Affiliate/Sheet

Using Amazon Associates for Pinterest

Amazon's rules and Pinterest's rules both apply to your Pins. Here is what each set allows, and how to keep your links in line.

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Amazon Associates
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Amazon Associates links on Pinterest fall under two sets of rules. Amazon's Associates agreement and policies say what your links may do. Pinterest's community guidelines say what your Pins may be. Both sets apply to every Pin you post.

The agreement covers social media content. The Amazon Associates agreement lets you place links to Amazon on your website, social media content, app, or Alexa skill.

Two limits come with that. The agreement says you may not imply that Amazon supports, sponsors, or endorses you. It also says Amazon customers are not your customers. And Amazon makes no promise about the traffic or income you can expect.

What counts as a qualifying purchase from a Pin

Amazon's Associates policies say a qualifying purchase starts when a customer clicks a Special Link on your site to an Amazon site. From there, the clock runs.

  • The link session ends after 24 hours, or when the customer places an order, whichever comes first.
  • A cart purchase still counts if the order is completed within 89 days of the first click.

So a cart purchase can still count if the order is completed within 89 days of the first click. Amazon's Associates policies say Qualifying Revenue leaves out shipping, gift-wrapping, handling, taxes and service charges.

Your Associates ID or tag must be a parameter in the URL of each link to Amazon.

Do not hide the link. The policies say you must not use a link shortener in a way that hides that you link to Amazon. You also must not cloak or hide the URL of your site that holds Special Links. Put the tagged link on the Pin as it is.

The policies draw a line between places.

  • You may put Special Links in emails and direct messages only if people opted in.
  • Printed material, ebooks, mailings, and oral solicitation are all off limits for a Special Link.

So send a Special Link by direct message only to people who opted in.

What Pinterest's guidelines expect

Pinterest's community guidelines cover your Pins and the sites you link to.

  • Do not save repetitive, deceptive, or irrelevant content just for profit.
  • Do not profit from Pinners in ways that are misleading or add no value.
  • Do not link to unsafe, deceptive, unoriginal, or spam sites. Linked websites should have original content. It should add real value for Pinners.
  • Do not use automation that Pinterest has not approved.
  • Do not buy or sell engagement. Do not generate inauthentic traffic.
  • Links with excessive or deceptive redirection may be blocked.

In short, make Pins a real person would want to save, and link to pages with real content.

Disclosing the relationship

The FTC Endorsement Guides say to disclose a connection that might affect how much weight an endorsement gets. The FTC's influencer guide says you must make the disclosure yourself. Do not rely on others to do it. It also says to place a disclosure with the endorsement message itself.

FTC staff say consumers might not understand that "affiliate link" means the poster gets paid. They say "paid link" right next to an affiliate link should be an adequate disclosure. The agreement also spells out a statement you must use. The statement is: "As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases." The full rules are on the page about FTC affiliate disclosure requirements.

What Amazon's policies rule out

Amazon's policies set these three rules.

  1. Purchases are not commissioned if the customer came from an ad you bought on a keyword with Amazon in it.
  2. You must not encourage customers to bookmark your Special Links.
  3. You must not offer rewards or incentives to people for using your Special Links.

Where to learn more

For the program itself, start with the Amazon affiliate program. Then read how Amazon Associates works. For rates, see the Amazon affiliate commission rates. For payouts, Amazon's policies say it pays commission about 60 days after the end of each month. You can get paid by direct deposit, Amazon gift card, or check. The payout process and the cookie window have their own pages. If you want a wider view, see affiliate programs for bloggers and creators.

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