Pinterest released a Creator Rewards program in October 2021, and then a Creator Fund in 2022. It’s created some confusion and curiosity for all of us about what the programs are and if there’s a difference.
You’ve told us you’re hungry for the details so we decided to go deep into the Pinterest Creator Rewards program and answer all your questions. We’ll talk about what it is, who is eligible, how to get access, how to get paid (and how much), and a little bit of troubleshooting.
We’ll also share what people are telling us about their experience with the program. Then we’ll talk a bit about the Creator Fund, which is actually an entirely different program.
What is the Creator Rewards Program?
The Creator Rewards program is a way for creators to earn money for creating original Idea Pins, in response to monthly reward goals created by Pinterest. Pinterest will pay creators directly for their most inspiring, quality content and organic engagement.
Simply put? If you create Idea Pins within their goals, Pinterest will pay you.
Who is eligible for the program?
There is quite a list of requirements and they seem to be changing a bit.
Don’t miss the updates we’ve sprinkled throughout the post, as things have changed since we have even recorded this episode!
You must:
- Have a business account
- Be 18 years or older
- Have at least 1000 followers on Pinterest (UPDATE: Since recording, this has dropped to 250 followers)
- Have already created at least three Idea pins (UPDATE: Since recording, it now says “at least 3 Idea Pins in the last 30 days)
- Be a legal resident of, and located in, the 50 United States or the District of Columbia (UPDATED)
- Have 150 saves of your published pins in the last 30 days (NEW)
- Create original content
If you haven’t turned your Pinterest account into a business account yet, please do it today. Besides being against the terms of service to run your business through a personal account, you get so much more that you need for your business.
Here’s the big one – you have to be located in the United States. The program is in beta right now, so it hasn’t been released internationally. I think we will see it expanded by quarter 3 or 4 of this year.
IMPORTANT UPDATES:
New requirements say you can’t use the content you have pinned to Pinterest before, so creating Idea Pins with old blog post content won’t work (hopefully they aren’t strict with this one, but we don’t know yet).
From the Creator Rewards page: “Eligible User Content must be (i) wholly original; (ii) must not have been previously published on Pinterest or submitted for any other program/promotion;“
From one of our Simple Pin Collective members: “Before it said it must not have been previously published elsewhere. This is so good because the payment is still low, but now we can repurpose content from other platforms, so it will be less time-consuming!”
How Do You Get Access?
To find the Creator Rewards program, you will have to use your phone or tablet. It’s only accessible on mobile devices. Note that you also have to have the Pinterest app version 9.33 or higher. If you aren’t seeing the Creator hub on your mobile, make sure you have updated your Pinterest app.
After you’ve met the basic eligibility requirements and you’ve updated your app, the Creator hub will show up as a big red button under your Pinterest profile.
To get access to the Creator Rewards program, you do need to apply. Once you’re in the hub, you will be able to click “Get Started” and apply. If you aren’t eligible, you will not have the ability to apply.
After applying, if you qualify, you will see Hub and Earn at the very top. If you have the Earn tab, click it and you will see prompts for the reward goals that they are willing to pay you for.
How Do You Get Paid?
To set up the process to get paid, switch to the Earn tab. Here you will link your bank account so Pinterest can pay you for your content.
Within 30 days of the reward goal ending, your accumulated earnings will be deposited to your linked bank account. Payouts happen the month following the end of the reward goal.
What Happens Next?
So you’ve been accepted, you created an Idea Pin for one of the reward goals, and you’ve been paid. What happens now?
Pinterest says they will post new reward goals monthly. Creators can participate by creating an Idea Pin in response to each goal. Each reward goal will have a description, payout amounts, and requirements.
After you start a reward goal, you can also create an Idea pin by tapping the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen. Progress updates for your Pin will appear within a week of meeting the engagement requirements for a reward goal.
You can view the reward goals you’ve opted into under the Active tab. You can find your completed reward goals, progress, and earnings under the Completed tab.
How Much Money Are People Making?
Before we talk about the amount you can make, you should know that Pinterest has said it can take up to a month to approve your Idea Pins. That’s not awesome, but as you can imagine, they have a lot of people trying to be participants in the program.
Along with that, remember that payments are dispersed 30 days after the reward goal ends. So the process can take a while.
As of April 2022, they added a dollar limit to each goal so the total that you can make each month is around $6000.
From what we’ve heard from creators in the program, Pinterest pays from $150 to $1250/pin depending on the various reward goals.
I want to temper this just a bit before you get all excited thinking how much you could potentially make. Think about your business goals first and how much time you have available to invest in this. Measure that against the possibility that you don’t make that top ceiling of $6000, maybe you only make $250 or $850. You need to decide if it will still be worth it for you.
IMPORTANT UPDATE: The payment is now lower than it was in April when we recorded this podcast. Currently, a large account can make a max of around $2150, but if you can’t get 100 saves, the earnings will be much lower. Before it was $600 for 30 saves and unlimited pins. Now it is $150 for 50 saves and a maximum of 4 pins.
is the program a good fit for you?
If you are already affiliated and ads monetized or you’re doing sponsored content for brands, this can be another great way for you to diversify. It’s like doing sponsored content for Pinterest.
We’ve interviewed quite a few people and have found that this money range is all over the map.
So, I would love for you to try it out and see how it works. But once you see what you are able to earn, go back to your data and make an informed decision about whether it fits your goals and is worth the time and effort for you to continue.
Troubleshooting the creator rewards Program
We’re hearing from many people that the Earn Tab is full of glitches. Remember that this a beta program. It’s going to have glitches. That’s also why they are not opening it to international users just yet. There are still things they’re trying to work out.
Sometimes the goals disappear, or the money… Even the Earn Tab wasn’t loading for a full day for a lot of people. If you are in the Pinterest Business Community (PBC), you can find threads and read more about this. The PBC is a fantastic place to learn more.
If a glitch comes around, don’t write the program off. Go into the PBC and see what other people are saying.
What creators are saying
We’ve heard from several people who are in the program and here is what they are saying:
“I am in it and just started submitting last month. So far my reviewed post earned $250 and the other 3-4 are under review. This month the reward potential is over $6,000, so I am going to try and fulfill as many of the tasks as possible! I’m super interested to see what other people are experiencing, too!” — Casey
In a previous podcast, we talked with Beth Le Manach of Entertaining with Beth, who was in an alpha program similar to the Creator Rewards program and she was killing it in there!
Even though Beth was doing this way before Pinterest ever announced a Creator Rewards program, she said Pinterest’s Creator program was much more lucrative than anything on Facebook or TikTok.
a few additional thoughts
There are a lot of Creator program opportunities out there. We know that Google just launched one and YouTube has had one for years.
It’s important to be thoughtful about how you are repurposing content.
One of our Collective members said they were testing out repurposing content from TikTok and Instagram. They were changing their music 100% of the time and they only used the video. In other words, they are only using raw content. They are not downloading and saving from another platform, they are just repurposing the content.
This is really, really important to remember. On Pinterest, your Idea Pin has to be something that is a real aha moment.
It has to be an idea that is a tutorial or a step-by-step because the Pinterest user isn’t interested in you. They don’t care about you. They care about the content that you’re producing.
That’s different from TikTok and Instagram where they’ve chosen to follow you to engage and learn. They feel connected with you. They are a warm audience.
Think about that when you’re creating your Idea Pins for this program. The more creative you get, the more opportunities you will have to make money.
pinterest creators rewards program vs creator fund
Now here is a bit of a divergent track.
People have come to us asking about the Creator Rewards program, but they have also heard of the Creator Fund and are wondering if it is the same thing.
No, it isn’t!
The Creator Fund and the Creator Rewards program are totally separate.
We were able to get clarification from the moderators in the PBC:
“The Creator Fund program is separate from the Creator Rewards/Creator Hub. The Creator Fund is specifically designed to support rising stars from underrepresented communities.
The program’s mission is to reduce the barrier to success on Pinterest for those creators from historically marginalized communities who’ve been disproportionately underrepresented on the platform. Our goal is to foster creator talent through financial and educational support.
To be a part of the Creator Fund, you must apply through our online form.
For those asking about the monetization eligibility requirements, if you do not normally monetize content or could not do so consistently, we encourage you to apply!”
So, the Pinterest Creator Fund that we’ve been hearing about in the news is for those in marginalized communities who have not had the ability to use the platform.
The Creator Rewards/Creator Hub is that big red button that you see inside the app.
Bringing It All Together
Pinterest wants creators to create Idea Pins and they are willing to pay for it. If this is something you want to dive into, you should apply and check it out, especially if you are already creating Idea Pins.
If you qualify for the Creator Fund, as someone in an underrepresented community, you definitely should apply for that as well.
Looking for even MORE details and information on the program? Check out this thorough post written by one of our Simple Pin Collective members.
We’d love to hear from you about your experience with the Creator Rewards program. DM us your story on Instagram @simplepinmedia.
For further reading/listening:
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