You know the joy you experience when payday arrives and you check your account balance to find you’re suddenly a few digits richer? It’s simply the best. Now imagine how much more wonderful the experience is when you find that you’re not only a tad richer, but you didn’t have to actively work to earn that cash.
Yep — we’re talking about passive income. Whether you get paid a salary, by the hour, or per project, many of us actively do some type of work to earn money in return. Passive income, on the other hand, is the money you earn when you’re sleeping. Okay, maybe it’s not what you earn when you’re sleeping per se, but it’s the income you earn in the background of what you do in your day-to-day. Think of it as one of the many different revenue streams wealthy people have to become richer without doing tons of extra work.
It’s an enticing idea, isn’t it? While real estate and general investing are key ways to earn a passive income, here are a few ideas you might not have thought of yet:
Create an online course or sell access to your knowledge
Just because the term “passive income” has the word “passive” in it doesn’t mean it doesn’t include a little bit of work to get started. That’s certainly the case when it comes to starting an online course.
Maybe you already have a blog where you write about your favorite antiques and your best friends are always asking you how you know what’s a fake and what has real value. Why not create a guide people can download or perhaps even an online course on how to become an antiques dealer? Or maybe you’re a pro at designing resume templates and your friends are always asking you to help spruce theirs up. You could make those resume templates into files that people can download — for a price.
The point is to think about where your expertise lies and how you can create something of value.
Write classroom materials for teachers
Managing multiple classes of students can be a juggling challenge. While school districts give teachers directives on what they have to cover over the course of a school year, teachers tend to have some leeway in terms of the lesson plans they use to reach those goals.
If you’re particularly knowledgeable about a subject and feel like you can teach others, consider drafting up some lesson plans for teachers. That’s what Brad Hines, a digital marketing strategist, did in his spare time, using websites like Teachers Pay Teachers. “I parlayed my skills as a graphic designer to be able to make plans teachers liked,” he says. Once you’ve created the initial product, it can be downloaded (and paid for) time and time again.
Use affiliate links when you share the products you love
If you follow bloggers online, you’ve likely seen them include a note on their website or social social media post declaring that they might receive payment from a company if you click through their links. That’s a sign that they’re participating in some sort of affiliate marketing program, where clicks earn them a small commission.
“You don’t have to have a big following to get started in most cases,” Shannon Mattern, the blogger behind Your WordPress BFF,says. “Simply Google your favorite products and services to find out if they have programs, sign up, and then share info and the link on social media.” The size of your following and how SEO-friendly your site is will dictate the clickthrough rate you receive. Once you get people clicking through, you can expect to make money within a month or two.
