Are you an Etsy seller looking to expand your reach and drive more qualified buyers to your shop? If you’re not leveraging Pinterest’s massive visual discovery engine, you’re leaving significant traffic and sales on the table. What’s more, with the right automation tools, you can tap into Pinterest’s 450+ million monthly active users with minimal ongoing effort.
In this comprehensive guide, I’ll walk you through exactly how to automatically post your Etsy listings to Pinterest using Etsy’s powerful Pinterest Tool. By the end, you’ll have a completely automated system that continuously promotes your products to potential buyers—even while you sleep.
Real Results: 4,448 Clicks in Just 30 Days
Before diving into the how-to, let’s talk about what’s possible. One Etsy seller using Etsy’s Pinterest automation recently generated 4,448 clicks to their shop from Pinterest in a single month. Let’s break down what this means in real revenue terms:
- Traffic: 4,448 visits in 30 days
- Conservative Conversion Rate: 1% (actually modest for Pinterest-driven traffic)
- Resulting Sales: 44 orders (4,448 × 0.01)
- Average Order Value: $40
- Monthly Revenue: $1,760 in additional income
That’s $1,760 flowing in from Pinterest alone—every month—on near-auto-pilot. If this seller improves their conversion rate to just 2%, that’s $3,520 monthly from the same traffic. This illustrates the power of combining Pinterest’s visual platform with your Etsy shop through consistent, automated pinning.
Why Pinterest Is Essential for Etsy Sellers
Pinterest isn’t just another social media platform—it functions more like a visual search engine where users actively seek inspiration, ideas, and products to purchase. This makes it uniquely valuable for Etsy sellers:
- High Purchase Intent: Over 80% of Pinterest users report discovering new brands or products on the platform
- Extended Content Lifespan: While social media posts typically disappear from feeds within hours, pins can continue driving traffic for months or even years
- Demographic Alignment: Pinterest’s user base (predominantly female, average age 39-40) closely matches Etsy’s core demographic
- Unbranded Searches: Nearly all searches on Pinterest are generic rather than brand-specific, giving small Etsy shops equal opportunity to be discovered
- Superior Referral Traffic: Pinterest drives more referral traffic to websites than many competing platforms, including Twitter and LinkedIn
The data clearly shows that Pinterest users are actively searching for products like yours, and they’re ready to buy when they find what they want.
Setting Up Your Pinterest Foundation
Before automating your Pinterest marketing, let’s ensure you have the right foundation in place.
1. Create a Pinterest Business Account
A business account is essential for accessing analytics, claiming your Etsy shop, and enabling Rich Pins:
- Visit business.pinterest.com/create to create a new account
- Or navigate to your profile settings and look for the “Add a free business account” option if you already have a personal account
2. Optimize Your Pinterest Profile
Your profile serves as your brand’s home on Pinterest. Optimize these key elements:
- Profile Picture: Use your shop logo or a professional headshot (165 × 165 pixels minimum)
- Profile Name: Include your shop name plus 1-2 main keywords (e.g., “YourShopName | Handmade Jewelry”)
- Bio: Briefly describe what your shop offers, include relevant keywords, and add a clear call-to-action (limited to 160 characters)
- Website Link: Add a direct link to your Etsy shop
3. Create Strategic Pinterest Boards
Before you start pinning, create 5-10 boards that align with your Etsy shop categories:
- Use keyword-rich board titles (under 20 characters is ideal)
- Write detailed board descriptions that incorporate relevant keywords
- Select a compelling cover image for each board
- Consider both product category boards and boards that reflect your customers’ interests
For example, if you sell handmade jewelry, you might create boards like “Gold Necklaces,” “Statement Earrings,” “Gift Ideas for Her,” and “Bohemian Style Inspiration.”
Connecting Etsy to Etsy’s Pinterest Tool
Now that your Pinterest foundation is set, let’s connect it to Etsy so you can begin automating your pinning strategy.
Creating Pins Manually—Understanding the Basics
Before setting up automation, it’s helpful to understand how to manually create pins using Etsy’s Pinterest Tool. This knowledge will help you make better decisions when configuring your automations.
Managing Your Pinning Schedule
The Queue tab is your command center for all scheduled pins. Here you can:
Set Daily Pin Frequency
In the Settings tab, configure:
- Pins Per Day:
- For newer Pinterest accounts: 5-10 pins daily
- For established accounts: 20-40 pins daily
Define Posting Time Blocks
Select which time blocks your pins should be published:
- Early Morning
- Late Morning
- Afternoon
- Evening
Etsy will automatically distribute your pins across these times for optimal engagement.
Review and Edit Queued Pins
In the Queue tab, you can:
- View all upcoming pins with their scheduled publish dates
- See which automation created each pin (manual, Pin New Listings, or Smart Pins)
- Edit pin titles, descriptions, or board destinations
- Remove or reschedule pins if needed
- Adjust priorities to control publishing order
With these settings configured, Etsy will maintain a consistent Pinterest presence for your Etsy shop without requiring daily attention.
