How To Make Money on Pinterest
The internet has been our go-to place when we’re trying to search for information.
One of the websites that quickly rose to its popularity over recent years is Pinterest. This website has been the people’s reliable source of information on things like DIY stuff, room renovation idea, hair trends and many more.
Aside from being a platform for fresh ideas and resources, you may also be wondering if there’s more to Pinterest. Is it possible to make money on this platform? Read on to know the answer to this question.
Intro – How to make money on Pinterest
Before we jump on board and answer your question of “Can you make money on Pinterest?”, let’s try to take a quick pause and get to familiarize ourselves with Pinterest.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a social network that allows users to visually “pin” ideas, videos or images to their own or other people’s boards. Users can also browse what other users have pinned to discover new ideas.
What sets Pinterest apart from other social network platform is that its content is driven entirely by visuals. You must involve an image in your post to be able to share it.
A Brief History of the Birth of Pinterest
Founders Evan Sharp, Paul Sciarra, and Ben Silbermann launched their first “beta” version of Pinterest at the end of 2009. It was only until 2011 that the platform was launched for the general public. It was so pleasantly embraced by the public that they already gained more than 10,000 active and registered users in June of that same year.
To date, there are 250 million active Pinterest users all over the globe, 125 million of which are from the US. 81% of Pinterest users are females and the majority of active pinners are below 40 years old.
How Does Pinterest Work?
The first step that you must do is to create an account at Pinterest.com. Complete your profile and check your settings. Luckily, options in Pinterest are pretty straightforward and simple to understand.
Add the “Pin It” button to your web browser to easily add contents from any site. Adding a pin to one of your boards is pretty straightforward too. Simply click the “Pin It” button on the website that you are reading. A screen pop up will then appear asking you which image you want to pin. After choosing the image, you can create a pin by adding it to your board and writing a description of the image you are pinning.
You can have as many boards as you want. To create a new one, simply click the “Add +” button in the upper right-hand corner of your main Pinterest page. Next, choose the option “Create a Board” and think of a descriptive name to your board so your followers will know what types of pins you are offering.
So to answer the question “Can you make money on Pinterest?”, it’s a big resounding YES.
The next sections of this article will teach you how to sell on Pinterest and use it as a platform to make money.
Build an Audience and Sell to Them
Pinterest is becoming a favorite platform in promoting a business amidst the sea of social networking options.
If you think that Pinterest is only good as a social media tool to market physical products (like clothes or jewelry) to women, you may have to reconsider your thoughts. Pinterest is an amazing platform to market any service or product, no matter who your target audiences are.
You must build your Pinterest followers first to establish your social media presence. Once you have your loyal followers, you can convert them into your customers.
How You Build an Audience
How do you build an audience on Pinterest?
You may need to think of effective strategies to slowly build an audience. Here are some of the effective tips on how to increase the number of users following your pins.
Utilize keywords in all your pins
Knowing how to use SEO in pinning is significant to the success of your pins. Use relevant keywords in your pin descriptions and boards. This will draw followers searching for specific topics.
Create more niched boards
If there’s one thing that most popular players on Pinterest have in common, it’s the fact that they have a plethora of boards. These most-followed users have an average of 50-100 niched boards.
Aside from making more boards, they also make these boards as niche as possible. This is a great strategy if you want to be found and followed by specific audiences.
Post frequently on your most popular boards
You should post more frequently on those boards that you have more followers than others. You have higher chances of repins and gaining new followers since more people are following these boards.
Follow high profile users
Though you must follow users that have relevant pins to your brand and business, you should also follow highly relevant users. You increase your chance of being followed back, liked, repinned or commented on your images if you follow these powerful players. This will increase your exposure to their large followings.
Add Pinterest to your email signature line
Every email you send to anyone is an opportunity to promote your Pinterest and gain new followers. Simply add the link of your Pinterest to the end of your signature line.
Make an “about” Profile
If your aim is to make money on Pinterest, it’s highly recommended that you set up a business account rather than a personal one.
Make sure that you optimize your Pinterest profile. Also, make sure that you turned off the Search privacy setting of your profile. You certainly want to be found in search engines. Complete your profile with detailed information about your business.
Another thing that you must pay attention to is the “About” section. It provides a quick glimpse of who you are and what your blog is about. Below are some helpful tips on how to create an outstanding About page:
- Headline your mission statement and what you do.
- Highlight your skills and the services that you offer.
- Put a nice picture of you and your team/company.
- Share a little bit about who you are. What are your experiences and expertise?
- Invite your readers to learn more on your services page or contact you directly.
Use SEO
Pinterest is a powerhouse search engine. It has become one of the highest drivers of social traffic for blogs.
You can utilize SEO to get more traffic to your blog. Short for Search Engine Optimization, SEO is a technique of creating content strategically to perform well on search engines.
Here are some of the tips on how to optimize your Pinterest to build an audience:
- Use keyword search – When you search a broad term in your niche, take note of the suggested searches that come up. These terms that are actively promoted by Pinterest will increase the chance of your content to be seen.
- Write pin description – Take the time to write a detailed prescription of your pin. This will increase the likelihood of your content to appear in search results.
- Use hashtags – This allows you to put a category on your content. It also helps your pins to appear with similar pins on the hashtag feed. Make sure that your hashtags are timely and relevant.
- Be consistent – just like with other search engines, Pinterest will patronize accounts that are regularly sharing high-quality content.
Repin Other Pins from People with a Large Target Audience
Repinning the content of other users will increase the likelihood of your original pin to be seen.
Follow users with larger followings and repin their post that is relevant to your brand/business. They may follow your boards back and get more exposure to their large target audience. With this exposure, it is definitely possible to make money on Pinterest.
Do Joint Promotions
If you want your business to be successful, you would need to increase your reach. Having a larger target audience will increase the exposure of your brand.
Leverage group boards to reach out to a bigger set of audience. Pinterest is a social platform so go out there and connect with successful users who managed to create a huge, loyal following. Offer collaboration so you can cross your content to a larger scope of audiences.
Both parties will benefit from this “joint venture”. While they get to share move value with their followers you get a higher degree of exposure in return. It’s also a way of building your authority when you partner with relevant brands from your niche.
How to Gain Followers on Pinterest
The steps listed above are helpful on how to gain followers on Pinterest.
In addition, another great way of gaining new followers and earning money on Pinterest is by using an affiliate program.
Add an affiliate link when you create your pins. You will receive a commission when users purchase something that you’ve shared. This is one way on how to monetize Pinterest.
Track Stats and Prepare to Monetize
You should always keep track of your site if your goal is making money on Pinterest.
Using Pinterest Web Analytics is one of the most efficient ways of keeping track of your site’s performance. You have easy access to analytics data such as visitors, most repinned, most clicked, reach, clicks, repinners, etc.
You can also use Google Analytics to track your visitors. By having access to the information of users who visit your site, you will be able to gain deeper insights into your social audience.
Other Pinterest Tools that you can use to track and analyze your Pinterest activity includes:
Once you have chosen the platform for your Pinterest Analytics, combine the data gathered on this tool with Google Analytics Data and Pinterest. It’s a brilliant way of gaining further insights about your followers.
Track and benchmark your growth numbers and start to monetize your Pinterest account.
Earn Money on Pinterest
There are several methods for you to make money on Pinterest. Some of these methods would even answer your question of how to make money on Pinterest without a blog.
Here are some of the tested ways to monetize your Pinterest account.
Create Mailing List and Market to Them
You can use Pinterest to grow your mailing list. One of the easiest ways to do so is to create an offer and pin it. Then lead your followers to an email opt-in form on your website. You may pin offerings such as Ebooks, coupon codes, video series, guides, and online training in exchange for their name and email.
Become an Influencer
If you have created loyal followers on Pinterest and established a high engagement rate, a lot of brands are eager to collaborate with you. It’s one of the easiest ways on how to make money with affiliate marketing without a website.
You can collaborate with the brand by creating unique pins for them, repinning their pins or inviting them to a group board so they have exposure on your reach.
Find Specific Companies and Ask for Sponsorship
Choose a company that offers products that your audience would find appealing. Say if your followers are into sports and fitness, approach companies that sell sports drinks or workout equipment.
Use the statistics of your Pinterest account to ask for sponsorship for that company. You can offer a deal where they can use your account for their branding.
Affiliate Links
Affiliate marketing on Pinterest is the easiest way to earn money, even for beginners. This type of marketing is when you get a commission every time a customer visits the website or store using your pins.
Choose products that are appealing to your followers. You will earn money for every purchase made through your Pinterest affiliate links.
Pinterest Virtual Assistant
If you’ve been eyeing to work for Pinterest at home, becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant is the answer.
Some companies and brands don’t have the time and patience to learn Pinterest. You will find plenty of work – from managing a brand’s Pinterest account to seeking out group boards or designing pins.
Drive Traffic to Your Blog
Pinterest is a brilliant idea to drive traffic to your website or blog. Use Pinterest to gain more visitors on your website and increase your sales. If you’re using affiliate marketing, selling products or simply advertising on your website, your income will increase rapidly as you get more traffic.
Create Your Own Products
Can you sell on Pinterest?
There are plenty of ways to make money on Pinterest. It’s a massive sales channel to easily and quickly grow your online sales.
If you have an eCommerce site (Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, etc), you can strategically use your Pinterest site to promote your eCommerce products. It’s an effective way of increasing traffic on your site, hence increasing your revenue.
If you love writing, you can create your own ebooks and sell them on Pinterest. The internet offers various tools to create your own ebook.
Online courses and training programs are becoming a thing now. With everyone eager to learn new skills, you can use your expertise and create training programs. Use your Pinterest account to promote these training programs.
Teach Pinterest Strategies to Companies
How to upload photos to Pinterest?
This may just be a no-brainer question for you but this can be challenging to other users. You can offer your Pinterest expertise to companies. Your consulting services will come handy on how to use Pinterest to promote their brand and increase their revenue.
Make Money Creating Content for Companies
Pinterest is a great marketing tool for businesses. If you have a penchant for creating captivating and engaging content, you can use this skill and offer your service to companies.
Here are the detailed steps on how to earn money by being a content creator for companies:
- Create a business account first. You can either convert your personal account to business or create a new one. Signing up to Pinterest Business is completely free.
- Learn the community guidelines and endorsement guidelines. Take time to study these guidelines and be conscious in following them all the time.
- Get the skills and tools you need. Social media campaign creation, infographic creation, webinar production, mobile content optimization, and Ebook and eNewsletter creations are important content and marketing skills that you must master to create outstanding contents. Here are the tools that you will need to dominate content creation in Pinterest: Canva, Buffer, Pinstamatic, Pablo, Piktochart and Over.
- Pin Collective is a program created by Pinterest for brands and businesses to have access to the best content creators. Join the collective’s content creators and work directly with brands and companies to come up and produce contents that would meet their advertising goals.
- Become a content creator through Pinterest Popular Pays. Online advertising has been growing exponentially. Pinterest advertising costs are way lower than TV advertising. Join Pinterest Popular Pays and collaborate with brands in creating a social media campaign.
Pinterest has evolved from a social media platform into an effective marketing platform. By embracing this evolution and acknowledging the power it holds to your brand, you can maximize the use of Pinterest to earn money and increase your revenue.