How to make money from Pinterest in 2023 – 6 Easy ways
Last Updated on January 8, 2023
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Is it possible to make money from Pinterest? Yes, absolutely! There are several ways you can make money from the platform directly and indirectly. Let me explain,
Directly
Directly means you’re earning cash from Pinterest itself as step 1 or if your customer is on Pinterest and they lead to a checkout. You have made that money directly from Pinterest.
Indirectly
Indirectly means they had to do some clicking and possibly some time has passed since they clicked on your pins to purchase from you.
How much money can you make with Pinterest?
How about the sky’s the limit? Yes really! There is no limit on how much money you can make from Pinterest. You could make an extra $50 or $500,000+.
It’s all about how you strategize, and what ways work best for how to monetize Pinterest for you.
Now saying that, there are definitely niches on Pinterest that are more profitable. For example, the top niches on Pinterest with the most traffic are DIY, food, fashion, and then travel.
These are the top niches on Pinterest that people go to the platform to search about, and therefore the ones mot likely to make money from Pinterest.
But Pinterest is growing in all niches as Pinterest becomes more popular and people are moving away from the pressure of social media.
People are looking for a fun platform that’s not so negative and Pinterest is that fun platform. People go to Pinterest to escape social media so it’s becoming way more popular every year.
Let’s get into the different ways you can make money from Pinterest. Whether its earning some extra cash or a full-time wage, here’s how to earn money from Pinterest!
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Pinterest creator program
In 2021, Pinterest announced that Pinterest will start paying creators to create content that pinners are actively searching for.
The wonderful thing is that this is going to be based on your engagement and not your followers like many other platforms.
This means that beginners can earn cash with Pinterest. They are looking for new – mid-level creators and are putting in 20 million dollars towards this new program.
How to apply
This program, as I’m writing this, is only available to some creators in the US, but you should double-check if you have the chance to apply.
All you have to do is go to the big red button that says ‘creator hub’ on your profile. At the top, you will see two options; Hub and earn.
If you can only see the hub that means, it’s not available to you yet. If you do see ‘earn’ then click and apply for the program.
Once approved you’ll see prompts or topics that Pinterest would like the content on and this is based on what’s popular with pinners at that time.
The content will be in the form of idea pins, and you’ll get paid out monthly.
I’m excited to follow the updates of the program because this is a real chance for creators to get paid.
For so long with so many platforms there has been a big gatekeeping aspect to creator programs.
I have a feeling that this will be the #1 way for creators to make money from Pinterest as well as the next steps. This is the perfect time for creators to be on Pinterest!
Brand sponsorships
Another incredibly exciting way to make money with Pinterest is with brand sponsorships and in recent years, Pinterest has made that a lot easier for creators.
This is where you can work with brands directly and tag their brand on Pinterest. Bloggers, it’s time to add Pinterest sponsorship to your media kit ASAP!
Pinterest has announced as well that when brands are tagged, they will have the option to promote that piece of content which leads to more exposure to the content you have created.
This is a win-win for both the brand and the creator since your account will also be boosted in the process.
If you haven’t already, I would include Pinterest partnership to your list of services if you’re a blogger.
The best way to create this partnership is with idea pins and the great thing is that they are blowing up right now.
Try creating an idea pin today and then include the example of it for brands to see what it would look like working with you!
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate marketing on Pinterest used to be way harder in the past but not anymore. You can include affiliate links in your actual pin (when you upload via Pinterest you will see an option to add links.
You can also add them to idea pins so this could be great if you were to create a gift guide for example.
If you created an idea pin gift guide on ‘The best 5 amazon products right now’ and included links to all of the products you mentioned.
Again, this is putting the power into creators’ hands by allowing them to monetize directly on the platform, which is super exciting.
Note: Some creators don’t have access to the link tagging within idea pins yet. To check for yourself, go to create an idea pin> click on the sticker option. You should see two options Tag and link.
If you only see one option, then you don’t have access as of yet but be patient because it is coming!
Lead magnet
Pinterest is a fantastic way to grow your email list and it can be a great way to monetize indirectly from Pinterest. Think of Pinterest as your starting point.
You will create pins on amazing free products you have, the pinner will see it and click, then subscribe to get the free product.
To get the traffic you need from Pinterest to have people go through the funnel you need a lead magnet which is a free value you give out in exchange for their email.
This has to be a quick win (I wouldn’t recommend a 20-page guide or anything). Once you have created that then you will go on to create the email sequence and automation.
To monetize this I recommend you have a funnel in place.
Because although having an email list is money you will want to create an email funnel that leads your email subscriber through a sequence to get to know you and your business more and what you can help them with.
Then at the end of the sequence you will them pitch them your product or service.
A funnel can take at least a month to create and it’s an ongoing tweak and adjustment however if you’re looking to make more passive income in your business this is a must!
Pinterest can be your traffic driver for any type of funnel you create.
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Etsy/ Shopify store
Pinterest is a shopping platform, and it has never been easier than before to advertise your products and services.
Make sure you connect your store to your profile and activate rich pins, so your prices and availability are updated automatically on your pins!
If you have physical or digital products, I recommend doing a photoshoot with your products. Naturally, highlight them not just against just a white background. Have photos of them being used.
Idea pins are huge with pinners because you can show in real-time how to use your products and what it’s actually like so try and create at least 1-4 idea pins per week.
With Pinterest, you can link your account to your Etsy store. All you need to do is go to your account > settings > claim and you should see an option for Etsy there. Go ahead and connect your store with Etsy.
For Shopify, it’s slightly more complicated, but you can read how to do it here.
Driving traffic to your blog
Driving traffic to your blog is a huge moneymaker and one of the most popular ways to use Pinterest.
This is an indirect way to make money because Pinterest is the tool you use for traffic, but you have to find the best ways to monetize from there.
Here’s how to monetize Pinterest
Here are the top 2 ways to do that:
Monetize with Ads: How to make money from Pinterest with AdSense
Ads are my main source of income through my blog. When bloggers start, they will usually go to AdSense. With AdSense there’s no minimum traffic requirement the rates are super low.
You could wait to advertise until you’re able to join another ad network. You can add AdSense to your website and earn a small passive wage if you have lots of traffic.
My ad network is Mediavine which is one of the top out there.
They have a requirement that you need 50k sessions to apply but they are creating another mini-network that will have a lower requirement, check here for updates.
With ads, you can make $5 – $40 per 1000 sessions. So, if you have 30,000 sessions per month you could potentially be earning $150 – $1200.
The amount you make will depend on a bunch of different factors like your niche, time of year and demand.
There are also networks such as Ezoic and Shemedia.
Ads are the most popular way to monetize a blog, but you can also….
Monetize with affiliates
Affiliate marketing is a $12 BILLION market, yup I said billion. This is a huge industry for anyone who has a website.
What are affiliates?
An affiliate link is a unique link that you get given when you join an affiliate program. You will place this link in several ways and if someone clicks through and purchases, you get a small commission.
The commission can range from anything from 1%-40% depending on the program.
If you want to join some affiliate programs in your niche I would write a list of 10-20 companies, brands, and services you love and use.
Then when you have that list, go to google, and type in ‘brand’ + ‘affiliate program.’ If an affiliate program pops up for that brand you can then apply to join.
Once approved you can then use that link and place it where you wish.
You can easily monetize your blog with affiliates links but also now with idea pins too which is exciting for content creators and bloggers!
Again, I would recommend having an email funnel on your blog as well so you can capture emails and lead them down a funnel-like I mentioned in step 4.
Within the email funnel you can not only pitch a service or product you sell but also input affiliate links within your emails too for extra monetization.
Think of your blog as an eco-system that’s full of opportunities for your audience to get value, and for you, to also get paid at the same time.
What do I need to do to make money on Pinterest?
Okay, so there are some things you need to have for you to start monetizing with Pinterest.
Step 1: get a business account on Pinterest
This is incredibly important if you want to monetize with Pinterest and get access to a range of extra features.
Either sign up for a business account or you can easily convert your personal account to a business account.
Learn more about how to use Pinterest for business.
Step 2: claim your website if you have one or start a website
If you have a website, make sure you claim it. You can do this by going to settings > claim. Here you will see an option to add your website.
You will need to add some simple code to your website and then you will be verified. Once verified you should be able to see a world & tick icon next to your website on your profile.
Step 3: Create your profile description with keywords
When creating your profile make sure you fill out the key details like name and description.
For your profile description, I would recommend you have a minimum of 2 keywords within there to make your profile searchable.
If you’re confused about how to find keywords, then read my guide to Pinterest SEO keywords.
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Step 4: create 8-10 boards
When creating boards for your account you want to make sure they are
a. Searchable
b. Related to your niche
If you have an account focusing on travel but you have a board on weddings, then that can confuse the Pinterest algorithm.
If you do want to keep personal boards, make them secret boards so they don’t interfere with your Pinterest business strategy.
I would recommend you create 8-10 boards that make sense and that you can create content for. If you want to see some examples of boards, check out my Pinterest profile here.
Do Pinterest group boards still work? Yes, group boards are also great to join if you wish. They can help to get your content out there, but they have to be quality.
It was a common practice for group boards to be a dumping ground so when picking then you want to make sure that it’s quality before joining.
How do I find group boards to join?
I would recommend checking out Pingroupie. Here you can search for boards in your niche. I would recommend turning on the setting ‘Request to join’ button.
This means that when searching for your boards it will display group boards that are easy to join by clicking a button.
Otherwise, you have to try and find the owner of the board, contact them – which usually means finding their email address – and then ask to be added to the group board.
When looking for boards to join you want a high number of followers and collaborators. You will see if a board is still relevant if you see the numbers in the green rising. If not, give it a miss.
Then you will want to check out the board and make sure that people are posting relevant high-quality content and there are not just one or two people dumping their pins.
If it looks good, join it, and then evaluate it after 3 months to see if it’s worth being part of it or not.
The reason you need to audit your group boards from time to time is to see if it’s still a good board to be part of it, if not it could weigh your account down if you’re joined to low-quality spammy boards.
Step 5: create board descriptions
Every board you create needs to have a board description that describes the purpose of the board with lots of juicy keywords, so the board is searchable!
You get 500 characters for board descriptions and I recommend that you use all of them. You can find some incredible search terms in there that can give your account and boards a lift.
Step 6: Enable rich pins
This is a crucial step that many forget to do.
Rich pins provide an additional layer of engagement by showing metadata right on the Pin itself. This gives people who come across your pins more information, making it easier for them to find valuable posts and engage with you!
Rich Pins are like a premium experience that only helps make all aspects look better–from their design down through the information for every post.
There are 3 types of rich pins: article pins, recipe pins, and product pins.
Article rich pins
Pins linking to blog posts and articles are enhanced with rich pins that provide additional information, such as the headline or title of an article.
When scrolling on Pinterest you will see these headlines pop up which makes them more accessible and stands out to pinners making them more likely to click.
Recipe rich pins
Recipe rich pins add a title, serving size, ingredients, and ratings to your favourite recipes so you can easily find them. If you’re a food blogger this helps pinners know if it’s the right recipe for them.
They don’t provide instructions for the recipe; they have to click through to your website for that.
Product rich pins
For product sellers like Etsy shops and Shopify stores, product-rich pins have the most up-to-date information on your pins, making it easier than ever before for people to find what they are looking for.
For example, your prices and availability for your product will change over time and because Pinterest is a search engine, a piece of content will circulate for years and years.
With rich pins, this will keep the information about your product up to date so the pins you post are always relevant.
If you would like a step-by-step tutorial on how to set up rich pins for your account, then read this blog post.
Step 7: Create content consistently
I know that consistency isn’t sexy, but it is important. If you’re not creating and publishing content on Pinterest, they won’t take your account seriously.
You will want to make sure you post 2-5x per day as well as 1-4 idea pins per week.
The best Pinterest scheduler is Tailwind. I have used them for years and it allows me to schedule months in advance so I don’t have to worry about not being consistent.
Tailwind is the most comprehensive scheduling tool for Pinterest, and it also provides more analytics for you to check out that’s not available anywhere else.
One of my favourite things to check out is the board insights section.
This allows me to see the quality of any group boards I’m part of it and make the decision if it is still worth keeping joined to that group board.
Top Tip: I always try and look for a virality of over 1 for my boards. Anything lower than that shows me it’s not worth being part of that board and it’s time to leave it.
You want to give it at least a couple of months from joining to audit the virality of boards.
How do I get noticed on Pinterest?
You get noticed by attracting your dream readers, clients & customers. But how do you do that? To even show up on Pinterest you need to optimize your account & content using SEO.
You must know what your ideal audience is coming to Pinterest for. They are coming to be inspired but what search terms are they searching for?
You will need to know this to know which terms to use to optimize.
For example, for my travel site, I know that my ideal readers are coming to Pinterest and typing in:
- Europe travel destinations
- Albania travel
- Balkan travel
For any content I create on those topics I will make sure I include those search terms so when someone is looking for some inspiration regarding those, I can use those keywords in my pin, descriptions, title, and boards.
I have a comprehensive blog post all about Pinterest SEO here if you want to dive in deeper and learn how to optimize your account and pins priority from the get-go.
Pinterest SEO has never been more important than right now so if you’re not interested in learning you won’t see results. simple.
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How do beginners make money on Pinterest?
I would start by getting clear on WHO your ideal audience is and WHAT they are coming to Pinterest for. Once you’re clear on that you’ll know what kind of content to create.
In terms of monetization, you could start with affiliate marketing using pinterest. Think of your favourite tools, products and services and sign up for their affiliate programs.
Create awesome content around those and lead people to your affiliate links
How to make money on pinterest without a blog
Yes, you absolutely can make money on Pinterest without a blog. Although when you do have one you have way more content you can create and share on Pinterest.
But if you don’t have time to create a blog or don’t want to have one, here’s how to make money with pinterest without a blog:
Leading pinners to your shop
If you sell digital or physical products, you can easily lead people straight to your product categories and products with your pins.
You would need a lot of different photos and ways to display the product when it comes to creating pins.
It’s not too difficult to get creative to figure out how to earn money on pinterest without a blog.
But because you won’t have a blog, which naturally gives you so much more content, you will need to create a lot of visual content for your products.
Showcase how they work, where they would sit in someone’s home. Tips to get the most out of the product.
I would implement idea pins too. Try 1-4 per week.
Leading Pinners to affiliate links
The wonderful thing is that Pinterest is becoming a lot more affiliate friendly which means shop sellers, influencers, and coaches without a blog can easily monetize through this route.
You can include affiliate links within actual pins now and also idea pins. The best way is through idea pins.
If you can create content around that brand/product, then link to them that is a fantastic way to showcase your affiliate link.
Here are 3 content prompts that can spark content ideas:
- X Essential Things For…
- My top X resources for X
- X reasons to use X
These prompts can help you include your affiliates but also provide value for pinners which leads them more likely to click.
Joining the Pinterest creator program
I love how Pinterest is putting power into creators’ hands with this rewards program. Some US-based creators will be able to apply, and it will be available to all creators in 2022.
To check if you’re eligible just go to your creator hub which can be found on your profile (it’s the big red button). From there at the top of the page, you should see two tabs – Hub and earn.
Click over to earn and you should see a way of applying. If you don’t see this option it means you are not eligible quite yet – hold tight!
Pinterest is making it easy for creators of any sort so it’s not necessary to have a blog but as a blogger, I do recommend it!
A blog can help you grow your online business, make you more money and give you endless content to share on Pinterest and social media.
It’s very easy to start a blog, click here to read more about how to start a blog the easy way.
How many followers do I need to make money on Pinterest?
Since Pinterest is a search and delivery platform it’s not needed to have a certain number of followers to earn money. You could have 1 follower and be earning income from Pinterest.
What matters is your engagement on Pinterest. If pinners are engaging in your content and interacting with it (clicking, reacting, commenting) then that’s a great sign.
For the Pinterest creator rewards program, Pinterest has said there is NO min requirement to join.
They are looking for beginner creators, medium creators, and big creators which is great because quite often with big platforms there’s usually a milestone you have to reach to access something like this but with Pinterest, there is not.
That was my guide on how to make money with Pinterest. I hope that inspired and motivated you to get on Pinterest if you haven’t already and start creating and publishing content.
If you are stuck on the setup process and don’t know how to get started on that front, download my Pinterest starter kit which gives you a 6-step roadmap to getting started.
Join over 1400 students inside of Passive Profit with Pinterest if you want an in-depth resource that shows you how to grow your business using Instagram to get more leads, email subscribers, and more income – all passively of course because that’s my style.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! Through the Pinterest creator rewards program, Pinterest will pay you if you continue to meet the criteria and goal requirements they set.
Fortunately, Pinterest does not have a minimum follower requirement for you to make money. As long as your content gets engagement, it doesn’t matter how many followers you have.
Starting out is not always easy. Knowing your niche, working out who your audience is and leading them to your content is a good start. From there, one way to start making money from Pinterest is via affiliate programs.
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