Pinterest is one of the fastest growing platforms in internet history. The site has more than 100 million users and over 20 billion monthly impressions. As its popularity grows, so does the demand for affiliates who can help drive traffic to advertisers' websites.
The good news for those looking to join this lucrative industry is that there are plenty of ways to monetize your time spent on Pinterest by becoming a paid affiliate or driving targeted traffic through sponsored pins and ads. But before we dive into the details of what it takes to succeed at affiliate marketing on Pinterest, let's cover some basics about the platform itself.
In order to maximize revenue from any given account, you'll want to focus on building up your following. This means getting as many people as possible to follow your profile and be exposed to your content. There are several different tools available to aid in this process, including the free Followers+ app (iOS/Android) and PinPoint Analytics (free).
You should also consider using other social media sites like Twitter and Facebook when promoting yourself on Pinterest. In addition, make sure you're active on Instagram and Snapchat if you have accounts set up specifically to promote these places.
For best results, you should aim to build out a strong presence across all three major social networks. If you only concentrate on one network, you may miss opportunities to connect with new audiences.
If you've already got a big audience elsewhere but don't know where you stand on Pinterest, here's our guide to finding out whether or not you belong on the popular image-based website.
Affiliates who take advantage of the opportunity to promote their own brands via pinned images typically see great success. According to ClickBank, almost 60% of affiliate sales come from Pins. That said, while most top earners use the platform primarily for product promotion purposes, they often find themselves making additional sales off of branded items they sell.
Most of these posts contain links back to their respective seller pages, which makes them even better prospects for future earnings. For example, a user named Rebecca found herself earning $2,000 per month after she started selling her own jewelry line on Pinterest. She wrote about the experience on Business Insider, noting that "I made [my] first sale within 24 hours."
Another notable success story comes from James Dickson, whose blog post detailing his journey to become a full time blogger earned him nearly $80k in less than six months. He now earns around $1,500 every week from his affiliate sales on Amazon.com alone.
So yes, it seems like affiliate marketing on Pinterest pays well -- especially compared to other forms of online advertising. However, just because the numbers look promising doesn't mean it will work for everyone.
Many people believe that the answer to this question is no. After all, why would anyone pay money to advertise something they could simply pin themselves? And yet, according to research published in 2014 by Pixability, 70 percent of all Pinterest users buy things they saw through a link shared on the platform. So, despite the fact that you can easily create and share pins, there is still considerable value in doing so.
Here are two reasons why you might still want to pursue this form of digital advertising. First, there exists a huge potential for cross-promotion between brands. When customers click on a brand's logo or URL, they immediately gain access to related information. Second, as noted above, Pinterest users tend to spend significantly more when shopping online than non-users. By leveraging the power of the platform, savvy marketers can reach millions of shoppers who never visit their own store.
There are certainly risks involved, however, since it's easy enough for unscrupulous affiliates to copy other people's designs and logos. To prevent this, ensure that you always clearly identify the source of any piece of content on Pinterest. Also keep in mind that Pinterest allows anyone to repin individual images and videos as long as you credit the original creator.
As such, you aren't necessarily limited to creating unique graphics or writing promotional articles. You might choose instead to write reviews or tutorials based on actual experiences. This tactic can allow you to develop a loyal customer base that continues to purchase goods from you regardless of whatever else happens during your affiliation agreement.
Now that you understand the basic principles behind affiliate marketing on Pinterest, you should feel comfortable moving forward. Remember, though, that there isn't much room for error. While there are plenty of opportunities to make money, you must stay committed throughout the entire campaign if you hope to reap the rewards.
To start, you'll want to decide exactly what kind of image you'd like to show off. Do you prefer photos, infographics, GIFs, memes, or videos? Once you settle on a format, you'll need to determine how you plan to distribute those assets. Will you upload them directly to your personal board, or will you partner with another user to host the files on their server?
Once you figure out what works best for you, you'll need to establish your credentials. Are you willing to provide a high level of quality content? How quickly do you expect to produce new materials? These answers will dictate how fast you can grow your portfolio.
Finally, remember that the number one rule of affiliate marketing is consistency. Even though you can generate tons of leads on Pinterest, you won't be able to convert those clicks into sales until you consistently deliver valuable content. Stick to your strategy, stick to your schedule, and stick to your promises.
What is Affiliate Marketing
Affiliates are independent business owners who sell a product or service through their own website. In return, they receive compensation from companies that want to promote the sale of their goods.
In other words, when someone clicks your link and purchases something (or signs up to use a particular service), you get paid by the company selling it. It's a win-win situation because both parties benefit -- the person clicking your link gets what he wants at a good price, while you're getting some cash for driving the deal.
There are literally thousands of different types of businesses that could be sold using this model -- anything from diet pills to cars to clothing lines. For example, if you were interested in writing about fitness, you might create a blog called FitFluency.com, then partner with brands like Nike or Under Armour to write content promoting specific workout programs. You'd also set up links within those posts that would lead readers directly to the brand's website where they could buy shoes or apparel.
The process isn't complicated, but there are many things you need to consider before jumping into this new venture. Let's take a look at them now.
How much do I have to invest? If you don't already know any web design skills or programming languages, it will cost you time and effort learning these skills first. If you've never had a website before, start small and build slowly.
Pinterest has become a staple in our lives. The site's popularity continues to grow at an incredible pace. It now boasts over 200 million monthly active users and more than 100 billion pins. That number will continue to increase dramatically as we move into 2022.
The sheer volume of content that can be found on Pinterest makes it one of the top platforms available online today. With so much information out there, however, it may take some time before you find what you're looking for. A quick search using Google Trends shows just how popular this social media site is becoming.
In fact, according to Statista, there are 690,000 new posts created every day on Pinterest alone! And while many people use Pinterest to share their own personal interests, others use it to sell things. One way they do this is by creating "boards" containing images of the items they want to promote. These boards consist of all kinds of different topics -- from clothing to electronics to makeup -- and everything in between.
As someone who wants to make money off these types of sales, you might wonder if your efforts will pay off. Fortunately for you, yes, they most certainly will. In addition to being able to create multiple boards for any topic imaginable, you also have the ability to connect them together through "followers." This means you'll not only get credit for sharing other people's work but also reap the benefits of additional traffic generated by those followers.
So how exactly can you start making money with your Pinterest account? Let us show you how.
When you first set up a board, you must choose whether you want to add your link to your profile page (also known as a "Pin") or to your post itself. If you decide to Pin, then you won't see your link until someone clicks it. However, when someone does click it, they will visit your website via your link rather than directly visiting Pinterest. So if you've got a lot of Pins going around, you could actually end up losing potential customers because they don't know where to go after clicking your link.
If you'd prefer to keep your link visible throughout the entire process, though, you should opt to include it within your post instead. Doing this allows visitors to easily navigate back to your website once they have finished browsing your product. Also note that even if you have chosen to Pin your image, you still have the option to remove your link entirely if needed. You simply need to hover over your image and select Remove Link.
ClickBank offers two options for making money selling digital products. You can either host your own store through the ClickBank Marketplace or you can partner with ShareASale or Rakuten Advertising to sell your products as affiliates. Both companies provide great services, including hosting stores themselves and providing tracking tools for your campaigns. But both require you to have a unique URL associated with your brand.
Since neither company provides free accounts, you'll need to purchase a domain name and register a separate email address. Once you have done this, however, you can begin promoting your products on your newly registered domains and receive commissions for doing so.
Unfortunately, since both services offer similar features, such as branding, payment processing, and reporting, it isn't always easy to determine which service is best suited for your needs. To help narrow down your choices, here are three important factors to consider.
How big is your audience? For example, if you plan on posting several times per week, then you probably wouldn't benefit from partnering with ShareASale or Rakuten Advertising. On the other hand, if you plan to post once or twice a month, then you may gain more value from partnering with ClickBank.
What kind of products do you want to sell? If you plan on offering physical goods like books, cosmetics, etc., then you would likely profit more from partnering with ClickBank. Meanwhile, if you're planning on selling digital downloads, then you may benefit more from partnering with ShareASale or Rakuten Advertising.
Do you already have an established presence on another network? Since both ClickBank and ShareASale are well-known brands, you shouldn't have too many problems getting started with either service. However, since Rakuten Advertising partners primarily with smaller websites, you won't be eligible to join unless you already have a following.
Yes, you can place links anywhere on your profile pages or boards. As long as you follow certain guidelines, you should never run afoul of Pinterest's terms of service. When adding a link, remember that you can only use text, icons, or videos. Do not insert pictures of actual products, nor should you upload anything else besides your links. Finally, avoid including words like "click," "buy," or "shop" in your titles.
To ensure compliance with Pinterest's policies, you should check out its Terms of Service whenever possible. While the TOS may seem intimidating, the majority of its provisions apply to third parties, not individual users. Therefore, you can rest assured knowing that no matter what you do, you won't face any penalties.
There are a few exceptions, however, including linking to illegal sites and displaying malicious code. Of course, this doesn't mean that you risk legal action if you violate these restrictions. Rather, you're merely placing yourself at risk for violating Pinterest's Terms of Use.
On the flip side, if you follow these tips, you shouldn't encounter any issues whatsoever. After all, you're essentially promoting your own products. Your goal is to drive traffic to your own website, right?
While many believe that Facebook owns the social media game, it appears that Pinterest is taking the lead as far as growth is concerned. According to Business Insider, Pinterest had 75% more daily active users than Instagram last year. Even more impressive was the amount of engagement each user displayed on these networks. On average, Pinterest users spent 3 minutes longer viewing content compared to Instagram users. All told, Pinterest saw nearly 7x the amount of activity as Instagram did during the same period.
Of course, these numbers aren't necessarily reflective of overall success. It's hard to say whether Instagram is really gaining traction among marketers and businesses, especially considering the lack of official statistics. Regardless, Pinterest is clearly growing faster than Instagram, so if you're interested in earning extra revenue from your social media activities, you definitely should give Pinterest a shot. Not only is it currently the second largest social networking site behind Facebook, but it also seems like it will remain dominant for years to come.
Pinterest has become a popular and powerful tool for visual content sharing. It's not just used by hobbyists and artists anymore - millions of people use it every day to find inspiration or share ideas they've found online.
The most interesting thing about this site is that anyone can create their own board and start adding pins from other users' accounts. This means there are literally billions of pins out there waiting to be discovered! You could spend hours browsing through them all if you wanted to, but we're going to focus on one specific type of board here - affiliate marketing boards.
What Is Affiliate Marketing On Pinterest And Why Should I Care About That?
Affiliate advertising is simply when someone pays you commission in return for directing traffic towards your partner website (or product). In order to get paid, you have to sign up with an affiliate program that will pay you per click. The more clicks you bring in, the higher your earnings potential becomes.
You don't need to know anything about affiliate marketing before getting started, because once you learn the basics you'll probably want to join some programs so you can make even more commissions. But first things first - let's look at what makes up a typical affiliate ad campaign.
There are two ways advertisers can advertise on Pinterest, depending on whether or not they already have a presence on the platform. If they don't yet have a page dedicated to promoting their brand, then they must rely on using sponsored posts instead. These are basically regular posts that contain links back to their websites along with information about the item being sold.
If the advertiser already has a web address associated with their business, however, they can post images directly onto their account. They will also be able to include any text that goes with these photos. This gives them much greater control over exactly who sees their advertisement.
It isn't always possible to determine which version of an image belongs to whom though, since many brands now offer multiple versions of their same items. For example, Nike may sell both men's and women's shoes under different names, like "Nike Air Max", "Nike Free" and "Air Jordan". So while the original photo might belong to the company, the modified ones may actually feature celebrities. Or maybe the original picture was taken indoors and the second one outside - either way, you won't really be sure whose ad you clicked on.
This doesn't mean you should ignore sponsored posts entirely though. There are plenty of companies willing to hand-pick certain keywords related to their industry and put together attractive campaigns based around those terms. Many businesses see significant results when they invest time into doing this properly.
Yes! Of course you should absolutely go ahead and set up your own Pinspire account right away and begin posting affiliate ads on the platform. Once you understand how everything works, you can easily keep track of the progress of your efforts, optimize accordingly and continue making profit long after you stop actively working on your account.
But before you dive headfirst into creating a new profile and starting to promote whatever offers interest you, check out our guide on how to choose your niche wisely. We'll discuss why this is important soon enough, but until then let's take a closer look at what kind of work you'd need to do in order to achieve success on the platform.
We'll also cover the various types of boards available to affiliates and show you how to build your own custom board in no time flat. Finally, we'll talk about how to monetize your account and make sure you stay profitable. Let's jump right in!
Absolutely yes! Pinning pictures of products to your personal board is a great way to discover something new and interesting, especially if you're looking for unique items from small manufacturers and sellers rather than large retailers.
In addition to helping you discover new stuff, Pinterest also allows you to connect with others interested in similar topics. People often follow similar interests and hobbies, so finding other people who enjoy what you love is easy and fun.
So far we haven't discussed how you can make money off of your Pinterest activity. Well, the answer is pretty simple too. All you have to do is join one or several affiliate networks and link to the products and services of partners in exchange for a percentage of sales.
Once again, the amount of effort required depends very heavily on the nature of your chosen field and the size of your audience. Some niches require only minimal amounts of research to find relevant sites to plug into your network, whereas others require constant monitoring to ensure you never miss a sale opportunity.
For instance, say you run a fitness center and decide that running sneakers would be a perfect fit for your next promotion. Then you search Google to find the top brands selling in your area and you come across a few dozen options. Which one should you pick? How can you tell apart the quality from the cheap junk? And where are the shoe stores located? Are they nearby or scattered throughout the city?
All of these questions can be answered quickly using Pinterest. Simply browse the thousands of boards featuring exercise equipment, review the price range and location of the shops and select the store closest to your gym. This process takes less than 5 minutes, and you'll end up with a list of 3-5 locations which you can add to your affiliate network.
Another great option is to use the free app called Rakuten Advertising. This service lets you upload and manage unlimited numbers of ads at once, allowing you to target customers based on their individual preferences and needs.
Now that we've covered Pinterest, it's time to move on to another major player in the world of visual bookmarking - Instagram. Although Instagram's features aren't quite as advanced as Pinterest, it still provides its users with a lot of value.
Just like Pinterest, you can choose to promote almost anything on the platform. Whether you prefer fashion, food, music or travel, chances are there's already a community of avid followers ready to support you in your endeavors.
Like Pinterest, Instagram lets you connect with other influencers and fellow enthusiasts alike. Unlike Pinterest though, you can make direct contact with your followers and ask them to buy products from your friends' online shop.
When done correctly, this method of affiliate marketing can generate lots of extra revenue for you. However, it requires much more manual labor than the previous option, since every step of the process has to be managed manually.
On the plus side, Instagram does allow you to place affiliate banners alongside your posts, meaning you can promote products within your feed itself. This is definitely easier than having to hunt down pages on external platforms, but you'll lose total control over the entire experience.
To conclude, we'd like to remind you that affiliate marketing is a complex subject full of pitfalls and tricks that you must master in order to succeed. Therefore, we recommend learning as much as possible about the topic before jumping into action.
While the tools provided above will certainly help you gain valuable insight into the mechanics behind affiliate marketing, there's nothing wrong with trying to learn as much as you can yourself. After all, you ultimately get to reap the benefits of your hard work and dedication.
If you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of choices available today, we highly encourage you to explore the following resources:
Just follow our battle-tested guidelines and rake in the profits.