How I Made $17,639 from ONE Viral Pinterest Pin

Today I’m going to show you exactly how I made $17,639 from ONE pin that went viral on Pinterest.

Not too long ago, many people relied on Google to drive traffic to their blog. You would follow SEO tips when writing your blog post to help it rank on Google.

But after their recent updates, many independent publishers have been pushed out of Google search results, with bigger media companies and forums (like Reddit) taking their place.

Now, many bloggers and online business owners are switching to other platforms, such as TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest to help them get traffic to their website.

Pinterest can be one of the best platforms for driving consistent traffic to your blog, especially if your niche is popular on Pinterest.

So here’s what I did to make $17,639 from one blog post.

I wrote a blog post sharing my opinion on a controversial topic. I noticed that “thrifting” was trending on Pinterest, and this gave me an idea to share my story of why I stopped thrifting.

One of my first jobs was working at a thrift store, and I used to go shopping at thrift stores all the time.

But I realized that it was becoming a problem when I spent all my money on shopping when I could have been putting that towards saving for my future.

And because I used to work at a thrift store, I had a lot of insider tips for better secondhand shopping, which I shared in my article.

After writing the blog post, I created a pin using Canva to share on Pinterest.

It took about six months before that pin went viral. SIX MONTHS!

Sometimes pins go viral in just a few days, but most of the time, it can take weeks or even months before you start seeing consistent traffic from a pin.

This is where you must be patient and trust the process.

Once the pin started gaining traction, it lasted for a few months. I didn’t have to do much to maintain that viral pin. People continued to like it, save it, share it, and leave comments on the pin.

The biggest thing I did was to re-read the blog post to make sure that it was easy-to-read on mobile devices, provide helpful information for my audience, and monetize it.

The $17,639 that I made from that single blog post came from display advertising.

It’s in USD currency. But since I’m a Canadian blogger, it comes out to around $24,158 Canadian dollars.

I also made money from affiliates and product sales that I linked to in that article, but I specifically want to highlight the display advertising income for the purpose of this post.

Here’s why I think my pin went viral:

I used a vertical pin with a 2:3 ratio. This portrait-oriented image size performs the best on Pinterest.
The text overlay on the pin was large and easy-to-read.
The text overlay was only fours words (“Why I stopped thrifting”). This could easily capture someone’s attention while scrolling on Pinterest because there wasn’t a lot of text to read.
The image was a high-quality stock image that was relevant to thrifting. It was an image of a woman shopping in a thrift store.
I used relevant keywords in my pin title and description. This can help your pins reach the right audience on Pinterest.
I received over 100 comments on my pin. Pinterest likes when users engage with your pins by liking them, saving them, repining them, and leaving comments.
There was an emotional connection. Since my pin had a controversial title, it connected with other people who enjoyed thrifting.

Since I started blogging, I’ve had many pins go viral on Pinterest and made me money. I’ve also had many pins that gained NO traction at all.

Not every pin will be amazing, but it’s possible to create pins that people will go crazy for.

This pin was special to me because at the time it went viral, I was in the middle of my pregnancy and moving to a new home.

I wasn’t able to work on my blog as much due to this, so earning passive income from this viral pin was pretty awesome.

I believe that anyone can create viral pins and make money blogging. You can use a free tool like Canva, which comes with tons of Pinterest templates to help you create click-worthy pins.

If you’re ready to get started, below is a step-by-step guide on how to start a blog and make money using Pinterest.

How I Made $17,639 from ONE Viral Pinterest Pin

Table of Contents

Start a blog.

If you want to go viral on Pinterest, you’ll need to have a blog or landing page that is linked to your Pinterest account.

This is what I did to make money on Pinterest.

I started my blog with Bluehost, which I recommend for new bloggers. It takes about 15 minutes to set up your blog and there’s no tech experience or coding knowledge required.

You can use this easy step-by-step guide here to start your blog >>>

Once you have your blog up and running, you can start writing content to share on your blog. I recommend choosing a niche that you enjoy talking about and has the potential to make money.

If you need some ideas, below are some popular blog niches:

Fashion
Lifestyle
Travel
Education
Food & Cooking
Parenting
Fitness
Personal Finance
Pets
Beauty & Cosmetics
Business & Entrepreneurship
Gaming
Home Décor
Crafts & DIY
Relationships
Technology

Write a blog post that captures someone’s attention.

Whenever you write a blog post, put yourself in your reader’s shoes and ask, “What’s in it for me?”

This is what drives most people to take action, such as clicking on a Pinterest pin to read your blog post or buying a product.

When someone understands what’s in it for them, this helps create an emotional connection.

Below are some ideas of blog posts ideas that make the most money:

Problem solving post

Show your readers how they can solve a problem. You can propose a paid solution via sharing an affiliate link or promoting your own product.

Example: “Clean your greasy oven door with an unexpected home staple”

Review post

If you find a product that your readers will find useful, you can write a blog post sharing a detailed review of the item.

Don’t be afraid to share a negative review and propose a better option for your readers.

Example: “I’ve tested dozens of side sleeper pillows – This is the only one that keeps me cool and comfortable all night long”

Product comparison post

You can write a blog post that compares competitive products.

Example: “UppaBaby vs. Nuna – I tried both brands to find out which one is better”

Product alternative blog post

You can write a post sharing alternatives for a popular product.

Example: “10 Nugget couch dupes for every budget”

Your opinion on a controversial topic

If you’re not afraid to take a risk, you can share an opinion that is different than the mainstream view.

Example: “Why I stopped thrifting – Tips for better secondhand shopping”

The was the title of the blog post I wrote that went viral on Pinterest. Thrift shopping has become popular now with people who are moving towards sustainable fashion.

I shared my story of why I decided to quit thrifting and how my shopping habits have changed for the better.

Use a headline that will make someone want to read the blog post.

Writing great content is important, but if you want to drive more traffic to your website, you’ll need to make sure that your post has a good headline. This is the title of your blog post or article.

People are scrolling through Pinterest on their phone in one hand and deciding in a split second if they want to bother clicking on your pin.

Think about what headlines stand out to you when you’re scrolling through Google Discover, Flipboard, Pinterest, and other search engines and social media platforms.

Somewhat clickbaity titles tend to perform better than more dry factual headlines.

The key is to inspire curiosity in your headline without giving everything away in the title.

Again, you want to create an emotional connection with your reader that encourages them to take action (such as clicking on your post).

Below are some tips to help you create better headlines:

Use sensory words that appeal to the reader’s senses.
Use positive words and avoid using words or phrases that bring to mind negative feelings.
Use strong, action verbs that create excitement and encourage your readers to take action.

Keep an eye on Pinterest trends.

You can use the Pinterest Trends tool to help you discover which keywords people have been actively searching for on Pinterest within the past 12 months.

This can help you strategize and plan for upcoming content to share on your blog and Pinterest.

For example, let’s say you’re a food blogger and you notice the keyword “summer dinner ideas” is trending.

You could write a blog post sharing your favorite summer dinner ideas to share on Pinterest.

This blogger created a catchy headline for her post (“67 Easy Hot Weather Dinner Ideas for Lazy Summer Nights”), which has generated thousands of clicks to her website.

I noticed that the keyword “thrifting” was trending, so this inspired me to write my post on “Why I stopped thrifting”.

Create a pin for the blog post to share on Pinterest.

Whenever you publish a new post on your blog, I recommend creating at least three unique pins for that blog post to share on Pinterest.

What’s a pin on Pinterest? A pin is a bookmark that people use to save content on Pinterest. Your pin can be an image, video, or product.

Each pin can be linked to a URL. This means you can link to your blog post so people can click through the pin to visit your website to learn more.

Below are some tips on how to create pins that make people want to click through and save:

Choose the right pin size

Pinterest recommends using high-quality, vertical images that will stand out in people’s feeds.

This means you’ll want to use a 2:3 aspect ratio (ex: 1000 x 1500 px or 1080 x 1920 px). For my viral pin, I used the 1000 x 1500 px dimensions.

Make the text overlay easy to read

Text overlay is the copy that goes on your pin image to make it stand out on people’s feed.

You don’t have to add text overlay, but it can be helpful to let people know what your pin is about.

The majority of people use Pinterest on their mobile devices, so you want to make sure that your text is concise and in large font so people can see it while scrolling on their phone.

I recommend choosing a font that is easy to read. Many young people and adults cannot read cursive handwriting and script fonts, even when it’s perfectly formed.

If you use a cursive or script font, make sure that it’s in lower case since this is easier to read than upper case letters.

Sans serifs are the easiest fonts to read since many people recognize their simplified letterforms.

Write a click-worthy title

Just like when crafting the headline for your blog post, you want to make sure the text overlay on your pin creates an emotional connection with your reader.

You only have a split second to capture someone’s attention when they are busy scrolling on their phone. This is why you need to make sure that your title stands out in people’s feeds.

The text overlay on my viral pin said, “Why I Stopped Thrifting”. It was written in all capital letters using a large, easy-to-read font.

You always want to make sure there is enough contrast between the text color and the background. For my viral pin, I used black font against a white background to stand out.

Choose warm colors

Pinterest is a visual search engine, so you’ll want to use colors that grab people’s attention. Warm and bright colors tend to perform better on Pinterest than cool colors.

This means you’ll want to use colors like orange, yellow, red, pink, and warm neutrals when designing your pins.

I used a stock photo of a woman shopping in a colorful thrift store on my viral pin.

Use an attractive image

The best performing content on Pinterest uses solid lighting and high-resolution images. This means you don’t want to use dark or pixelated images to design your pins.

You can take your own photos or use stock photos online (free or paid). Canva, Pexels, Unsplash, and Pixabay are the most popular sites to find stock photos.

If you use photos of people, I find that it’s best to not have the person directly looking at the camera. Many people on Pinterest like to imagine themselves doing what is shown in the image.

When the viewer is not directly looking into someone’s eyes, it’s easier for them to imagine their face there.

The text overlay on my viral pin covered the woman’s face in the image, so only her hands were shown browsing through clothes at a thrift store.

Use relevant keywords in your Pinterest pin description

Having a clear title and description can help your pin get discovered more easily in search. You can use up to 100 characters for your title and up to 500 characters for your description.

Use the Pinterest Trends tool to find out which keywords are currently trending to help you choose the most relevant ones when writing your pin title and description.

Use a natural sentence structure when writing your pin title and description.

Using too many keywords, known as “keyword stuffing”, is not considered one of Pinterest’s best practices. It can make your pin less likely to show up in Pinterest’s search results.

The description on my viral pin was three sentences long, written as complete sentences. It included the keywords that were most relevant to my blog post.

Share your pin to your most popular board on Pinterest

After designing your pin, you can upload it to your Pinterest Business Account. I always recommend using a Pinterest Business Account if you’re running an online business or blog because you’ll get access to Pinterest Analytics.

Pinterest Analytics helps you understand your overall presence on Pinterest. This helps you know which pins are performing the best and where you can make improvements.

For example, if you notice that one of your pins is driving more traffic to your blog, you can make sure that your blog post is up-to-date, create more pins that link to that blog post, and save those pins to more boards.

With Pinterest Analytics, you can find out which of your boards get the most impressions, engagements, pin clicks, outbound clicks, and saves.

I recommend having several different boards on your Pinterest account to cover the different topics that you write about on your blog.

Upload your pin to your most popular and relevant board. Pinterest loves fresh and new content, so this will help you get the most clicks and saves.

What to do after a pin goes viral on Pinterest?

After uploading your pin to the most popular board on Pinterest, you’ll have to wait and see if it gains any traction.

Pinterest is a marathon, not a sprint – so patience will be your best friend during this time.

Some pins will skyrocket within a few days, while others may take weeks or months before you see any traction. And some pins may never take off.

For example, I’ve had tons of pins that I thought were pretty and had good titles and descriptions, but they never got popular on Pinterest.

While other pins that I made, which I thought were ugly and not very good, ended up driving a huge amount of traffic to my website!

The key is to share new pins consistently (1-5 fresh pins per day if possible), engage with your audience (respond to comments and pay attention to your audience insights), and stay up-to-date with Pinterest Trends (to help you plan new content).

Below are some more things you can do after a pin goes viral on Pinterest:

Re-read the post to make sure it’s fresh and up-to-date

Whether it’s a new or older blog post, it’s always a good idea to re-read that article.

This can help you find any fluff or outdated information that should be removed, any new information that you want to add, and correct any spelling or grammar errors.

You basically want to put yourself in your reader’s shoes and make sure that your article is offering the answers that they’re looking for.

Make sure you have an email opt-in

Even if you’re a brand-new blogger, it’s important to start building your email list from day 1.

This is the best way to build a relationship with your readers (and potential customers) in an intimate way.

If someone visits your website and clicks away before signing up for your email list, they’ll probably never visit your website again because they won’t remember it exists.

But if they’re on your email list, you can easily send them a message, which can help increase your pageviews and build a loyal following.

I use Convertkit for my email marketing. They were created specially for bloggers and comes with a ton of great tools to help you grow your email list and make money.

Monetize the post

You want to make sure that every single post on your website is monetized. This means it has the potential to make you money.

It’s a lot of work to run a blog and write fresh content, so it’s nice to be rewarded for all your efforts.

Below are some ways you can monetize your blog posts:

Display ads – If you have display ads on your blog, make sure they are on your blog posts. The more traffic your post receives, the more money you’ll make.

I use Raptive to manage the display advertising on my blog. Mediavine is another popular ad network for bloggers.

If you’re a beginner, Google Adsense is the best choice until you reach the minimum number of sessions to apply for Raptive or Mediavine.

Affiliate links – Can you link to a product, tool, or service in your blog post that your readers would find helpful? You want to make sure that it’s relevant to your blog post, otherwise your readers may not trust your recommendations.

If you’re new to affiliate marketing, I took this course on how to make money with affiliate marketing. It’s perfect for beginners who want to monetize their blog with affiliates.

After taking this course, my small blog went from making $0 to $10,000+ per month!

If you already know the basics of affiliate marketing, then you may find this course more helpful. I learned so much from the course creator about how to maximize my affiliate earnings.

This helped my blog grow from $10,000 to $20,000+ per month.

Share your own product – Do you have a product or service that is relevant to your blog post? Make sure to include it in your post.

Lower your bounce rate

Your bounce rate is the percentage of people who visit a page on your blog, don’t engage by clicking on anything else, and leave.

To lower your bounce rate, your goal is for people to spend more time on your website so they can become loyal readers.

This means you want them to click around and read other blog posts, sign up for your email list, and purchase one of your products.

Below are some tips to help reduce your bounce rate:

> Make sure your website is responsive – You want to make sure it’s easy to navigate on desktop, tablets, and mobile devices.

> Make sure there is a clear call-to-action (What action do you want your visitors to take when they read your blog post? Do you want them to sign up for your email list? Buy your product? Purchase through your affiliate link?)

> Make sure your text is easy to read – You can increase the font size, break up large chunks of text into smaller paragraphs, use headings and bullet points when necessary.

> Add internal links in your blog post – Add links to related articles that you’ve written so your readers can find additional information that could help them.

Create new pins on Pinterest for the same blog post

You can re-pin your viral pin to other relevant boards on Pinterest, but you don’t want to do this too often, otherwise Pinterest might temporarily block your account due to spam behavior.

Instead, Pinterest prefers fresh, new pins. I recommend creating new, unique pins that link to your viral blog post.

Pinterest already knows that this is a popular article, so there’s a good chance that the new pins you create for this post will become popular too.

You can use the same keywords as the ones you used on your viral pin, or you can use related ones to try and reach new people.

When you click on a keyword in the Pinterest Trends tool, it will show you related trends which can be helpful in writing your pin title and descriptions.

As you can see, there are several ways you can improve your pins to help you go viral on Pinterest.

It’s pretty amazing how special blogging can be once you figure out how to use platforms like Pinterest to help you drive traffic to your website and connect with readers.

If you’re interested in starting your own blog and making money online, check out my step-by-step guide here.