Pinterest Affiliate Marketing: The Underrated Channel You're Ignoring (2025)

"Pinterest? Isn't that just for wedding planning and recipes?"

If that's your reaction, you're leaving money on the table. Pinterest has 570 million monthly active users, and 80% of them come to the platform with the intent to shop. That's not social media behavior. That's buyer behavior.

For affiliate marketers looking for new channels beyond the saturated Instagram and TikTok landscape, Pinterest offers something rare: evergreen content that drives traffic for months, not hours.

This guide covers everything you need to know about Pinterest affiliate marketing, whether you're an affiliate looking for new traffic sources or a SaaS founder who wants affiliates promoting your product on Pinterest.

Why Pinterest Works for Affiliate Marketing

Most people misunderstand what Pinterest actually is. It's not social media. It's a visual search engine.

Users don't come to Pinterest to scroll mindlessly or catch up with friends. They come with intent: searching for "best home office setup," "affordable skincare routine," or "SaaS tools for startups." They're actively looking for products and solutions!

The Numbers That Matter

• 570M+ monthly active users globally
• 80% of weekly pinners use Pinterest with intent to shop
• 97% of top searches are unbranded (users are open to discovering new products)
• 3.5 month average content lifespan (vs. 5 hours on Facebook, 48 hours on Instagram)
• 70% female users, but strong Gen Z growth and high household income demographic

That last stat trips people up. Yes, Pinterest skews female. But that 30% male audience? Still 170 million people. And the platform is growing fast among Gen Z users who have significant purchasing power.

Evergreen Content Is the Real Advantage

Post something on Instagram, and it's buried in 24 hours. Tweet something, and it's gone in minutes.

Pin something on Pinterest, and it can drive traffic for months or even years. A well-optimized pin from 2023 can still rank in Pinterest search results today, sending clicks to your affiliate links long after you've forgotten about it.

This is the fundamental difference. Pinterest rewards content quality and relevance, not recency. For affiliates, this means your work compounds over time instead of disappearing into the void.

How Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Works

The basic workflow is straightforward:

1. Create valuable content (blog post, review, comparison)
2. Design Pinterest pins that link to that content
3. Include affiliate links in your content
4. Users click pins → visit your site → click affiliate links → you earn commission

You can also link directly to affiliate products from pins (Pinterest allows this), but the landing page approach is more resilient and gives you more control.

Direct Linking vs. Landing Pages

Direct Linking:

• Paste affiliate link directly as the Pin destination
• Simple and fast
• Risk: if Pinterest flags that domain, all your pins get devalued

Landing Page (Recommended):

• Pin links to your blog post or review
• Blog post contains your affiliate links
• Builds your own asset (your website)
• Can capture email addresses for long-term relationship
• More resilient if any single affiliate program changes

Most successful Pinterest affiliates use the landing page strategy. It takes more work upfront, but you own the traffic and can monetize it multiple ways.

Pinterest's Affiliate Rules

Pinterest explicitly allows affiliate links, but there are rules. Break them and your account gets flagged or banned.

What's Required:

• Disclose affiliate relationships: Use #affiliate, #ad, or a clear statement like "This post contains affiliate links"
• Link to relevant content: Don't bait-and-switch with misleading pins
• Use direct URLs: No cloaking or hiding where links go

What's Prohibited:

• Link shorteners: bit.ly, Dub, Pretty Links, and similar services trigger spam filters
• Repetitive pinning: Don't pin the same image with the same link to 50 boards
• Fake engagement: No fake accounts, buying saves, or engagement pods
• Misleading content: Pins must accurately represent where they link to

The disclosure requirement is both a Pinterest policy and an FTC legal requirement. Don't skip it.

For Affiliates: Using Pinterest as a Channel

If you're already doing affiliate marketing and want to add Pinterest as a traffic source, here's how to approach it.

Best Niches for Pinterest

Pinterest users cluster around certain topics. These niches consistently perform well:

• Home decor and organization
• Fashion and accessories
• Food and recipes
• Beauty and skincare
• Health and wellness
• Travel
• DIY and crafts
• Digital products and tools (growing category)
• Tech and SaaS (underserved, opportunity here)

If your affiliate products fit these categories, Pinterest should be part of your strategy.

Setting Up for Success

1. Create a Business Account

Personal accounts don't give you analytics. Switch to a business account (free) to access:

• Pinterest Analytics
• Rich Pins
• Advertising tools (optional)
• Audience insights

2. Claim Your Website

This verifies you own your site and unlocks additional features. Pinterest will show your profile photo next to pins from your domain, building trust.

3. Enable Rich Pins

Rich Pins automatically sync information from your website to your pins. For product content, this means prices and availability update automatically. For articles, it pulls in your headline and meta description.

4. Optimize Your Profile

• Use a clear, professional profile photo
• Write a keyword-rich bio describing what you pin about
• Create organized boards with descriptive titles
• Use relevant keywords in board descriptions

Creating Pins That Convert

Pinterest is visual-first. Your pins need to stand out in a sea of content.

Pin Design Best Practices:

• Vertical format: 1000x1500 pixels (2:3 ratio) performs best
• Bold, readable text: Use text overlays that work on mobile
• High-quality images: Blurry or pixelated images get scrolled past
• Consistent branding: Use your brand colors and fonts
• Clear value proposition: What will users get by clicking?

Create Multiple Pins Per Piece of Content: Don't make one pin and call it done. Create 5-10 different pin designs for each blog post. Test different:

• Headlines
• Images
• Color schemes
• Text placements

This gives you more chances to reach different audiences and lets you identify what resonates.

Pinterest SEO

Pinterest is a search engine, so SEO matters. Keywords in the right places help your pins get discovered.

Where to Use Keywords:

• Pin titles
• Pin descriptions
• Board titles
• Board descriptions
• Your profile bio
• Image file names (before uploading)

Finding Keywords:

• Use Pinterest's search bar (see autocomplete suggestions)
• Check Pinterest Trends for rising topics
• Look at what competitors rank for
• Use tools like PinClicks for keyword research

Pinning Strategy

Consistency beats volume. Here's a sustainable approach:

• Pin daily: 5-15 pins per day is a good range
• Mix content: 80% your content, 20% repins from others
• Use scheduling tools: Tailwind, Later, or Pinterest's native scheduler
• Pin at optimal times: Test different times, but evenings and weekends often perform well
• Join group boards: Relevant group boards can expand your reach

Tools for Pinterest Affiliates

The biggest time sink in Pinterest marketing is creating pins manually. You write a blog post, then spend another hour designing pins, writing descriptions, and scheduling them. Multiply that by every piece of content you publish.

BlogToPin (a Tolt customer!) solves this. It's a Pinterest automation tool that scans your website and automatically generates pins for your pages. You paste your URL, it creates multiple pin designs with unique titles and descriptions, and schedules them to the right boards using AI.

What makes it useful for affiliates:

• Bulk pin generation: Create pins for hundreds of pages in minutes
• AI board matching: Automatically assigns pins to relevant boards
• Smart scheduling: Spreads pins across time so you don't look spammy
• Template variety: 27+ templates, custom Canva imports, even AI-generated images
• Analytics: See which templates and colors drive the most clicks

If you have a content site with affiliate links (product reviews, comparisons, tutorials), BlogToPin can turn your entire archive into a Pinterest traffic source without the manual grind. Their users report 2-3x traffic increases within a few months.

For SaaS Founders: Get Affiliates Using Pinterest

If you run a SaaS company with an affiliate program, Pinterest is an underused channel for your affiliates. Here's how to enable them.

Make Your Content Pinnable

Most SaaS blogs have zero Pinterest optimization. The images are wrong sizes, there are no pin-worthy graphics, and nothing is designed for sharing.

Fix this:

1. Create Vertical Graphics for Blog Posts

Every blog post should include at least one vertical image (1000x1500) designed specifically for Pinterest. This gives readers something to pin and gives your affiliates ready-made assets.

2. Add Pin-It Buttons

Make it easy for visitors to pin your content. Add Pinterest share buttons to images and a floating share bar to posts.

3. Write Pin-Friendly Headlines

Headlines that work on Pinterest often differ from SEO headlines. Include the benefit and make it actionable: "How to [Achieve Result] with [Your Product]"

Provide Affiliate Resources

Your affiliates will promote you more if you make it easy. Create a Pinterest resource kit:

• Pre-made pin templates in Canva or Figma
• Approved product images in Pinterest-friendly dimensions
• Suggested descriptions with keywords
• Hashtags relevant to your niche
• Brand guidelines so pins look professional

Include these in your affiliate dashboard or resource page.

Track Pinterest Referrals with Tolt

If you're using Tolt for your affiliate program, you can track which affiliates are driving traffic from Pinterest. Set up UTM parameters for Pinterest-specific links so you can:

• See which pins drive the most conversions
• Identify top-performing affiliates on Pinterest
• Optimize your pinnable content based on what works

This data helps you double down on what's working and provide better guidance to your affiliates.

Encourage Pinterest in Your Affiliate Communications

Many affiliates don't think of Pinterest as a channel. Mention it in your:

• Affiliate onboarding emails
• Monthly newsletters
• Affiliate training materials
• Commission announcements

Share success stories from affiliates who've used Pinterest effectively. Nothing motivates like proof it works.

Quick Start Checklist

Whether you're an affiliate or a SaaS founder, here's how to get started:

For Affiliates:

• Create Pinterest business account
• Claim and verify your website
• Set up 5-10 relevant boards with keyword-rich descriptions
• Enable Rich Pins
• Create first batch of pins (5-10) for your top content
• Add affiliate disclosures to all promotional pins
• Schedule pins consistently for 30 days
• Review analytics and adjust strategy

For SaaS Founders:

• Audit blog posts for Pinterest-friendly images
• Create vertical graphics for top 10 posts
• Add Pin-It buttons to your site
• Create affiliate Pinterest resource kit
• Set up Pinterest tracking in Tolt
• Mention Pinterest in next affiliate newsletter
• Track which affiliates adopt Pinterest strategy

Common Mistakes to Avoid

For Affiliates:

• Pinning the same image repeatedly (triggers spam detection)
• Using link shorteners (gets flagged)
• Forgetting affiliate disclosures (violates FTC and Pinterest rules)
• Giving up after 2 weeks (Pinterest takes time to gain traction)
• Ignoring Pinterest SEO (your pins won't be discovered)

For SaaS Founders:

• No Pinterest-optimized images on blog
• Not providing affiliates with pin templates
• Not tracking Pinterest as a referral source
• Assuming Pinterest doesn't work for B2B (it can)

Is Pinterest Worth It?

For the right niches and products, absolutely.

Pinterest won't replace your entire marketing strategy, but it's one of the few platforms where content has a long shelf life and users arrive with buying intent. For affiliate marketers who've maxed out other channels, it's a legitimate growth opportunity.

The key is treating Pinterest like what it is: a search engine that happens to be visual. Optimize for search, create quality content, and be patient. The results compound over time.

Want to track your affiliates across all channels including Pinterest? Tolt makes it easy to see exactly where your referrals come from and which affiliates are driving results. Start your free trial →

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