Affiliate pins that convert: formats, copy and a 12-pin starter set

Updated October 22, 2026 · 6 min read

Formats that earn

Pinterest users are planning. A pin that helps the plan gets saved, and saved pins keep getting shown. These five formats fit how people search and save.

Product in use. Your photo of the thing doing its job: the organizer in the drawer, the stroller on the trail, the lamp lit on the desk. One product, one scene, one benefit in the overlay. Links straight to the product or to a short review.

Round-up. Six to twelve products around one plan: "small apartment kitchen essentials", "beach day with toddlers". Links to a post that lists them with your affiliate links. The best-performing affiliate format on Pinterest because it matches how people search and gives several chances to buy.

Comparison. Two or three options side by side, with who each one is for. "Air fryer vs. toaster oven for a family of four." Buyers close to a decision click these.

Before and after. The problem and the result, with the product as the bridge. Honest photos only; the FTC's endorsement rules require claims about results to be truthful.

Checklist or setup. Everything in a space or routine, as a list. "My minimalist desk setup" or "newborn hospital bag checklist". Evergreen, and every item can carry a link on the landing page.

Each format gets its own pin design. The templates below include a product card, a round-up grid, a comparison panel and a checklist.

The image

• 2:3, 1000 by 1500 pixels. Anything else gets cropped in the feed. The pin size guide has every size.
• One clear subject. Phones show pins at a quarter of their real size. A single product fills the frame; a round-up uses a tidy grid, not a collage.
• Text overlay that says the benefit, not the brand. "Fits in a drawer" beats a product name. Keep the overlay inside the middle 80 percent of the image and off the bottom 15 percent, where Pinterest places its own buttons.
• Your photos or a text-led design. Catalog images are usually covered by the program's content rules and look like ads in the feed.
• A tiny "affiliate" label on the image when the image itself makes the recommendation. The FTC guidance for images is to superimpose the disclosure and give viewers time to read it.

The title and description

The title shows in the feed; the description shows when the pin is opened, before the click. Both are read by Pinterest search.

Title (100 characters, keyword first). The phrase people search, then the hook: "Small Kitchen Organizers That Fit a Drawer (9 Tested)".

Description (150 to 800 characters). Sentence one: the disclosure and the keyword together. "Affiliate links below: I earn a commission if you buy. These nine small kitchen organizers fit a standard drawer and cost under $20 each." Then who it is for, what they get, and a plain ask such as "Open the pin for the full list". No hashtags, no price promises you cannot keep current, no "click here".

Alt text. Describe the image in one sentence. It helps screen readers and confirms the topic for Pinterest.

The description generator has an affiliate preset that writes the disclosure in, keeps the keyword first and respects the limits: the affiliate preset. Then run the draft through Pin Doctor.

Where the click goes

Whatever the destination, Pinterest's community guidelines say people "should be able to reasonably anticipate where your link will take them", and Amazon's policies forbid cloaking or obscuring the URL. Use the real link.

Test three per product

Make three pins for each product or round-up, one per format, and publish them a few days apart to the most relevant board first. After four weeks, read two numbers:

• Outbound clicks per pin in Pinterest Analytics.
• Orders per hundred clicks in the program's report, using a separate tracking ID for Pinterest where the program offers one.

Keep making the format that wins both. Retire the one that wins neither. Refresh the winner with a new image every couple of months; Pinterest favors fresh pins.

Why an affiliate pin gets no clicks

When a pin earns impressions and saves but almost no outbound clicks, one of five things is usually wrong.

• The image answers the question. A round-up that shows all nine products with names leaves nothing to click for. Show three and promise nine.
• The title is the product name. People do not search for brand names on Pinterest; they search for the plan. Lead with the plan.
• The overlay is unreadable on a phone. Thin fonts, low contrast, or text in the bottom strip where Pinterest's buttons sit.
• The pin looks like an ad. Catalog photo, logo, price tag. Pins that look like a friend's photo get clicked; pins that look like a banner get scrolled.
• The promise and the page do not match. People click, see something else, leave. Pinterest notices the short visit and shows the pin less.

Fix one thing at a time and republish as a fresh pin. Pinterest treats a new image as new content, so the fixed version gets its own chance.

A 12-pin starter set

Pick one product category you already own or use. Make these twelve, in this order.

Every one carries the disclosure in the first sentence, links where the table says, and goes to the board whose name matches the category. Twelve pins is enough data to see which three formats your audience clicks, and enough content to keep a board alive for a month.

Where to go next

• Pinterest affiliate marketing: the complete guide
• Pinterest affiliate disclosure: what to write and where
• Pinterest pin title and description limits