How To Promote Clickbank Products On Pinterest (The Right Way)

Most people trying to promote Clickbank products on Pinterest are following advice that stopped working before they ever started. The old playbooks tell you to drop a pin with a raw affiliate link and wait for commissions. Pinterest changed all of that. The platform rewrote what it rewards, and if your strategy has not kept up, you are not getting clicks, you are getting ignored.

Alston Godbolt breaks down the updated approach in this video, walking through real accounts, the exact content format Pinterest now prioritizes, and the four-step system that actually moves traffic from a Pinterest pin to a commission. This is the version that works, not the one your YouTube feed keeps recycling from two years ago.

What You’ll Walk Out With

Why older Pinterest affiliate strategies no longer produce results
The content format Pinterest is currently pushing: idea pins and vertical video
How to find a Clickbank product that hands you your content strategy for free
The exact steps to create pins on Canva without showing your face
Why you should never send Pinterest traffic directly to an affiliate offer
The domain and landing page setup that protects your traffic long-term
The double-pin strategy that doubles your reach with the same piece of content
Not sure which niche or product fits you? Find out at finder.platformproof.com

Why Most Pinterest Affiliate Videos Are Already Outdated

Search YouTube for how to promote Clickbank products on Pinterest and you will find videos from one, two, sometimes three years ago. Alston points this out at the start of the video: even his own earlier video on the subject had become outdated by the time he made this updated version. That is not a knock on those creators. It is the reality of how fast Pinterest moves.

Pinterest made a strategic decision to compete with TikTok and Instagram. That meant shifting focus to stories, vertical video, and short-form visual content. The platform started rewarding creators who posted that kind of content and quietly stopped pushing the static image pins that used to drive traffic. If you learned Pinterest affiliate marketing in 2020 or early 2021, most of what you know about pin formats, link placement, and traffic flow has been replaced.

The good news: the fundamental goal has not changed. You are still trying to get in front of people who have a specific problem, show them something that gets their attention, and move them toward a solution you are promoting. What changed is the wrapper around that goal and the technical steps you use to execute it.

What Pinterest Actually Rewards Now

Pinterest now heavily prioritizes two content types: idea pins and video pins. These are vertical video formats, the same orientation you would use for a TikTok or Instagram Reel. If you are still creating standard horizontal image pins as your primary content format, you are working against the algorithm rather than with it.

Idea pins are Pinterest’s version of Stories. They are multi-page, they do not allow outbound links, and they are being pushed heavily by the platform because they keep people on Pinterest longer. Regular video pins do allow links, but Alston’s approach is to use both strategically rather than picking one over the other. The double-pin strategy covered later handles that exact situation.

The follower count on Pinterest means less than most people assume. A real-world account Alston highlights in the video had only 53 followers but was pulling 27,000 monthly views. Another account in the relationship niche had 700 followers and was generating consistent affiliate traffic. The numbers that matter on Pinterest are monthly views and click-through rate on your pins, not the size of your follower base. This is genuinely good news for anyone starting from zero.

Real Accounts: What Right Looks Like (And What Wrong Looks Like)

The first account Alston walks through is in the keto weight loss niche. They promote a variety of Clickbank products related to weight loss and keto dieting. Their profile has just 53 followers, their monthly view count sits at 27,000, and the reason it works is the content. They use product images sourced directly from the Clickbank affiliate page, pair them with scroll-stopping copy about specific health claims, and drive traffic toward a landing page rather than a direct affiliate link.

The second example is in the relationship and body sketch niche, promoting a product called Soulmate Sketch. That account has 700 followers and is doing a few things right. The content format is correct, the volume is there, and the niche targeting is solid. Where they are going wrong: they are sending traffic through Linktree rather than a self-hosted landing page. Alston flags this directly. Linktree is a middleman you do not control. If the platform changes its policies or Linktree updates its terms, your entire traffic flow breaks. The traffic you built should land on something you own.

Spotting the difference between these two accounts matters because it shows that doing most things right is not the same as doing everything right. The Linktree account has done the hard creative and consistency work. It simply has a structural weak point that could collapse the whole operation if the platform changes its rules, which platforms do.

Step 1: Find a Clickbank Product With a Detailed Affiliate Page

Head to Clickbank’s marketplace and look for products in a niche you are willing to work in. The marketplace has products across dozens of categories: health and fitness, relationships, personal development, business and investing, and more. Almost any of them can work on Pinterest as long as your targeting is dialed in. Targeting is the single most important variable in the whole equation.

The specific product Alston demos in the video is a weight loss supplement called Xpure. But the product itself matters less than the affiliate page behind it. When you click “Affiliate Page” in the Clickbank marketplace, you land on a page the vendor built specifically for affiliates. The best affiliate pages are loaded with useful material: the target audience profile, email swipes, banner images, social media copy, before-and-after images, and specific content angles that have already been tested with real buyers.

This is the part most people skip, and it is where the work gets dramatically easier. You do not have to guess what content to create. The affiliate page tells you. It shows you the exact images the vendor knows convert. It shows you the pain points and desired outcomes your audience cares about. It hands you headline ideas packaged as email subject lines that are proven to get opens. A product with a thin or generic affiliate page requires much more original creative work. A product with a rich, detailed affiliate page is something you can run with from the start.

Xpure’s affiliate page, for example, includes images of women holding the product, before-and-after photos, and email swipe copy with specific angles like “10 cups of water a day slows metabolism.” That single subject line tells you exactly what kind of pin to create: a vertical video or image that opens with that counterintuitive claim and ties it back to the product as a solution. The vendor already figured out what stops people in their tracks. Your job is to put that in front of the right audience on Pinterest.

Step 2: Mine the Affiliate Page for Content Ideas

Once you have picked a product with a solid affiliate page, your content strategy is mostly already written. Go through the email swipes and look for subject lines that work as hooks. A subject line like “10 cups of water a day slows metabolism” works because it contradicts what most people believe about losing weight. That contradiction stops the scroll. The viewer’s brain registers a conflict with what they already know, and they want to resolve it by watching more of what you posted.

Take those hook lines and pair them with images from the same affiliate page. The keto account Alston shows in the video uses images pulled directly from the Xpure affiliate page. They did not create original photography or hire a designer. The vendor already did that work. You are simply placing it inside a well-formatted Pinterest pin with a headline that earns attention.

You can also go directly to Pinterest and type in the name of the product you are promoting. What comes back is a live map of what other affiliates are doing in your niche, both what is working and what is being done poorly. You can model what the successful accounts are doing and identify the gaps the weaker ones are leaving open. This doubles as market research and creative inspiration without any additional tools or paid subscriptions.

Step 3: Create Video Idea Pins With Canva (No Face Required)

If you do not want to appear on camera, Canva is the tool that solves that problem. Go to canva.com and search for “mobile video” or “Pinterest video” to get a template at the correct vertical dimensions. Pinterest content should be vertical, matching the 9:16 ratio that fills a phone screen the way TikTok and Reels do. That dimension matters because Pinterest is currently surfacing this format over everything else in the feed.

Inside Canva, you have access to free video clips, images, and templates. For a weight loss niche, you would search for relevant video clips of people in the demographic you are targeting. Canva’s free library has usable stock footage for a wide range of niches. If you want a wider selection without a subscription, Pexels is a completely free option. If you want professional-grade stock video and you are already generating revenue, Story Blocks is a paid library worth considering.

Assemble a short video: a relevant clip or image as the background, your hook headline from the affiliate page overlaid as text, and a brief call to action pointing to your landing page. Keep it clean and direct. The accounts pulling real views are not producing high-production content. They are making focused pins that immediately address a pain point their audience recognizes. Spend a few minutes on it, download the file, and move on.

One important note on idea pins specifically: they do not allow outbound links. You cannot put a link in an idea pin that sends viewers to your landing page. That is the one real trade-off with the format Pinterest is currently rewarding most. Alston’s workaround is the double-pin approach covered below. The idea pin’s value is in its reach. Pinterest is actively promoting idea pins in the algorithm, so posting them builds your monthly view count even if the actual click has to happen through a separate regular pin.

Step 4: Get Your Own Domain Name and Landing Page

This step separates affiliates who build something that lasts from those who constantly start over. Before you upload your first Pinterest pin, you need a domain name and web hosting. Not Linktree. Not Blogspot. Not any free platform you do not control. Your own domain, your own hosting.

Here is the math Alston runs in the video: good web hosting and a domain costs less than $100 per year. A single Xpure commission pays around $149. That means one sale covers your entire infrastructure cost and puts money in your pocket on top of it. The question is not whether $100 is a lot of money. The question is whether you would spend $100 to own an asset with the potential to return $149 over and over. That math works in your favor from the first commission.

The reason you do not want free platforms goes deeper than cost. If Blogspot decides to restrict affiliate content, and it has happened before with various platforms, every pin you have already published that links to a Blogspot URL becomes a dead end. The traffic is still flowing. The pins are still getting views. But the destination is gone or restricted, and you cannot go back and update every pin you have ever published. If you own your domain and hosting, you control the destination completely. You can update your landing pages, switch the products you are promoting, redirect your audience to new offers, and adjust course whenever you need to, without losing the traffic you have already built.

Once your domain and hosting are set up, build a simple landing page or blog post. It does not have to be long or complicated. Some of the accounts Alston reviewed had bridge pages of only a few hundred words, pulling the copy almost word-for-word from the Clickbank affiliate page email swipes. That copy was already tested to speak to your audience’s pain points. The blog post functions as a bridge: it pre-sells the visitor on the product and includes your affiliate link to the offer. This bridge approach consistently outperforms sending cold Pinterest traffic directly to a product sales page because it matches the traffic’s temperature when they arrive.

One more detail before you post your first pin: verify your domain inside Pinterest settings. The process takes a few minutes and proves to Pinterest that you own the site you are linking to. Verified domains get better distribution for the pins that link to them. Skip this step and you are leaving organic reach off the table from day one.

Not sure which Clickbank niche fits you, or which product to promote first?

Answer a few questions and get a personalized recommendation at finder.platformproof.com.

The Double-Pin Strategy: Same Video, Twice the Reach

Here is the move Alston uses that most people running Pinterest affiliate accounts miss. Take the same video you created in Canva and post it twice: once as an idea pin and once as a regular pin. Same content, two different formats.

The idea pin gets the algorithmic push Pinterest is currently giving to that format. It builds your visibility and monthly view count even without a clickable outbound link. The regular pin carries the link that sends traffic to your landing page. Together they cover both bases: reach and conversion. This is exactly how Alston repurposes content he originally made for TikTok and Instagram. He uploads the vertical video to Pinterest twice and gets additional traffic from a platform that required no additional creative work.

The daily posting target is three to five pins per day. That pace keeps your account active, signals consistency to Pinterest’s algorithm, and builds monthly view count without burning out your content production. With the double-pin method, each piece of content you create counts as two posts, so hitting five pins per day requires only two or three unique videos worth of work. The keto account with 53 followers and 27,000 monthly views is running at exactly this kind of consistent pace rather than front-loading content and going silent.

Honest Drawbacks of This Approach

Idea pins do not allow outbound links. The format Pinterest is currently rewarding most with organic reach is also the format that cannot send traffic directly to your landing page. You are running a two-track system by necessity: one format for visibility, one format for clicks. If Pinterest changes that policy, the workflow shifts. For now, the double-pin approach handles the limitation, but it is an extra step that would not exist if idea pins allowed links the way regular pins do.

Pinterest’s algorithm rewards consistency, which means this method requires sustained effort over weeks and months before you see meaningful commission numbers. Accounts that post hard for two weeks and then go quiet do not grow. The 27,000 monthly views account got there by posting reliably, not by posting a large batch in a short burst and hoping for lasting momentum.

The platform’s focus can also change again. Pinterest moved toward vertical video because of competitive pressure from TikTok and Instagram. If the competitive landscape shifts again, Pinterest will likely shift with it. Staying current with which formats Pinterest is actively promoting is an ongoing part of running this kind of operation, not a one-time research task you check off and forget.

The Full Four-Step Breakdown

Find a Clickbank product with a detailed affiliate page. A well-resourced affiliate page gives you images, email swipes, audience targeting information, and proven content angles without any additional research on your part. Choose products where the vendor has invested in helping affiliates succeed, because their success depends on yours.
Mine the affiliate page for content raw material. Pull the email subject lines that work as scroll-stopping hooks. Download the images. Note the pain points and desired outcomes described in the copy. Type the product name into Pinterest to see what others are doing and what gaps you can fill with sharper content.
Create a Pinterest profile and start making vertical video idea pins. Use Canva with free video clips from Canva’s library or Pexels. Set your template dimensions to mobile video. Add a hook headline as text. Keep it clean and direct. No face required. Post the same video as both an idea pin and a regular pin.
Set up your own domain and landing page before you post your first pin. Verify the domain in your Pinterest account settings. Build a simple bridge page using copy from the affiliate page email swipes. Link from your regular pins to this page, not to the raw affiliate offer URL. Post three to five pins per day and hold that pace consistently.

Find Your X

The system above works, but it only works if you start with the right product in the right niche for you. Picking a niche you are indifferent to, or a product whose audience you do not understand, makes every step harder. The content feels forced, the copy does not land, and the consistency falls apart because you are not genuinely interested in what you are making.

If you are not sure which niche fits your skills, your interests, or your current situation, answer a few questions at finder.platformproof.com and get a personalized recommendation built around where you actually are, not a generic answer that fits everyone and therefore fits no one.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Pinterest still work for affiliate marketing?

Yes, but the format requirements have shifted. Pinterest moved toward vertical video and idea pins to compete with TikTok and Instagram. Accounts using those formats are getting distribution. Accounts relying on older static pin strategies are seeing declining reach. The underlying opportunity is still real, but the execution has to match what the platform is currently rewarding.

Do I need a lot of followers to make money on Pinterest with Clickbank?

No. The video shows an account with 53 followers generating 27,000 monthly views and another with 700 followers driving consistent affiliate traffic. Pinterest distributes content based on how well it matches user interests, not how large your existing audience is. Monthly views and click-through rate matter far more than follower count, especially when you are starting out.

Can I link directly to my Clickbank affiliate offer from a Pinterest pin?

Technically yes on regular pins, but Alston recommends against it. If the product is discontinued or the affiliate program ends, every pin you have published pointing to that URL becomes a dead link. If you own the landing page destination, you can update the affiliate link behind it without touching your existing pins. A bridge page also warms up cold traffic before they hit the sales page, which tends to improve conversion rates.

Can I use Linktree instead of buying a domain and hosting?

You can, but Alston specifically recommends against it. The account he shows using Linktree has a structural vulnerability: if Linktree changes its terms or restricts affiliate links, the entire traffic flow breaks overnight. A self-hosted domain and simple website costs less than a single Clickbank commission in most niches, and it means you own your traffic instead of renting access to it through a third-party platform you have no control over.

Do idea pins allow outbound links?

No. Idea pins are Pinterest’s story format and they do not include clickable outbound links. The double-pin approach Alston uses resolves this: post the same video as an idea pin for algorithmic reach, and also as a regular pin with your landing page link attached. The idea pin builds monthly views and visibility. The regular pin captures clicks and sends them somewhere you control.

What free tools can I use to create Pinterest content?

Canva is the main recommendation from the video. It has free video templates at the correct vertical dimensions, a library of free stock video clips and images, and text overlay tools that require no design background. Pexels is a separate free resource for stock video and photos when Canva’s free library does not have what you need. Story Blocks is a paid option if you want a wider professional-grade selection after you start generating revenue.

How many pins should I post per day?

Alston’s target is three to five pins per day. That pace keeps the account active, signals consistency to the algorithm, and builds monthly view count without burning through your content supply. With the double-pin method, each piece of content you create counts as two posts, so you can hit five pins per day with just two or three unique videos worth of production work.

How do I find content ideas for my Pinterest pins?

Two main sources. First, the Clickbank affiliate page for whatever product you are promoting. The email swipes section contains subject lines built around specific pain points and counterintuitive claims. Those make strong pin headlines. The images on the affiliate page show you the visual language that already converts in your niche. Second, search the product name directly on Pinterest. You will see what affiliates are posting, what is getting traction, and what looks saturated or generic, which shows you the creative gaps you can step into.

Sources

Alston Godbolt, “How To Promote Clickbank Products On Pinterest (Updated 2022)” on YouTube, youtu.be/rZj2IEMXYpE
Clickbank Marketplace at clickbank.com
Canva free design tool at canva.com
Pexels free stock video and photos at pexels.com
Story Blocks stock video library at storyblocks.com