6 Proven Ways to Make Money on Pinterest 2024 (I Tried Some of These!)

I’m always amazed at just how many people still think of Pinterest as the place where only women and creatives come to pin and scrapbook their ideas. While that may have been how Pinterest got started, it certainly isn’t the way the new Pinterest works.

Nowadays, Gen Z users are largely posting their short form videos on the site, male pinners are also becoming a more prominent fixture, and just about everyone seems to be on Pinterest now. 

It’s no wonder that many people are searching for ways to make money on Pinterest and capitalize on this surge. 

Thankfully, there are plenty of ways to monetize on Pinterest and earn a full-time income from the platform.

As a Pinterest Business user, I’ve learned how to make money on Pinterest as a paid creator through affiliate marketing and with an affiliate blog. You’ll learn about all these methods and more, so you too can start earning money pinning on Pinterest! 

6 Ways to Make Money on Pinterest 

Here’s the great part about this list I curated for you. Most (if not all) of these can be started with little to no money. So if you’re low on funds, you can still benefit from these methods and earn a great deal of income on Pinterest.

Below are the six ways to make money on Pinterest with or without a blog that you’ll be learning about in this article. 

1. Drive Traffic to Your AI Blog

2. Join Pinterest Creator Fund

3. Provide Pinterest Management Services

4. Affiliate Marketing without a Blog

5. Sell E-commerce with Shoppable Product Pins

6. Create and Sell Canva Pin Templates

Drive Traffic to Your AI Blog

If you want to truly leverage this powerful platform, then start a blog. 

Pinterest for bloggers is one great way to drive traffic to a completely new site, while you wait for it to start ranking on Google.

That’s because Pinterest, just like Google, acts as a search engine.

Instead of using text, Pinterest uses images for search. For instance, on Google when you search for ‘How to make money on Pinterest’ results will primarily show you text-based hyperlinks to relevant articles.

Pinterest search on the other hand will show you images of Pinterest pins that link back to blog articles relevant to your search query.

How Bloggers Monetize on Pinterest

Bloggers have a wide range of ways to monetize their blog on Pinterest. This includes making money through ad networks on their blog, with affiliate links, sponsored content, and more. 

If you go this route to making money with a blog, then follow this simple outline to monetize on Pinterest:

• Choose a niche for your Blog

• Pick a Blog Name and get Blog Hosting

• Install a Lightweight WordPress Theme, such as Astra

• Use a Website Builder such as Elementor Pro to Create Beautifully designed WordPress Sites

• Write compelling content using SEO strategies and AI writer tools. Then monetize with affiliate links, sponsored content, and ad networks

• Open a Pinterest Business Account

• Create Pinterest Pins and pin your blog articles to relevant Pinterest boards.

Benefits of having a Blog on Pinterest 

Pinterest has always been the go-to traffic source for bloggers. Here are just some of the reasons bloggers love Pinterest.

• Claim Your Website – Claiming your site on Pinterest with a Business Account will give you the opportunity to rank higher in the Pinterest search results AND on Google. More traffic equals more potential sales.

• Get More Pinterest Followers – You’ll be able to add Pinterest Widgets to your site. These widgets help your visitors easily follow you on Pinterest. More followers equal more potential eyeballs on your offers.

• Enable Article Rich Pins – Rich pins automatically sync information from your site to your pins. They help you stand out with bold font on your headlines, titles and descriptions, so that pinners can easily see you.

• Pinterest Business Analytics – When you use a Pinterest Business account, you’ll have access to analytics. You’ll know which pins are driving the most amount of traffic to your site. Use that data to further grow your Pinterest traffic and sales.

Pinterest Marketing expert, Nadalie Bardo, grew her new blog within one month by leveraging free Pinterest traffic. Read more about how Nadalie became Pinterest Popular.

Join Pinterest Creator Fund

If you’ve been wondering how to get paid to post on Pinterest, then look no further than the Pinterest Creator Fund. This is Pinterest’s newest program focused on educating and equipping creators in underrepresented communities with the tools necessary to succeed on Pinterest.

Creators accepted into the program are paid to create pins and boards based on the focus of the current cycle. The most recent cycle focused on ‘Sustainability’ such as upcycling, foraging, farming, thrifting and gardening. 

Since its inception in 2021 as a beta program in the US, the fund has now expanded to five other countries including: Canada, Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. 

How Pinterest Creators Get Paid

Creators who apply and are accepted into the program will receive the following rewards according to Pinterest:

• Unspecified grant amount in the form of cash and ad credits (previous cycles awarded creators with $25k in cash and grants)

• 6-month subscription to Headspace

• 6 weeks of hands on learning from Pinterest and Industry experts

• Office hours for additional expert help

• Opportunities for brand sponsorship deals (this was the case in a previous Fashion and Beauty cycle sponsored by the L’Oreal company)

Creator Fund Requirements

Creators and Content Producers can both apply for the Creator Inclusion Fund. Some, not all, of the requirements to apply include:

• Having a Pinterest Business Account

• Be a rising creator that identifies as being part of an underrepresented community

• Must be 18 years of age or older

• Have between 750 – 10,000 followers on Pinterest

• Be based in one of the Pinterest Creator Fund countries

Learn more about the Pinterest Creator Fund program and how to apply for the next Creator Fund cycle.

The Creator Fund program is not to be confused with the Pinterest Creator Rewards program. I was part of the Rewards program and got paid $3,465 as a Pinterest Creator before the program shut down.

Provide Pinterest Management Services

As more businesses come to discover the incredible opportunity that Pinterest offers for brand awareness, the more need there is for Pinterest management services. This is where you come into the picture.

Oftentimes, business owners lack the knowledge necessary to leverage social media sites for traffic and sales. They would much rather hire this out than to do it for themselves.

If you prefer to earn money on Pinterest by helping others pin content to their accounts, then this one’s for you! 

Get Paid for Pinterest Management Services

Work from home freelancers who provide this kind of service are often referred to as Pinterest Virtual Assistants or Pinterest Managers.

Some of the services you’ll get paid to do include:

• Design Click-Worthy Pins on Canva

• Schedule Pins using Tailwind

• Provide Google and Pinterest Analytics Reporting

• Create Branded Pinterest Boards

• Pinterest SEO

• Spam Monitoring on Pins

These are just some of the things you can offer as part of your management services. You can also decide to create various customized packages based on the needs and business goals of your clients.

Part-time Pinterest VA’s report earning $500 – $1,000 per month, while full-time VA’s earn $5k+ per month.

Finding Success as a Pinterest VA 

Knowing which niches are popular on Pinterest, and dialing in on one particular group is key to finding success as a Pinterest VA. 

For example, some VA’s are extremely knowledgeable in promoting e-commerce shops on Pinterest, while others do better with different niche businesses. When you become an expert in one area and provide exceptional results, you’ll be able to stand out and attract your ideal clients.

Once you have all the skills necessary to offer Pinterest Management Services, use the Pinterest platform to market and advertise your new business. 

Affiliate Marketing without a Blog

One of the first ways in which I initially started to make money on Pinterest was by doing Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog. So if you don’t have a blog nor want to start one, then this method is another great way to get paid promoting affiliate links on Pinterest.

Affiliate marketing is the act of referring people to someone else’s product or service and earning a cut of the sale when they purchase. When you make a sale promoting an affiliate product, you earn an affiliate commission. 

The commission is paid by the affiliate program, not by Pinterest.

How to Make Money on Pinterest with Affiliate Links

• Create a Pinterest Business Account

• Decide on a Niche for your overall account, such as fitness, home + decor, mental wellness, etc.

• Create Pinterest Boards with long-tail keywords to get found faster on Pinterest (Nadalie teaches this in Pinterest Popular!)

• Join an affiliate program that offers relevant products within your niche

• Create video pins showing the benefits of the affiliate product, as well as the product in use

• Post your unique affiliate link on Pinterest to Idea Pins

• Get paid when someone purchases from your marketing efforts

Here’s an example of an Amazon affiliate link I posted to an Idea Pin to  promote the Flying Spinner Boomerang ball. It’s just one way in which I make money as an Amazon Influencer on Pinterest.

Affiliate Programs to Promote on Pinterest

Generally, the way affiliate programs track your sales is by assigning you a unique affiliate link. Each affiliate program will issue you this when you join and get accepted into the program.

There are various types of affiliate programs you can join including:

• Recurring Affiliate Programs

• Affiliate Networks such as ShareaSale and ClickBank

• App Referral Programs

• Walmart Affiliate Program

• List of Affiliate Programs to Promote on Pinterest

Read more about how to make money posting Amazon affiliate links on Pinterest in a non-spammy way.

Sell E-commerce with Shoppable Product Pins

With so much AI talk and augmented reality disrupting just about every industry imaginable, it’s no wonder that Pinterest is also experimenting with these technology advances as well. 

With the new ‘Pinterest Lens’ feature, e-commerce sellers can make money on Pinterest by allowing shoppers to use augmented reality to virtually ‘try on’ a product before they buy.

You don’t even need to invest in product inventory to start. Many e-commerce businesses, unlike an Amazon FBA business, leverage the drop-shipping  model to make money selling physical products without inventory.

How to Make Money with Pinterest Shopping

These days, many popular e-commerce platforms such as Shopify, seamlessly integrate with Pinterest for easy product selling. Here’s how to get started with e-commerce on Pinterest today.

• Create a Pinterest Business Account

• Build an e-commerce storefront on Shopify

• Upload Your Product Catalog to Shopify

• Claim Your E-commerce Website on Pinterest

• Connect Your Existing Storefront to Your Pinterest Account

• Reach out to Your Pinterest Account Manager about Enabling the ‘Try On’ feature for your Products

Promote Shoppable Pins on Pinterest

Whether you decide to enable the ‘Try On’ feature for your Shoppable products or not, you’ll still be able to promote your e-commerce goods on Pinterest.

Here are a few ways to get potential customers to notice you and to buy your products.

• Join the Verified Merchant Program to Build Your Brand. You’ll get a ‘verified’ badge on your profile to signify you’re a trusted merchant. Additionally, it gives you eligibility for enhanced distribution.

• Boost Your Products with Pinterest Shopping Ads and Collection Ads

• Showcase your products by creating eye-catching videos for your Idea Pins posts

Create and Sell Canva Pin Templates

Did you know that you can create and sell beautifully designed Canva templates to other Canva users? 

When I first learned about this, I thought it was genius! 

See, one of the most time consuming things to do on Pinterest as a small business user is to design my own pins. And it’s not just me! That’s the case for a lot of bloggers, including graphically challenged ones….like me! Ha 

Being able to purchase pre-made Canva Pinterest templates that can be easily tweaked and branded for business is a lifesaver for many. 

Make Money Selling Canva Pin Templates

The best place to sell Canva Pin templates is on Pinterest where your potential customers are spending their time. Here’s the quick low down on how to get started.

• Open a FREE Canva Account or Pro Account

• Design Original Pin templates that are your own. This means you can’t use stock images and sell them due to copyright issues. Everything has to be your own.

• Create a Beacons.ai Creator page that includes your Canva templates for sale. Place your Beacons link on Your Pinterest profile.

• Create Pinterest Idea Pins of free Canva tutorials. Then place a ‘call-to-action’ at the end of your videos that direct people to your link in bio for plug-n-play Canva pin templates for sale.

You’d be surprised at just how many people would prefer to buy these templates than to do the legwork themselves. I’ve purchased Canva pin templates in the past that have helped me save tons of time and headache in creating these myself.

Before you get started on this method for making money on Pinterest, make sure you first read Canva’s guidelines on what you can and can not sell.

Now It’s Your Turn

You have everything available at your fingertips to make money on Pinterest in 2023. Whichever method you choose, go at it with full force and you’ll start earning money sooner rather than later! 

Ready to turn your idea into a successful online business in 30 Days? If so, I invite you to take the first funnel challenge here! 

You may also be interested in reading about how I made $30k with short video reels next.

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