How To Sell Your Online Course On Pinterest

Pinterest is where people find their favorite products.

It is a platform where people come seeking inspiration and leave deciding what to buy.

With over 463 million monthly active users (MAUs) worldwide, Pinterest invites its users, or Pinners as they are known in the community, to express themselves by creating pinboards - a modern-day virtual mood board.

It is more than a visual search engine. It is a powerful tool for driving traffic to your website and helping you ​with selling your online course.

But do you know how to sell your online course on Pinterest?

This blog will help you steer your business to the top with simple yet effective Pinterest tactics to sell your online video course.

• Why Pinterest?
• Setting Up Your Pinterest Business Account
• Building a Dedicated Board for Your Courses
• Utilizing Rich Pins and Buyable Pins
• Analyzing Pinterest Analytics
• Incorporating Pinterest Ads for Increased Visibility

Why Pinterest?

Before we dive into how to sell courses on  Pinterest, we must understand why this platform stands out for you as a course creator. Pinterest is a solid driver of website traffic. This translates to more blog post views, email subscribers, and, ultimately, paying customers.

Here are some Pinterest key facts that present the answer to why sell on this platform:

• Women make up more than 60% of our global audience
• Male Pinners and Gen Z Pinners are up 40% year over year
• US Millennial Pinners are up 35% year over year
• 97% of top Pinterest searches are unbranded
• 85% of Pinners say Pinterest is where they go to start a new project

Selling your course on Pinterest is like putting your courses in a lively market where many curious minds can find them. Pinterest offers an unmatched potential for online course selling and should gain your attention to start selling on Pinterest.

If you have an online course platform, Pinterest is the perfect place to share your content. You can publish pins, drive traffic, and convert them into sales in just a few clicks.

Overview of Pinterest's User Base and Demographics

Pinterest's user base is diverse. The platform’s largest audience, in terms of gender and age, was women between the ages of 25 and 34, who accounted for almost a third of all users, followed by women aged 18 to 24.

There are over 84 million Pinterest users in the United States, making it the country with the most users. Ranking second was Brazil, with 28 million users, followed by Mexico, Germany, and France. 

When measuring the amount of monthly active users, Pinterest users in Asia are expected to increase between 2024 and 2027 by 12.2 million users continuously.

The Visual Nature of Pinterest and its Appeal for Online Courses

Pinterest’s popularity extends globally, with a growing user base across continents. The platform's visual-centric nature makes it a hub for creative and visually appealing content catering to various interests.

Its image-focused interface allows course creators to create visually engaging content, such as infographics, diagrams, and charts, enhancing the learning experience. Users can quickly discover, save, and share visual resources, fostering collaborative learning.

Pinterest's organizational features, like boards and pins, enable educators to structure and present course materials intuitively. Pinterest emerges as a dynamic platform for educators to leverage the power of visuals, fostering a more interactive online course.

Success Stories of Individuals or Businesses Selling Courses on Pinterest

Pinterest makes interaction highly engaging and exciting. Moreover, Pinterest has been shopping-friendly for many years.

Let’s look at some examples of success stories of selling courses on Pinterest.

For example, Duc Thinh B., a social media manager and entrepreneur, uses Pinterest to sell online courses. The below image was posted on Pinterest as a pin, in which he shared insights into different certificate courses.

Source: Pinterest

Another example is Guruface, an online learning, teaching, and training platform selling online courses on Pinterest. The link in this pin takes the user to the Guruface website, where different courses and other information are provided.

Source: Pinterest

1. Setting Up Your Pinterest Business Account

Turn pins into course enrollments.

As an online course entrepreneur, you must get a business account for Pinterest, as you might miss opportunities with a personal account.

Business accounts on Pinterest get access to additional tools to monitor performance, run ads, and create rich pins. It allows you to showcase your online course to the world.

Step-by-step Guide to Creating a Business Account

To create a business account on Pinterest, follow these steps:

• Log into your personal Pinterest account
• Click the directional icon at the top-right of the screen
• Click Add account
• Under Create a free business account, click Create
• Click Create a linked business account

Don’t forget to read the business account terms and conditions. 

Optimizing your Profile for Course Promotion 

Maximize your course visibility on Pinterest by optimizing your profile.

Pinterest is an excellent platform for increasing sales and traffic for your online course business. You just need to know how to effectively optimize your profile for course promotion.

Follow these best practices:

• Craft a compelling profile with vibrant visuals
• Write a concise bio highlighting course benefits
• Utilize keywords in your board names and descriptions
• Pin engaging content related to your course
• Foster community through collaboration boards
• Drive clicks with clear CTAs

Your profile must focus on growing your audience, expanding your reach, and generating sales by setting up your Pinterest profile to incorporate content that resonates with the audience.

Utilizing Pinterest's Features for Maximum Visibility

With billions of Pins on Pinterest, you need to stand out from the competition.  Do you know how to sell online courses on Pinterest by utilizing features offered by the platform?

Here are some essential features that you should consider when selling an online course on Pinterest:

• Pins - The core unit of content on Pinterest.
• Boards - A collection of related pins users create to organize and save content.
• Visual discovery -  Find specific topics and browse through categories.
• Bright feed -  Showcase the selection of pins to users based on their interests.
• Search and explore - Showcases trending pins, popular topics, and personalized recommendations.
• Save button - Allows users to save web content directly to their boards.
• Following - Users can follow other Pinterest users, including friends, influencers, brands, and creators.
• Shopping features - Showcase options for purchasing and promoting products on the platform
• Group Boards - Let multiple users contribute and save pins to a shared collection.
• Analytics - Get insights into pin and board performance, audience demographics, and engagement metrics.

2. Building a Dedicated Board for Your Courses

Boards are where you save, collect, and organize your Pins. You need to create new boards with pins for your target audience.

For the course you have created, you need to use boards to organize your business’ Pins so prospects can easily browse your profile or explore the course.

Key benefits of building a dedicated board for your courses:

• Organized showcase: Keep your courses in one neat place.
• Focused content: Highlight your courses without distractions.
• Easy discovery: Users find all your courses in a dedicated spot.
• Branding hub: Reinforce your course brand with a specific board.
• Engagement boost: Encourage followers to explore all your courses in one go.

Creating a Board Specifically for Your Online Courses

Craft a Pinterest board dedicated to your online courses. Pin visually appealing graphics, course highlights, and education testimonials to entice learners.

Organize pins strategically for easy navigation, creating sections for different topics or modules. Engage your audience with insightful captions, inviting them to explore your courses. Optimize descriptions and keywords for searchability, ensuring your educational offerings stand out on Pinterest.

Collaborating with Others to Increase Board Visibility

As a course creator, leverage collaborative efforts on Pinterest to boost board visibility.

Engage with fellow educators and related content creators by repinning, commenting, and collaborating on group boards. Share valuable insights, infographics, and snippets from your courses to pique interest.

Collaborative boards foster a community by actively participating in group discussions and sharing resources. Consistent engagement and collaboration elevate your board's visibility and position. Attracting potential students to explore and enroll in your courses.

3. Utilizing Rich Pins and Buyable Pins

Let’s explore how to promote your online course on Pinterest using rich and buyable pins. Buyable Pins are pins that allow people to buy products without leaving Pinterest. Whereas rich pins automatically sync information from your site.

There are three types of rich pins:

• Recipe Rich Pins
• Article Rich Pins
• Product Rich

Rich pins help improve your prospect’s experience with your pins. The primary goal of rich pins should be to make pinners care about your page and earn their click.

Enabling Buyable Pins for Direct Purchase Options

To enable Buyable Pins with direct purchase options on Pinterest, follow these steps:

1. Sign up or convert your existing account to a business account.
2. Confirm ownership of your website through Pinterest's verification process.
3. Create a product catalog that includes your available items.
4. Integrate a secure payment system to facilitate transactions.
5. Apply for Pinterest Shopping by going to your account settings.
6. Once approved, activate the Shopping feature in your account settings.
7. When creating Pins, tag them with product details, including pricing.

Integrating Pinterest with Your Course Platform or Website

Integrating Pinterest with your course platform or website offers creates a dynamic channel to increase sales conversion. Utilize Pinterest to showcase course content, attract a wider audience, and drive traffic to your website.

From increased brand visibility to visually appealing Pins and leveraging the platform's vast user base to enhance the discoverability of your online courses, seamless integration creates an exceptional experience for prospective students.

4. Analyzing Pinterest Analytics

Pinterest Analytics helps you understand your overall presence on Pinterest. It is a powerful, built-in tool provided by Pinterest to help users measure their performance on the platform.

Pinterest analytics help you understand how your content performs and supports your business goals. For example, you can use Pinterest analytics to see which of your pins generated the most impressions and which pins get clicks that lead the visitor to the website.

Understanding Key Metrics for Course Success

Understanding critical metrics for course success requires you to gain insight and make informed content decisions.

Here are some of the key metrics you must track on Pinterest:

• Impressions: Gauge your course's visibility by tracking how often Pins are displayed on users' feeds.
• Click-through Rate (CTR): Measure user engagement by assessing the percentage of Pin viewers who click through to your course.
• Engagement: Evaluate likes, comments, and saves to understand the resonance of your course content.
• Conversion Rate: Monitor the percentage of Pin viewers who enroll in your course, indicating effective marketing.
• Referral Traffic: Assess the volume of users Pinterest directs to your course platform, indicating platform effectiveness.

Adjusting Your Strategy Based on Analytics

Analytics help you boost your Pinterest’s overall performance. With the correct data, you can clearly understand where you stand, how your prospective students respond to the pins, and how many conversions you generate.

Analytics can target your audience better by specifying data types and sources for optimal collection and reporting. Pinterest analytics help you better understand your target audience based on the following:

• Purchasing behaviors
• Demographics
• Interests
• Habits and patterns

Data-driven strategy drives better profitability. By leveraging data, you can better understand your audience, create more relevant and engaging content, and measure the success of your efforts.

Continuous Improvement for Better Results

Now that you know how to use Pinterest marketing for your online course, you must continuously improve your strategy to boost market value. The benefits of using continuous improvement for Pinterest marketing include:

• Improved revenue and more significant ROI
• Increased efficiency
• Decreased costs and risk
• Build more meaningful and beneficial relationships

5. Incorporating Pinterest Ads for Increased Visibility

Selling your online course on Pinterest is like showing off your courses in a busy market. You need to get the attention of your prospective students and make your course cut through the noise and reach the top. 

Therefore, Pinterest ads stand out visually, grabbing attention and boosting your course visibility.

According to Pinterest business insights, Pinners are 7 times more likely to say that Pinterest has influenced their purchase decisions than users of other social networks. So, when you promote online courses on Pinterest, it's likely getting your course in front of them.

Understanding the Different Types of Pinterest Ads Available

Here’s what you need to know about Pinterest ad types.

• Promoted pins: These ads appear in users' feeds and search results, attracting attention with some promotion.
• Shopping ads: Ideal for showcasing your offerings with a direct link, streamlining the buying process.
• Video ads: Perfect for capturing attention and conveying information visually.
• Pinterest carousel ads: Ideal for showcasing various aspects of your course or telling a compelling story to captivate your audience.
• Pinterest collection ads display multiple products or course highlights that are visually appealing.
• Dynamic retargeting campaigns: Target users who have previously interacted with your courses.

By diversifying ad formats, you cater to different user preferences, maximizing impact. Utilize traffic and conversion campaigns for precise results, driving potential students directly to your course.

Targeting Your Audience Effectively with Promoted Pins

As we know, Pinterest is a powerful platform for course creators. You must effectively target the promoted pins to reach their target audience.

To effectively engage users and maximize results, follow these steps:

• Understand Your Audience: Identify demographics and interests.
• Keyword Optimization: Use relevant keywords in pin descriptions.
• Eye-Catching Visuals: Create compelling and visually appealing Pins.
• Targeting Options: Utilize Pinterest's targeting features.
• Budget Management: Set and monitor your advertising budget.
• Analytical Insights: Regularly analyze performance metrics.

Setting a Budget and Optimizing Ad Performance

As a course creator, setting a budget on Pinterest is essential for controlled spending, ensuring cost-effectiveness, and reaching a targeted audience interested in educational content.

Follow these steps for setting a budget:

• Research target audience
• Select ad format
• Create compelling content
• Optimize keywords
• Monitor performance metrics
• Utilize Pinterest analytics
• Adjust bid strategy
• Set a daily budget
• Ad schedule optimization

Optimizing ad performance for better visibility and engagement. Consider the following best practices for Pinterest ad optimization.

• Choose the target that best fits your campaign strategy
• Choosing the right audience and the right creatives
• Make sure you have the Pinterest tag properly installed
• Keyword integration
• Advertises attractive and high-quality content

Final Word

Pinterest is a great place to sell your online course. And it can be invaluable in getting the word out about your online course. It’s a great way to tell a story with images instead of words. 

By optimizing your profile, creating visually appealing pins, and engaging with the Pinterest community, you can enhance your course's visibility and attract potential students.

Utilize rich pins and keyword-optimized descriptions, incorporate compelling graphics, and strategically pin your content to relevant boards.

See how we help online course creators grow

Now that you know how to sell your online course on Pinterest, stop worrying and start pinning. As Pinterest evolves, staying informed about platform updates and trends will be crucial for maintaining a successful presence.