How to Get Money from Pinterest

Pinterest is far more than a digital mood board for wedding plans and home decor ideas, it's a powerful and often underestimated platform for making actual money. When used correctly, it functions as a visual search engine that drives high-intent visitors directly to your products, content, and offers. This guide walks you through the practical, foundational strategies to turn your pinning habit into a reliable income stream, from optimizing your profile to mastering the monetization methods that work today.

Setting the Stage: Your Pinterest Business Account

Before you can make a single dollar, you need the right tools, and that starts with a Pinterest Business account. If you’re currently using a personal profile, don't worry - switching over is free and simple. A business account unlocks critical features you'll need, including in-depth analytics, the ability to run ads, and access to Rich Pins, which sync information directly from your website, like product pricing or recipe ingredients.

How to Get Started:

• If you have a personal account: Log in, go to your settings, and select "Convert to a business account." Follow the on-screen prompts.
• If you're new to Pinterest: Simply sign up for a new business account from the start.

Once your business profile is active, it's time to optimize it for discovery. This is your digital storefront, so make it welcoming and clear.

• Profile Picture: Use a clear, professional headshot if you are a personal brand, or a clean logo if you represent a company.
• Bio: You have a small space to tell people what you do. Instead of just listing a vague passion, be specific and use keywords. For example, instead of "Lover of all things home," try "Helping you create a cozy home on a budget with easy DIY projects & decor finds." This tells users and the Pinterest algorithm exactly what to expect from you.
• Claim Your Website: This is a non-negotiable step. Claiming your website links it to your Pinterest account, which gives you access to more analytics about the content people are pinning from your site and gives your profile more authority.

The Core Concept: Pinterest as a Visual Search Engine

To succeed on Pinterest, you must shift your mindset. It’s not a social network like Instagram or Facebook, where content has a half-life of a few hours. Pinterest is a search engine. Users aren’t mindlessly scrolling to see what their friends are up to, they are actively searching for solutions, inspiration, and products to buy. They type things like "easy weeknight dinner ideas," "small bathroom organization," and "what to wear to a summer wedding."

This means your Pins have an incredibly long lifespan. A Pin you create today can continue to drive traffic and sales for months or even years as it gets discovered and repinned. Your goal is to create content that serves up the answer to what these users are searching for. Every Pin you create is an opportunity to show up in those search results and lead someone back to your monetized platform.

Creating Pins That Drive Traffic and Clicks

Your Pins are the lifeblood of your strategy. A weak Pin, no matter how great your product or blog post is, will get lost in the feed. A great Pin, however, grabs attention and gets the click.

The Anatomy of a High-Performing Pin

• Go Vertical: Always use a vertical aspect ratio. The optimal size is 1000 x 1500 pixels (a 2:3 ratio). Vertical pins take up more screen real estate on mobile devices and naturally perform better.
• Stunning Visuals: Use high-quality, crisp photos or videos. Avoid dark, blurry, or generic stock photos. Your visuals should be aspirational and stop someone mid-scroll.
• Compelling Text Overlay: This is arguably the most important element. Most users scroll quickly, so you need to tell them what your Pin is about instantly. Use a bold, easy-to-read font to state the value. For example: "5 Simple Steps to a Clutter-Free Desk" or "The Vegan Brownie Recipe You Need."
• Clear Call-to-Action (CTA): Subtly guide the user on what to do next. A small arrow button with text like "Read the Post" or "Shop the Look" can significantly increase your click-through rate.
• Subtle Branding: Add your logo or website URL cleanly at the bottom of the Pin. This helps build brand recognition as your Pins get shared and prevents others from stealing your designs.

Mastering Pinterest SEO

Since Pinterest is a search engine, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is everything. You need to strategically use keywords so your Pins appear in relevant searches.

• Keyword Research: This is easier than it sounds. Simply go to the Pinterest search bar and start typing terms relevant to your niche. Pinterest will show you a dropdown of popular, long-tail keywords that real users are searching for. These are gold. For example, if you type "kitchen," it might suggest "kitchen organization," "kitchen decor ideas," or "kitchen remodel on a budget."
• Optimize Your Pin Title: The title is a main signal to the algorithm. Use your most important keyword here. Make it descriptive and clickable.
• Write Rich Descriptions: Use the description to naturally weave in your primary and secondary keywords. Write a few helpful sentences that describe what the user will find when they click, treating it like a mini-blog post introduction. Don't just stuff keywords, write for a human first.
• Organize with Boards: Think of your Boards as categories for your content library. Give them specific, keyword-rich titles (e.g., use "Living Room Design Inspiration" instead of "Living Room"). Write a description for each board as well, using relevant keywords to tell Pinterest what the board is all about.

Proven Strategies for Making Money on Pinterest

Once you've got your foundation set, you can implement one or more of these monetization strategies. Start with the one that feels most aligned with your goals and brand.

Strategy #1: Drive Traffic to a Monetized Blog or Website

This is the classic and most versatile method. Your Pinterest account acts as a powerful traffic machine, sending interested readers to your blog, where you can monetize that traffic in several ways.

How it works:

1. You create high-value content on your website (e.g., how-to guides, recipes, product reviews, personal finance tips).
2. You monetize your website with display advertising (from networks like Google AdSense for beginners, or premium networks like Mediavine or Raptive for more established sites), by promoting your own services, or hosting your other revenue streams.
3. For every blog post, you create multiple "fresh" Pin designs. Aim for at least 5-10 unique Pin visuals for each piece of content you want to promote, all linking to the same URL. Pinterest's algorithm prioritizes new content, and a new Pin image counts as new content.

Example: A travel blogger writes a post titled "10 Must-See Hidden Gems in Portugal." They then go and create ten different Pins for it. One might be a beautiful vertical photo of a beach with the text "Secret Beaches in Portugal." Another could be a text-only Pin with a title like "Don’t Visit Portugal Before Reading This." A third could be a video Pin showing clips of each location. All ten Pins link back to the same blog post, and the traffic they generate earns the blogger ad revenue.

Strategy #2: Monetize with Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a fantastic way to earn an income without creating your own products. You simply promote products you love and earn a commission for every sale made through your unique affiliate link.

How it works:

1. Join Affiliate Programs: Partner with networks like Amazon Associates, LTK, or ShareASale, or join individual affiliate programs from brands you align with.
2. Create Affiliate Pins: Create beautiful Pins that showcase the product in use or explain its benefits. Don't just re-pin the product image from the company's website. Create your own branded, optimized Pin that provides value.
3. Disclose Your Relationship: This is a legal requirement. Always clearly state that your link is an affiliate link by using hashtags like #affiliatelink, #ad, or #commissionsearned in the Pin description.
4. Link Smartly: You can link your Pin directly to the product with your affiliate link. However, a more effective long-term strategy is to link to a review or roundup post on your blog where you discuss the product. This allows you to build trust, offer more value, and include multiple affiliate links in a more natural way.

Example: A fashion blogger creates a pin titled "What to Wear for Family Photos." The Pin features an image of a well-dressed family. Instead of linking to just one dress, they link to a blog post titled "My Favorite Flowy Dresses for Photoshoots." In that post, they feature and review five different dresses from various retailers, using their affiliate link for each one.

Strategy #3: Sell Your Own Physical or Digital Products

Pinterest is a hub for shoppers, making it the perfect platform to sell your own wares. Connecting your store and promoting your products can turn passive browsers into active customers.

How it works for E-commerce:

• Connect Your Store: Platforms like Shopify have seamless integrations with Pinterest. This allows you to enable Rich Pins, which automatically display up-to-date pricing and stock availability directly on the Pin.
• Create Lifestyle Shots: Don't just pin sterile product photos on a white background. Create compelling Pins that show your product in context. If you sell candles, show them in a beautifully decorated room. If you sell planners, show someone happily using it to organize their day.

Example: An online store that sells personalized pet accessories creates Video Pins showing dogs happily playing with their custom toys, with clear text overlays and direct links to the product pages from their Shopify store.

How it works for Digital Products:

• Showcase the Transformation: Digital products like e-books, templates, and courses sell the result, not just the file. Your Pins should reflect that. For social media templates, show a boring 'before' feed and a stunning 'after' feed. For a budget spreadsheet, create a Pin that says "Finally Take Control of Your Money."

Example: An artist who sells digital Procreate brush packs creates short video Pins showing a screen recording of them using the brushes to create stunning illustrations. The Pin links directly to their Gumroad or Etsy store where customers can purchase and download the brush pack instantly.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, getting money from Pinterest is not a get-rich-quick scheme, it's a long-term marketing strategy. It revolves around understanding what users are searching for, creating valuable and visually appealing content that answers a need, and consistently directing traffic to your monetized platforms - whether that’s through affiliate offers, ad revenue on your website, or your own products and services.

As your Pinterest strategy grows, consistently creating and scheduling fresh pins can start to feel like a full-time job. We created Postbase to make this process simple and intuitive. Our visual calendar lets you plan out your pins for weeks in one go, while our reliable scheduler was built from the ground up to handle the vertical video and rich media formats that thrive on platforms like Pinterest. Instead of struggling with bloated tools from another era, we offer a clean, drag-and-drop interface so you can keep your content pipeline full and focus on growing your brand, not wrestling with software.