Rise and Fall of Pinterest Creator Rewards
Pinterest Creator Rewards ends and what to do next
When the end of a program is likened to getting laid off from your job, you know emotions are running high.
Days before the start of the last month of the year, Pinterest announced on November 29th through an email campaign that they were terminating their beta program called Pinterest Creator Rewards.
The Rise of Pinterest Creator Rewards
The program piloted in the fall of 2021, and was Pinterest’s way of celebrating the wave of the Creator. Pinterest knew, just as all other social platforms know, that the Creator’s ability to monetize on a platform heavily influences where that Creator would create and post their content.
The program invited Creators to create unique and original content for the Pinterest platform through a series of monthly challenges to gain rewards. Rewards from the start of the program to the end varied greatly with some Creators boasting six figure payouts in a few months.
Creators such as myself entered the program in the summer of 2022 when the maximum earning potential hit a ceiling of $3,000. By the final month of the program, November 2022, the maximum earning potential was $2,160.
The program invited Creators to create unique and original content for the Pinterest platform through a series of monthly challenges to gain rewards. Rewards from the start of the program to the end varied greatly with some Creators boasting six figure payouts in a few months.
Creators such as myself entered the program in the summer of 2022 when the maximum earning potential hit a ceiling of $3,000. By the final month of the program, November 2022, the maximum earning potential was $2,160.
The Fall of Pinterest Creator Rewards
As the maximum payout for participation of the Creator Rewards Program started to decline, we saw the writing on the wall. What might have looked like Pinterest’s beta program was refining itself for an official launch across the platform as seen with the rewards payout fluctuations, the Creator Rewards Program quickly rose and fell without ever really taking off.
Creators expressed disappointment in the decrease in the monthly payout, but continued to participate in the program because the earnings potential outpaced monetization on other social platforms such as TikTok and Instagram.
Why did Pinterest Creator Rewards disappear
Now that we know the outcome of the program, Creators are left to ask why?
Immediately after receiving the program termination email from Pinterest I posted a video to my TikTok community sharing an update. The engagement and comments all share a clear consensus. Creators were deeply saddened by the news, with many in disbelief of the program termination.
Why did this program that appeared to have promised a better and more positive place on the internet fail to deliver on their promises of monetization after winning the trust of their Creators?
The Reasons to Terminate Pinterest Creator Rewards
Let’s dive into what Pinterest has told us.
Pinterest explicitly states in italics that they wanted more Creators to benefit from monetization opportunities on the platform. Instead of bigger slices of pie to a select few, they want to cut each of us smaller slices so that we can all get a taste.
The email also references the closure of the program making space for other initiatives which we will just have to stay tuned for because nothing explicit was released in the email about new programs. Where Pinterest did share some insights was the introduction of linking capabilities on idea pins.
The functionality of linking a URL on idea pins has been in beta for select accounts in the United States. Distribution of this functionality is expected in 2023 according to Pinterest. The link capabilities will allow for expanded affiliates links which will help with monetization.
The Unspoken Reason to Terminate Pinterest Creator Rewards
Anyone who has been paying attention to the current economic landscape could make an easy guess that the Pinterest Creator Rewards program was a big expense that wasn’t sustainable.
With EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) at a 62% decline, year over year, Pinterest, a publicly traded company, reported a significant decline in revenue. This might just be the tip of the iceberg. Other tech companies (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) have already experienced significant reduction in forces with recent layoffs.
Perhaps the termination of the Pinterest Creator Rewards program is the start to a domino effect yet to come.
What's Next for Pinterest Creators
In response to my TikTok videos related to the Pinterest Creator Rewards Program, many asked what could be done now with the loss of this income stream?
What are the remaining options for Creators on the Pinterest platform, now that a significant monetization source is no longer on the table?
Not all is lost because there are other ways to monetize on Pinterest. I share more details below.
How to Monetize on Pinterest
There are other ways to monetize on Pinterest that also serve as additional incomes streams for online creators that we can dive into here.
Affiliates
Pinterest is a unique platform that allows for the use of hyperlinks. These hyperlinks can be URL’s that direct your audience to a specific product page where you might receive a commission upon the user purchasing the product.
Digital Courses
Online courses are my jam so it definitely makes the list of ways to monetize on Pinterest. I have personally sold my online courses directly on Pinterest so it is a traffic source that you do not want to ignore.
Digital Workshops
Got a skill to share with your audience? Share your registration and sales pages on Pinterest to gain a new traffic source.
Digital Products
Whether you have digital products that you sell on Etsy, Shopify or even on your personal website, these product pages can be shared on Pinterest. I personally created two different digital products, a Plan Your Life Calendar Pack and The Ultimate Tidying Toolkit, which is a 53 page eBook that I shared and successfully sold directly on Pinterest.
PDF Downloads – While this discussion is specific to monetization sources, I’ll deviate slightly because I consider free PDF downloads as a zero-dollar conversion that is highly valuable to an online entrepreneur.
Creator Fund
Completely separate and unrelated to the Creator Rewards Program is the Creator Fund. It’s a way to monetize on Pinterest by creating content specifically on the platform.
The Fund is open periodically during the year for specific individuals that meet predetermined criteria. The criteria may be LGBTQ creators or creators from Asian decent that create content related to a specific niche like beauty or cooking.
The fund is not only limited to these groups. These are some specific groups that have been specifically named for participation in the fund.
The Fund is open periodically during the year for specific individuals that meet predetermined criteria. The criteria may be LGBTQ creators or creators from Asian decent that create content related to a specific niche like beauty or cooking.
The fund is not only limited to these groups. These are some specific groups that have been specifically named for participation in the fund.
Other restrictions are in place such as a minimum follower count and a maximum follower count. It appears that these thresholds are in place to make space for a very specific type of creator that may be underrepresented in the creator economy on Pinterest.
Brand Partnerships
Many different brands have a presence on Pinterest which makes it a perfect pairing of creators and brands. While specific partnerships between the two are not necessarily facilitated by Pinterest, brands and creators are free to collaborate and partner together to bring relevant content to their shared audiences.
There are many opportunities in this space despite not being a specific program in place.
Conclusion
It’ll be anyone’s guess about what is truly to come along on the horizon for Pinterest. One thing is resoundingly true. That is that change is expected and the norm. The more comfortable we get with change and can quickly adapt to it, we stand to benefit in the short and long term.
Use this list of monetization opportunities on Pinterest to inspire and motivate you to put your energy towards new and different income streams. Just as one door closes another one opens. We will see programs come and go and as true entrepreneurs we roll with the punches to more than survive, but to thrive.