Want to Make Money on Pinterest? Good Luck
Looking to make a fortune on your Pinterest popularity? We have some bad news: affiliate linking is no more.
The practice had largely been banned for most users, but Power Pinners, as they’re known, still had the opportunity to use affiliate links—referrals, really—to make money on the side for all their Pinterest popularity. Click on one of these users’ links, purchase a product, and the person would receive a little kickback for the mention. Some companies and power users managed to survive Pinterest’s big crackdowns on affiliate links, but that practice is now officially over.
According to Pinterest representatives, the move is designed to improve quality of the site, as well as its users’ shared content.
As for how its popular pinners will make money now, Pinterest has a few suggestions. They can “participate in paid social media marketing involving Pinterest, be paid to curate a board or be paid to create original content for a business,” reads an email sent by the company. Users’ existing pins that incorporate affiliate links will still show up on their boards; the affiliate linking portion will be stripped, however.
The move comes amidst rumors that Pinterest is looking to set up its own monetization system within three to six months—a “buy” button that users would be able to drop on items they pin. This would allow those browsing Pinterest to make purchases of items they see without ever leaving the Pinterest site, making Pinterest some money in the process. The site will reportedly work with Stripe to manage the payments, while individual sellers handle the inventory and shipping process.
Pinterest also just recently launched its new App Pins feature, which allows posters to pin iOS apps to Pinterest boards. Those interested in downloading them need merely tap on the app within their Pinterest iOS app, and the app will start downloading immediately. Useful, yes; money-making for those who post app pins? Nope.