Introduction to Affiliate Marketing on Pinterest
After giving up on selling digital products, I went back to TikTok looking for new ways to make money online. That is when I stumbled upon affiliate marketing. Compared to digital products, affiliate marketing sounded even easier. You sell someone else’s product and earn a commission without creating anything yourself. Influencers on social media made affiliate marketing on Pinterest seem simple and almost guaranteed to work, so I decided to try it for myself.
Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing
I started by setting up a brand new Pinterest account and joining the Amazon affiliate program. Both steps were very easy and beginner friendly. This was around Christmas time in 2024, which felt like the perfect opportunity to promote products people were already shopping for. I chose my niche as wall art and home decor and went into this journey feeling optimistic and motivated.
Strategy One: Direct Amazon Pins
The first affiliate marketing strategy I tested was the most basic one and probably what most beginners start with. I used product photos and descriptions directly from Amazon and linked the products straight from my Pinterest pins. This strategy did not work at all. My pins received very few views, with a maximum of around 50 views per pin, and almost no outbound clicks. After posting consistently every single day for a full month, I had only around 100 outbound clicks total. At that point, it was clear that this approach was not effective for affiliate marketing on Pinterest.
Strategy Two: Idea Pins and Pinterest SEO
That is when I switched to strategy two. This method was everywhere on TikTok. Instead of static product pins, I started using someone else’s TikTok videos featuring the same products and uploaded them as Pinterest idea pins. I also began doing proper Pinterest SEO research instead of copying titles and descriptions from Amazon. I focused on keywords, search intent, and optimized descriptions related to affiliate marketing, home decor, and wall art.
This strategy created a small uptrend in both views and outbound clicks. One of my idea pins reached around 10,000 views. From that single pin, I earned a commission of 1.4 dollars. That was my first and only affiliate sale. While it was exciting to finally see a commission, it also made me realize how many buyers you need for affiliate marketing to be profitable compared to selling your own digital products.
Strategy Three: Affiliate Marketing With a Blog
After seeing my first commission, I decided to test a third strategy by creating a blog. The blog focused on product reviews and home decor inspiration, with affiliate links added throughout the content. The idea was to support my Pinterest traffic with longer form content and build more trust with potential buyers.
The blog did bring in some additional views when combined with my idea pins, but nothing significant. Growth was slow, and results were still very small. Writing blog posts while also managing Pinterest strategies took a lot of time, especially since I wanted to create original content instead of copying what others were doing.
When My Affiliate Marketing Journey Ended
In month three, my domain suddenly stopped working, and Pinterest cut my affiliate marketing journey short. I tried appealing the decision, but nothing came of it. At that point, I decided to stop affiliate marketing altogether. After three months of work and only 1.4 dollars in profit, it simply was not worth continuing.
What I Learned About Affiliate Marketing and SEO
As always, I sat back wondering if I did not work hard enough or if my strategy was not good enough. From my experience, SEO, which stands for search engine optimization, matters far more than people think. I did not see meaningful views until I started using Pinterest trends, which is a free tool available on Pinterest business accounts.
I also believe following trends is more important than many people admit. Since I started during Christmas, the only product that actually made a sale was Christmas decoration. Timing and seasonal trends clearly played a huge role in my results.
Final Thoughts on Affiliate Marketing vs Digital Products
Looking back, I think creating a blog was a good idea, but writing high quality blog content takes a lot of time, especially when you are testing multiple strategies at once. If I had to choose between selling digital products or affiliate marketing, I would choose digital products. At least with digital products, you earn a meaningful amount when you finally get a sale.
That said, I did not try high ticket affiliate marketing, which focuses on selling more expensive products for higher commissions. That might be something I explore in the future. For now, this was my honest experience with affiliate marketing on Pinterest, without the hype and without the shortcuts.
As always leave your thoughts and tips in the comments!