5 Real Ways to Make Money with Pinterest

Pinterest is a great way to make money online from home. Pinning is fun, and the best part is, you can get paid while doing it!
This visual platform helps connect brands with people who are ready to buy. In fact, Pinterest says that about 87% of users have bought something because of what they saw on the app.
People come to Pinterest for ideas, but they often end up buying things. It's a place where inspiration leads to shopping.
Women especially love Pinterest. They make up most of the users. Many moms and female entrepreneurs use Pinterest to run small businesses and sell their products or services.
But before you start making good money from Pinterest, you’ll need to learn how Pinterest marketing works and grow your audience.
The good news? You can turn your pinning hobby into a steady income stream. Here are five real ways to make money on Pinterest.
1. Content creation and collaboration
Pinterest is a great place for creators to team up with brands and get paid for their creative work. Whether you're making eye-catching Pins or writing engaging descriptions, Pinterest offers plenty of ways to earn money. Brands are always looking for content that helps them grow and boost their sales—and that's where you come in!
Here are some easy ways to build paid partnerships on Pinterest.
Work with Brands on Pinterest
Many brands want to grow their presence on Pinterest and boost their sales. The good news? Pinterest loves fresh, creative pins — but many businesses don’t know how to make them.
If you're good at designing pins and understand how Pinterest works, you can team up with brands to create content.
Paid Partnerhsip Label
When creators work with brands outside of Pinterest and get paid for it, they can use the Paid Partnership tool to let people know about the collaboration. This tool adds a “Paid Partnership” label to the Pin.
To use it, creators just tag the brand on the Pin. Once the brand approves the tag, its name will show up on the Pin when it goes live.
Try the Pin Collective Program
If you're not sure how to find brands to work with, try joining the Pin Collective Program. It connects skilled creators with brands looking for help on Pinterest.
You design the pins, and the brand publishes them on their boards — and they pay you for your work. Sometimes, you and the brand can create pins together and share them on both your boards. This way, brands can also reach your followers.
Use Group Boards for Collaboration
Group boards are a great way to collaborate. You can create a shared board with a brand where both of you post content. This helps the brand tap into your audience and build more visibility.
Make sure to switch to a Pinterest Business Account before reaching out to brands. It gives you access to analytics, like monthly viewers, engagement, and click-through rates — helpful stats you can share with brands to show your value.
Become a Pinterest Influencer
Another way to make money on Pinterest is by becoming a Pinterest influencer or brand ambassador. Influencers promote other people's products and services using their audience and niche knowledge.
Start by focusing on a few topics you enjoy and know well. Create high-quality content, build strong boards around those topics, and grow your audience. Over time, people will see you as a go-to expert in your niche.
Once you earn trust and build a loyal following, it becomes easier to promote niche-related products and get paid for it.
Build Trust and Authority
To charge more for pins or collaborations, you need to show brands that you're an expert in your niche. That means having strong, active boards and a targeted audience that follows you for inspiration and updates.
As your authority grows, your pins will get more saves and re-pins. This helps grow your audience even more — which makes you more valuable to brands.
Show Your Stats
Having lots of followers is great — but it’s not everything. Brands also want to know about your engagement: how many people like, save, share, or comment on your pins.
When talking to brands, share these stats to show the kind of impact you can create. It helps prove that your content actually brings results.
Stay Authentic
Always stay true to your niche. Your pins and website content should match. Avoid clickbait! People click on pins expecting helpful content — give them what you promised.
Where to Find Brand Deals
You can also check out platforms like hellosociety.com and loop88. These websites connect influencers with brands looking for Pinterest marketing help.
2. Setup e-commerce store
Thinking about starting your own online store? You totally should.
Pinterest is full of people looking for new ideas and cool products. If they like what they see, there's a good chance they’ll click and buy. In fact, Pinterest users are often more ready to shop than people on other social platforms. According to Pinterest, most users have already bought something they found on the app.
That’s why Pinterest is such a great place for small business owners to open an e-commerce store.
Try “Shop the Look” Pins
“Shop the Look” Pins used to be only for big brands. But now, small and medium-sized businesses can use them too. These Pins make shopping easier and faster. When a product Pin has the “Shop the Look” feature, you’ll see three little dots. Click on them, and boom — more product info and a direct link to buy.
This feature helps users explore similar items just by checking out one Pin. It’s a smoother shopping experience that can lead to more sales with less effort.
Set Up Your Online Store
'If you’ve been creating great content and growing your Pinterest following, it might be time to open your own store. Pinterest can drive serious traffic to your website or shop.
List products that match your audience’s interests. Before choosing what to sell, take time to understand your audience — their age, location, style, and what they’re pinning. That way, you’ll know what they’re more likely to buy.
Make sure your product pages are easy to use and look good — it’ll help turn clicks into actual sales.
Platforms to Sell On
Two super popular options for Pinterest sellers are Etsy and Shopify.
Etsy
If you love making arts, crafts, or custom designs, Etsy is a great fit. There’s a huge DIY and handmade-loving crowd on Pinterest.
For example, you could design cute mugs or print your art on t-shirts and sell them on Etsy.
Pro tips:
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Claim your Etsy store on Pinterest to get more views and followers.
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Etsy works best with square images, but Pinterest prefers vertical Pins (2:3 ratio).
Shopify
For dropshipping or selling physical and digital products, Shopify is a great platform. Many sellers use it along with Rich Pins and Shop the Look features to boost sales.
Make your Pins visually appealing — don’t just drop in plain product photos. Pick a nice theme for your Shopify store so it looks clean and easy to shop.
Do Your Research
Want to stand out from your competitors on Pinterest? Study what they’re doing — what they’re selling, what their Pins look like, and whether they’re using Promoted Pins. Use what you learn to make your own Pins more eye-catching and creative.
Don’t Forget Pinterest SEO
Pinterest works like a visual search engine. People go straight to the search bar to look for products. That means your titles, descriptions, and even image text should use keywords people are actually searching for.
Also, make sure your:
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Profile
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Boards
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Pins
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...are all SEO-friendly.
The better your Pins rank, the more eyes (and clicks) you’ll get. And with more competition every day, ranking high is key to growing your store.
3. Selling affiliate products on Pinterest
Affiliate marketing is one of the easiest ways to make money from your blog or website. In fact, a lot of creators earn more from affiliate links than from ads!
But to really do well, you need to understand how affiliate marketing works — and how to do it right.
Here are some quick and easy tips to get started:
Join Good Affiliate Programs
Pick affiliate programs that offer products or services you actually like or have used yourself. It's way easier to promote something you truly believe in.
Know Your Audience
Before choosing what to promote, take some time to learn about your audience.
Ask yourself:
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What do they need?
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What problems are they trying to solve?
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What kind of content do they save or click on?
Once you know your audience well, choose affiliate products that match their interests and needs.
Make Eye-Catching Pins
Use free tools like Canva and Photoshop to design beautiful Pins that stand out.
Pretty Pins = more clicks!
Do Some Keyword Research
Use Pinterest’s search bar to find keywords related to your product. Add those keywords to your Pin titles, descriptions, and boards. This helps your content show up in search and reach more of the right people.
Share Affiliate Links in the Smart Way
Yes, you can add your affiliate link directly to a Pin.
But here's a better idea:
Write a helpful blog post reviewing the product, then share that post on Pinterest. It feels more natural and gives your readers more info before they buy.
Apply for Rich Pins
Rich Pins show more info than regular Pins and can help your content get noticed.
More info = more trust = more clicks.
Affiliate marketing isn’t hard — it just takes the right efforts consistently. Once you get the hang of it, it can be a great way to earn passive income from Pinterest traffic!
4. Become a virtual assistant
Did you know many brands are looking for help with their Pinterest accounts?
If you know how Pinterest works, you can become a Pinterest Virtual Assistant (VA) and help businesses that don’t have time or don’t know how to use the platform. And yes—you can get paid for it!
Offering Pinterest services is a great way to earn money online from home.
What Does a Pinterest VA Do?
Here are some tasks you might handle as a Pinterest manager:
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Help businesses grow their presence on Pinterest
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Design and create eye-catching Pins
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Schedule Pins (manually or with tools like Tailwind)
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Organize and manage boards
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Write SEO-friendly titles and descriptions
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Run and manage Pinterest ads
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Track Pin performance and give reports
You can choose your own hours and work with clients from anywhere. For many people, this becomes a steady, full-time income—all from the comfort of home.
If you enjoy Pinterest and love helping others grow, this could be the perfect side hustle (or even career!) for you.
5. Monetize your blog or website
Pinterest is a great place to get fast, targeted traffic to your blog or website.
And the best part? You can turn that traffic into real money by selling products, earning ad revenue, or doing sponsored posts.
With the right Pinterest marketing strategies, you can bring tons of visitors to your site.
Start with a Blog and a Niche
Pick a niche you’re passionate about and keep creating helpful blog posts around that topic.
Make a special Pinterest board just for your blog or brand, and pin all your blog posts there.
For each blog post, add 3–4 vertical images (in a 2:3 ratio). That way, you can create multiple Pins for one blog post. Use different titles on each Pin to test which one performs better.
Use Tailwind to Save Time
If you’re super busy, tools like Tailwind can help. It schedules your Pins to go out at the best times.
You can also join Tailwind Communities (formerly Tribes) to connect with other Pinterest creators. Members often share each other’s Pins, which helps grow your reach even faster.
Earn Money with Ads
Once you have traffic coming in, you can earn money with display ads.
Some popular ad networks are:
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Google AdSense
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Media.net
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Mediavine
Each one has different requirements:
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AdSense is the easiest to start with. No traffic limits, but your site must follow their rules.
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Media.net works best if your traffic is mostly from countries like the US, UK, or Canada.
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Mediavine needs at least 25,000 sessions a month but pays very well once you're approved.
Pinterest is awesome for sending high-quality traffic from top-earning countries, which can lead to higher ad earnings per click (CPC).
Build an Email List
All that Pinterest traffic? Use it to grow your email list!
Once people are on your list, you can promote:
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Your own products
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Affiliate products
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New blog posts
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...and more.
Sell Digital Products
Don’t have a physical product to sell? No problem!
You can create and sell:
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Ebooks
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Online courses
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Canva templates
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Printables
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...and more!
Digital products are easy to create, cost nothing to ship, and can be sold over and over again.
Pinterest is more than just a place to share ideas — it’s a powerful tool to build your blog, grow your brand, and earn income from home.
Conclusion
As we’ve seen, there are lots of ways to earn money on Pinterest.
To get started, focus on creating quality content, using the right keywords, and growing a niche audience that loves what you share. Keep pinning regularly, build your followers over time, and choose the best way to make money—whether that’s selling products, promoting affiliate links, or offering services.
Growing on Pinterest doesn’t happen overnight—but with a good plan and some consistency, you’ll start to see results.
Stick with it, trust the process, and you’ll be on your way to turning Pinterest into a real income stream!