How Creative Businesses Can Make Money on Pinterest in 2024

*Please note that this post contains affiliate links and any sales made through such links will reward me a small commission – at no extra cost for you.

So you're a small creative business looking to increase your revenue through Pinterest? Then congratulations, my friend, for making your first step into Pinteresthood. But marketing your e-commerce or digital goods isn't going to be as easy as you think. 

But you've probably already figured that out; otherwise, you wouldn't be here looking for a simple solution. That being, how to convert your web traffic into paying customers and make money on Pinterest. 

Now I know growing your audience is an accomplished feeling like no other. But, still, when that organic growth isn't taking any action like you want it to, you wonder if there's something you're doing wrong. 

But I'm here today to help you clear that doubt. Pinterest has its rabbit holes, and trust me; you don't want to get lost down them. 

So think of me as your Cheshire cat (without the distinctive mischievous grin, though, haha) and I'll show you 6 simple steps you've probably overlooked that will help you start an effective sales funnel on Pinterest and get them $$$ in the bank.

1. Getting to know your audience

This should be the very first thing you do because you can't market to an audience you barely know. 

On your Pinterest profile, you usually have many boards covering topics to do with your business. E.g. you're a graphic designer; you'd have board's all to do about design and design tips. 

But what you DON'T want to do is create a ton of boards that your audience isn't that all interested in; otherwise, you're pinning to those boards for no reason and gaining nothing from it. 

To avoid doing so, use the "Audience Insight" tool on Pinterest (this tool can only be accessed when you have a Pinterest business account, by the way). This tool helps you understand what topics your engaged audience or potential target audience is most interested in. 

It breaks down the main topics like design into sub-genres to see what your audience likes —for example, logo design or brand identity. Audience insight also shows you your audience's ages, what device they use when visiting your profile & where they're located, so you can optimise your boards and pins better. 

Now I'm not saying to stop pinning to all your current boards. Instead, review which boards your audience is more engaged with (look at this in your Pinterest analytics on Pinterest) and stick to pinning to the ones your audience loves more, as you’ll reach your target audience better while satisfying the audience you already have.

2. Pinterest Profile Cover

On your Pinterest profile, you’ll notice you have a profile picture, and behind it, you’ll have a ton of pins organised behind. 

Well, that’s what I like to call your Pinterest billboard. It’s the perfect size to advertise what you have to sell to anyone who visits your Pinterest profile. Like how I’ve done mine above, you can see I’ve placed a mockup of my product, explained a little bit about it and directed my visitors where to go if they want to learn more. 

Even if you don’t wish to advertise a sellable item, you can also use the billboard to show off your latest freebie or a freebie you think would attract your ideal customer the most. 

I highly recommend utilising this space as it’ll change up your Pinterest sales funnel hugely. The cover must be at least 800 pixels wide x 450 pixels tall, but the size I recommend is 1200pixels x 628pixels. 

Hot Tip!

If you wish to upload a video instead, you can also do that, but the maximum file is 2GB, and the maximum video is 5 minutes long. 

3. Pin Design 

If you’re selling e-commerce goods, you need to make sure that the pictures of your products are taken in good lighting & that they’re the correct size proportions which are standardly 1000px x 1500px, you can also use square shape designs that are 600px x 600px.

If you’re selling digital products, you want to design pins that show mockups of your products, as I’ve done with mine above. Make your pins in CTA’s so your audience can make their decisions there and then if they want to invest.

If you wish to make pins like mine, you can find easy to use Pinterest templates on Canva, which helped me make the one I made above. Go here to find out more Canva.com. 

To increase the chances of a potential customer buying from you, head on over to my other blog post - How to Make Your Pins Shoppable to find out more. 

Hot Tip!

Add the CTA pins of your freebies, products, etc., in your idea pins with other blog posts related to your CTA's subject. This is a great new way to attract new customers/followers. Read more about Idea pins here - What’s the deal with Idea pins & why you should use them?

4. Pinterest SEO and CTA’s 

Since I've mentioned CTA's a few times now, you might as well know where else to put them. I highly suggest that you add a CTA in your Pinterest bio, especially if you're going to put a Pinterest cover-up. 

I use a website called bitly.com to help shorten my URL links, as you can only have so many characters in your bio. 

I'd also add CTA's URL links in "engagement chats" which is when your audience comments on specific posts. Finally, I'd also consider adding links or CTA’s to your idea pin's comment section to encourage Pinners to visit your website.

As for SEO, you want to be adding this everywhere! You want Pinterest keywords in your bio, your board descriptions & your pin descriptions. 

Keywords are super important on Pinterest because you want to be using the exact keywords your ideal customers use when searching for products like your own. 

To find out how to find Pinterest keywords and more about Pinterest SEO, download my FREE Pinterest SEO Survival Guide. This guide will help you save a lot of time and energy in future. You won't regret it. 

5. Landing Page 

As you’re a small creative business owner, I gather you already know what a landing page is. 

If you don’t have a landing page currently for your main lead magnet or favourite digital/e-commerce product, then you’re going to need to get on that ASAP! 

It doesn’t need to be overcomplicated. Show a mockup of your products and briefly explain in a few words and bullet points what your products are about and what it’ll help your audience achieve with a CTA button to go with. 

Use your landing page link on any of your Pinterest CTA pins, Idea pins and in your Pinterest bio. 

6. Email Sequence 

Ensure that after your audience has signed up for your lead magnet, you have a welcome series or, aka, an email sequence.

Having an email sequence helps your ideal customer get to know you a little bit better & form a deeper bond with them. 

You don’t have to send 20 emails or more till you can pitch a product to them ( and yes, I’m calling out you shy, wallflower business owners) so keep the sequence short, sweet and confident.

Then by the end of the sequence, you can then pitch your product to them, and they’ll be more inclined to buy from you since you took time and effort in an email sequence to let them get to know you and vice versa. 

Trust is necessary between you and your customer, so you NEED to have this sequence set up through your lead magnet. This will help anyone who clicks on your Pin or the link in your bio, hop straight into your email list so you get a new subscriber and a potential customer you can sell to easily through Pinterest.

So what have you learnt?

After learning each of the vital steps I listed above, you are now ready to apply a simple, easy and reliable sales funnel on Pinterest! Yay! 

So sit back, relax and let the customers come to you on Pinterest. 

Want to learn even more about Pinterest marketing & how you can earn more web traffic plus passive income through Pinterest? Then join the Wallflower Squad email list below for Pinterest tips & tricks and so much more to help your business grow.

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