Can Pinterest Pay You? Let's Answer A Common Question From Creators
In this article:
Are you looking to generate additional income with Pinterest? If you've answered yes, this blog post is for you. I often get asked, "Can Pinterest pay you?"
The answer is that while it's more than possible to generate an income with Pinterest, Pinterest itself is a visual discovery engine, a tool that you can use in this process, but you do not get paid by Pinterest.
I understand why this question comes up a lot. Pinterest did have a creator rewards program, and that program ended in November 2022. Pinterest has an inclusion fund focused on the growth and success of underrepresented creators; you can learn about it here.
But don't worry; now we'll cover some ways that you can use Pinterest to help you generate an income.
Can Pinterest Pay You? Thinking Beyond the Confusion
Now that you understand that Pinterest is not paying you let's discuss some ways you can monetize your Pinterest platform or knowledge.
We'll cover both some ways that creators and bloggers can monetize and some ways that marketers can monetize their Pinterest knowledge.
Before we dive in, I want to take this opportunity to tell you that it's 100% possible to earn a living remotely, whether you choose to become a content creator or learn new skills and turn them into a remote career.
As you discover the various options available to you, be patient with yourself and really invest time in finding something that aligns with your skills, passions, and goals.
So, whether you are thinking about Pinterest and affiliate marketing, Pinterest and Etsy, prompting your blog on Pinterest, brand partnerships, or Pinterest management, we'll cover all of these options now.
Pinterest and affiliate marketing
Can Pinterest pay you with affiliate marketing? Again, Pinterest is not the one paying you, but you can use Pinterest to promote various affiliate marketing products.
When you partner with a brand to promote their products, you will get your own affiliate link that you can use in pins or include in various blog posts that you create.
It's important to remember to provide a good user experience on Pinterest. Pinners are planners, and providing context for your content is key. When you share affiliate links on Pinterest, you must follow the affiliate guidelines and disclose that you are an affiliate. Be sure that the content you are sharing is yours (pin graphics or videos that you create or have permission to share.)
You should never ever download videos from other platforms like TikTok with the purpose of using it on Pinterest and add a note that says credit goes to or DM to claim credit.
I've been helping brands and creators get more traffic, leads, and sales with the help of Pinterest marketing since 2017. I can tell you that there is a significant difference in success between affiliate marketers who also have their own websites vs. those who don't.
Having your own website means you can also create useful blog posts to help your potential buyers in their journey.
This allows you to bridge the gap between where they are and where they need to be in order to purchase from you. I have a blog post that covers Pinterest and affiliate marketing in detail, which you can access here.
Again, let's be clear. Will Pinterest pay you with affiliate marketing? No, the brand you are partnering up with will pay you.
Pinterest and Etsy
It's no secret that Pinterest is an incredible platform to drive traffic to your various blog posts, products, and offers. If you have an Etsy store and you are looking to increase your sales, Pinterest should be on your radar.
I always tell my clients that Pinterest takes time; it's a slow burn in the beginning, and with a good strategy in place, your patience will pay off. Results vary, and your timeline expectations should be different whether or not you are taking the organic route or thinking about leveraging Pinterest ads.
One thing to note with Pinterest and Etsy is that the experience you provide in your Etsy store is what's going to make a difference in terms of conversions. You could be receiving a ton of traffic from Pinterest but not seeing more sales, and if that's the case, it's probably time to review your Etsy product listings, photos, etc.
You should also do Pinterest keyword research even if you have already done keyword research on Etsy; when it comes to creating optimized pins to drive traffic to your Etsy store, you need to know what people are searching for on Pinterest.
In addition to using Pinterest to do keyword research for your Pinterest efforts, you'll want to consider using a tool like eRank to do keyword research for Etsy.
Pinterest Management Services
Another way you can monetize with Pinterest, more particularly, your marketing and Pinterest knowledge, is by offering Pinterest management services. As you've likely been able to tell from your time here, this is a service that we offer for our clients.
Pinterest management is a great service to offer since many clients tend to stay long-term. Of course, this depends on you offering great service and setting proper expectations.
Since Pinterest is a visual discovery engine, it takes time to start seeing results, but once your clients start to see the traffic, email list growth, and sales, it's easy for them to see the ROI (return on investment) that they get from working with you.
When it comes to Pinterest management, we always underpromise and over-deliver. Many of our clients have been with us since before I quit my 9-5 to pursue this business full-time in 2017.
As a service provider, you want to educate yourself, learn the platform inside and out, and stay up to date with the community and advertising guidelines.
If you are looking to improve your Pinterest results, I offer a 1-on-1 Pinterest mentorship call tailored to your needs. We can talk about anything you'd like.
No matter what your questions about Pinterest are, you will walk away from this call with a clear path, action steps, and the knowledge needed to improve your results.
Selling Digital Products
Digital products are nothing new, but a lot of people have been talking about them for the last year or so. Digital products come in many forms, such as eBooks, workbooks, guides, masterclasses, PDF downloads, member-only audio or video content, and the list goes on.
Creating a successful digital product requires proper research and planning. Again, I like to keep things real and set proper expectations, so I'll tell you that it's not a walk in the park, but it's 100% possible.
It's not as easy as creating a product based on your idea, and once you publish it, you make sales. You have to put in the work to create a solution that's needed by your ideal clients.
What's great about digital products is that they can also serve as an entry point to working with you. If you offer higher-ticket products or services, a digital product is a great way to get potential customers in your world.
Brand Partnerships
A lot of creators forget that you can leverage your Pinterest account and niche to pitch yourself to brands. Creating pins for various brands gives them the potential to get long-term evergreen traffic to the products or services you are promoting in your pins.
When partnering with a brand, it's best to use the Pinterest mobile app since you can add a paid partnership label, which you should always do. Any paid partnerships should always be disclosed.
So, Will Pinterest Pay You?
You now know that although Pinterest as a platform doesn't pay you, it's an incredible visual discovery platform that can help you get more eyes on your business and grow your reach. By growing your reach and sending more traffic to your products, blog posts, services, and various offers, you are also growing your sales (with a good strategy, of course :))
Thank you so much for reading this blog post; if you are looking to get started with Pinterest, get started now; the longer you wait, the longer it will take to get results. Always, always, always remember that it's a visual discovery engine, and things don't happen overnight.
You've got this!