How to Make Money on Pinterest

If you’re a creative, nifty person, chances are, you spend a fair amount of time on Pinterest each week. The company is famous for helping to inspire people to find and create something new, and has built a massive following in a few short years. So, the question has to be asked: How do you make money on Pinterest – without making and selling items yourself?

There are several ways to make money on Pinterest outside of an online store. Although these prospects are gaining traction, there’s still a decent-sized market to make Pinterest lucrative, especially for photographers, and graphic designers, and of course, side hustlers.

There are several ways to monetize Pinterest, including:

• Affiliate marketing
• As a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
• Using Pinterest’s SEO Strategies
• Drawing customers to your e-commerce store
• As a Blogger

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Making Money on Pinterest through Affiliate Marketing

As I’ve talked about before in my articles about making money on Amazon, YouTube, and other sites, affiliate marketing is a great way to make quick money. As an affiliate, brands give you referral links to attach to the description of your pins. You get paid on the level of engagement your referral links create for the company.

Typically, this means that for every click and item bought, you get paid a commission from the company you’re partnered with.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money on Pinterest without the hassle of running your own site. Plus, it’s a fantastic opportunity to build a stream of semi-passive income.

To get started as an affiliate marketer on Pinterest:

1. Sign up for an affiliate program with a company you like
2. Use Canva to create a pin that works with the product
3. Post the pin with your referral link in the description

Let’s discuss these steps a little more in depth.

Step One: Sign up for an Affiliate Program to get Affiliate Links

There are many online courses on affiliate marketing if you want to learn more about the process. They show you how to set up the foundational aspects of affiliate marketing that will enable you to be successful.

However, if you’re not ready to devote that much time to your affiliate marketing, we’ve put together a basic idea of how to get started:

1. Make a list of products or services that your target audience needs
2. Search to see if there are affiliate programs for those products and services
3. Apply to the affiliate programs
4. When and if you are approved, get the affiliate links for those programs and start putting them on Pinterest

Step Two: Create the Pin

After getting your affiliate link, the next step is to make the pin. Head to Canva (or another graphic design site) to create an image that goes along with the product. Be sure to click “blog graphic” so the dimensions will be good for Pinterest. Design an image and then download it onto your computer.

Step Three: Post the Pin with your Link

The final step in this process is to actually post the Pin. Since you have now both created and saved the pin, you can click the gray “Plus” on your Pinterest profile and upload it to your board.

Next, you’ll be prompted to upload your image, and choose a destination link. This is where the affiliate link goes.

After you upload your images, choose the boards you’d like to pin to, and save. Next, go view your pin and click “Edit” in the top left with the pencil. This is where you can change the description and add the referral link.

Becoming a Pinterest Virtual Assistant

Another amazing way to make money on Pinterest, especially if you are younger, is to become a Pinterest virtual assistant (VA). It’s easy work, especially for those with a flair for organization. Many Pinterest VAs also enjoy the flexible schedule and interesting nature of the job.

As a VA, you help out social media influencers, bloggers, and online business owners optimize their Pinterest accounts. This can include tasks such as:

• Creating pins
• Using Tailwind for scheduling
• Automating the pinning process
• Doing keyword research
• Working with Pinterest Ads Manager to run Promoted Pins
• Creating sales funnels, opt-ins, and more

Depending on the client, you can expect to make around $500 per month, per client as a Pinterest VA. That’s not too shabby!

Making Money on Pinterest through SEO

For you to monetize Pinterest, people need to be able to find your boards and pins. To speed up the process, you should use SEO techniques. This will not only help you be found on Pinterest, but also make it easier for people to find you via search engines such as Google.

SEO, or search engine optimization, can help increase your views when done correctly. On Pinterest, you can apply SEO in the “About” section of your page, as well as in the descriptions of your pins.

Start by making the most of the 200-500 words you get. Be clear and descriptive, and use keywords that you expect your searchers will use.

Increasing Traffic on Your E-Commerce Site

Another indirect way to make money on Pinterest is by using it to draw attention and customers to your e-commerce site.

After all, Pinterest brings in 33% more traffic to shopping sites than Facebook does. Plus, 90% of users say that Pinterest helps them decide what to buy.

You can also use display advertising to help increase your views. These ads pay anywhere from $7-10 per 1,000 views, and can further help increase your traffic (and hopefully, your conversions). After all, up to 66% of people buy something after seeing it on Pinterest.

Furthermore, you can use Pinterest’s wide-reaching search engine (which is another reason that SEO is important!). By using Pinterest’s built-in search engine, you can further increase your views, which can then become leverage in monetizing your Pinterest site.

And, don’t forget about Pinterest’s Promoted Pins feature!

How to Monetize Pinterest as a Blogger

If e-commerce isn’t your thing, you might consider making money on Pinterest as a blogger. This is great is you already do or have something you love that you want to share with the world.

Monetizing a blog on Pinterest is similar to promoting your e-commerce site, especially when it comes to display ads and Promoted Pins. You can also partner with other accounts to further boost your vies.

• If you want to start making money on Pinterest via your blog, consider:
• Creating boards that are related to your blog; this will also help define your niche
• Create a freebie and pin it – free offers are prime lead generation for bloggers
• Bring new readers to your site by creating a new pin for every article
• Pin other people’s pins – interacting with your audience is a big part of blogging and Pinterest both
• Create group boards and pin with other bloggers and influencers

Is Making Money on Pinterest worth it?

Making money on Pinterest is something some can do as a side hustle or as part of your freelance work. Like a lot of side hustles, it won’t generate a lot of income – at least at first. However, if you put some effort into the process, it can be a sustainable way to drive traffic to your e-commerce site or blog. Or, you can build your resume (and your career!) with your work as a Pinterest VA.