How to Make Money on Pinterest in 2022 (without a Blog)
Updated: Aug 25, 2022
Pinterest was voted to be one of the most lucrative social networks, according to a recent survey. That's because Pinterest is so much more than just another social network; it's a visual search engine!
Ready to learn how to make money with Pinterest? Let's get started!
Table of Contents
Introduction
Did you know that Pinterest is one of the fastest-growing platforms in the world? It generated over 100 million users in the last year alone and has more than 478 million active users monthly.
In short, Pinterest continues to remain one of the most visited social media platforms worldwide; without receiving very much credit.
Pinterest's market value currently sits at $48.98B, and historical trends show that it has continued to maintain stable growth over the years. Another interesting fact is that nearly 50% of Pinterest users live outside the United States. For brands or businesses, this means a more extensive, international audience.
If you spend considerable time on the platform, you might be wondering whether it's possible to generate money on Pinterest. It might surprise you to know that Pinterest isn't merely a visual platform for photo sharing. You can also effectively use it to generate extra income!
That's why Pinterest has so much support from the blogging community. Bloggers have been using Pinterest for years to boost readership without investing in paid ads or social media influencers.
Newcomers to the platform might be surprised to know that Pinterest is actually more of a search engine where users look for design inspiration, recipes, and the like—rather than just a social media platform. That's the reason why millions of users rely on it for unique, inspiring content, and also the reason why it's possible to make money online by using Pinterest.
Below, we've listed down several ways in which you can make money on Pinterest —so read on!
How Much Money Can You Make on Pinterest?
Quite a lot! Depending on the energy you devote, and the time you invest, you could make anywhere from $100 up to $10,000 (maybe more) monthly, based on your monetization strategy.
Remember, you won't directly make money by pinning on this platform. Various other factors come into play that determine your earning potential, and it is difficult to place a dollar value on them.
That said, as the platform continues to grow, your opportunities to make money on Pinterest grow too.
Is Making Money on Pinterest Worth the Effort?
Although long-term revenue generation on this platform involves considerable time and effort, the rewards are undoubtedly worth it, but only if you do it right.
Given the uncertainty involved, making money on Pinterest can be a good side hustle rather than a regular job. However, like most side hustles, you will not begin earning vast sums of money right away, and there is quite a bit of groundwork to do first.
However, one of the biggest reasons to start using Pinterest to make money is that making money on Pinterest in your spare time does not require any prior experience.
Ways to Make Money on Pinterest
While many may assume that earning money on Pinterest requires being extremely tech-savvy or a wordsmith, that's not the case. All you need is basic computer skills and the determination to learn what you need to know to use Pinterest to your financial advantage. Let's look at some of the ways you can earn money on this platform.
Blogging
Even though this article will focus on making money on Pinterest without blogging, it still makes sense to start with the option that has the highest earning potential.
Blogging can be an excellent way to reach a large audience and make a considerable amount of money in the process; if you know what you're doing.
Like we said earlier, Pinterest is not just a social media platform. It's more of a search engine. So unlike Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook, Pinterest is more impactful when it comes to helping bloggers promote their content.
The unique thing about Pinterest is that it's an image-based search engine, unlike typical search engines, which primarily deal with text.
This visual component is why Pinterest marketing is an incredibly lucrative avenue for many bloggers.
How to get started:
Determine a niche for your blog (fashion, food, finance, fitness, etc.)
Start creating and posting content on your blog regularly
Monetize your content with ads, sponsored posts, or affiliate marketing.
If you don't already have one, create a Pinterest account.
Create a pin using an engaging image related to your blog post.
Post this image on Pinterest, linking the image to your blog post.
Since Pinterest works as a search engine, once users search for something related to your blog post, they will see the image and click on it, driving traffic to your site (or buy from you).
Use Pinterest to Drive Traffic to Your eCommerce Site
Another way to make money via Pinterest is by driving traffic to your eCommerce site, such as a Shopify or Etsy store.
While you're not making money from Pinterest per se, you're leveraging its powerful search engine capacities to make money.
Data from Pinterest shows that it's a valuable tool for your eCommerce site. If you are still undecided, here are some numbers that might help convince you:
90% of users use Pinterest to help them decide what to buy
66% of users purchase something after seeing it on Pinterest
78% find content from brands on Pinterest helpful
Pinterest drives 33% more traffic than Facebook to eCommerce sites
In other words, this method has the potential to help you maximize Pinterest gains the same way a blogger would.
By creating new pins to promote your products and services and putting together boards containing different recipes, styles, or workouts featuring your products, you'll be able to improve your conversion rate.
You can also utilize Promoted Pins, which are similar to Facebook ads. While promoted pins act as standard pins, they are actually ads that you can optimize to meet different goals such as increasing brand awareness, driving traffic, encouraging sales, app downloads, etc.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing involves promoting products and services online and obtaining a commission if a visitor makes a purchase after clicking on your affiliate link.
This approach is ideal if you're looking for an easier way of making money on Pinterest with or without a blog.
You can gauge the popularity and efficacy of affiliate marketing by the fact that nearly 80% of brands have affiliate programs.
One way of leveraging this form of marketing on Pinterest is developing content for your blog that comprises affiliate links and driving traffic to content through Pinterest. The objective is to funnel traffic to your site and have users click your links to complete purchases.
An alternative and more straightforward method would be to embed your affiliate links on Pinterest directly simply.
The best part is that you won't need to create a website to execute this strategy.
How to Get Started With Affiliate marketing
Simply find brands whose products you can vouch for and sign up as an affiliate. Start endorsing products on your boards with your unique affiliate link. Consider using an URL-shortening service such as Bitly for link management.
By using shortened links you'll be able to track your boards and pins to understand the number of clicks your affiliate link has generated. While commission rates differ across companies, some affiliate marketers are known to make $500 monthly.
You can become an affiliate marketer for internet apps, blog-related services such as web hosting; furniture companies; clothes, toys, kitchen appliances, etc. If you enjoy using a particular product or service and enjoy the convenience it brings to your life, consider promoting it among your followers and generate extra income in the process.
Finding the right product or service to promote isn't always easy. The rule of thumb is to endorse items you've purchased yourself and fit your niche. This way, you'll build audience credibility.
Above all, you want to ensure that the product you promote will add value to your readers.
This approach will boost your credibility and help you build trust with your audience. It is equally important to fully disclose to your readers when you endorse affiliate links in your posts. Beware of sharing affiliate links without familiarizing yourself with the affiliate program's terms and the Pinterest platform as well.
Remember that Pinterest periodically takes action against spammers, so consider linking your pins to your website as a precaution.
Important points to keep in mind about affiliate marketing on Pinterest:
Some companies may not permit you to take images from their website for use when developing pins
When posting links, Pinterest does not allow you to shorten or mask the affiliate link
You are expected to be as transparent as possible and must reveal your affiliate relationship
To learn more about affiliate marketing, be sure to read: "A Beginner's Guide to Affiliate Marketing," and "60 Marketers Reveal their Secrets for Driving Traffic to an Affiliate Site."
Become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
As a Pinterest virtual assistant, you'll help online business owners, bloggers, and social media influencers optimize their Pinterest accounts.
Your duties as a Pinterest virtual assistant may involve:
Creating pins
Doing keyword research
Automating pins
Creating sales funnels and opt-ins
Using Tailwind for scheduling
Using Pinterest Ads Manager (Pinterest's version of Facebook ads) to run Promoted Pins
The benefit of working as a virtual assistant is that you can work remotely and on your own schedule.
You can also maintain several clients, especially if you've already built up your Pinterest management portfolio.
The money is pretty good too. At around $500 per client, you stand to earn a considerable amount of money while doing something that you enjoy.
Build an Audience and Sell to Them
If you find that people spend money in an area you're passionate about, you might want to consider monetizing your expertise. For instance, if you're a fitness enthusiast, you can select a target audience (Eg. women in their 40s who are conscious about their fitness).
You can then proceed to develop a Pinterest account and boards that appeal to the audience.
Start by increasing the number of followers to your boards and create a mailing list. While it may be true that some accounts have millions of followers, it's also true that you don't need that many followers to begin selling. In fact, marketers are known to make offers to accounts with only a few thousand followers.
Monetizing your passion is a satisfying way of making money because it involves selling something you genuinely believe could positively impact people's lives.
You can choose from various popular areas, including food, parenting, finance, etc. Once you have determined your area of interest, you can decide how best to monetize your account. You can then set up your profile accordingly and create relevant boards.
Make sure you develop pins that are pertinent to your topic and what you're selling. This consistency will help guide users to your website. Develop attention-grabbing pins and ensure that product photos are of the highest quality.
Pictures showcasing your products and services in use are incredibly effective, and you could even ask your customers to send in their own images.
Digital products such as ebooks and online courses are seeing increasing demand and offer tremendous earning potential. Once you have established yourself as an expert in your specialty area, you will see increased sales.
Sponsorships
Brand sponsorships involve collaborating with brands and endorsing them in return for a fee.
If you have a solid social presence on this platform, brands will want to forge a relationship with you to showcase their merchandise to your audience. It is a great way to monetize your Pinterest account, especially if you have a large following.
As an influencer, brands will expect you to maintain a decent and consistent reputation so their products or services can reach the optimal number of prospective customers.
As an influencer, you must ensure you only collaborate with brands that align with your ethics and business. Here are some ways you can inform brands of your intention or inclination to work together.
Sharing Your Email
Sharing your email is the easiest way to help brands connect with you for sponsorships. You can share your existing business email or create a new one exclusively for your sponsors.
Cold Pitching
An alternative and proactive approach involves cold pitching to brands with which you intend to collaborate. Craft a concise and well-thought-out email expressing your interest in entering into a paid sponsorship. Then send it to all of your prospective sponsors.
Enrolling in a Sponsored Network
You could also consider enrolling in a sponsored network by creating a profile and completing the other required formalities. You will receive an invitation when the network locates a suitable sponsorship. Alternatively, you could search through the deals on their site and apply to the ones you like.
As mentioned earlier, you don't need to have millions of fans to secure sponsorship deals. A few thousand followers are enough, and you can easily amass them with consistent pinning. You'll also find that most companies are willing and agreeable to sponsorship if you have a decent following and they believe that you can increase their sales.
You can also offer to endorse prospective sponsors for free for a given time to demonstrate your ability to increase traffic. Depending on your follower count, you can even negotiate for a percentage of sales.
SEO
Since Pinterest works like any other search engine, SEO strategies and tactics will help you get noticed.
Maximize the "About" section on the profile, which can accommodate 200 characters. Being descriptive, clear, and using the right keywords will help you optimize your profile.
It's equally important to employ SEO strategies on the pins you make.
Each pin permits 500 characters in the description, so you can optimize pins by including links and keywords. Just make sure to incorporate your keywords naturally. The boards you create should also have keywords integrated strategically.
Here are a few extra tips for optimizing your Pinterest account.
Choose an SEO-friendly user name - Your user name will appear in your profile URL so it's a good idea to include your primary keywords.
Include top search terms in the names of your boards - This helps Pinterest's search bot determine the theme of your board, plus board titles are also the first thing people see when they visit your profile
Use A/B split testing to optimize your pins - Create multiple versions of the same pin and see which one gets a better response
Create long images - The optimal pin size is 1000x1500 or a ratio of 2:3 but even longer images still tend to get the most clicks.
Use high contrast colors - Eye-catching colors help your pins stand out.
Create engaging titles that are rich in keywords - Give users an honest idea of what your pin is about
Write detailed descriptions - Begin your description with your target keywords and use them naturally throughout your description. Account for variations in language and include words that both novices and professionals would use.
Schedule pins with Tailwind - Tailwind is the #1 Pinterest scheduling app.
Backlink your profile - Link your Pinterest account to your website, YouTube channel, or other social media profiles and make sure to include links back to your Pinterest account on your other profiles.
Increase audience engagement - Include a "Call-to-Action" in your pin.
Include text as an Overlay in your pins - This boosts your search results placement
Pin on a consistent basis - All social media platforms reward loyalty.
Use relevant images - Pinterest's Lens technology has revolutionized visual search. Make sure you include relevant images in your pins because Pinterest will know if you don't.
Creating Contests on Pinterest
If you are considering using Pinterest to sell your own products or services, a popular and quick way to drive traffic and increase sales is by creating contests. You can use this tactic to generate traffic and brand awareness.
Running contests on the platform is an excellent way to expose a brand to a vast audience, attract new followers, and engage with your current follower base. Pinterest contests allow consumer engagement with brands in a cost-efficient way. Contests can further help businesses gather customer information, feedback, and preferences.
Pinterest takes user experience seriously, and it is essential to keep Pinterest guidelines in mind while creating contests.
Tips for creating successful Pinterest contests:
Announcements
You'll want to leverage all of your social networks, so don't only use Pinterest to announce that you're running a contest. Inform your Facebook fans and Twitter followers too.
Articulate the Rules of the Contest Clearly
Whether you want entrants to develop a new board for your contest or want them to re-pin an image, make sure you communicate the objective to your participants so they can follow the rules accordingly.
You might also want to include a list of bullet points on a re-pinnable image. Behind it, include a link to other details regarding your contest using your website landing page.
Adopt a Pre-defined Hashtag to Locate Submissions
A hashtag will help people follow the contest entries and spread the word regarding your contest while helping you identify participants.
If you require entrants to develop a contest board, have them include a pre-defined hashtag on the images. If you need them to re-pin the initial contest image, you can click on the pin to determine who re-pinned it.
Have a Worthwhile Prize
If your contest involves getting participants to develop a dedicated board on their account, you'll have to give away a valuable prize. The more effort participants put in, the better the compensation should be. Consider a prize that plays into Pinterest user interest, like a kitchen gadget or something decorative.
Re-pinning Others Pins to Win Audiences
Since Pinterest is a social network, the easiest way of getting users to re-pin your pins is by being active. You'll need to pin other peoples' pins regularly, especially those in your target audience.
This tactic can get other people to notice you and possibly begin following your boards. You should also only re-pin images that you consider interesting and relevant.
Remember, your followers will see all your pins, so staying relevant is vital. You can't just re-pin any pin you come across for the sake of increasing your audience. You'll also have to avoid mass re-pinning, no matter how tempting the idea may be.
Here are some reasons why re-pinning is considered incredibly important on Pinterest:
Position Yourself as a Thought Leader
You want to offer value to your target audience and be the "go-to" for your chosen niche. That's where others' pins come into play. Everyone has a unique skill; therefore, you become a more significant resource to your audience if you pin other pins outside your particular skill set.
Reciprocation
Once you pin others' pins, there's a high likelihood they'll return to your profile and re-pin your content. But remember that they will also examine your posts to determine the value of your audience.
Value-driven content will ensure your audience spends more time on your profile, resulting in more click-throughs and extra re-pins. In turn, you'll generate more traffic and expose your posts to more people.
Here are a few strategies for obtaining more re-pins:
Watch for Dead Links
Unfortunately, some pins on Pinterest may take you to a spammy website or produce a 404 error, which will hurt your credibility. So, while it might be time-consuming to check for dead links, it is definitely worth the effort.
Be Consistent
Develop a habit of pinning regularly to obtain more re-pins. If you can consistently provide value to your audience, you'll rank higher in the Smart Feed where Pinterest shows the most relevant pins.
Choose Resonating Headings and Images
If the images on your pins or pin headings don't resonate with your audience or pique their curiosity, people won't click through or re-pin. So, consider testing multiple pins for each post to obtain a feel for what the audience wants.
Since pins are niche-dependent, it's your responsibility to test and determine what works. Always ensure that the images you use on the pins are relevant to the content they represent.
Remember, most people scroll very fast and very often merely glance at pictures. Therefore, if your image isn't appealing or doesn't match what your post is about, you should consider not using it.
Teaching Pinterest Strategies
Pinterest can be tricky to navigate when you're not sure of what you're doing. Many business owners or individuals recognize Pinterest's potential and are therefore prepared to pay a decent amount of money to learn how to use the platform to their advantage.
If you successfully collaborate with multiple brands, fellow pinners will want to know how you pulled it off. Similarly, if you created numerous successful campaigns for various clients, there will be a willing and eager audience with whom you can share your acquired knowledge.
Once people become aware of your success on the platform, you will likely find more and more admirers reaching out to you for advice.
You can consider monetizing your knowledge through coaching, eBooks, online courses, and other methods as well. Having a blog can also help you reach others who want to use Pinterest for their businesses.
Browse through social platforms to establish the common problems that most people have when they use Pinterest. Write blog posts that help people navigate these problems and overcome them.
