How to Make Money on Pinterest: 5 Ways That Work in 2026
Pinterest doesn't pay you for views. If you want to know how to make money on Pinterest, the short answer is that you earn somewhere else: a pin sends a person to an affiliate offer, a product you sell, a blog with ads, or a video channel, and the money happens there. Pinterest is the traffic source. That makes it slower than people expect at the start, but pins keep getting found through search for months, which is the part that makes it worth doing.
Below are the five paths that work, what each one needs, and the rules that get accounts in trouble.
Pinterest doesn't have a per-view payout anymore
A lot of older guides still mention Pinterest's Creator Rewards program. It's gone. Pinterest shut it down on November 30, 2022, as Social Media Today reported at the time, and a moderator in Pinterest's own business community said there were no plans to bring it back. If a course or video promises you'll "get paid by Pinterest" for posting, it's out of date or selling something.
What Pinterest does have is a big audience that comes to search. Pinterest reported 640 million monthly active users in its Q2 2026 results, including 106 million in the US and Canada. People open it to plan things: meals, rooms, outfits, trips, birthday parties. That intent is why the methods below can pay.
1. Affiliate pins
You join an affiliate program, make a pin for a product, and link the pin to the product page with your tracked link. When someone buys, you get a commission. Amazon Associates, retailer programs, and networks like ShareASale and Impact are the usual places to start, and each one sets its own rules about where links can go, so read the program terms before you pin.
Two things to get right:
- Disclose it on the pin. The FTC's Disclosures 101 guide for influencers says the disclosure belongs with the endorsement itself, not on your profile page, and not buried in a pile of hashtags. Put a plain line like "affiliate link" or "I earn a commission if you buy" near the top of the pin description.
- Don't hide where the link goes. Pinterest's Community Guidelines say Pinners "should be able to reasonably anticipate where your link will take them," and links with deceptive redirects or abused URL shorteners can be blocked.
Affiliate pins linked straight to a store are the fastest way to a first commission. The catch is that you only earn once per click, and you have nowhere to send people again. That's why many pinners move to the next option.
2. Pins that send traffic to a blog
Here the pin links to a post you wrote, like "12 small balcony garden ideas," and the post earns through display ads and affiliate links inside it. It's more work up front, because you need a site and posts worth reading. But one blog post can have dozens of pins pointing to it, and each visitor might click several affiliate links or join an email list you can contact again.
This is where Pinterest's search behavior helps most. A pin with a clear title and a keyword-rich description can keep showing up for that search long after you post it. Pinterest's Trends tool shows what people are searching for and when interest rises, which is useful for timing seasonal posts (people start searching for holiday content well before the holiday).
If you'd rather write for clients than run your own blog, the same skills transfer. See our freelance writing side hustle guide.
3. Selling your own products
If you sell something, Pinterest can send buyers to it. Printables, planners, templates, and other digital products do well because they're visual and people search for them by name. Physical products, crafts, and print-on-demand items work too.
Set up a free Pinterest business account first. It gives you analytics on how each pin performs and access to ads and product catalogs, so your products can show up as shoppable pins. You can convert an existing personal account instead of starting over, and Pinterest says your pins and followers stay the same.
Many Etsy sellers use Pinterest this way, pinning each listing with a few different images. Our post on side hustles for stay-at-home moms covers digital products on Etsy in more detail.
If you'd rather make videos than read about it, VidPuff turns a title into a faceless video. No waitlist, cancel anytime.
4. Brand deals and paid partnerships
Once you have an engaged audience in a niche, brands may pay you to create pins featuring their products. Pinterest has a paid partnership label for disclosing these deals. You search for the brand and tag it on your pin, and according to a Pinterest staff reply in its business community, the brand gets an email and can approve or decline the tag. The label is only for disclosure. You still find the brand and agree on the deal yourself.
This path needs an audience first, so treat it as a later step, not a starting point.
5. Pins that point to a YouTube channel
Pinterest also works as a traffic source for video. A pin with a strong thumbnail-style image can link to a YouTube video, and YouTube pays creators in its Partner Program a share of ad revenue (55% on long-form videos, per YouTube's partner earnings overview). Topics that do well on Pinterest, like recipes, home projects, history, and personal finance, also work as faceless YouTube niches. If you don't want to appear on camera, a tool like VidPuff turns a title into a long-form video with a script, narration, visuals, music, and captions, and you review each stage before you upload. Our list of faceless YouTube channel ideas has niches that overlap with popular Pinterest categories.
How to make money on Pinterest as a beginner: the setup
If you searched "how to make money online Pinterest" and are starting with no account and no audience, start here. Whatever path you pick, the basics are the same:
- Pick one niche. A board full of recipes plus a board of car parts confuses both people and the algorithm.
- Make pins in the right shape. Pinterest's product specs page recommends a 2:3 aspect ratio, or 1000 x 1500 pixels, and warns that taller pins might get cut off in feeds.
- Write for search. Use the words people would type in the pin title and description. Pinterest behaves more like a search engine than a social feed.
- Make several pins per page. Different images and titles for the same link let you test what gets clicks.
- Give it months, not weeks. New accounts get little reach at first. Pins found through search tend to build over time.
Scams to watch for
The Pinterest money niche attracts a lot of courses and "done for you" accounts. The FTC's page on job and money-making scams warns about offers that claim "you can make a lot of money in a short period of time with little work," and about paying upfront for training or starter kits. Be careful with anyone selling a Pinterest course that leads with income screenshots, and never pay for a pre-built account with followers. Buying followers doesn't bring buyers, and spam tactics can get your links blocked under Pinterest's guidelines.
Taxes
Affiliate commissions, product sales, and brand payments are all taxable income. If your net self-employment earnings reach $400 or more in a year, the IRS self-employment tax page explains what you'll owe and which forms to file.
FAQ
Does Pinterest pay you directly?
Not for views or followers. Pinterest ended its Creator Rewards program in 2022. You make money on Pinterest by sending traffic to affiliate offers, your own products, a blog, or a video channel, or through brand deals you arrange yourself.
Can you make money on Pinterest without a blog?
Yes. You can link affiliate pins straight to product pages, or pin products from an Etsy shop or online store. A blog gives you more ways to earn from each visitor, but it isn't required.
How many followers do you need to make money on Pinterest?
There's no official minimum for affiliate pins or selling products, because Pinterest isn't the one paying you. Followers matter more for brand deals, since brands want to see an engaged audience.
How long does it take to make money online with Pinterest?
There's no reliable number, and anyone who promises one is guessing. New accounts usually get little traffic at first, and results build as more pins get picked up in search. Plan on months of steady pinning before judging whether it works for your niche.
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