You can leverage Pinterest to drive affiliate sales with creativity and interesting products to share. This comprehensive guide will help you understand Pinterest affiliate marketing and provide tips to generate passive income on the platform.
Useful Article: Affiliate Marketing: What It Is and How to Get Started
What is Pinterest Affiliate Marketing?
Pinterest is a visual-centric social media platform and search engine where users explore new products, find inspiration, and gather ideas. The content on Pinterest is presented as “pins,” which are images linked to websites.
Users can browse, save, and organize these pins into virtual mood boards. Pinterest affiliate marketing involves promoting products or services through these pins.
Affiliate marketers create pins featuring images and videos and incorporate affiliate links. When users click on these links and make a purchase, the affiliate earns a commission.
This marketing approach leverages the sense of community and shared interests on Pinterest, making it particularly effective in niche markets like travel, home decor, food, and other visually appealing categories.
Should You Use Pinterest for Affiliate Marketing?
You should consider using Pinterest for affiliate marketing. Pinterest can be an effective platform for driving traffic to your affiliate content, such as blog posts, landing pages, or YouTube videos.
Pinterest has over 518 million monthly users spanning various demographics, from Gen Z to high-income households.
The platform operates not only as a social media network but also as a visual search engine, making it a unique space for discovering new products and ideas.
With a significant 80% of Pinterest users discovering new brands and products weekly, the platform presents a substantial opportunity for affiliate marketers. The more visibility your affiliate links have, the higher the chances of generating sales and earning commissions.
Given its broad reach and the ability to target specific niche markets, Pinterest is a valuable channel for affiliate marketing.
9 Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Tips
If you decide that Pinterest is a marketing channel to invest in for your affiliate marketing business, here are some tips to help you get started and make money as a Pinterest affiliate marketer.
1. Know the Rules
Learn the rules for creating, pinning, and sharing affiliate content on Pinterest. Key guidelines to follow include:
- No cloaking: Pinterest advises against shortening or concealing affiliate URLs.
- Disclose affiliation: Affiliates must obey FTC guidelines by clearly labeling affiliate content as “sponsored” or “affiliated.” Ensure disclaimers are included on both pins and landing pages to comply with regulations.
- No fake accounts: Re-pinning your content via alias accounts is against Pinterest’s guidelines.
2. Create Several Pins per Post
Generate several pins containing the affiliate link for each marketing post. The more affiliate pins you have, the more opportunities for audience engagement. Experiment with different pin templates, including:
- Vertical and horizontal images for Pinterest affiliate marketing posts
- Black and white photos and colorful graphics
- Stock imagery and custom graphics
- Text-heavy and visually focused content
3. Schedule Pins in Advance
Use tools like Hootsuite to schedule pins in advance. This allows you to set a custom schedule, add new content to your queue, and automatically add pins to your board, maximizing the chance of reaching users when they’re online.
4. Enable Rich Pins
Rich pins offer more detailed information than standard images, making them more noticeable in a crowded feed. By including additional details directly within the pin description, rich pins can help increase traffic to your affiliate links.
Here’s how you can use rich pins:
- Products: Display current pricing and availability.
- Recipes: Include cooking time, ratings, ingredients, and serving sizes.
- Articles: Show the headline, description, and author.
You only need to set up rich pins once, and then all eligible future pins will automatically include these enhanced details.
5. Pin to Group Boards
Group boards help multiple users share content to one board, promoting pins to each other’s audience. Read group board descriptions for guidance on becoming a contributor and terms for posting new content.
6. Optimize for SEO
Optimize your profile to reach existing and potential buyers actively searching. Utilize SEO best practices, such as using keywords with purchase intent and rich pins, which automatically pull metadata.
Use keyword tools like Ahrefs, Moz Keyword Explorer, or Keywords Everywhere.
7. Build an Email List Through Pinterest
Capture readers’ email addresses to promote affiliate products through drip email campaigns. Include an email opt-in on your landing page and offer incentives like content-centered lead magnets or discount codes.
8. Analyze Pin Performance
Use Pinterest Analytics to assess your best pins, user interactions, and audience interests. Metrics to consider include click-through rate, time on site, and conversions. Use insights to improve your content strategy.
9. Promote High-Performing Pins
Use Pinterest Ads to boost your marketing efforts. The best performing ads often feature high-resolution, vertical images, center your brand, have reliable links, and contain clear copy. Use sponsored pins to promote an affiliate link directly or drive users back to your affiliate marketing content.
Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Examples
On Pinterest, you can see many examples of affiliate marketing in action. By exploring the platform, you will find numerous examples of Pinterest marketing using affiliate links. These examples showcase how users create visually appealing pins that drive traffic and generate commissions.
Summary of Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest for Beginners
The Pinterest affiliate program offers a unique opportunity to reach a visually-oriented audience and generate passive income. By following these tips and strategies, you can effectively improve your affiliate marketing through Pinterest platform.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should I Have a Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Strategy?
Developing a Pinterest affiliate marketing strategy can help you monetize your pins and earn commissions from brands. Pinterest can be especially profitable if you have the right audience and promote affiliate pins in popular categories.
Can I Do Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest?
Yes, Pinterest allows affiliate links. Simply add external affiliate links to your relevant pins, which will redirect your audience to landing pages, opt-in pages, and merchants’ websites.
How Do I Promote Affiliate Links on Pinterest Without a Website?
You can tag affiliate products in feed posts, Stories, Reels, and live broadcasts. You can also create a shop with recommended products. Curate boards that align with your niche and feature a mix of affiliate products and services. Use high-quality images and engaging descriptions to attract clicks.