As someone with a job or even if you’re currently looking for employment opportunities, finding the right passive income ideas can position you to make more earnings by the side, save up and live your dream life while keeping your daily job.
A lot of people in diverse professions are already utilizing some passive income opportunities to their benefit and some of them are earning from it, regardless of their location however there’s no one size fits all.
While some of these opportunities for extra income are genuine and realistic for people with certain jobs, in specific regions or possessing certain resources, there are a number of them that are not profitable to people in other regions.
Having earned a good deal using passive income over the years, in this guide, I’ll be listing out some of the highly profitable opportunities to earn additional income by the side, irrespective of your industry, location or resources and the steps you can use to get started.
Writing & Book Publishing
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Writing or creating content is one of the best ways to earn passive income online. One good thing about this passive income idea is that the most it requires from you is the first initial effort needed to write, publish and promote your book at first.
This is where I started in my early days. As a writer, there are many ways to earn money by the side, while creating your content.
For example, you can decide to earn money by creating and publishing content on a blog. This allows you to garner a decent audience. With this audience, you can create options for advertisers or other promoters to advertise on your blog. (You don’t make any extra effort while doing that).
And there are a lot of ways to do this, ranging from posting direct banner ad spaces on your blog, writing sponsored posts, using affiliate links or the engaging in direct influencer marketing approach.
Another way to earn passive income as a writer is creating and publishing your content into books, be it digital or hard copies, use your ideas to publish and sell books while earning by the side.
Doing this does not only give you the chance to earn a residual income, it gives you an opportunity to build your brand while getting prepped for better opportunities as your thought leadership grows. It also gives you the chance to leave a legacy or legacies in your industry.
A good number of writers today have written books that have enabled them to earn a decent income, years after they first wrote the books. You can start with this approach and even if you’re not so sure this is what you want, you can start with creating and sharing content at first.
Eventually, you can always pivot and evolve as your journey progresses.
Launching Digital Products
Digital products are items like eBooks, Music, Tutorials and training materials, PDFs, Pictures, Videos, Short Movies and other similar products you can create and sell digitally either by automation or otherwise.
As someone with a specialized skill, you can create digital products like courses, trainings and videos; sell them online, as in-demand courses and make your earnings while you sleep.
It’s one of the best ways to earn passive income regardless of your location. And one big advantage of creating digital products is that you don’t have to create the product each time a client needs it. You can create it once and sell it for as long as you want while the product keeps generating income for you.
This makes it one of the perfect fit ideas to earn a passive income, even if you’re a beginner, provided you have the right skills and ideas to get started with.
Additionally, as a creative person either as a Graphics Designer, Photographer, Video Creator etc. you can also create your own digital products and sell them off online.
There are a number of platforms selling these products online, in exchange for a less than a token as fees.
The major downside with this passive income idea is that you need a proper in-demand skill to get started creating digital courses however; it doesn’t matter whether its your first time, as long as you have the skills, you can brush it up and get started from scratch.
Where you don’t have the skills but you want to start with this idea, you can get around this by hiring skilled experts to create the content for you, where you don’t have the expertise. Alternatively, you can learn the skills, create a platform and share your story and your journey, build your audience and eventually create your product.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a marketing model where you earn a commission by promoting a product or service by another company. This could be by the use of affiliate links or special codes that gets you earning a commission when a customer buys the product using your unique link or code.
Be it online or offline, over the years, Affiliate Marketing has become one of the most popular approaches used by individuals and businesses to earn passive income.
As a content creator, you can strategically include your affiliate links as part of your content via your blogs, websites or social media posts.
To start making money with affiliate marketing, you’ll need to set up your blog, choose the right affiliate product, create top quality content and then promote them to drive the right traffic to your links.
The major downside with affiliate marketing as a passive income earner is that as a beginner you may have a slow start during the early days.
Also, you will need a decent writing skills and some good number of traffic to generate actual income using this model. However, this can be sorted out, should you decide to hire an experienced content creator and SEO expert to do the job.
Social Media Influencing
The advent of social media has ushered in influencer marketing as one of the most well-known passive income generation models today.
With a decent number of social media followers, nice engagement and good content, you can start earning passive income right from your social media pages, with little to no effort.
One of the many advantages of using this model as one of your preferred passive income ideas is that the social media already has a widespread audience you can tap into, using your own content and other brand promotion ideas.
To get started, you will have to identify your preferred audience and social media platform, create an account on the platform, start creating, sharing and promoting your content on the platform.
Generally, the cons with social media influencing is that even though it takes a lot less effort to get started, you’ll have to put in the work to create, share and promote your content and then garner a decent number of audience, before you can actually start earning your pay check as an influencer. However, one of the major advantages here is that the audience you build over time can deliver a lot of dividends in the long run.
Also, if you’re willing to invest in this, you can always hire some content marketing and social media experts to get the job done for you where you’re too busy to do that. And using social media advertising can also give you the chance to build your audience even faster.
That said, you can actually still earn a passive income from the social media while doing the things you absolutely love. And many people have admitted to starting off, using this idea.
Become a Blogger
Blogging is a great way to earn a passive income online. A lot of bloggers are actually doing this and cashing out to the bank.
The thing about blogging is that it gives you a lot of options to earn your side income, depending on what works for you.
For example, you can decide to blog about topics on any niche that interests you and also has a decent audience. Or you can opt for a high selling niche with a bigger audience.
While blogging can be demanding in the early days, you don’t necessarily have to create content everyday to make it out as a successful blogger.
You can take out a few hours of the day, create, post and promote your content while doing other things that keep you busy. The idea is to do something that doesn’t take too much or any of your time while still getting you the earnings eventually.
One major advantage of blogging as a passive income opportunity is that you have different monetization options you can use to make your earnings, depending on your niche, industry or personal outcomes.
From using third party options like Adsense, Affiliate companies, Sponsored Advertising, Banner Ads, Blogging provides so manny opportunities to earn a side income, even if you’re starting from scratch. Learn how to make money blogging here.
Start a YouTube Channel
Just like blogging, you can start a YouTube channel, create content, grow it and then get to monetize it and start earning after you start getting a decent traffic.
It is one of the popular passive income ideas you can start with, regardless of your location. And it’s being used by some of your most visible content creators today.
Best thing about YouTube is that you don’t have to be perfect before getting started. All you’ll need is good and valuable content, consistency and an engaging audience.
The moment you have these things in place, you can start using the monetization options and start earning while you audience grows.
One notable thing about both blogging and starting a YouTube page is that there are multiple ways you can earn a passive income from these platforms. From using their monetization options, brand endorsements, sponsored ads etc., the opportunities are almost endless.
Another notable advantage is that with the evolution of podcasting, you can also start a YouTube page where you talk and share ideas about content that matters to you and start monetizing your channel, provided its an interesting content with a sizeable audience.
And of course with the evolution in Generative AI, you have options to create and share your videos even faster and sometimes without even having to show your face.
And you can choose to start with and grow one preferred option and then expand as much as you want.
Lock Funds in High Yield Savings
Some digital platforms like Piggyvest and specific banks provide opportunities for individuals to lock their funds like fixed deposits over a specific period of time, in exchange for higher returns.
One notable thing about this saving option is that you will not have access to the fund until the maturity period however when it does mature, you do get a decent returns on your savings, over the years.
One standout thing with this option is that it is relatively safe. In situations where you have money to spare and you’re not so sure about the fortunes of a company listed on the stock market, you can lock it up and earn some returns on the fund, over the period.
With over 20 percent interest paid upfront in some cases, you don’t have to rely on market forces to actually earn your dividends.
To be successful with this passive income idea however, you have to study the company you want to invest in, their track record and get some good financial advice before getting right in with your investment.
Invest In High Yield Stock
Shareholding in organizations with dividend yielding stocks has been one of the top passive income ideas options for a number of years now. It has been one of the defacto options for people seeking to earn additional income before the advent of the online options.
The good thing about investing in high yield stock is that after the initial investment, you rarely have to do anything as your investment gets paid into your brokerage account at regular intervals as indicated.
With some very good high yielding shares, you can make a decent income from investing in shares however, one of the tricky part is that it can be difficult to identify high yield company stocks.
It can be risky too, as without the right guidance, you can invest in a stock that loses its value overtime. However, it is also true that people are cashing out all over the world, using this passive income opportunity and you can do same if you understudy the market and also get the right guidance and support.
Investing in Real Estate
One of our first non-digital-only ways to earn passive income in this guide is to invest in real estate. Fortunately, this also happens to be one of the most popular and most traditional ways to earn passive income online.
Over the years, it has become one of the most well trusted passive income generation models, recognized globally and so many have earned steady revenues, using this model.
There are many ways to invest in real estate as a passive income model. For example, the following are ways you can invest in real estate:
- Buying and selling properties: You can engage in buying a real estate property like lands or houses and reselling them at higher prices after some years.
- Building & Leasing: You can buy landed properties in choice locations, erect structures and lease them off at good bargains. This model allows you to earn on the property many times over, after your initial investment.
- Renting: With this model, you can buy landed property in strategic locations, build on them and rent out the apartments. Alternatively, you can buy already erected structures and rent them out as individual apartments.
Done well, this model allows you to have a steady flow of earnings, after an initial investment.
The major cons about investing in real estate are the high cost it demands at the initial stages and the enormous work you’ll have to put in getting good real estate properties and erecting the structures as the case may be. Although, with the right kind of resources, this can be sorted out.
Final Words
In a nutshell, earning passive income is doable. But, one thing you have to keep in mind is that irrespective of your location, preferred industry or passive income model, to be able to earn a passive income realistically, you have to identify your preferred target audience, industry or niche and then put in the work to initially get started on this.
Be diligent. Understudy your preferred passive income idea before engaging in it. Also, where you’re using a digital model, you have to go all out to create, share, and promote content to drive the necessary traffic that will be useful in increasing your passive income earnings.
Additionally, you’ll have to keep in mind that passive income is not something you’ll earn automatically; you’ll have to put in the work before you earn and sometimes that might take a little while.
With the right help and resources, you can start earning even faster and easier than you would on your own. To do this, reach out to our team here.
Now, it’s your turn. What are your biggest challenges when it comes to earning passive income online? Drop your comments below.
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