Do you know that you can do Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest and earn money? However, if you are not sure how to, then don’t worry! Here, we are going to share the ways using which you can earn money through Pinterest Affiliate Marketing. Affiliate Marketing refers to a method of promoting a product of somebody else for earning money. And if someone buys the product from your link, you will receive a commission.
The commission can be anything like a fixed price or some fixed percentage based on the kind of product that you are promoting. One of the interesting facts about online affiliate marketing is that if you do it seriously, you can earn a good amount of income ad support your earnings too. You can promote your affiliate product link with various methods like:
- Writing a blog
- Share the link in your circle
- Promoting the link by using different social media platforms
Today, a large number of users are actively spending time on social media platforms and this number increases daily. Social Media platforms are one of the best places to promote your affiliate product link and to reach as many people as possible.
In this blog, we are going to see how we can use Pinterest Affiliate Marketing to earn money online. Pinterest is a social network which gives users a platform to explore, share new interest by posting creatives like videos and images. However, before we see how we can use online affiliate marketing as a source of income, let us know more about Pinterest.
What is Pinterest?
At its core, Pinterest is simple- a place on the web where you can make boards and pin the things that you like. However, the simplicity of Pinterest makes it simple to be underestimated. There are a lot of Pinterest users who do not understand what is the entire process. And, for people who do not use Pinterest, it can be confusing, mainly because there is no website like this.
Pinterest can be defined as a hybrid between an image search engine and a social media website. Users pin and share what they like online in the form of images. The content can be found in two different ways- first, by using the Pinterest search engine, and second, by following people and seeing things that they share.
As far as using Pinterest is concerned, it is obvious that you should create an account. If you use Pinterest for affiliate marketing, and if you operate in different niches, you should have separate Pinterest accounts for each of them. Like this, you will master affiliate marketing on Pinterest in an easier way.
How to do Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
In 2015, Pinterest decided to ban Pinterest Affiliate Marketing for the reason it being a place of spammy pins. However, they kept enhancing their platform and technology to prevent the spammers, and thanks to that Pinterest Affiliate marketing is now possible, and also quite popular.
You can create pins that connect directly to various products or services that you are trying to advertise. Many people don’t take benefit of that “little” details, which is surprising. Links are being used to generate a few sales fast, but not for long term income and traffic purposes.
In this article, we will show you how to use affiliate marketing programs to earn money.
Create a Business Pinterest Profile
If you want to use Pinterest for affiliate marketing, you should at first create a Business Pinterest profile, rather than just creating a personal one. Pinterest states that an account that wishes to use the platform for commercial purposes must create a new business account and agree to the business-specific TOS. However, even if that was not the case, it is still beneficial for you to have a Pinterest profile.
Setting a Pinterest profile gives you access to Pinterest Analytics and other tools that will help you to improve your affiliate marketing game on the platform. Also, business profiles can be linked to your profiles, which is quite easy. On Pinterest, you have the option to link up 4 business profiles with your account.
After creating a Business Pinterest account, you can see the overview of your account, and see insights about your target audience. Also, you can collect information about your audience’s age, location, gender, and even the device which they are using.
Do’s and Don’t’s of Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
When it comes to using Pinterest as an affiliate marketing tool- it is quite intuitive.
Pinterest is a platform where if you want to make the most of it, you must use the Traffic, Trust, and Offer (TTO) affiliate marketing method. This platform is not simply for spreading links over it. Like other social media platforms, you have to focus on integrating your affiliate marketing efforts in the right way and ensure that you and your content are liked by your audience. Remember that people go to Pinterest mostly for fun. You should not ruin their experience by spamming them with offers and links.
Many people spend money on Pinterest, but often marketers do not know how to leverage that and receive a constant income from it.
The Key to Successful Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
Traffic, Trust, and Offer. That is the motto of every experienced affiliate marketer. TTO means that you want to:
- Focus on generating traffic to your boards
- Build trust by avoiding spam links or disturbing the users in any manner
- Use your key posts to provide relevant links on them, and therefore initiate the procedure of forming your affiliate networks through Pinterest
The above differentiates the experienced affiliate marketers from the freshers. Once you know how to use Pinterest affiliate marketing programs, you will start getting all the traffic you require.
No spamming links
As mentioned earlier, you should not spam links. Instead of spamming links, you should make sure you include them in the right way. Do not take the pleasure away from people who love using Pinterest, as you may lose your potential customers.
Do not try to sell things to everyone- that is not realistic. Be genuine and know who your target audience is. That is the right way to use Pinterest for online affiliate marketing.
Pinterest Pin Boards
Most of your clicks will be from the pinboards on Pinterest. Consider them just like Facebook groups. A well-organized Pinterest board includes a topic. As everyone can create pinboards, you must try to mix already created boards and making some of your own.
It is not too difficult to find boards that are pertinent to your niche. Also, while creating boards, ensure that they are relevant to what you present, filled with useful pins. Doing this should offer some relevant traffic to your affiliate offers.
Slowly, you will build more and more boards, and ultimately, as they become famous, you can stop focusing on the group boards. Be patient and you will finally get there. Remember, consistency is the key.
Posting your pins
You must be knowing that every post on Pinterest is known as a “pin.” While including a new pin, you should add the following information to it:
- Website URL
- Image
- Description
Each of these elements can increase the chances for success when it comes to Pinterest Affiliate marketing.
URL of your Pin
As far as a URL on your pin is concerned, it is better to link directly to your affiliate offers. Doing it is easy and quick and it generates commissions for you with no effort required.
In case, if you want to start promoting products on networks like Amazon Associates, however, you should build up a personal site and fill it with appropriate content.
Creating a website can be quite helpful for your affiliate marketing process in the long run, as it is an additional method to get conversions.
The Image of your Pin
Keep in mind that Pinterest is a visual search engine. That is the reason why your images must be attractive. Try to go through some of the boards for your niche and find out what is trending for some inspiration. Execute a similar kind for your pins, without using any bland images.
While doing blogs, ensure that your images are long, instead of squares- look much better next to your text content. Also, square images do not receive a lot of shares. Try to experiment with different sizes until you find your choice.
The Description of your Pin
The description of your pins should be relevant. Try to include the right amount of keywords and the right description of the link, so that everything is clear for all the users.
The description is one that makes your URL easy to trace through the standard Pinterest search. That is why the quality of the information in your pin description is important. Keep in mind, do not overdo it, of course- 20 to 30 words are sufficient. It is not a blog post, rather it is a description.
How to Get the Most Out of your Pins
Recommend relevant products to your audience- Here, the first step is to make sure that your pins are relevant to your target audience. Here are some items and niches that would be relevant to each other:
Fitness- CrossFit equipment, heart rate monitor, workout at home gear
Outdoors- tents, hiking equipment, backpacks, water bottles
Dogs- Bowls, Food, Collars
Home Living- Kitchen knives, TV sets stylish bar stools
Online marketing- Craft supplies, DIY tools
You want to offer your customers things that could assist them. It will not help you to spam affiliate links to all types of products. Know what your customer wants and offer the right solutions.
Test Linking to Buying Guides or Reviews– This will depend on your niche. It might be a great idea to check how you get the maximum sales. You can try linking straight to the affiliate product from Pinterest and linking to a review or buying guide on your site if you have.
You will have proper tracking for this method, but it is not too difficult. The first important thing you will need is to have separate links for your Pinterest post and for buying guides. This is not a problem with Amazon Associates.
Name it something so that you can recall that it is going on Pinterest.
Spend the next month or so comparing these tracking IDs. Send some of the pins straight to affiliate products and other pins to your reviews or buying guides.
You should compare the results after about a month and see what is bringing in maximum conversions for you.
Disclose Affiliate Relations & Try to Avoid Cloaking–
Almost all the affiliate networks will need that you have some disclosure to an affiliate relation. This is because of FTC requirements for affiliate networks. You must always disclose this relation in your pins.
You also need to pass on link cloaking. The Acceptable Use Policy of Pinterest makes it clear that your audiences should know where they are heading to.
Growing your Pinterest Affiliate Marketing
Now that we have discussed some best practices, let us have a look at some ways to grow your income. One of the most important steps that you can take is to make your Pinterest profile look authentic. This means creating boards, publishing pins, and following others. If you have a Pinterest account with say, more than 200 followers, you can skip this step.