Pinterest Affiliate Marketing: How to Make Money from Pinterest?

Pinterest Affiliate marketing is one of the most low-competition platforms with the highest returns on investment. Although millions of people pin products, the affiliates can make money from Pinterest through smart and targeted strategies. 

With over 500 million active users most of which are ‘super shoppers’. This means that the amount of purchasers is immense, and they are willing to pay 2X more per month. Plus the types of artistic pins, brand promotions, and videos provide unlimited room for creativity.

The conditions are ripe for affiliates to start using Pinterest for Business and land consistent dollars. We are going to be sharing with you a step-by-step guide on how to use Pinterest for affiliate marketing for a consistent passive income.

Why Choose Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest?

Pinterest is one of the mega-platforms for media sharing that includes pictures, illustrations, videos, and ideas. According to the latest survey, nearly 42% of affiliate marketers prefer Pinterest.

Moreover, Pinterest gives creative freedom to affiliates to produce their favorite content to make people click on their pins, and they get a hefty commission.

Here is why marketers prefer Affiliate marketing on Pinterest:

Pinterest people like to shop! 

75% of the people on Pinterest come looking for things to buy. And nearly 83% of them purchase something via an affiliate link to a store. If you decide to ignore this high purchase intent, you are leaving money on the table.

Pinterest users have a high average income, meaning they have money to spend. We can use this qualified traffic to our advantage.

What you Post on Pinterest stays there for a long time 

Your Pins stay on the platform and people will continue to buy things via your affiliate link even after years have passed. Other platforms like Facebook and Instagram throw inactive ads out of the competition and are no longer visible to end users after a certain time.

Creating Affiliate Pins takes less time

Pinterest allows you to recommend affiliate links and products to users by just creating a pin. That’s all there is to it. Create an eye-catching Pin, insert your link, and publish. 

Posting affiliate links on Pinterest has more freedom than other platforms like Facebook, and Instagram which are very restrictive regarding affiliate links.

Meanwhile, creating blog posts, reviews, and tutorials takes a lot of time. They work great as well, but Pinterest saves you loads of time that can be utilized for other productive tasks.

People Use Pinterest Search Engine, Like Google! 

People use Pinterest as a search engine for their keywords and creative inspiration. You can search for pin ideas to make your post stay relevant to the users, and sometimes even show up on Google.

How do you search on Pinterest?

Let us take an example if you search for “Carpet flooring” to see what people are interested in. Is it videos, illustrations, UGC, or design pins? These insights can help you tailor your campaign.

On any keyword tool like Ahref or Semrush, it says that 50,000 people are searching for carpet flooring. Out of those 50,000 people, about 12,000 go to Pinterest (Pin search).

Then it's highly likely that some of those 12,000 people might see your pin and decide to buy using your link. These are very good odds for a Pinterest affiliate to make awesome commissions.

Visuals-Oriented Platform

Pinterest hosts only high-quality images, illustrations, 3D designs, sketches, portraits, and videos. So you do not need to bother with writing lengthy content, just a catchy CTA, and that will get the job done.

Plus you get a lot of creative freedom with creating visual content, and can garner attention from the users.

Strategies to Maximize Affiliate Marketing with Pinterest

To bring out the full earning potential of affiliate marketing with Pinterest, we have consulted with our seasoned experts who have been in the game for years.

They have shared some inside tips and proven ways for Pinterest monetization and how to maintain a stable passive income. These strategies are applicable for beginners and veterans alike.

Amp up your Business Pinterest Profile 

It’s not just about creating an account, you need to optimize it for maximum visibility.

The great thing about this is that customers will know who to search for when they need a particular product/service that you provide on a consistent basis, hence more conversions.

Here is how you can set up your Pinterest Business Account for affiliate marketing:

Optimize Pinterest business name, Bio, and Photo: Use relevant keywords while filling in your profile information (Use Google Trends to see what’s in demand). Use these keywords subtly while describing who you are and how you provide value. Use an original and clear photo for your logo.

Claim your Website/Social Media Profile: if you have one, Pins will help drive traffic from Pinterest to websites and increase your credibility. Plus verifying your website gets you access to Pinterest analytics and more.

Enabling Rich Pins can help you provide more information from your website on pins, hence creating more appeal.

The types of Rich Pins include:

Product Pins

Article Pins

Recipe Pins

App Pins

Rich Pin Metadata

• Keep the Pins content parallel with what you have promised in your profile. Relevance & Consistency is the key to a loyal customer base. Making pins regularly is what keeps you alive in the market. Try to maintain uniformity and consistency in your content as it makes it easy for users to know what to expect from you.
• Follow other accounts in your niche and engage with their content. This will help you get noticed by other users, and ultimately drive more sales. 

By doing so, your audience will interact on their pins as well. Creating a mutually beneficial network can:

• Make Affiliates grow as a Pinterest content creator
• Have a fan base
• Make meaningful connections
• Enjoy massive Pins earnings
• Creating Pinterest Boards is a fantastic way to keep your pins organized and it helps Pinterest’s algorithm to find and share your pins with the right crowd (the ones who are most likely to buy from you).

To expand your reach, join group boards relevant to your affiliate niche. This offers more exposure to a larger and highly qualified audience. Read group board descriptions on how to become a contributor. Many require you to follow the creator of the board.

Select the Highest-Converting Pinterest Affiliate Programs 

Of course, you would want to choose Pinterest Affiliate programs where there is a high margin for commissions with minimal effort. Even with less number of clicks, you can still gain huge profits. 

Commission Structure: Read their commission rates and payment terms for your chosen program.

Track Record: Evaluate their reputation, and affiliates’ testimonials to see their reliability.

Relevant Pinterest Niches: Here are some high-ticket Pinterest niches that you can start with: 

• SaaS and Technology
• Health and Wellness
• Personal Finance
• Education & E-Learning
• Travel and Adventure
• Parenting and Childcare
• Beauty and Fashion

Also look into Pinterest affiliate marketing Amazon programs for a wide range of products and audience reach. 

Multiple Pin Creation for each Link:

To increase your chances of visibility and conversion, you need to create multiple Pins for a single link. 

You can experiment with different styles of Pin creation. Here are some design tips for creating successful Pins:

Use High-Quality Pinterest Images: You can either go for the DIY route or work with a designer to create variations of a unique Pin image. High-quality images get noticed, clicked, shared, and ultimately used for purchase.

Branding: Create Pins that include your branding elements such as logo, color scheme, banner, and fonts to create a cohesive look.

Text Overlay: Create a well-perceived contrast and compelling text overlay to bring attention to your CTA, or showcase benefits of the products.

Clear CTA: Use a short, catchy, and clear Call-to-Action (CTA) that motivates users to click the link.

Experiment with different Types of Pins: Try working with all sorts of pin types – to see which works best in your favor.

Vertical Pins: Create tall, vertical pins that get the most attention on Pinterest. They take more space in the feed and are easily noticeable. Hence they perform better for affiliate marketing.

Try-on Pins: Pinterest users tend to buy more from a Try-on pin that allows them to see a product on themselves using VR tech. There is 5x more likelihood of purchase on a try-out pin than a regular pin.

Follow the Pinterest Trend: Keep up with the Pinterest trending searches - a great way to channel traffic for flash sales.

Create Evergreen content for Pins: Try to keep your content relevant for a longer time span – that keeps on bringing customers instead of seasonal trends.

Important Note:

Avoid spamming the same link over and over. Pinterst may flag your content as spammy or low-quality. Instead, create valuable pins that are different from the others.

Now there are two options to go about creating a pin, what is it that you need? Depends on the affiliate strategy and the complexity of the topic. 
We have discussed the difference between idea pin and pin, so you may decide better:

Both of these pins should be a part of your pinning strategy. They can help with both engagement and conversions, that is what you should be aiming for. Investing all of the time and resources in one Pin type would be a grave mistake for affiliates. 

It is recommended to strike a balance between these both pins – how frequent you use them & how you manage their content. All in all, it should provide value to the user, and in turn, they will follow by clicking on your affiliate link.

Schedule Pins in Advance

Pinterest scheduling is one of the most productive ways of doing affiliate marketing. 

You can create a custom schedule, add new content to the queue, and automatically add those pins to the board. Automate your Pins posting using a Pinterest scheduler that you are comfortable with.

Posting on Pinterest has never been easier with pins automation that lets affiliates spend less time in content creation and publishing, and more on their affiliate strategies.

Affiliate Pinterest SEO Optimization

Pinterest SEO optimization is paramount for success in the affiliate marketing space. The competition is always in the play when it comes to pins. 

So you must be diligent when it comes to staying relevant to the users and targeted pin search. SEO and Pinterest affiliate marketing goes hand-in-hand, and you need to learn how to play the Pinterest algorithm for earning passive income.

Here are some SEO Pinterest best practices that can help you stay visible:

• Use keywords with high purchase intent –audience needs
• Optimize the pinterest pin description and title
• Conduct targeted keyword research – via Pinterest keyword tool
• Subtly mention keywords in Pin photo, videos, or ideas
• Use middle-ground keywords for Board descriptions as well
• Indulge in trends every now and then – trending Pin tags 

Play by the Rules

Spend some time learning about the Pinterest affiliate marketing rules, so you may not face any unforeseen strikes or legal objections when you are doing so well.

Do your due diligence to read and learn the rules for creating, pinning, and sharing affiliate content on Pinterest.

Here are some important rules that a Pinterest affiliate should follow:

Avoid cloaking: The community guidelines of the Pinterest state that affiliates should not hide or conceal their affiliate links on Pinterest, as it goes against their “No surprises principle”. Pinterest encourages affiliates to clearly mention their CTAs because users can willingly participate if a link redirects them to another page.

Disclose your Affiliation: The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) requires Pinterest affiliates to label their content as “sponsored” or “affiliated”. You may also need to add disclaimers to your pins and landing pages.

No Fake Accounts: Reposting your pins under a different alias or anonymous profile is against Pinterest's guidelines. 

These are some key guidelines that you should consider to keep your affiliate strategy in line with the rules. Violating these rules might result in your Pin content being blocked.

Build an Email List through Pinterest

Most pinners aren’t always looking to solve an immediate problem – they are planning for a consistent future supply of products or services. 

• Use email opt-in on landing pages to collect addresses (by consent, of course)
• Offer incentives (discounts, freebies, or flash sales) when you suggest them to subscribe to your newsletter 
• Educate and build the hype – warm them up to your offer

Tracking Pin Performance

Use Pinterest’s built-in data tool – Pinterest Analytics to keep track of your monthly views on pinterest. Evaluate your best pins, and Pinterest engagement, and identify roadblocks in your affiliate sales funnel.

Here are some key performance indicators for assessing affiliate success:

• Click-through rate
• Time on site 
• Conversions
• Pinterest Profile Views
• High performing pins

By assessing your dashboard, you tweak your pinterest marketing strategy in the best direction possible. Optimize and promote high-performing pins, drive more traffic to websites, and increase engagement via likes, shares, or comments.

WebDigitalSphere as a Pinterest marketing agency has been helping affiliates for years. We have perfected the craft of creating Pins that bring conversions, build loyal customer base, and provide value. Helping several affiliates with their keyword and audience research, pin design, creation, and scheduling.
Get in touch for a winning and optimized Pinterest Affiliate marketing strategy.