How to Sell on Pinterest: A Beginner's Guide to Driving Sales
Journey Pierre
4/20/20266 min read
Pinterest is often thought of as a platform for home decor inspiration, fashion trends, or recipe ideas. But did you know it’s also an incredibly powerful marketing tool for your e-commerce business? Whether you've been in the game for a while or are just starting out, Pinterest can drive traffic, boost visibility, and convert casual browsers into loyal customers. In this post, we’ll show you how to tap into the potential of Pinterest to increase sales and grow your online store.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this blog post are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you make a purchase through these links, at no additional cost to you.
What is Pinterest?
Pinterest is a visual discovery engine where users "pin" images, ideas, and inspiration to virtual boards. It’s used by millions of people worldwide to search for inspiration, discover new products, and make purchasing decisions. Pinterest operates like a search engine but with an emphasis on images, making it a natural platform for e-commerce businesses that rely on visually appealing products.
Unlike other social media platforms, Pinterest is often used by people who are actively planning and looking to make a purchase, meaning the audience is highly intent-driven. This makes Pinterest an incredibly powerful tool for driving traffic to your online store and growing your customer base.
Why Sell on Pinterest?
If you’re looking to expand your reach and visibility, Pinterest is an excellent platform to consider. Here are a few reasons why selling on Pinterest can help you grow your business:
Massive Reach: Pinterest has over 450 million active users each month, with millions searching for new products and ideas. It's a global platform, which means you can market your products to a wide and diverse audience.
High Conversion Rates: Pinterest users are known for their high purchase intent. According to research, 87% of Pinterest users have made a purchase based on something they saw on the platform.
Increased Traffic: Because Pinterest is a visual search engine, your pins can be discovered by users who are looking for products in your niche. This leads to consistent, organic traffic to your website.
Brand Visibility: With the right strategy, Pinterest can help you grow your brand presence without the need for a big advertising budget. The more your pins are shared and saved, the more people will discover your brand.
Longevity of Content: Pins have a long shelf life. While posts on platforms like Instagram or Facebook may get buried quickly, pins can continue driving traffic for months or even years after they’ve been published.
Step 1: Building Your Ecommerce Store
Before diving into Pinterest, it’s essential to have a solid e-commerce foundation in place. A well-established online store is the first step to successfully selling on Pinterest.
One of the most beginner-friendly platforms for creating an e-commerce store is Shopify. Shopify is an all-in-one e-commerce solution that allows you to set up your store, manage products, track sales, and even handle payments—all in one place. Plus, Shopify makes it super easy to integrate with Pinterest, allowing you to sync your product catalog directly to your Pinterest business account.
If you're just starting out, Shopify offers a free 3-day trial so you can explore the platform and start building your store with no commitment. After the trial, Shopify gives you a special offer where the first three months are only $1 per month—a great deal for entrepreneurs on a budget who want to test the waters and grow their online store without a huge upfront investment.
Once your store is up and running, you can start taking full advantage of Pinterest’s marketing potential, driving traffic and sales to your Shopify store.
Step 2: Setting Up Your Pinterest Account
The next step in selling on Pinterest is to set up your account. You can use Pinterest for free, but to sell on the platform, you’ll need to create a Pinterest Business Account. Here’s why:
Business Accounts: These accounts are specifically designed for marketers and business owners. They offer analytics, the ability to run ads, and the option to create shoppable pins directly linked to your e-commerce store.
Personal Accounts: While personal accounts are great for casual users, they don’t offer the tools or capabilities to sell on Pinterest.
Steps to Set Up a Pinterest Business Account:
Create a Pinterest Account: If you don’t already have one, go to Pinterest for Business and sign up for a business account.
Complete Your Profile: Add your business name, website URL, and a short bio. This is where you’ll introduce your brand to new followers.
Verify Your Website: You’ll need to verify your website so that Pinterest can track your pins and ensure your shop is legitimate. Follow the instructions on Pinterest to add a meta tag to your website or upload an HTML file.
Connect Your Shopify Store: If you're using Shopify, you can easily connect your Shopify store to your Pinterest business account. Go to your Shopify dashboard and navigate to the Sales Channels section, then add Pinterest. Once connected, your product catalog will sync with Pinterest, making it easy to create shoppable pins.
Step 3: Creating Product Pins
Now that you’ve set up your account, it’s time to start creating product pins. Product pins are essentially shoppable images that link directly to your online store, making it easy for Pinterest users to purchase your items.
How to Create a Product Pin:
Create a Pin: Click the Create Pin button on Pinterest and upload a high-quality image of your product.
Add a Title and Description: Make sure to use clear and engaging descriptions that include keywords your target audience might search for.
Add a Link: The most important part of a product pin is the link to your product page. This ensures that users can easily find your product and purchase it.
Price and Availability: You can also include your product's price and availability, which will show up directly on the pin.
Non-Product Pins Can Drive Sales, Too
While product pins are essential for selling on Pinterest, non-product pins can also drive significant traffic and sales. Consider creating pins that are educational, entertaining, or inspiring—such as:
Blog posts that provide value and link to your store.
Videos demonstrating how to use your products or showcasing behind-the-scenes content.
Infographics or visual guides related to your industry.
These types of content can help build trust with your audience and encourage them to explore your products further.
Step 4: Promoting Pins
To maximize your reach and visibility on Pinterest, you’ll want to promote your pins. Here are some strategies to help you get the most out of Pinterest’s features:
Create Pinterest Boards: Pinterest boards are a great way to organize your pins by category. Create boards that appeal to your target audience and include a mix of product pins, lifestyle images, and related content.
Pinterest SEO: Just like with Google, SEO is key to getting your pins discovered. Use relevant keywords in your pin descriptions, titles, and board names. The better your SEO, the higher your chances of appearing in search results.
Promoted Pins: If you want to speed up your growth, you can pay to promote your pins. Promoted pins allow you to target specific audiences and drive traffic to your store quickly.
Promoted pins can be a powerful tool, but remember that Pinterest’s organic reach is still impressive. Focus on creating engaging and valuable content, and let the platform do its work.
Step 5: Using Pinterest Analytics
Once your Pinterest account is up and running, you’ll want to monitor your performance using Pinterest Analytics. This will help you understand what’s working, what’s not, and how to refine your strategy.
Here’s what you should focus on:
Impressions: The number of times your pins have been viewed.
Engagements: The number of interactions (clicks, saves, comments) your pins have received.
Pin Clicks: How many times people clicked on your pin to visit your website.
Outbound Clicks: The number of clicks to your website from your pins.
Saves: The number of times your pin has been saved to another board, expanding its reach.
Total Audience: The number of unique people who’ve seen your content.
Engaged Audience: The number of people who interacted with your pins.
These metrics can help you fine-tune your content and marketing strategy for even greater success.
Summary
Selling on Pinterest is a powerful way to drive traffic, increase brand visibility, and convert users into customers. By creating a Pinterest business account, optimizing your product pins, and using Pinterest’s promotional features, you can expand your e-commerce reach like never before. Don't forget to use Pinterest's analytics to track your progress and continually improve your strategy. Whether you're a small business owner or an experienced seller, Pinterest is an invaluable tool for boosting sales and growing your brand online. Happy pinning!
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