How to Make Money on Pinterest with Affiliate Links

You can absolutely turn your Pinterest scrolling into a genuine source of income using affiliate links, and you don't need a huge following to get started. By treating Pinterest as the visual search engine it is, you can connect an audience of planners and shoppers with products they'll love. This guide will walk you through setting up your profile, finding the right products, creating pins that get clicks, and putting a smart strategy in place to earn commissions.

Understanding the Pinterest Affiliate Game

Unlike other social media platforms where content disappears in hours, a pin can drive traffic and sales for months or even years. People come to Pinterest to plan, get inspired, and buy things - for their home, their wardrobe, their wedding, or their next DIY project. Your job as an affiliate marketer is to place the right product in front of them right when they’re looking for it.

How does it work? Simple. You join an affiliate program for a brand or product you like. They give you a special, trackable link. You place that link on your Pinterest pin. When someone clicks your pin and makes a purchase through your link, you earn a commission. It's revenue sharing, and your pin is the helpful, visual recommendation that makes it happen.

Just remember, Pinterest wants transparency. The platform has clear rules about disclosing your affiliate relationships, which we'll cover. It's not just about following the rules, it's about building trust with your audience.

Step 1: Build a Strong Foundation

Before you start pinning, you need to set up your account to look professional and trustworthy. An optimized profile tells Pinterest's algorithm what you're all about, helping it show your content to the right people.

Upgrade to a Pinterest Business Account

If you haven't already, convert your personal profile to a free Business Account. This is non-negotiable. It gives you access to essential tools like Pinterest Analytics, which shows you which pins are performing best, who your audience is, and what they're interested in. You also need a business account to claim your website, add a professional cover photo, and run ads down the line if you choose to.

Optimize Your Profile for Search

Think of your profile as your digital storefront. Everything from your name to your bio should be working for you.

• Your Name: Don't just put your name. Include a primary keyword that describes your niche. For example, instead of just "Sarah Miller," use "Sarah Miller | Simple Home Decor."
• Your Bio: You have limited space, so make it count. Clearly state who you are, who you help, and what kind of content people can expect from you. Weave in 2-3 of your most important keywords naturally. Example: "Helping you create a cozy, minimalist home on a budget. Find simple DIY tutorials, budget-friendly decor finds, and organizing tips."
• Profile Picture: Use a clear, friendly headshot or a clean logo. People connect with faces, so a photo often works better for solopreneurs and creators.

Step 2: Find Your Niche and Affiliate Programs

You can't be everything to everyone. The most successful Pinterest affiliates focus on a specific niche. This helps you build a loyal audience that trusts your recommendations.

Choosing a Profitable Niche

Pick a niche you genuinely enjoy. You'll be creating a lot of content, so passion will keep you going. Profitable niches on Pinterest often fall into categories where people spend money to solve problems or improve their lives:

• Home Decor &, DIY
• Fashion &, Beauty
• Parenting &, Kid's Activities
• Health &, Fitness
• Food &, Recipes
• Personal Finance &, Making Money Online
• Travel

Joining the Right Affiliate Programs

Once you have a niche, it's time to find products to promote. Start with programs that align with your content and audience interests. A great place to begin is with big affiliate networks, as they give you access to thousands of brands.

• ShareASale: Home to thousands of merchants, including big names and smaller, niche brands. Great for a variety of niches like fashion, home goods, and software.
• CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction): Another massive network with brands in virtually every category imaginable.
• Rakuten Advertising: Works with major brands and retailers.
• Amazon Associates: One of the most popular programs for beginners. You can link to any product on Amazon, and a significant portion of the population already has an account and trusts the platform. The downside is that the cookie duration is short (24 hours) and commission rates can be low.

Don't just stick to the giants. Look for standalone programs for products you already use and love. Just search for "[Brand Name] affiliate program" or "[Your Niche] affiliate programs" to find hidden gems.

Step 3: Create Pins That Grab Attention and Get Clicks

On Pinterest, visuals are everything. Your pin has to stand out in a sea of beautiful images. Your goal is to stop the scroll and earn the click.

The Anatomy of a High-Converting Pin

Successful pins share a few common traits. Follow these guidelines for every pin you create.

• Use a Vertical Format: The ideal Pinterest pin size is a 2:3 aspect ratio (e.g., 1000 x 1500 pixels). This takes up more screen real estate and is optimized for the mobile experience.
• Use High-Quality Images or Video: Blurry or poorly lit photos won't work. Use crisp, clear, and attractive visuals. Video Pins and Idea Pins also perform incredibly well and can tell a better story about a product.
• Add a Text Overlay: Your image might be beautiful, but you need text on the pin itself to explain what it's about. Use a bold, easy-to-read font with a headline that sparks curiosity or solves a problem. For example, "5 Ways to Style a Small Entryway" is much more clickable than a photo with no text.
• Brand Your Pins: Subtly add your logo or website URL to the bottom of your pin. This builds brand recognition and helps prevent your content from being stolen.

Write Keyword-Rich Descriptions

The pin description is where you tell Pinterest's algorithm what your content is about. This is your chance to show up in search results.

Start by doing some basic keyword research. Go to the Pinterest search bar and start typing topics related to your pin. Pinterest will suggest popular, related search terms. Those are your keywords! Incorporate 3-5 of these relevant keywords naturally into a few sentences that describe the pin and entice the user to click. Think like a user: What would you search for to find this solution?

Always Disclose Affiliate Links

Transparency is a requirement. Both the FTC and Pinterest demand that you clearly disclose a pin contains an affiliate link. It’s also just good practice for building trust with your audience. You can do this easily by adding a hashtag to your pin description like #ad, #affiliate, #sponsored, or #affiliatelink. Some people prefer to put it in plain text, like "(This is an affiliate link.)". Just make sure it’s clear and conspicuous.

Step 4: Implement a Smart Pinning Strategy

Creating great pins is half the battle, the other half is getting them seen. This requires strategic board creation and consistent pinning.

Direct Linking vs. Linking to Your Own Content

You have two main ways to use affiliate links on Pinterest:

1. Direct Linking: You put the affiliate link directly into the pin's URL field. When someone clicks your pin, they go straight to the product page. This is quick and easy. However, some affiliate programs (like Amazon Associates) have rules against direct linking in certain situations, so always check the terms of service.
2. Linking to a Blog Post or Landing Page: You create a pin that links to an article on your own website, like a product review, a tutorial, or a gift guide. That article then contains your affiliate links. This method is more work, but it offers huge advantages. It allows you to build your brand, provide more value, capture email subscribers, and include multiple affiliate links in one piece of content. Generally, this is the better long-term strategy.

Organize Your Content with Optimized Boards

Think of your boards as the categories of your content library. Each board should be tightly focused on a specific sub-topic within your niche. For our "Simple Home Decor" example, boards could be "Small Living Room Ideas," "DIY Wall Art," "Neutral Bedroom Decor," and "Entryway Organization."

Give each board a keyword-optimized title and a detailed description that includes more relevant keywords. This helps Pinterest understand the context of the pins you save there.

Stay Consistent with a Pinning Schedule

Consistency signals to the Pinterest algorithm that you are an active and valuable creator. Aim to pin somewhere between 5-15 pins per day. This shouldn't be all affiliate content! A good mix is 80% valuable, non-affiliate content (like tips, inspiration, your own blog posts, or other people's content that fits your niche) and 20% promotional affiliate content. This prevents your profile from looking spammy and keeps your audience engaged.

Pinning fresh, new pin images is more important than re-pinning old content. You can link the same URL (like a blog post) multiple times, but you should create a different pin image for it each time. Tweak the headline, change the photo, use a different color scheme. Test what resonates with your audience.

Final Thoughts

Making money on Pinterest with affiliate links is a marathon, not a sprint. By focusing on providing real value, properly optimizing your profile and pins for search, and staying consistent with your strategy, you can build a reliable and scalable income stream from the platform.

To keep up that consistency without it becoming a full-time job, many creators rely on scheduling. I know firsthand how exhausting it can be to manually juggle a content calendar across multiple platforms. That's why we built Postbase with a clean, visual calendar that lets you see your entire pinning schedule at a glance. You can plan and schedule content weeks in advance, creating a consistent presence on Pinterest that works for you even when you're not online.