Pinterest for Influencers: What to Post (and What Not To)

You may have found me via Instagram or Threads or TikTok where my handle is @pinterestforbloggers. That’s because ya girl is a big fan of that combo. Pinterest and blogging work so well together, BUT I understand it’s not for every creator right now. That doesn’t mean Pinterest isn’t worth it for content creators. Pinterest for influencers is worth it IF you do it right and know what to post on Pinterest and what not to post.

I want to clear it all up for my social media influencers using Pinterest to drive more traffic to their social media profiles, Substacks, YouTube videos and/or affiliate platforms (ShopMy, Amazon, LTK, etc.). I’ll share the in’s and outs of how Pinterest works for influencers and what Pin formats, content types and affiliate content will give you the best return on your investment.

Blog content is not the only thing that works on Pinterest, and it’s time to start repurposing your content on my favorite search engine: PINTEREST.

How to Know What to Post on Pinterest

There is a lot to clear up when it comes to what Pinterest is. If you don’t understand the platform, you will not see results from it, so let’s dive into that first.

Pinterest is not social media. Pinterest is a visual search engine or “search and discovery platform.” That means that people go to Pinterest to get inspiration, tutorials, curated lists, shopping recommendations, education, etc. They go for a specific purpose and search for it in the search bar (i.e. “warm fall outfits”) or they scroll their home feed which is NOT people they follow. It’s just a roundup of similar content to content they engaged with recently (i.e. photos they enlarged, content similar to what they have saved or searched, etc.). They see more of the same based on what Pinterest thinks they’ll like.

People also do not follow people on Pinterest like you would on social media, because they’re not going to Pinterest to hang with their favorite creators. They’re going to Pinterest to plan an event, get inspired for an outfit, learn how to make something… they want to discover information or inspiration NOT people.

Other Things to Remember About Pinterest

The way a content creator succeeds on Pinterest is by sharing content that people are searching for an mastering Pinterest SEO in a way that helps this content show up in those searches. It has to rank high enough that people see it and the content has to be visually appealing enough for people to click it. What’s cool about this: anyone at any stage in their influencer journey can do this. What’s a bummer about this: not enough people know how to do this.

The other key thing to remember is Pinterest is directing people from Pinterest onto the platform where the content is located, which means we need a URL attached to each photo or graphic you share. We don’t want people to follow you on Pinterest (or at least that’s not the GOAL). The goal is to get people off of Pinterest and onto the platform you do want to grow i.e. YouTube or LTK.

This is the lens to see your content through and help you know what is worth repurposing onto Pinterest and what isn’t.

What Belongs on Pinterest (the Seven Content Types)

• Blog posts: the hardest-working format. Best opportunity for being promoted on Pinterest & converting to email subscribers, affiliate sales, social followers, product/service sales and ad revenue. Sorry. Had to mention it, because it just does the best. You can claim your website on Pinterest which allows you to have incredible data, and you actually own your site which allows you… control and stability in your business long-term.
• LTK / ShopMy / Amazon shoppable photos & videos: outfit photos, home decor shots, beauty flatlays, tutorial videos. Each individual post can be the pin URL to send traffic to the affiliate platform.
• LTK / ShopMy / Amazon collections & idea lists: people on Pinterest love a roundup. Fairly evergreen because products can be swapped on the affiliate side while the descriptors/keywords stay the same on Pinterest
• Social media posts: You can claim your instagram and auto-publish from there onto Pinterest. It doesn’t look the same, and it’s not incredibly useful, in my opinion, because it goes to social media which you don’t own and they can’t get much from unless that one post is incredibly valuable (not connection content but something more searchable). BUT if you want to try it and spend a little time adjusting the Pin titles and descriptions to make them actually Pinterest-friendly… might as well do it since that’s probably your most frequently published content. TikTok content can also be repurposed manually since it’s a vertical video. You can link to the TikTok OR to to affiliate content. For example, if it’s a outfit styling video that has an LTK post that has all the pieces linked… the TikTok video can be shared onto Pinterest linking to LTK.

Additional Content, If Applicable:

• YouTube videos: if the video answers a searchable question (“how to style barrel jeans,” “easy weeknight dinner ideas”), pin it. Create pins and/or vertical clips to promote it.
• Freebies & opt-ins: lead magnets have landing pages with URLs (“free meal planning template,” “free capsule wardrobe guide”). These can be used to help you grow your email list (another thing you actually own so I love this!)
• Service or product pages: link directly to the product page or service landing page (your own clothing line, virtual styling service, digital planner, etc.)
• 
  
  Pro tip: make sure there are no watermarks and claim everything you can in Pinterest (Instagram, Amazon storefront and your website are the main ones).

The Different Pin Formats and What Works Best

There are different types of pin formats out there and they have changed over there years, but here are the Pin formats in 2026:

• Standard (static image) pins: vertical images, usually 2:3, with or without a text overlay. This is the main format for driving traffic to a website and has the longest-lasting reach.
• Video pins: short vertical videos. I would recommend captions since most people use Pinterest on mobile and aren’t accustomed to listening on Pinterest. These get impressions because Pinterest likes them… they aren’t the best for clicks BUT also it depends. I’ve had some clients’ videos pins come back around and become incredible traffic drivers after a year of doing nothing.
• Carousel pins: multiple swipeable images, which can be static or video. Don’t do these ha. I don’t recommend.
• Idea pins: these don’t exist anymore, but including because I know that we’ve all heard this phrase.
• Product pins: product pins are generated from an uploaded product catalog. These matter mainly for sellers with a catalog and verified merchants, so they probably will not fit your influencer audience.
• Rich pins: pins that automatically pull details from your website (recipe info, article headlines, product pricing and availability). When you claim your site, you automatically get this.

What Pin Formats to Focus On:

Static pins aka photos and graphics with text overlay (like below) are the kind of Pins I would prioritize because they are the best at driving results on Pinterest. The only exception to that would be if you don’t often take photos and solely do short form video. Then, I’d say graphics with text overlay and short, vertical videos. Don’t reinvent the wheel here. We want to work with what you’ve got as often as possible and just make slight adjustments to make it Pinterest-ready.

If you have both short form vertical videos and photos in your content library use both ALONGSIDE the graphics with the text overlay.

Graphics get clicks which brings the traffic off of Pinterest onto your corner(s) of the internet. These are the only things you have to “make” for Pinterest and once you have a Pin template suite at your disposal, you’re good to go. Creating these pins takes very little time and effort. You just swap out the text and images in those templates for what relates to the new piece of content and you’re good to go.

Affiliate Pinning: the Three Ways (and What I Recommend)

The key thing to remember when it comes to affiliate marketing on Pinterest is that Pinterest doesn’t pay you, it sends traffic to where you earn money. Because clicking from Pinterest and EXPECTING to go to other pages is part of the pinner’s typical experience, it can become a lucrative way to send people looking for what products you’re promoting directly to an affiliate sale.

People are literally typing in “what shoes to wear with barrel jeans.” You’re curating a list of “what shoes to wear with barrel jeans” alongside your reel or outfit photo. That person comes across your pin that references that (because you know your Pinterest SEO). They are comfortable clicking your pin to shop. That person purchases… woohoo. Affiliate sale!

Here are the ways you can get that kind of traffic on Pinterest

1. Pin URL goes straight to an LTK post, ShopMy collection or Amazon idea list
2. Product tagging (slower, because they tap the tag, see the product pin, then click again to reach the shop)
3. Pin to a blog post with affiliate links inside (also a longer path, but warms people up, so it’s easier to sell)

If you don’t have a blog, I would focus on #1. Move onto #2 when you get your workflow down.

What to Remember About Affiliate Content

The Pinners do not know you, so you have to warm Pinners up with value. Unlike Instagram followers that feel connected to you and trust your recommendations, Whether it’s in the caption of your LTK post or it’s in the graphic text itself, you need to provide value and sell. For example, info about the fit, info about how to style it, something a buyer would want to know.

To make this worth it, it’s best to keep the Pin creation take the shortest amount of time. I’m going to point you to some posts I’ve written about how to do that when it comes to affiliate marketing:

• How to Create ShopMy Content and Pinterest Content at the Same Time
• How to Create Content for LTK and Pinterest at the Same Time

From Influencer to Blogger: How to Use Roundups

This is my article, soooo you bet I’m going to take a second to pitch blogging to you. If you want the least laborious way to create a website you own… stick around. This has many benefits for creating a long term content creator career vs. a short term, waiting-on-the-next-brand deal creator career.

Why Roundups/ List Articles Are Great for Pinners

1. Pinners love them: When they’re searching for something, this kind of post gives them the ability to get everything answered in just one post. They can get all the inspiration, information and education needed without having to curated several different photos on Pinterest.
2. Pinners know what they’re going to get when they click: They know they won’t be directed straight to a product page/sale if the pin promises multiple ideas/recipes/photos/products. They will also get a curated version of whatever they’re looking for… in theory, they’ll get a the best of what they’re looking for in one article.
3. Pinners can get value before purchasing: Again, this helps with expediting the know, like, trust factor and puts Pinners in a more comfortable position to purchase.
4. Pinners like the format: Because these are easy to read and easy to skim, it’s just a super digestible format for the average person.

Why Roundups/ List Articles Are Great for Content Creators

1. It’s a natural place for affiliate links: Here’s the value > here’s where you can purchase to recreate it yourself. It’s just a comfortable way for people to shop. They want what they see > presenting them with how they can buy that is useful for both parties.
2. Each item in the list can be shoppable: Multiple different outfits, rooms, products, etc. for people to choose from and purchase. Maybe one item on the roundup isn’t their style… the other items give additional options for people to resonate with. It’s just a higher chance they’ll find something they like and want to buy. And if it’s not shoppable… for example, food bloggers with “10 fall dessert recipes,” then each item offers a chance for additional traffic to another article on the site.
3. They are easy to create: You’ll find that I recommend roundups be repurposed content because that is the easiest way to make endless fresh content out of old content.
4. They perform well on Pinterest for outbound clicks: They send people to your site where you can convert them into customers, readers, subscribers, followers, etc.

How to Write a Blog Post From Content You Already Have

It truly is less laborious than you think. Here are the steps to follow to create your first roundup post:

1. Start with a topic or Pinterest Trend that is relevant to your audience that you already have tons of content about.
2. Gather all the photos/links of the related content
3. Write an intro and then begin listing off these photos/links (including images for each one)
4. Add some text and additional context for each item
5. Add affiliate links to each one
6. Make pins for the post (especially with text overlay)
7. Share to Pinterest with multiple pins

What Content Doesn’t Work on Pinterest

As a social media influencer, there will be content that you create on Instagram/TikTok that may not be a great fit on Pinterest, because they’re not searchable. The nature of Pinterest is for people to be looking for information/inspiration and they do not care who provides it for them. They don’t often search an individual creator for what the creator themself has published. Their home feeds will also not show them content solely from who they follow or any chronologically ordered content. It’s not a home feed where you can catch up from your faves.

• Personality-first content: “a day in my life” / “get ready with me” with no searchable hook doesn’t often do well. Pinners don’t know who you are yet, it just knows what you’re describing. “Morning routine for working moms” is searchable, “my morning routine” is not.
• Quick-sale content: flash sales, time-limited discount codes are not worth it on Pinterest, since pins take time to get traction and Pins last forever meaning the sale information, if stated on the pin, won’t be correct for long

How Long to Get Results From Pinterest

Pinterest takes time. I am the first to say it and the first to remind every new discovery call I have of that. The search engine needs to understand the content, put it in the right search results and then see that the content is received in order for results to start moving. My baseline for seeing traffic growth is 3-6 months, and by that I mean a significant percentage increase of traffic to your site from Pinterest. That amount is SO hard for me to nail down and average when it depends on your niche, where you started on Pinterest, how consistent you are, what kind of content you’re sharing, etc.

If you’re DIY-ing your own Pinterest account, give it 6 months minimum and expect ebbs and flows. You’ll see more patterns year over year when it comes to Pinterest because seasons affect searches, online activity in general… a lot. You’ll see higher impressions > start to see traffic to your site > start to see sales trickle in.

At the 6 month mark, I’d hope you’d see some sales and that you’re tracking your sales well. Often the hardest part with these affiliate platforms is to determine where the source of the sale came from.

Here’s my one hack for tracking what ShopMy affiliate sales came from Pinterest.

Make sure you are updating products when they go out of stock and adding “similar to” options. I would make this just a task you do quarterly, but, at the very least, when you see that a pin on Pinterest is doing really well and it’s directed somewhere with older affiliate content.

Why Pinterest is Worth It

While yes, brand deals can get you quick money, which we love. They shouldn’t be the sole thing you rely on for a profitable business. If they are, then brand budget constraints, personnel changes, value changes, etc. can all affect your business. Blogging and affiliate marketing give you something you can market and get your own money for. You can control that income, and while it’s not as dramatic as brand deals, it can give you a consistency you can rely on which is what business owners need to sustain a long term career.

You can also pitch brands paid Pins as part of a larger brand deal… I probably need to write a post on that, huh?

Pinterest is the 1st and 2nd traffic source for 95% of my bloggers’ websites. It’s still one of two search engines (Google being the other) that actually works at driving traffic to lifestyle sites. It still serves creators at all stages, because if you create valueable content, pinners want it. You don’t need followers or to be a celebrity on Pinterest.

It’s still the only place you can repurpose and reuse content 10+ times rather than having to create from scratch and burn out.

It’s still the only place where the shelf life is months/years, so each Pin you create isn’t dead in the water after 24 hours.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Need Help With Pinterest?

• Purchase Canva pin templates by niche (food, fashion, beauty, home decor and travel creators)
• We’ll do the pinning for you AND give you 10 content ideas based on Pinterest Trends (perfect for people who want to start a blog, but have no idea what to create)
• Need help with smaller projects or have questions, just hop on a call or email at info@kaylawatkins.com