People are super quick to think Pinterest is just a platform for DIY enthusiasts or recipe hunters, but that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Pinterest is a GIANT goldmine for individuals looking to make money online, even WITHOUT having a blog!
In this guide, I’ll explore several tried and tested strategies for making money on Pinterest, from leveraging creator rewards to becoming an affiliate marketer and much more.
How to Make Money on Pinterest Without a Blog
1) Creator Rewards
PSA – April 2024: Pinterest’s creator program is no longer running, but my contact at Pinterest says they’re working on an alternative and will let me know when it’s close to launch so I can talk about details on here.
Bookmark this page for updates!
Note: This is different to the Inclusion Creator’s Fund, this is STILL running. See point number 5!
Pinterest Creator Rewards is a program that allows creators to monetize their content directly on the platform.
Simply by creating unique, original, inspiring idea pins that encourage users to take action (aka pin or make your idea) you can potentially earn anything up to $25k a year.
The more engagement your pin gets, the more you’ll be paid.
It’s hard to tell exactly how the payment system works, but some creators believe there’s an RPM algorithm in place too.
So if you’re creating an idea pin in the home decor niche where someone can potentially buy something with a hefty price tag you’ll be paid more for every 1k views than someone creating an idea pin in the board games niche, for example.
Here’s how it works:
i) Build Your Audience:
Focus on creating high-quality, visually appealing Pins that resonate with your target audience. Consistency is key to growing your following on Pinterest.
ii) Apply for Creator Rewards:
Once you meet the eligibility criteria, such as having a certain number of followers and engagement metrics, you can apply for Creator Rewards through the Pinterest platform.
2) Affiliate Marketing
An incredibly powerful technique to make money on Pinterest!
According to Statista, the average affiliate marketer on Pinterest makes around $570, with some earning up to $5-10k (though I will say, this is with experience, time and product investment).
Despite what you might have read online, Pinterest does allow affiliate links on their platform; you’ve just got to make sure you’re tagging every pin as ‘sponsored’ or ‘affiliate’ and you’re clearly saying your pin is an affiliate link in the description.
Without a blog, the best way to do affiliate marketing on Pinterest is simply by putting the affiliate links as the attached URL in your pins (aka where a website would normally go).
If someone clicks through to this website and buys the product, you’ll earn money in the form of a commission (the company you work with decides this so it is always best to check their terms).
📌 Case Study: CabyCades, an Amazon affiliate, uses video pins to sell products.
When someone clicks the Amazon link in the pin and buys something, CabyCades earns roughly a 3% commission.
This profile gains around 20k monthly views (16.5k at the time of writing) and is doing nothing more than making super short videos with the product and then linking an Amazon affiliate to it.
The point is, absolutely anyone can do this, and it doesn’t require any true understanding or knowledge of affiliate marketing.
Here’s an example of a product they’re selling. It uses a real human voice to provide a “shushing” noise to a baby when they’re sleeping.
They’ve recorded a simple 12 second video explaining how the product works and each time someone purchases using their link, they get their commission.
A $35 product at 3% commission per sale, they make around $1.03 every purchase…
It honestly doesn’t sound like a lot of money but when you think CabyCades has hundreds of videos just like this one, which range from a $50 grow your own herb garden kit to a $100 candle gift basket for women, it quickly adds up.
Looking at their 200+ videos, I suspect every commission they make averages at around 50 cents.
If every one of those videos made just one commission every day, they’d make around $100 a day, almost passively. With just 10-20 second videos.
Not bad for a beginner with absolutely zero marketing experience.
As always, I also cover the downsides of these ideas too; in the fake guru filled world of ‘making money online’, I’m one of the few that still believe in transparency.
Here’s the deal. While this method requires the least amount of effort and can generate more traffic to your offers than if it were placed on a blog or website, this method might result in lower conversion rates since you’re not providing users with any context behind the products you’re promoting.
Pros Of Direct Affiliate Linking On Pinterest
- Minimal effort and cost to start 💸
- More traffic to your offers 📈
- Perfect for beginners trying out affiliate marketing for the first time 🏊♀️
Cons Of Direct Affiliate Linking On Pinterest
- No context clicks (users might not know they’re clicking an affiliate link) 🤔
- Lower conversion rates 📉
- Reliance on a single traffic source 🚦
How to Get Started:
i) Choose Your Niche:
Select a niche that aligns with your interests and expertise.
This will make it easier to curate content and recommend products that resonate with your audience – you’ll also win followers this way too!
Home decor, baking, gardening, books, entertainment etc are some of the top niches on Pinterest by volume of active users.
ii) Join Affiliate Programs:
Sign up for affiliate programs offered by brands or through affiliate networks such as Amazon Associates, ShareASale, or CJ Affiliate.
Choose products that are relevant to your niche and have a high conversion potential.
iii) Create Compelling Pins:
Design visually appealing Pins that showcase the products or services you’re promoting.
Make sure you’re also adding the affiliate descriptions and tags so you don’t get banned!
iv) Optimize Your Pins:
Use relevant keywords in your Pin descriptions and titles to improve visibility and reach on Pinterest.
Consider creating multiple Pins for the same product to test different designs and messaging.
3) Post Pins by Sponsored Brands
This is a little known secret, and one I’ve used many times over to snag some seriously lucrative brand deals.
Just for one idea, a well-known outdoor clothing brand paid me $3,000 for a 20 second demo reel.
At the time I only had 6,000 followers, BUT luckily they weren’t interested in my followers.
They cared about my profile’s reach, aka its impressions per month. Cha-ching!
Many brands in all sorts of industries are willing to pay Pinterest users to post Pins featuring their products or services.
This can be a mutually beneficial arrangement, as brands gain exposure to a wider audience while you earn good money for your promotional efforts.
It’s worth noting this is much, much easier if you’ve already had some pins take off so brands know they’re working with someone who understands what it takes to reach their audience.
Anything over 2-5k per pin is a good place to start, but if you can hit the 100k+ mark (a few times), you’ll have a much easier time attracting brands.
How to Start:
i) Reach Out to Brands:
Research brands within your niche and reach out to them with a proposal for sponsored Pins.
Highlight your audience demographics, engagement metrics, and past successes to demonstrate your value as a partner.
ii) Negotiate Terms:
Discuss compensation terms, Pin requirements, and campaign objectives with the brand.
Make sure to clarify expectations upfront to avoid misunderstandings later on (i.e. how many pins do they want, what are they expecting to see from you, in the video etc)
iii) Disclose Sponsored Content:
It’s essential to disclose any sponsored content according to Pinterest’s guidelines.
Use hashtags like #sponsored or #ad to indicate that your Pins are part of a paid partnership.
4) Use Pinterest Ads
Don’t have or want a blog but have your own products online?
Pinterest Ads offer another avenue for monetization, allowing you to promote your own products or services – and with the right tags, they’re guaranteed to reach the right audience within a matter of minutes, not months (like regular pins).
If you run a coaching program or even sell a digital download or ebook, you can run a Pinterest ad to it.
Fair warning, Pinterest ads can get a little pricey with the minimum spend being around $1 a day, so $30 a month BUT you can absolutely turn the ads off at any time.
The good news is, over 80% of Pinterest users earn over $70k/year, meaning they’re more likely to have excess income to spend on products they see and like on Pinterest, so price your products accordingly.
How to Start:
i) Set Up Pinterest Business Account:
If you haven’t already, create a Pinterest Business account to access advertising features and analytics tools.
ii) Target Your Audience:
Use Pinterest’s targeting options, such as interests, keywords, demographics, and behaviors, to reach your ideal audience effectively.
iii) Monitor and Optimize Your Campaigns:
Regularly monitor the performance of your Pinterest Ads and make adjustments as needed to optimize your campaigns for better results.
5) Join the Inclusion Creator Fund
Pinterest recently launched the Creator fund’s sister program: the Inclusion Fund.
If you identify with coming from an under-represented or marginalized community OR you create content that is designed to specifically help under-represented communities, then this fund is for you.
Here’s the criteria for joining, lifted straight from the Creator Page:
Creator criteria:
- Identify as being part of an underrepresented community
- United Kingdom based with a Pinterest business account
- 18+ years old
- Have between 500 – 10,000 followers on Pinterest or on other social channels
- Have created Pins in the last 30 days
- Have created at least 3 boards
- Looking to grow content creation skills on Pinterest
- Do not monetise content over £10K
- Create fashion, beauty, art, lifestyle, home or food content
Content producer criteria:
- Be an independent publisher, digital magazine or content collective
- Content serves underrepresented communities
- United Kingdom based with a Pinterest business account
- 18+ years old
- Have between 500 – 10,000 followers on Pinterest or on other social channels
- Have created Pins in the last 30 days
- Have created at least 3 boards
- Looking to grow content creation skills on Pinterest
- Create fashion, beauty, art, lifestyle, home or food content
Notice how you can join as either a creator or a content producer.
I also clarified the ‘10k part’ with my contact in the marketing team at Pinterest and they said ‘a creator cannot make more than 10k a year already from their content, if they do, they’re not eligible for this fund’.
Honestly I thought was a bit of a lowball given this wasn’t the case with the main fund – effectively, you can see this as a starting point, but no more than that.
How to Start:
i) Create Engaging Video/Pin Content:
Create informative and engaging video/pins content that showcases info/lifestyle or products that help or involve under-represented communities
ii) Apply to the Inclusion Creator Fund:
Providing you meet the requirements, here’s the link to find out more and get started;
It looks like they open applications once every 4-6 weeks.
Final Thought…..
Making money on Pinterest without a blog is entirely possible with the right strategies and approach.
Whether you choose to participate in creator rewards programs, become an affiliate marketer, collaborate with brands, or leverage advertising opportunities, there are numerous avenues to monetize your presence on the platform.
By focusing on creating valuable content, engaging with your audience, and exploring various monetization methods, you can turn your passion for Pinterest into a profitable venture.