How to Earn from Pinterest

Pinterest is far more than a digital scrapbook for recipes and wedding inspiration, it’s a powerful visual search engine where millions of users go to plan purchases, find solutions, and discover new products. This article walks you through the practical, no-nonsense strategies you can use to turn your Pinterest presence into a consistent source of income.

The Foundation: Set Up Your Pinterest Profile for Success

Before you can earn a single dollar, you need to treat your Pinterest profile like a professional storefront, not a personal hobby board. Your setup is the foundation for every monetization strategy that follows.

Step 1: Switch to a Business Account (It’s Free)

If you’re still using a personal profile, your first move is to switch to a Pinterest Business account. Doing so unlocks critical features you'll need to grow and monetize:

• Analytics: Get detailed insights on which Pins are performing best, what your audience is interested in, and how many clicks your website is getting.
• Rich Pins: Automatically sync information from your website to your Pins, like product prices, article headlines, or recipe ingredients.
• Advertising Tools: You gain the ability to run Pinterest Ads to promote your content and products directly.

Making the switch is simple and free. Just go to your settings and select "Convert to a business account."

Step 2: Optimize Your Profile Like a Pro

Your profile is often the first interaction a potential follower or customer has with your brand. Make it count.

• Profile Picture: Use a clear, high-quality headshot if you’re a personal brand or creator. Use your business logo if you’re a company. It should be easily recognizable even as a small circle.
• Username & Display Name: Your username (@YourName) should be consistent with your other social handles. Your display name, however, is a prime spot for keywords. Instead of just "Jane Smith," try "Jane Smith | Healthy Meal Prep & Fitness Tips."
• Bio: You have 160 characters. Don't waste them. Clearly state who you are, what you offer, and who you help. Weave in your main keywords naturally. For example: "Helping busy professionals simplify life with easy home organization hacks, DIYs, and budget-friendly decor ideas."
• Claim Your Website: This is non-negotiable. Claiming your website links your Pinterest account to your domain, adding your profile picture to any Pin saved from your site and giving you access to website analytics.

Step 3: Create Keyword-Optimized Boards

Pinterest is a search engine, which means keywords are everything. Your boards are how you organize your content and tell the Pinterest algorithm what you’re about. Create 10-15 highly relevant boards to start.

• Use keywords in board titles: Instead of cute, generic titles like "My Faves" or "Cool Stuff," use descriptive, searchable phrases. Not "Home," but "Minimalist Living Room Decor." Not "Yummy," but "Easy Weeknight Dinner Recipes."
• Write keyword-rich board descriptions: Each board has a description area. Use it! Write a few sentences summarizing the board’s content, using a variety of related keywords. Think about what a user would type into the search bar to find that content.

The Core Strategies: 5 Proven Ways to Make Money on Pinterest

With your foundation in place, you’re ready to implement monetization strategies. These methods work for creators of all sizes and can be mixed and matched to build multiple streams of revenue.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is the practice of earning a commission by recommending products or services from other companies. When someone clicks your unique affiliate link and makes a purchase, you get a percentage of the sale. Pinterest is a dream platform for this because users are already in a "shopping" or "planning" mindset.

How to Get Started:

1. Join Affiliate Programs: Sign up for networks relevant to your niche. Popular options include Amazon Associates, ShareASale, CJ Affiliate, and Rakuten Marketing. Many individual brands (like LTK for fashion or RewardStyle) have their own programs.
2. Create High-Value Pins: Don’t just post a product image with your link. Create compelling Pins that showcase the product in action.
   • Create a graphic that says “5 Ways to Style Midi Jeans.” Then feature five different pairs of jeans and link to each of the products.
   • Share a video Pin of yourself using a kitchen gadget and explaining why you love it.
   • Create a “Shopping Guide” or “Gift Guide for Toddlers” Pin that includes multiple affiliate links.
3. Disclose, Disclose, Disclose: The FTC requires you to disclose affiliate relationships clearly. Add a tag like #ad or #affiliatelink to your Pin description to comply.

2. Drive Traffic to Your Blog or Website

This is one of the most popular and sustainable ways to make money on Pinterest. Your goal isn’t to make direct sales on Pinterest but to use it as a powerful traffic generator for your blog or website, where you actually monetize the content.

How to Get Started:

1. Create a Valuable Content Hub: You need a destination for users to go. Write blog posts that provide solutions to problems, like “How to Organize a Closet with 5 Easy Steps” or “A DIY Kitchen Remodel on a Budget.”
2. Monetize Your Website: There are several ways to earn with that traffic:
   • Display Ads: Once you hit a certain traffic threshold, you can apply for premium ad networks like Mediavine or AdThrive, which can pay you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month in ad revenue.
   • Affiliate Links: Sprinkle affiliate links for products you recommend within your blog posts.
   • Products: Sell your own digital products (like ebooks, printables, presets, etc.) or physical products.
3. Design Multiple Pins for Each Post: For every single blog post, create 4-5 Pins in different templates and with different text overlays and descriptions. This increases your chances of one of the Pins going viral, and Pinterest loves fresh content.

3. Sell Your Own Products (Physical or Digital)

If you already have a product, whether that’s software, art prints on Etsy, or a digital course, Pinterest is an incredible visual shopping platform to drive direct sales. Users are there in an inspiration mode, not a shopping mode.

How to Get Started:

1. Set Up Product Rich Pins: Rich Pins are a special type of Pin that automatically pulls data like price and availability from your product listing on your website. This will make your Pin look more professional and can increase click-through rates.
2. Showcase Products in Context: Don't just show your product on a white background. Show people using it in a lifestyle setting. If you sell coffee mugs, a shot of somebody enjoying it and drinking from it is great content.
3. Use Boards for Categories: Create specific boards for different product categories, seasonal collections, or even user-generated content (UGC). If people start to Pin photos of themselves using your product, repost them with credit.

4. Become a Pinterest Manager or Virtual Assistant

If you're skilled at Pinterest and love strategy, you can turn your skills into a service to help other businesses.

How to Get Started:

1. Specialize in a Niche: Instead of being a general “Pinterest Manager,” you could focus on ‘Pinterest Marketing for Food Bloggers’ or ‘Pinterest Strategy for E-commerce Brands.’ Specificity makes you easier to sell.
2. Use Your Own Profile as a Portfolio: Your Pinterest profile should be your best marketing tool. Create Pins that highlight your expertise: ‘10 Pinterest Mistakes to Stop Making,’ or ‘Pinterest Tips for Etsy Sellers.’
3. Network and Promote: Join Facebook Groups for freelancers and business owners, participate constructively, and when people ask for advice, share a link to your services page.

5. Partner with Brands on Sponsored Content

This method is for creators who have already built an audience on Pinterest and can demonstrate real engagement. A brand will pay you to create a Pin that features their product.

How to Get Started:

1. Build Your Engagement: Focus on growing your account authentically with consistent, high-quality content that your audience loves. Brands look for genuine connection when searching for collaborators.
2. Create a Media Kit: A media kit is a single-slide or PDF that summarizes your Pinterest statistics, including your audience demographics (age, gender), monthly views, clicks, and engagement rates.
3. Use Pinterest's Creator Tools: Use the "Create Hub" and Pinterest's content tagging tool (usually the "Paid Partnership" label) to professionally disclose sponsored relationships. This builds trust with your audience and the Pinterest algorithm.

Best Practices for Visually Engaging Pins

Visual appeal is the name of the game on Pinterest. Regardless of which monetization strategy you choose, these creative best practices will help you stand out.

• Vertical Format: Pinterest's feed is built for vertical images. Aim for a 2:3 aspect ratio, like 1000 x 1500 pixels.
• Text Overlay: Use a bold, easy-to-read text overlay on your Pin images to clearly state what the Pin is about. Think of it like a mini-headline.
• Keyword-Optimized Description: Use 3-5 relevant keywords so the Pinterest algorithm understands what your content is about and shows it to the right audience.
• A Clear Call to Action: Always include a call to action, like ‘Shop Now,’ ‘Learn More,’ ‘Download the Pin,’ or ‘Read the Post.’ This helps guide the user on what to do next.
• Fresh and Consistent Content: Pinterest rewards creators who publish fresh, high-quality content consistently. Consistency is more important than volume.

Final Thoughts

Making money on Pinterest requires a clear strategy, dedication, and a willingness to experiment. Whether you choose affiliate marketing, blog traffic, or selling your own products, success comes from consistently creating content that your audience finds valuable.

If you want to make a serious effort at earning from Pinterest, consistency is key, and having the right systems in place helps you create and share content effectively. We built Postbase because planning the high-volume of visual content that performs well on Pinterest was getting tough to manage. Our visual scheduling tool simplifies this, giving you more time to focus on creating content that actually drives results for your business.