How to Earn Money with Pinterest

Pinterest goes way beyond the platform where you find your next healthy dinner recipes or how to dress for an upcoming party. If you plan it well and put in a bit of work, you can easily make money with your Pinterest account, and let me share with you in this article how!

** Some of the links in this post are affiliate links, meaning I may receive a small commission if you use my link to purchase a product or service from that particular link at no extra cost to you.

You don't have to be a social media whizz

You don't have to have an account with millions of followers. In fact, you can start earning money even if you just have a couple of hundred (engaged) followers. You might know already, but to be sure, it is essential to acknowledge that Pinterest is nothing like any other social media platform. This is because it is an image-sharing search engine and not a social media platform. Why it's important to know this because, with Pinterest, you create content for the long-term. What you put up will be shared and re-shared again and again - for years to come (as opposed to other social media channels where your content appears and stays visible for only mere seconds). 

The Easiest Way to Start Earning Money On Pinterest

The easiest way to start earning money on Pinterest is if you have a website and a blog. You might wonder why a blog... Simply if you already have a website and blog, that also means that you most likely defined your niche and are clear on your target market, services, and digital products. (I am talking about digital products here as my niche is service-based online businesses, but much of what I will share with you can be relevant to physical products too).

When you have an existing blog, you probably share some content regularly. Your blog gives you a branded and strong starting point, credibility and hopefully some existing readership. Of course, you can also earn money without a blog; use YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Google or TikTok. However, in this article, I will focus on how to earn money on Pinterest with a blog and what you need to do to make the most of your Pinterest account. I use Kajabi for my blog, and I could not be happier with it. It is intuitive, easy to edit and requires zero technical skills to build beautiful landing pages and content. It allows me to store my website, blog, online courses, digital products and mailing list in one place. You can sign up for a one month free trial HERE.

 You can make money on Pinterest with your blog in a few simple ways:

• Promote affiliate brands in your blog content 
• Sell your own digital or physical products and services
• Run ads 
• Get sponsored by brands in your niche 
• All of the above 

Before we look into these options in detail, I want to point out a few fundamental points you need to get right: your profile description, the content you create and your pin design. 

Your Audience is the King, and Content is the Queen

You need to commit to creating high-quality content consistently. The more content you create, the better, but still, I recommend focusing on topics of interest to your audience. Offer solutions to some of their pain points and, generally, provide value to your followers and pinners. Entertain, educate or inspire but choose to make a good impression on them by what you share and how you share it (A.K.A pretty pins, please!)

What Type of Content you Should Create 

Focus on creating content your target audience is most likely to search for. You can easily do your own research before starting a new piece of content simply by adding some keywords to your Pinterest search bar and seeing what comes up first.

This is the first indication of what type of content would perform well. Click on the options in the drop-down menu to see what is available already and how you can create something fresh, relevant, and valuable to your audience.  

Set up a Business Profile 

• Go to Pinterest.com/business/create and fill out your details

• Connect your social media accounts 
• Add a profile picture
• Click on "Claim" to add your website and follow the instructions. 

With a Pinterest business account, you will get access to a robust analytics page and the option to advertise on the platform. I would not recommend running ads as soon as your Pinterest page is up. Once you have a couple of group boards, some good content and attractive pins, and you work out a strategy about how and what to post, you can get started with experimenting with ads. 

Customize your Profile

Your Pinterest profile is your first connection to your ideal customers, and you have limited space, time and opportunity. I recommend adding your photo or your brand's logo to your profile. Don't waste this important space by adding irrelevant images, such as your dog's photo, flowers or car (unless these have something to do with the business you are building). 

As for your "About" section, include a clear, simple and easy-to-understand description with some of your niche's keywords. If there is space, add a call to action and link to your freebie, signature program, or anything you want to highlight or be known for.

Design Eye-Catching and Relevant Pins 

• Create beautiful pins that your target audience will want and need. With Canva, even with the free version, you can create nice pins in a couple of minutes. Remember to add text but not too much text. Make sure the titles are large and visible enough. Combine fonts and colors to make your pins attractive.
• Add a Call-to-Action
• Add a photo ( your own photo will work wonders whenever you can) 
• Add your logo to a portion of your pins but don't go crazy about branding your pins. Remember, it's not all about you. It's all about providing value to your audience. 

Pin descriptions help others to understand what your pins are about. Make it enticing, short and to the point and don't forget to put one or two keywords (related to your niche) into your pin description. 

Connect with other Pinners

I recommend you to be active on Pinterest by pinning consistently and often and following relevant ( competitor and complementary accounts) in your niche. Re-pin some of their pins, leave comments and hit likes and monitor what group accounts they are part of. You can never know when you will find something that will be really useful for you too. 

Create Your Pinterest Boards  

Your boards will contain a collection of pins related to the same topic. Each board should be named according to what is relevant to your audience while making it clear what you will be talking about within that board. Keep your board titles simple; you can use your pin titles to create more excitement.

At this stage, your goal is to ensure your profile visitors understand right away what type of content your boards have. If you are just starting on Pinterest, less is more. Start with a minimum of five-six boards and work yourself up from there. It is better to have fewer boards filled with great pins instead of having many boards with content only from others or, even worse, no content. 

Write Thoughtful Pin Titles and Pin Descriptions

Your pin titles should be simple to understand and attention-grabbing. I recommend talking to your audience directly and avoiding passive and complex expressions. Use adjectives relevant to your niche and include keywords in your pin titles. 

How to Design your Pins 

I recommend using Canva Pro to design all your pins. The pro version gives you many high-quality stock photos, graphics, and (almost) ready-to-go templates that you can easily adjust to your brand. All you need to do is drag and drop, add text, and change the colors.

How to Schedule your Pins

I recommend using Tailwind for scheduling all pins. With Tailwind, you can use smart scheduling to place your pins to the most optimal publishing times, and you will also have access to "Your Plan" - a new tool that guides you to create the type of content that performs best in your niche.

Even with the free version, you will have access to 5 communities that you can use to place your pins in front of your target audience. Tailwind makes the scheduling and even pin creation a fast and easy process. (As I mentioned, I use Canva Pro for design, but you can design your pins directly on Tailwind). If you want to learn more about Tailwind, I've written a list of articles you can find on my blog. Schedule 100 pins for free on Tailwind

How to Monetize Your Blog to Earn money with Pinterest 

 1. Affiliate Marketing  

Affiliate marketing is a fantastic way to earn a passive income. It works, but it takes time. You might find a lot of posts on the Internet talking about how easy it is to make money with affiliate marketing... you dive right in and expect the cash to roll in aaaand.... nothing happens. That is because affiliate marketing takes time. You can't expect to start earning money with a new website (or without website) and a small follower base. So the first few things you need to remember: be patient and consistent. Don't rush things and focus on two things: create value-packed content that targets your ideal customer and show up with consistency.

If you are stuck at the stage where you are not quite sure who your ideal customers are or how to find them, you can download Your Ideal Customer Worksheet here. I won't go into more detail about this topic here, but my main message is that knowing who your ideal customers are is one of the most crucial starting points in building a growing your successful online business. Enough said; let's return our focus to affiliate marketing. 

Research Before you Commit to your Affiliate Brands 

Once you are ready to dip your toes into the world of affiliate marketing, I recommend you research what brands you want to work with. Don't get jaded but all the offers on the market and stay focused on what your customers will be most interested in. What topics will they be most willing to learn more about? What are the brands that can offer a solution to their pain points?

Can you make your customers' lives easier with the brands that you promote? Once you pin down the couple of brands you want to start with, register on their websites, check what design support they provide and see if you can incorporate their banners and images into your content.

Familiarize yourself with their commission structure and how often they run promotions that can support your work. Check if you can find some testimonials from other affiliate marketers; if all looks great, claim your own personalized affiliate links. Using these links will ensure that you get paid after all the hard work you put into content creation. Once you are ready to start working with your affiliate brands, start creating your content. 

Affiliate links 

These links will be provided to you by the brands you decide to start working with. Make sure you use these links in all your content, and are always highly visible. Use a different color, bold text, or even capital letters when it fits the theme. Add a "Call to Action" because most readers will pay attention more when you tell them to do something. For instance, you can say, "click here to get access" OR "Download now!"

Even if you end up working with multiple affiliate brands (ultimately, it is your goal but don't rush into things and focus on the first few before you take on new brands), don't try to stuff all of them into each of your posts. Always focus on providing value and creating something helpful to your audience. Spotlight one or two products and add the links a couple of times into your content. 

Where to find affiliate products?

Here are some of the best affiliate networks to use if you are a service-based online business owner offering services related to content creation: 

• Canva.com
• Tailwind.com
• Grammarly.com
• Kajabi.com

Sell Without a Blog 

You can earn money on Pinterest with or without having a blog by creating attractive pins and adding links to affiliate products instead of blog posts. 

These products can be e-books, online courses, or even physical ones. (don't forget to disclose your affiliate links in your pin description by simply adding "affiliate" or "affiliate link." 

2. Promote your online store on Pinterest 

If you have a store on an online platform that isn't your website, Pinterest still works perfectly well, and you can drive traffic to your products and earn money. The process is really similar to when you are promoting your blog. Once you create visually striking pins with solid content, you add the link of your product from the online store to your pin and share it in groups and Tailwind Communities.  

3. Create Courses and Sell them on Pinterest 

If you have a hobby or do something that you know at least 10% more about than the general population, you have an opportunity right there to create an online course and start promoting and selling it on Pinterest. If you own a digital (or physical) product or provide a service, you can use Pinterest to acquire your customers.

Today it is easier than ever to create digital products such as downloadable templates, online courses, master classes or e-books. You can also create pins for your services, such as content writing, graphic design, video editing, web designing, or digital marketing. I am just giving you some examples from my niche, but the world is your oyster, and options are unlimited. Literally... You can create pins about cake recipes, at-home exercise programs, online dog training, how to play the piano or how to manifest your dream home.  

4. Get Sponsored by Brands in your Niche 

When you show up with high-quality and consistent content that targets your niche, there is a chance that you can find opportunities for promoting complementary brands using your Pinterest account and getting paid for the work you do. You need a solid performance with high views and a good-looking follower base. Again, remember that you don't need to have millions of followers to get approached by brands. You need an engaged audience, so focus on creating value and sharing visually enticing content that others want and need. You can also reach out to companies in your niche to find opportunities for getting sponsored.

Another way you can earn money on Pinterest is by writing and publishing sponsored blog posts about the sponsor and creating pins for those pieces of content. 

How to Promote your Content 

Create Multiple Pins on Pinterest

For every piece of content you create, design multiple pins. You should try out different titles and descriptions to experiment what resonates with your audience and what delivers the best results in terms of clicks, views and ultimately clicks on your affiliate links. 

Use Your Social Media Channels 

Promote your content on every social media channel that you use. You can also utilize Facebook groups to place your content in front of new and versatile audiences. Of course, it is best if you find groups that are related to your niche. 

 Share It With Your Mailing List

Having a mailing list is pivotal to the success of your business, so I assume you have one...and if you have one, even if just a small one, you can share all your content with the people on your mailing list. They chose to sign up to hear from you regularly, and it is natural to assume they want to know more about what you do and how you can support their journey. Sharing your blog posts and introducing useful tools (A.K.A., your affiliate products) is a great way to share with them how you work and create things while they learn something too. It is a win-win situation! 

I hope this post helped you a lot to learn about how you can make money on Pinterest. I love (love-love-love) Pinterest, and I am always happy to share valuable information to help you build and grow your business. If you want to read more about Pinterest, you can do it here.