Hello! Today I’m excited to share an extra income story from my friend Kristin about how she built a profitable Pinterest side hustle. Enjoy!
Hi, I’m Kristin. I started Believe In A Budget to write about personal finance and my many side-hustle experiments.
Starting my blog was one of the best choices I’ve made. I wanted to document the different ways I’d earned extra money over the years, and if I could help even one person, I’d consider Believe In A Budget a success.
Out of all my side hustles, becoming a Pinterest virtual assistant (Pinterest VA) is by far my favorite. There was no shortage of work. As a beginner with no experience, I charged around $100 per client per month for 4–6 hours of work. I undercharged intentionally to gain experience and learn the ropes.
In those first months I earned an extra $300–$500 per month as a Pinterest VA while keeping my day job. That allowed me to start an emergency fund—something I didn’t have before. As my skills improved, I continued to raise my rates. Within six months of launching my Pinterest services, I was making about $3,600 per month.
That extra income helped me grow my emergency savings, pay off medical debt, and feel less financially dependent on my employer. Although I had decent job security, I always liked having multiple income streams. Working as a Pinterest VA became my best way to earn additional income.
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How I Got Started With Pinterest
Early on, the hardest part of blogging was getting traffic. SEO and long-tail keywords confused me, I wasn’t using Facebook, and Twitter barely made sense. When I discovered Pinterest, everything clicked.
Pinterest was intuitive: I could look at a pin and understand why some pins performed better. I could see how colors, fonts, and imagery influenced engagement, and I grasped that better pin descriptions helped pins rank higher in search.
I started using Pinterest about five months into blogging. In the first month on Pinterest, my traffic rose from 5,000 monthly pageviews to 40,000 in two months. Over the next six months pageviews climbed further, and I eventually hit more than 200,000 pageviews in one month, with about 90% of my traffic coming from Pinterest.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need a huge follower count to succeed on Pinterest. I achieved that growth with roughly 2,700 followers at the time. Today I intentionally do very little to grow followers because I want others to see how much is possible with a small following.
How Pinterest Changed My Life
Believe In A Budget was mostly a personal finance blog, but I published a case study documenting my Pinterest experiment. I was nervous about stepping outside my niche, but I decided to share my results anyway. That post changed everything.
Soon after publishing, bloggers began contacting me for Pinterest help. Nervous but eager, I accepted clients to gain experience. I offered services at low rates at first—too low—but the tradeoff was valuable hands-on learning, exposure, and testimonials I could use to raise rates later.
Related: 17 Best Online Jobs From Home
Who Does a Pinterest Virtual Assistant Help?
The term “Pinterest virtual assistant” wasn’t widely used back then. I started by helping personal finance bloggers, and word of mouth expanded my client base across niches like lifestyle, home décor, and parenting. After creating a “hire me” page, I began working with businesses nationwide and internationally, including:
- Spa and salon businesses
- Magazines
- Etsy sellers
- Brick-and-mortar shops
- Gift box subscription services
- Service-based businesses
- Authors
- City tourism and travel sites
- Furniture makers
- A children’s toy manufacturer
My Pinterest business expanded quickly, and I launched a Pinterest management company. Within months of the case study, I had more than a dozen clients. Balancing that with a full-time job became challenging, so I hired a virtual assistant and trained her to help with client work. That freed up time and reduced stress.
Eventually I left my full-time job. Within ten months of launching Believe In A Budget, I was working as a Pinterest VA and blogger full-time—and I haven’t looked back.
How Much You Can Earn as a Pinterest VA
I started by charging very little—around $100 or less for 4–6 hours a month—because I was new and wanted experience. After a few months I realized I could build a part-time or full-time income from Pinterest services, so I raised my prices and continued to do so with each new client.
I offered packages and raised rates gradually. Some clients paid $200 per month for basic Pinterest maintenance using tools like Tailwind; larger companies paid $1,000 per month. For clients with no Pinterest presence, setup packages ranged from $300–$750 for account creation, pin design, scheduling, and group board outreach.
Pin design was another income stream: I charged $5 per pin design with a minimum order—often designing batches of 10, 100, or even 300 images at a time. Many clients needed updated images for old posts or new images for ecommerce and retail listings, so design work was in high demand.
Income varies by client needs, so becoming a Pinterest VA offers flexibility in creating packages and pricing that suit your skills and goals.
What Tasks Does a Pinterest Virtual Assistant Perform?
Services a Pinterest VA can offer include:
- Design Pinterest images for new or existing posts
- Set up a business Pinterest account
- Set up and manage scheduling tools like Tailwind
- Analyze performance and recommend improvements
- Create a monthly pinning schedule
- Develop marketing strategies
- Increase growth and brand awareness
- Offer consultations via video calls
No two VA roles are identical—some clients only need weekly maintenance an hour a week, while others require a more aggressive, campaign-driven schedule requiring many hours per week.
How Much Can a Pinterest Virtual Assistant Earn?
A beginner Pinterest VA can often charge $30–$50 per hour for initial clients. With experience, rates commonly rise to $50–$100+ per hour. One-off services frequently cost $250–$500, while monthly packages usually range from $300–$1,200 or more.
Larger brands typically have real marketing budgets, allowing VAs to earn significantly more. As you gain expertise, consider shifting your title from “Pinterest VA” to “Pinterest Manager” to justify higher pricing and attract bigger clients.
Anyone with a strong work ethic, good organization skills, client-friendly communication, and a love for Pinterest can learn to be a successful Pinterest VA—regardless of their background.
How to Get Started as a Pinterest Virtual Assistant
Start by getting results for your own site or a friend’s site. Offer your services at a reduced rate for 30–90 days in exchange for the chance to document results. Turn that work into a case study you can show potential clients—social proof is powerful.
Then start pitching your services. Begin with peers in your niche and gradually expand. If you want guided training, there are programs that teach technical tools like Pinterest, Canva, and Tailwind; how to price packages; and how to find and pitch clients with templates and follow-up strategies. Many programs also include private communities for ongoing support and client leads.
Students have different goals: some accept 1–2 clients as a side hustle to earn extra income, while others scale their VA work into part-time or full-time careers. It depends on your goals, finances, and schedule.
You Never Know Where One Opportunity Will Lead
When I accepted my first client, I had no idea where it would go. I expected clients might use my services briefly and then take over themselves, but many stayed long-term and my roster kept growing. Soon I was turning away clients and realized there was a shortage of skilled Pinterest VAs—so I created training to help others enter the field.
That training has helped thousands of students launch new careers. Pinterest work is flexible and can be done at any time of day, which makes it appealing to many people. The program evolves with the platform so students stay current with best practices.
Coming Full Circle
I never imagined how much starting a blog would change my life. If you haven’t started a blog yet, it’s not too late. A blog can be a platform for services—add a “Hire Me” or “Work With Me” page to attract clients.
Launching my Pinterest VA business transformed my life. What began as a side hustle became a full-time career by saying “yes” to opportunities and consistently delivering results. Helping others learn how to do the same has been incredibly rewarding. There’s plenty of work in this field both domestically and internationally—Pinterest VA careers remain in high demand.
Did you know you can make money on Pinterest?