How to grow and succeed on Pinterest

Discover the ways that your passions can pay off. Whether you’re looking to build an audience or explore brand partnerships, here’s how you can grow long-term and make money doing what you love.

Close-up of a person cutting a bolt of teal fabric, with a yellow dollar sign on the bottom left-hand side and a yellow zigzag arrow pointing up to the right

Engaging your audience

Tips and tools to help you reach new people, cultivate a community and connect with your audience.

‘Don’t forget to save this for later’ text label on pink background overlaid on a Pin of juice in glasses

: A save is how your audience engages meaningfully with your content, a signal that they’ll come back to it later for future inspiration. And when people on Pinterest save your Pins, more of your content will appear to them. So in your content, make sure that you include plugs to save your Pin.
: Seeing as people come seeking content to shop for, you’ll want to make sure that your content is shoppable when relevant. Use tools such as product tagging or enable shopping recommendations to help your audience shop from your Pins. You could even set up a shop.
: People on Pinterest are looking to try out inspiring ideas IRL. And comments are a great way to interact and see how they’re bringing your ideas to life. If they comment on your Pins, don’t leave them hanging. Adding a reply or highlighting the comment helps them to feel more engaged.
: Behind every steadily growing search keyword is an audience that is looking for that content. Take advantage of Pinterest monthly trends and the trends tool for finding out what content is popular on Pinterest and when people are starting to search for those topics. They’re a sure-fire source of fresh ideas for your content planning—and for getting your content in front of a new, broader audience.

Make the most of your metrics

These key metrics can help you to understand how your audience is using and engaging with your content. Only available with a business account, your Pin stats can help you to come up with more inspiring ideas for your audience.

Saves

When people save your Pin, you know that you’ve created great content that they want to refer back to and engage with in the future.

Impressions

The number of times that your Pins were on screen. Another signal that people are actually inspired by your idea and might want to try it in real life.

Pin clicks

The total number of times that people select a Pin to see the full-screen view.

Outbound clicks

The number of times that people perform actions that lead them to a destination off Pinterest.

Earning money on Pinterest

An ‘Add your link’ button is overlaid on a Pin of a woman in a green fur coat

Links, links, links

: Add a prominent, straightforward link to your website on your Pins to help drive traffic to your site. You can find the field on the ‘Finishing touches’ editing page. Track outbound clicks on your link as part of your Pin stats.
: You can tag Pins using affiliate links so that you can earn commission when people click through and shop. You’ll first need to join an affiliate programme before using the tags. Pinterest isn’t part of the affiliate agreements, so your commission will depend on the terms that you’ve set up with external merchants or programmes.

Brand partnerships

As a creator, your authentic take on favourite products and must-have items matters to your audience. And as you get further in your creator journey, you may want to consider building on your connection with your audience by collaborating with a brand.

While every brand partnership is unique, here are the five main ways to work with a brand.

1. Paid partnership: A creator is given monetary compensation in exchange for agreed-upon deliverables, typically to amplify a brand’s product or service. This is the most common type of collaboration.

2. Product-only or service-only: A creator is given a free product or service as the only form of compensation.

3. User-generated content: A creator is given a product and/or monetary compensation in exchange for content that is to be used exclusively on a brand’s channel(s).

4. Giveaways: A creator is given free products or services to share with their followers.

5. Trips, events or speaking engagements: A creator is invited to an event with the expectation that they will post about it.

Staying true to yourself—and your own personal brand—is at the core of establishing a successful partnership with a brand. When common goals and values align, it’s a win-win situation: for you, the brand and your audience. So, before you start any outreach:

Do your homework: Research who the brand is and what’s important to them. Even getting to know the brand’s history, achievements and marketing objectives can go a long way in building a connection with the brand. This intel can also help to shape and personalise your email and media kit, to help you stand out amongst other creators.
Prepare your profile: Your profile is your CV. Ensure that you have a good portfolio of Pins and well-organised boards, plus a clear bio and description and up-to-date contact information.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 1: Pitch yourself

Once your prep work is complete, make the first move by approaching brands that are aligned with your content and vibe. Create a media kit to make it easy for brands to find out about you, and to learn why you could be a great fit for a collaboration. In your media kit, you’ll want to include your Pinterest profile, key metrics (Pin performance and audience insights), plus sample content or past collaborations.

There might be times when a brand reaches out to you and other times when you initiate the conversation. To get a convo started, try tagging the brand in your Pinterest content, cross-sharing that content on other platforms and following up by email. Or, get in touch with the brand directly via email.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 2: Disclose your partnership

For paid partnerships, tag brand partners in your Pins with the paid partnership tool. Just create a Pin in the app, add the paid partnership label with a simple toggle and tag your partner brand. Once they approve the request, their brand name will appear on your Pin.

When you use the paid partnership tool, you work directly with the brand to define the payment terms and process. Pinterest will not be directly involved in payment.

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 3: Wait for your brand partner to make the next move

Once you have established a paid partnership with a brand, that brand can choose to promote your Pin as an Idea ad, boosting your reach to even more people. This helps to build up your credibility and increases awareness of your profile and content across a larger audience on Pinterest.