selling Your Own Products: Physical or Digital Goods
If you have your own products, Pinterest is a fantastic place to get sales. This could be handmade items, art, digital products like printables or guides, online courses, or even t-shirts.
How it works:
- Show Off Your Products: Make beautiful, high-quality pins that show your products from different sides and how people use them. Pictures of products in real-life settings work very well.
- Link Directly to Product Pages: When you pin your own products, link straight to the product page on your website or online shop (like Etsy or Shopify).
- Make Boards Just for Products: Create boards for specific product types or groups of products.
- Show the “Behind the Scenes”: Share pins that show how your products are made, your workspace, or what gave you the idea for them. This helps people connect with you personally.
- Use Rich Pins: Turn on Rich Pins for products. These automatically update prices and if items are in stock from your website. This makes it easier for shoppers to decide.
- Tell People About Sales: Use Pinterest to announce discounts, new products, and special offers.
Tips for Selling Your Products:
- Infographic Pins for Digital Products: If you sell printables or digital planners, make infographic-style pins that show the good things about your products.
- “How-To” Pins with Your Products: Make guides or tutorials that naturally include your products. For example, a baking blog could make a “How to Decorate a Cake” pin that shows their frosting tools and sprinkles.
- Customer Photos: Ask customers to share pictures of your products being used and repost them (with their permission!). This shows others that your products are good.
3. Sending People to Your Blog or Website for Ads and Leads
If your main goal is to get more people to visit your blog or website, Pinterest can send a lot of visitors. You can then make money from ads, sponsored posts, or by getting leads (potential customers).
How it works:
- Create Helpful Content: Pin your blog posts, articles, guides, and how-to articles. Make sure the content on your website is good, useful, and interesting.
- Make Clickable Pins: Create attractive pins with clear titles that make people want to click through to your website.
- Use Keywords Well: Use important keywords in your pin titles and descriptions so people can find your content.
- Ask People to Take Action: Encourage people to visit your website for more information, to get a free download, or to read the whole article.
Making Money from the Visitors:
- Display Ads: When you have a lot of visitors, you can put ads on your website using services like Google AdSense.
- Sponsored Posts: As your blog grows, companies might pay you to write special posts or reviews, which you can then share on Pinterest.
- Getting Leads: Offer free things (like guides, checklists, or templates) on your website in exchange for email addresses. Pinterest can send people to sign up for these. You can then send emails to these people to sell them your products or services.
Tips for Getting Website Visitors:
- “Link to Learn” Pins: Focus on teaching people something. Pins that promise to teach a new skill or give useful information are very popular to click.
- “Solve a Problem” Pins: Think about common issues people have in your area and make pins that offer solutions found in your blog posts.
- Make Many Pins for Each Blog Post: Don’t just make one pin for each blog post. Try different pictures, titles, and calls to action to see what works best.
4. Helping Others with Pinterest (Pinterest Manager)
If you get good at using Pinterest for marketing, you can offer your skills to businesses and people who need help with their Pinterest accounts.
How it works:
- Build a Showcase of Your Work: Use your own successful Pinterest account as an example. Show how you grew your followers, got more people interested, and sent visitors.
- Offer Specific Help: This could include:
- Setting up and improving Pinterest accounts.
- Making and designing pins.
- Finding the right keywords and making a plan.
- Scheduling and managing content.
- Managing Pinterest ads.
- Looking at numbers and making changes to the plan.
3.Connect and Promote Your Services: Reach out to businesses in your field, join online groups, and use your own Pinterest profile to show off what you can do.
Tips for Offering Services:
- Make a “Pinterest Services” Board: Show positive feedback from clients, examples of your work, and clearly explain what services you offer.
- Run Ads for Your Services: Use Pinterest ads to reach businesses that might need your help.
5. Creating and Selling Digital Products Directly on Pinterest
While Pinterest is mostly for finding things, you can also help people buy some digital products directly.
How it works:
- Create Digital Products: Think of things like printables (planners, worksheets, wall art), guides, templates (for social media, resumes), digital art, or even short online courses.
- Make “Preview” Pins: Create attractive pins that show a sneak peek or the main benefit of your digital product.
- Use Pinterest Buyable Pins (if they are available and fit): Pinterest has tried out buyable pins that let people buy things right on the platform for certain types of products. Keep an eye on these features.
- Link to Your Own Sales Page: If buyable pins don’t work or aren’t available, create a special page on your website where people can buy your digital product. Your pins will then send people to this page.
Tips for Selling Digital Products:
- Bundle Your Products: Make pins that offer groups of digital products for a lower price.
- Limited-Time Offers: Announce discounts for a short time or special digital product releases.
- “Freebie” Pins: Offer a useful free digital product (like a checklist or template) in exchange for an email address, and then try to sell them your paid products.
Smarter Ways to Earn More on Pinterest
Once you know the basics, try these advanced methods to increase your earnings:
- Pinterest Ads: Spending money on Pinterest ads can greatly increase how many people see your content and send targeted visitors to what you offer. You can promote specific products, blog posts, or free offers.
- Video Pins: Short, interesting video pins are very good for showing products being used, how to do something, or sharing quick tips.
- Idea Pins (formerly Story Pins): These pins that have multiple pages and focus on video are great for step-by-step guides, behind-the-scenes looks, or curated lists. They can help build brand awareness and engagement.
- Work With Other Pinners: Team up with accounts that offer similar things to promote each other and reach new people.
- Look at Your Numbers (Analytics): Regularly check your Pinterest numbers to see what’s working, which pins are sending visitors and sales, and what your audience likes most. Change your plan based on this information.
- Be Consistent: Regularly posting new content, talking to your audience, and staying active on the platform is important for continued growth and income.
Mistakes to Avoid
Even with the best plans, some common mistakes can stop you from being successful on Pinterest:
- Pinning Only Sometimes: Pinning only now and then won’t get you results. Try to pin regularly.
- Bad Quality Pictures: Blurry, unclear, or not-so-nice pictures will be ignored.
- No Keywords: If you don’t use keywords in your descriptions and board titles, people won’t find your content.
- Not Saying You’re Using Affiliate Links: This makes people not trust you and can cause problems.
- Pushing Sales Too Much: While you want to sell things, constantly telling people to buy will turn them off. Mix promotional content with valuable, inspiring, and informative pins.
- Not Checking Analytics: If you don’t track how you’re doing, you won’t know what to change.
- Not Making Pins Mobile-Friendly: Most Pinterest users look at the platform on their phones. Make sure your pins and linked websites work well on mobile.
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Frequently Asked Questions ( FAQ’s)
Q1: How quickly can I start earning money on Pinterest?
A1: You can start seeing results within weeks with consistent effort, but significant income typically takes several months.
Q2: Do I need a lot of followers to make money on Pinterest?
A2: No, a smaller, engaged audience is more valuable than a large, inactive one.
Q3: What’s the easiest way to start earning money on Pinterest?
A3: Affiliate marketing is the easiest way to start, as you can promote existing products.
Q4: How much money can I realistically expect to make?
A4: Earnings vary; some earn a few dollars, while others build full-time incomes.
Q5: Do I need to run Pinterest Ads to make money?
A5: No, but ads can accelerate growth; you can earn through organic methods.
Q6: What kind of content works best for making money on Pinterest?
A6: Visually appealing, helpful, and inspiring content that solves problems or showcases products.
Q7: Can I sell digital products directly on Pinterest?
A7: Yes, use preview pins and link to your sales page for digital products.
