How to Sell on Pinterest: A Guide for Beginners

Looking to dip your toes into the world of eCommerce? Well, have you ever considered Pinterest?

It’s not just a platform for browsing dreamy home decor and delicious recipes – it’s also a fantastic place to sell your products and reach a whole new audience.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. “But how do I sell on Pinterest? Where do I even start?”

No need to worry, I’ve got your back!

In this guide, we’ll walk through how to start selling on Pinterest, step by step.

Let’s dive right in!

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is an easy way to discover new ideas and inspiration.

Users can “pin” images from the web, or upload their own content, to create collections of ideas, products, and experiences. These collections are called “boards” and can be organized by topic, style, or any other way the user chooses.

It can also be used to find and save ideas for projects, such as home decor, recipes, fashion, and travel.

Pinterest is quickly becoming one of the most popular visual search engines, and it’s no surprise why. But did you know that you can also use Pinterest to sell products?

Yes, you can!

Why You Should Sell on Pinterest?

What makes Pinterest so attractive to businesses is its powerful visual marketing capabilities. With the ability to create visually stunning boards and pins, businesses can easily showcase their products and services to a large audience.

If you’re considering selling on Pinterest, here are some of the benefits you can expect to enjoy:

Increased Reach

With its 482 million user base, Pinterest offers businesses the opportunity to reach a wide range of potential customers. As a result, businesses can expand their reach and increase their sales.

Improved Visibility

Pinterest makes it easier for businesses to be seen. With its visual nature, businesses can create attractive visuals that stand out and draw attention.

Increased Brand Awareness

Pinterest recognized that 97% of the most popular searches on Pinterest are unbranded. By creating boards and pins that are related to your brand, you can increase your brand’s visibility and create a positive impression of your products and services.

Increased Traffic

Pinterest can drive more traffic to businesses’ websites. By creating pins that link to your websites, you can increase the number of visitors to your websites.

These are just a few of the benefits of selling on Pinterest. As you can see, it’s a great way to reach a larger audience, engage with customers, and build your brand.

Improved Conversion Rates

By creating pins and boards that are related to your products and services, you can easily improve your chances for better conversion rates. With its visual appeal and shopping features, Pinterest makes it easy for customers to find the products they’re looking for.

So if you’re looking for a new way to promote your business, Pinterest is definitely worth a try.

1. Get Your Online Store Ready

The first and most important step before selling on Pinterest is to build your eCommerce store. You’ll want to ensure that your store is set up properly, with a good inventory, product descriptions and images, secure payment methods, and a user-friendly interface.

When it comes to eCommerce, one of the most popular platforms is Shopify.

Shopify is an all-in-one platform that allows you to create an online store, manage products, take payments, and much more. It’s easy to use and perfect for those who are new to eCommerce.

It also offers different levels of plans to suit your needs, so you don’t have to worry about paying for features you don’t need.

Now, you might be wondering, “How can I even create a Shopify store when I have zero knowledge about building websites?”

Well, don’t worry because I’ve got three options for you:

Option 1: Try It Yourself

Give it a shot yourself! Shopify has a user-friendly interface and tons of helpful resources to guide you along the way. It may seem challenging at first, but you’ll be surprised at how quickly you can get the hang of it.

If you’re up for the challenge, check out our Shopify guide for some extra guidance.

Option 2: Online Courses

If you prefer a more structured approach, consider taking an online course. Platforms like Shopify Academy (free) or Skillshare offer excellent resources to teach you everything you need to know before diving in.

Option 3: Hire a Shopify Expert

If you’d rather leave the technical stuff to the pros, you can always hire a Shopify expert. They’ll take care of all the nitty-gritty details for you, so you can focus on what you do best.

Now, take a moment to consider which option suits your business best before you jump into selling on Pinterest.

2. Setting Up Your Pinterest Account

A Pinterest account is basically like having a personal account used for pinning content to personal boards. You can follow other pinners and boards, but you won’t have access to analytics or other features that come with a Pinterest business account.

A Pinterest business account, on the other hand, is used for businesses to market and promote their products and services. It offers features such as analytics, Ads Manager, and the ability to create promoted pins.

So, which one should you use?

If you want to sell on Pinterest, a business account is probably the best option.

Creating a Pinterest Business account is simple and easy.

You can do this by visiting pinterest.com/business/create.

You’ll be asked to enter your full name, email address, and password. Once you’ve completed the sign up process, you’ll be ready to start.

To get the most out of your business account on Pinterest, you need to optimize your profile for maximum engagement.

Your profile should include an attractive profile picture, cover photo, and a brief bio about your business, as well as your website to get access to analytics.

If you’re using Shopify to sell your products, you can connect your Shopify store to your Pinterest business account to sell them on Pinterest.

You can also apply for Pinterest’s Verified Merchant Program.

This is what a verified merchant account looks like:

This is a free program that will add a blue checkmark to your profile. It also provides verified businesses with access to enhanced features, such as eligibility for merchant details, hosted checkout, product pins, and a shop tab on your profile.

This will make your brand appear more credible and trustworthy on the platform.

3. Creating Your Product Pins

Product pins, also known as product images, are key to helping shoppers discover products they love on Pinterest. They help shoppers discover and purchase items they would otherwise miss out on.

All you need to do is upload your product catalog to Pinterest. This could include a short description, website link, and price of the product.

Luckily, if you’re selling your goods through an online store, the necessary metadata is automatically generated for you. This means that when you connect the online store to your Pinterest profile, all relevant product information will be filled in for you.

But what about non-product pins?

If you want to drive more sales with Pinterest, you should also consider creating non-product pins to promote your brand. These types of pins can include helpful content, such as blog posts, videos, and other information that are relevant to your business.

Thankfully, there are tools available to help you create and schedule content quickly and easily.

One of the most popular tools is Canva.

It’s a powerful design tool that makes it simple to create beautiful pins for Pinterest. With Canva, you can choose from a variety of templates or design your own from scratch.

Canva also offers a library of millions of royalty-free stock images, illustrations, videos, and music so you’ll never have to worry about sourcing media for your pins.

4. Promoting Your Pins

Before you can start promoting your pins, you need to create and organize your boards.

Pinterest boards are a vital part of the Pinterest platform. They allow users to organize their pins and categorize their interests, making it easier to access content quickly and efficiently.

When it comes to selling on Pinterest, boards are an incredibly effective way to showcase your products and services.

This can be done by creating relevant boards that reflect your brand and include visuals that will both engage users and be relatable to your target audience.

Once you have created your boards, the next step is to promote your pins.

One way to do this is through Pinterest SEO.

You should include relevant keywords in Pin titles and descriptions to help your pins reach more people.

This means optimizing your pins with relevant keywords to increase their visibility in Pinterest search results.

Another way to promote your pins is to use promoted pins. You can use this feature to reach specific audiences or target certain placements. This is especially helpful when launching a new product or service.

5. Analyzing Your Results

Pinterest Analytics provides valuable insights that can help you maximize your campaign’s performance. By diving into this data, you’ll be able to uncover key insights that can inform your future strategies.

Your pins are the main currency of the Pinterest platform. You can view your pins’ performance by looking at metrics such as impressions, saves, and clicks.

Here are some key metrics to consider when analyzing your results:

• Impressions: The number of times your pins were seen by people.
• Engagements: The number of people who interacted with your pins, such as liking, commenting, or repinning them.
• Pin clicks: The total number of clicks you received on your Pin.
• Outbound clicks: The number of people who clicked through to your website or blog from your pins.
• Saves: The number of times users saved your pins to their boards.
• Engagement rate: The number of engagements your pins divided by the total number of times your Pins were seen.
• Outbound click rate: The number of clicks to your website divided by the total number of times your Pins were on screen.

These metrics can help you gain a better understanding of how your pins are performing and which strategies are paying off.

You can also use Pinterest Audience Insights to get an in-depth look at your target audience, including their interests and demographics. This will help you identify which strategies are working best and which ones could use some improvement.

To gain a better understanding of how your pins are impacting your business, it’s also a good idea to use other analytics tools, such as Google Analytics.

These tools can provide additional insights into how your pins are driving traffic and conversions.

In Summary

Pinterest is a powerful platform for businesses to reach potential customers and drive conversions.

First, you must create a business account and set up a profile, boards, and a shop. Then, create compelling Pinterest pins to drive traffic to your website, and make sure to use keywords to optimize your pins.

Lastly, use the analytics to track your progress and adjust your strategy as necessary.

With a bit of effort and creativity, you can confidently jump into Pinterest marketing and start selling your products and services.