4 Realistic Ways To Monetize Your Pinterest Traffic

For beginners, getting traffic from Pinterest is not hard, but monetizing it is another story. So what is the best way to get the most out of your Pinterest traffic?

In this article, I will detail strategies and ideas you can use to leverage your Pinterest presence to make money.

There are several ways to do this, and your success depends on how well you strategize and use the best tactics to make it happen. 

So, Let’s get you started on the action!

1. Monetizing Your Website – The Easiest Way

Using social media to drive traffic to your website is one of the oldest strategies out there, and any and easneffective one! 

You have full control over your website and can leverage it more effectively than other mediums, thus making additional traffic welcome.

Once you have traffic on your website, the possibilities increase manifold. 

• Ads

The easiest way to monetize your traffic is using ads like Adsense, Mediavine, Raptive, etc to earn revenue. It is totally hands-free. Perfect for beginners.

• Affiliate Sales

Another possibility is affiliate sales. If you’re showing products on your website for monetization, the visitor may choose to purchase some products based on your recommendations, thus earning affiliate commissions. 

The best affiliate program for beginners is Amazon Affiliate Program.

• E-commerce/Services/Subscriptions

For websites with e-commerce product sales, new visitors from Pinterest open the possibility of new sales and thus greater revenue.

This pretty much holds true for websites in a variety of genres, including those selling services and subscriptions.

• Email List

Another option would be to encourage visitors to sign up for your newsletter, thus creating a potential for repeat visitors and leads.

This gives you new opportunities and opens up a new channel for communication (email) with potential leads. 

There could be more possibilities here depending on your niche and website strategy, but overall, driving traffic to your website from Pinterest can be a pretty strong option, and is also the easiest way to monetize Pinterest traffic.

2. Leveraging Brand Partnerships On Pinterest

As Pinterest and social media users, we’ve already seen influencers making pins about different products or services. When these pins are made on behalf of a business, they represent brand partnerships.

Simply put, if you’re well-known and successful on Pinterest, there is a chance that businesses would be willing to partner with you or sponsor some content in return of a shoutout/promotion. 

Often, these partnerships will be related to your Pinterest niche, but that’s not a fixed rule and where relevant, businesses in other niches may also show interest.

It is usually smarter to consider the interests of people who follow your Pinterest board, and pick brand partnerships they would like.

Getting a sponsor/partner can work in multiple ways. Sometimes, businesses approach the influencer for marketing. Although, influencers reaching out to businesses and offering promotions is also possible.

Sponsored posts are usually paid a fixed amount agreed upon by the business and influencer. Businesses and influencers that often work together might also choose to negotiate other options like monthly payments, benefits, product trials, etc.

3. Utilizing Pinterest Shopping Feature

The Pinterest Shopping Tool is a very powerful and effective feature for businesses willing to sell their products directly on Pinterest.

Qualified businesses utilizing this feature can sell products to potential customers through the Pinterest app.

The simplicity and potential for quick sale makes this a very desirable option. Since the potential customer doesn’t have to go through multiple steps, the experience is more convenient.

Additionally, with the sales funnel so nicely optimized, businesses can expect a decent amount of conversion, and thus, profits.

However, this feature is not available to everyone, and businesses have to qualify to activate the shopping feature on their pins.

To qualify for Pinterest Shopping and in-app checkout, businesses have to meet several criteria and guidelines put forth by Pinterest. 

Despite the effort it requires, this feature does bear fruit. Pinterest’s application and vetting process helps weed out potential scammers or those with questionable business practices.

This helps encourage confidence for shopping on the platform, thus benefiting the consumers and businesses alike. 

4. Affiliate Marketing

Conventional affiliate marketing is a great way to make money with Pinterest. The idea is simple enough – you post pins with relevant content and affiliate links and make commissions on any successful sales! 

Make sure you follow Pinterest guidelines for affiliate content to avoid running into problems with the platform. Additionally, all affiliate content/pins should be clearly disclosed, so visitors to your pins know exactly what the pin is about.

There are different ways to manage affiliate marketing efforts on Pinterest. Some users prefer to make the pin directly with their affiliate links, sending buyers to the e-commerce website. 

Others direct the pin to a landing page on their website, which might contain additional call to action or marketing pitch, more details about the product, and of course, the affiliate link.

It is usually worthwhile to utilize rich pins for affiliate marketing, so that additional information is available with the pin, giving more information to the user, and allowing the influencer (or seller) to make a stronger case for their product!