Last Updated on August 9, 2024 by Katie
It’s possible to start Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog even if you don’t know where to start.
By adding affiliate links directly to your pins you can make passive income. So if you have a Pinterest account already, why not start making money from it?
This doesn’t mean you should just spam affiliate links on your account all day long. This is a surefire way to get your Pinterest account banned.
While Pinterest is tolerant of affiliate links now, you should be mindful to share a mix of affiliate pins and niche-relevant pins.
Affiliate marketing is a beginner-friendly way to start making money online. It’s an agreement between you and the product vendor to send them traffic through a unique link you’re given.
When someone clicks on your link and makes a purchase, you make a commission.
So why is Pinterest affiliate marketing such a good idea?
Well, according to statistics around 70% of Pinterest users go on the platform to make a buying decision.
That makes it one of the best social media platforms to make money from.
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Summary of How to Make Money Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Without a Blog
- Set Up a Pinterest Business Account
- Decide On a Niche
- Research Products and Services Your Niche Needs
- Find Relevant Affiliate Programs
- Design Stand Out Pins
- Pin to a Relevant Board
- Implement SEO Strategies
- Schedule Pins with Tailwind
- Find and Join Pinterest Group Boards
What’s Needed to Start Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Without a Blog?
To make money with Pinterest affiliate marketing, you need very little.
This is why it’s such a great new side hustle for beginners that could even make $100 a day.
Some basic things you need to get started include;
- A Pinterest business account. You can either switch your personal account or set up a new account
- A free Canva account to design pins
- A niche to target e.g. Mom and baby, fashion, making money, travel, home decor
- Products to promote and your affiliate links
- Optimised boards filled out with keyword-rich descriptions
- Time daily and weekly to create, upload and share pins
How to Make Money On Pinterest Without a Blog?
It’s really simple to start Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog.
The guide below shows you the exact beginner steps to make your first affiliate commissions.
Step #1: Set Up a Pinterest Business Account
Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog requires you to set up a business account.
Head to the sign in page and click ‘create a free business account‘.
Fill out your relevant details and you’ll be taken to Pinterest where you can start building your account.
Step #2: Decide On a Niche
Choosing the right niche is essential. Some will work better than others for affiliate marketing on Pinterest.
Popular niches that make money on Pinterest include:
- Travel
- Holidays
- Mom and baby
- Food/nutrition
- Home decor
- DIY and crafts
- Men’s fashion
- Wedding
- Make money/remote work
While these work well, it’s important to choose a niche you’re passionate about and know something about.
Try to strike a balance between what you’re interested in and what people are searching for on Pinterest.
Because there’s no point in choosing a niche no one wants to know about, just because you like it.
Step #3: Research Products or Services Your Niche Needs
Affiliate marketing works if you show people products they want and need at the right time.
Make a list of all the useful products and services you can think of in your niche. Also include products you’ve used yourself that were helpful.
To give you more ideas, use Pinterest keyword research. This will help you identify what people are searching for on the platform.
Use the search bar on Pinterest and type in a few words. Pinterest will often finish off your sentence and show you a list of commonly searched phrases.
Start with a broad keyword such as travel.
You can see that Pinterest has suggested popular topics to me such as:
- Travel outfit
- Travel photography
- Travel essentials
These are great ideas for your niche and there are plenty of products you could promote here.
Research your chosen niche to find products that might help people.
Step #4: Find Relevant Affiliate Programs
Choose a few affiliate products that align with your niche.
Use Google to search for relevant affiliate programs.
Type in ‘’your niche’’ + affiliate programs”, which will show you the currently available programs you can apply to.
Apply to be a part of the affiliate program. Each program will have different rules to which you’ll have to adhere to.
Remember that some will only take on affiliates with a blog.
Don’t let a ‘no’ dishearten you. Just move on and find another.
Check out these best affiliate programs for Pinterest:
The affiliate programs you decide to sign up to really depend on your niche.
Here are some recommended affiliate programs for Pinterest which align with different niches.
- Home décor: Wayfair
- Travel: Booking.com
- Education: Udemy
- Food and drink: Home Chef
- Pets: Embark
- Mom and baby: Bloom baby nursery
- Hair and beauty: Elizabeth Arden
For multiple different affiliate products search these large affiliate platforms:
Step #5: Design Stand Out Pins
Now you have your affiliate links, you need to create pins to promote them on.
This is probably one of the most important steps because stand-out pins will get more clicks and affiliate sales.
I use Canva which has an extremely great free version which is all you need.
You don’t need to be a graphic design expert either, Canva has tons of ready-installed free graphics, photos, stickers and videos to use.
Create pins that are tall and of 2:3 ratios. Canva makes it easy by giving you the exact preferred pin size already.
Just click on ‘create design’ and type in ‘Pinterest pin’ which is already set at 1000-1500px. You can add in custom sizing if you require.
Once you’ve created your pin, give it a name (this helps with SEO), and download it to your computer.
On Pinterest, click ‘create pin’, add your image and write the title and description.
Use the Pinterest search box to find keywords and add them to your description.
Start typing your keyword in and Pinterest will show you related keywords.
By making your pin description keyword-rich, you’re telling Pinterest what your pin is about, increasing the chances it gets seen higher up in the searches.
Make sure you declare that the pin is an affiliate pin.
You can do this by writing #affiliatelink, #aff or #promotion for example. In the link section, this is where you add your actual affiliate link.
DO NOT use a link shortener like Bitly. Use the original link.
Unlike other social platforms, Pinterest doesn’t like affiliate links to be hidden.
Step #6: Pin to a Relevant Board
Pin your new affiliate pin to the most relevant board first.
If the title is ‘best 12 baby dummies for teething’, pin this to your baby product, or tips for baby teething board.
Make at least three versions of that pin to send out every couple of days.
You can use a paid scheduler like Tailwind or you can actually schedule pins for free right in Pinterest.
Join group boards and share your pin there to get more exposure. Just make sure the group is tolerant of affiliate pins.
Tips for getting the most traffic for your pins:
- Design 3+ pins for each affiliate link. This gives your affiliate pin the maximum amount of exposure. Schedule them to go out with around 2 weeks between them so Pinterest doesn’t think you’re spamming the same link.
- Post your pins when your audience are most engaged. I use Tailwind which tells me when my audience is most engaged. This is extremely helpful to build your account and get more likes, shares and follows.
- Only recommend courses, products or services you know are good. It’s important to be genuine when doing Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog. If you recommend bad products, or spam, this will only hurt your reputation and not make you much money.
- Pin other creators’ pins to your boards. Aim to pin a mix of your own pins and other peoples pins. This will help build your account and maybe get you more shares when you help others out as well.
- Disclose you’re sharing an affiliate link. As mentioned above, use the original link and disclose that it’s an affiliate pin by adding #affiliatelink or #promotion into the pin description.
Step #7: Implement SEO Strategies
To help your target audience find you, implement SEO (search engine optimisation) strategies.
This includes optimising your Pinterest profile, boards and pins. Here’s what you need to know:
- Bio and profile. This is what your follower’s ad potential buyers will look at first. Make sure you tell people what you do, your expertise and how you can help them. Optimise this area with key search terms people might use on Pinterest such as ‘best travel outfits’ for example related to your niche.
- Boards. Your account should have one main niche eg; travel and an umbrella of sub-niches (boards). Examples include ‘travel outfits women’, ‘travel clothes kids’, ‘travel tips with toddlers’ and ‘travel insurance tips’. Again, you can find ideas using the Pinterest search bar.
- Pins. Use keywords in the description of your pins and on your pins. This helps Pinterest to know who to show your pins to. Highly relevant pin titles also help get you clicks by the right people, who might be interested in buying what you’re promoting.
Step #8: Schedule Pins with Tailwind
Investing in Tailwind will save you so much time and stress.
Initially, I spent hours each day creating and uploading pins directly to Pinterest.
While this is free, you lose so much more time that could be spent working on other areas of your business.
Tailwind is a social media scheduler allowing you to schedule content in bulk, freeing up your time for the rest of the week.
I usually spend two hours at the start of the week creating and scheduling Pinterest pins on Tailwind. This is so much better than when I was spending two hours a day!
Tailwind also suggests the best times to post according to your niche and gives you access to Tailwind communities to get more shares of your pins.
Sign up for a FREE month of Tailwind here.
Step #9: Find and Join Pinterest Group Boards
Pinterest group boards are where creators in the same niche all add relevant pins.
The purpose is to get your pins exposed to a wider audience which can lead to more likes, clicks and shares.
Each group board will have their own rules and it’s important that you familiarise yourself with them. Rules often include – sharing two of your own pins and re-pin two of someone elses.
Groups are about helping each other out, so ensure you do share other peoples content.
Here are a few ways to find relevant group boards:
- Check out competitors’ boards. It’s likely that your competitors are part of a few great group boards. Search their accounts for ideas.
- Search Pin Groupie. Pin Groupie is a Pinterest group board directory. Skip the hard work of searching and gain access to the best group boards instantly.
- Read ‘Pinterest Group Board’ blog posts. A quick Google search of ‘Pinterest Group Boards to Join’ should show you many articles with group board lists you can check out.
How to Make Money On Pinterest with A Blog?
Pinterest affiliate marketing with a blog has a higher conversion rate.
This is because you prime people with information before showing your affiliate link. You can even use lead magnets on your blog to build an email list and promote extra products later on.
This turns a one-time buyer of your affiliate product into a customer you can promote to for years.
Once your blog is set up, write articles that answer questions in your niche. Articles that do well;
- How to……
- 15 best of….
- One product Vs another product…
- Buyer guides
- Tutorials
You can add affiliate links to relevant, helpful products in your article.
When readers click on your links and buy what you recommend, you make a commission.
Create 3-4 new Pinterest pins for every article and send them out over a few weeks.
Be careful to change up images and text because Pinterest regards fresh pins more highly, even if it links to the same article.
Create dedicated affiliate product boards. Name your boards something like; ‘best tools for bloggers’ or ‘best products for Mum and baby’ depending on your niche.
Learn More with a Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Course
While Pinterest affiliate marketing is simple in theory, this doesn’t mean you’ll receive an avalanche of commissions immediately (unless you’re really lucky!).
Take time to build up your Pinterest account to get followers, re-pins and likes.
Follow other creators and join relevant group boards.
Invest in your knowledge to really learn about Pinterest and its ever-changing algorithm.
Take a look at these highly-rated, affordable Pinterest affiliate marketing courses on Udemy.
You’ll learn exact strategies to build your brand, skyrocket your Pinterest followers, get your pins seen and earn passive income pinning.
Check out Pinterest courses on Udemy.
FAQ – Pinterest Affiliate Marketing without a Blog
Frequently asked questions:
Is Pinterest good for affiliate marketing?
93% of Pinterest users are planning their purchases when using the platform.
This means there is huge potential here to make money in affiliate marketing.
Many bloggers and entrepreneurs make passive income by pinning relevant affiliate products.
How to make money with Pinterest and Clickbank?
It’s simple to make money promoting Clickbank products on Pinterest.
Here’s the method; sign up to Clickbank, find a product that helps your audience, create a pin in Canva, upload to Pinterest and add your affiliate link into the website section.
Use the original link — Pinterest does not like cloaked links.
Create multiple pins for the same product to go out over the next month.
Make sure to disclose the link is an affiliate link by adding #afflink, #sponsored or #affiliate into the description.
How many followers do you need on Pinterest to make money?
You don’t need a large Pinterest following to make money affiliate marketing.
Increase your reach by joining group boards and sharing other popular content.
When bigger accounts re-pin your pins, they get seen by more followers increasing your chance of sales.
Final Thoughts on Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Without a Blog
Pinterest affiliate marketing without a blog is a simple way to earn side hustle cash.
But it’s important to adhere to best practices and don’t just spam your account with links. Affiliate pins don’t get the most traffic so don’t overdo them.
Also, Pinterest may not like an account just posting product links so you risk getting banned.
Aim to provide value to your followers with daily pins to your own blog content or to different blogs if you don’t have your own.
Share big accounts’ popular content that is relevant to your boards.
Sprinkle in affiliate pins occasionally, leading to a helpful product for your audience.
Have you tried affiliate marketing on Pinterest? Let me know your results in the comments section.
Related posts:
- How To Start Affiliate Marketing with No Money?
- Beginners Guide to Affiliate Marketing on Twitter: Make $1,000/M Tweeting
- Affiliate Marketing Without a Website: 5 Ways You Can Start Today
- 7 Best Free Affiliate Marketing Courses for Beginners
How to Earn Money Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Without a Blog
*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are our own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.
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