4 Passive Income Ideas

If you are like me, I'm sure you have thought about various ways to increase your income. Below I outline four ways to boost your income with little start-up capital.

I was scrolling through Instagram and saw a post that had 30 passive income ideas. That post sparked me to write this month's blog. Although most of the ideas on the Instagram post, require a high amount of capital to start the business, the four items listed below require little to no start-up capital. The biggest investment that one will require, is their time. You will need to research, market and operate your business. So have a read and perhaps, you may find yourself earning a few extra dollars using one of the ideas listed below.

1. Sell your knowledge through online courses/e-books - Selling online courses is a big trend and COVID helped accelerate this digital phenomenon. If you are an individual that is good at anything from creating PowerPoint trainings to being a great presenter, why not put a course together and sell your knowledge. The best part about this, is that it doesn’t have to be live. It can be pre-recorded and then distributed to those that register. However, I will say, at least have the first training session live so your audience can build a connection with you. Creating an online course may seem a bit scary in the beginning, but if the course is broken up into parts, depending on what you are offering and how it is structured, not only will putting the course together not seem daunting, but it keeps your customers coming back. This will create loyalty, which is what you want in order to build a following.

2. Sell printable templates and other design resources - This option is perfect for Graphic Designers like myself, as I create printable templates through my site, Dropping Anchor. Designers create fonts, websites, presentations, logos and more. They can take their creations and upload them to sites such as Design Bundles, Creative Market, Etsy and a number of other sites to make money off of their creations. Leveraging multiple sites, helps increase your income. The most important factor of listing on these sites, is that they already have a built in eMarketplace. Having your designs on these platforms, you are exposed to millions of customers versus simply listing your creations on your own site. Additionally, most times, designers create something and they only get paid once. With this form of making money, designers can make a passive income over and over using the same design base.

3. Affiliate marketing - Affiliate marketing is another marketing tactic in which a company pays others such as bloggers to advertise their products to help boost sales. If a lead is converted into a sale, then the company pays that individual a commission. I recommend those interested in being an affiliate marketer to boost their income, is align their self with a company that has products they currently use. So if you are a blogger, sell e-Books or even subscription boxes (if you purchase from the same brands), affiliate marketing might be a perfect way for you to gain additional income. For instance, I am an affiliate marketer for Canva. I use this web based application to create my printable templates so customers can easily edit the template to suit their needs. So if anyone who signs up for a Canva Pro account through my affiliate link, I will get a commission.

4. Airbnb - If you have a spare bedroom or a vacant apartment and want the flexibility that airbnb can offer of using that space when you want, Airbnb might be perfect for you. As a former vacation rental owner, I know how lucrative this business can be, but it takes work. In fact, I provide insight into listing your home on Airbnb in my previous blog, "How I earned over $20,000 in less than a year on Airbnb. Or did I?”. With the pandemic still in full affect, I would recommend more of a rental that is 6 months or more.

I hope the aboves gives you food for thought and helps with ways that you may want to use to increase your income.