Pinterest Affiliate Marketing: How to Do It Well (and Within the Rules)

How Pinterest Affiliate Marketing Works

The model is simple:

1. You join an affiliate program and get tracked links to products.
2. You create pins that help someone make a decision: a gift guide, a comparison, a “what I use” list, a how-to.
3. The pin links either to the product through your affiliate link or to your own page that recommends it.
4. When someone buys through your link, the program pays you a commission under its own terms.

What makes Pinterest different from other social platforms is time. Pins are found through search and recommendations long after you publish them, so a well-targeted affiliate pin can keep sending clicks without constant reposting.

Pinterest's Affiliate Rules

Pinterest's commercial and branded content guidelines include a short affiliate section. In summary, Pinterest asks affiliates to:

• Run one authentic account in general, rather than a network of accounts.
• Make original content that adds unique value, not copies of the merchant's images and text.
• Be transparent about the commercial nature of the content and how your links behave. Some link shorteners aren't supported; if a pin's link is blocked, you can edit it.
• Not manipulate distribution. Pinterest lists examples: fake accounts saving your affiliate links, asking others to save your affiliate pins in exchange for something, asking others to create pins with your affiliate ID, and creating affiliate pins repetitively or in large volumes.

How to Disclose Affiliate Links on Pinterest

Pinterest asks for transparency, and its guidelines require clear disclosure for paid partnerships (for example using #ad or Pinterest's paid partnership label). Advertising regulators in many countries also expect affiliate relationships to be disclosed where people will see them.

A simple, practical approach:

• Put a short disclosure near the start of the pin description, not buried at the end: “Affiliate link: I may earn a commission.”
• Add a disclosure on your landing page too, above the first affiliate link.
• Follow your affiliate program's own wording requirements, which may be stricter.

This isn't legal advice. If you are unsure what applies where you live, check your local advertising regulator's guidance.

With a Blog or Without One

You can do Pinterest affiliate marketing either way. The trade-offs:

If you are starting from zero, direct links are a reasonable way to test niches. If you plan to do this for years, a site gives you an asset that Pinterest traffic compounds into. Our guide to getting traffic from Pinterest covers the landing page side.

Amazon Affiliate Links on Pinterest

Pinterest names Amazon Associates (US) among its official affiliate partners, alongside Rakuten, LTK, and ShopStyle, and linking to Amazon from pins is common. Two things to keep in mind:

• Amazon's rules apply on top of Pinterest's. The Associates operating agreement for your country sets requirements on disclosure, how links may be used, and which product images you may use. Read the current version before you start; it changes.
• Create your own pin images. Your own photos, flat lays, or designed pins are both safer and more clickable than a re-uploaded product listing image.

If you sell your own products on Amazon rather than promoting other people's, see our separate guide to promoting Amazon products on Pinterest as a seller.

Choosing Products and Programs

Affiliate links are one of several ways to make money on Pinterest. The income comes from matching what people already plan on Pinterest with products you can honestly recommend:

1. Start from Pinterest searches, not commission rates. Look for planning searches in your niche (“small bathroom storage ideas”, “beginner watercolor supplies”) and find products that answer them.
2. Pick products you know. First-hand notes are what make an affiliate pin trustworthy.
3. Check the program terms: cookie window, whether direct linking is allowed, disclosure wording, and payout thresholds.
4. Prefer evergreen products that will still be sold next year, so old pins keep working.

Affiliate Pins That Earn Clicks

The formats that tend to work are the ones that help someone decide:

For each pin:

• Lead the title with the search phrase and keep it under 100 characters (the first 40 or so are the most visible).
• Write a two or three sentence description with the disclosure near the start.
• Design at 2:3 and show the product in context, not just on white.
• Save to the most relevant board first.

A Sustainable Weekly Workflow

1. Monday: pick one or two decision-stage topics from your keyword list.
2. Tuesday–Wednesday: write or update the page that recommends the products.
3. Thursday: create three to five distinct pins for that page, each with a different angle and image.
4. Friday: schedule them to go out over the next few weeks, mixed with your non-affiliate pins.
5. Monthly: check which pins earn outbound clicks and which products convert, and update pages whose products have changed.

Mistakes That Get Affiliate Pins Removed or Ignored

• Only affiliate pins. Accounts with nothing else look like spam to people and to Pinterest.
• Copying merchant images and text. Pinterest asks for original content.
• Unsupported link shorteners or redirect chains. Pinterest can block them; link cleanly.
• Mass-producing the same pin. Pinterest specifically calls out repetitive, high-volume affiliate pins.
• No disclosure. It risks both Pinterest action and problems with your affiliate program.

If you run affiliate pins at scale for clients, our Pinterest scheduling for affiliate marketers page covers the scheduling side.

Frequently Asked Questions