A traditional 9-5 job offers stability – but often not enough to put as much as you would like into savings or investment opportunities.
Deep down, you know you’re capable of increasing current income. Perhaps burnout from a full-time job is holding you back, or the lack of focus on what exactly to do to earn extra income.
Building a passive income stream is by far the easiest way to generate more money on the side, while continuing to work within a stable full-time job or career.
Passive income also offers the ability for faster growth when compared to a traditional job, leading to life-changing income in the span of a year or two.
Related: 21+ Best Ways To Earn Extra Income From Home
Passive Income vs. Active Income
Passive income is essentially money earned that requires a minimal amount of labor to generate and maintain. It is a source other than that of a traditional employer.
Passive income “streams” are sources of revenue that can come from investing in real estate, mutual funds, peer-to-peer loans, selling an online course, ad revenue, or any other side hustle in which you aren’t actively participating.
Compared to “active” income, passive income is by its nature generated automatically. This means you get residual income from an initial investment (money, time, resources) which requires minimal effort to maintain.
Related: Start A Passive Income Business & Create A Life You Love
Create a Dropshipping Store
Dropshipping is undeniably one of most pervasive and profitable passive income business opportunities.
What is it? Dropshipping entails finding “trends” in a niche market – like clothing. You then find products through marketplaces like AliExpress or Alibaba, and sell these products to customers globally. The manufacture and design of products is outsourced and shipped from elsewhere, while you manage the fundamentals of the business.
Among the other options on this list, dropshipping allows you the most control over margins and profit. It also allows you to invest as much or as little time as you can – allowing for larger growth.
You can utilize a platform like Shopify to begin your dropshipping business. They also offer dropshipping apps that can help you source your products from the beginning of production to the end stage of shipment.
Monetize a Blog
The next most popular passive income stream has its origins in blogging. Blogs have helped many independent entrepreneurs earn passive income, generated through online traffic. How?
Revenue for blogs and websites that don’t specifically sell merchandise or products revolves around affiliate links, sponsored posts, ad marketing, and courses.
Of course, building a successful blog from scratch is no easy feat. It will involve an initial time investment to get the ball rolling, as would any of these passive income ideas.
You’ll also need to have a solid grasp of things like search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and copywriting. These will help to generate traffic to your blog or website, and are integral in promoting it.
If you have the knack for writing engaging content in a high-demand niche, like tech or finance, blogging is a great way to establish yourself online.
Building a blog is one of the most sustainable long-term ways to generate passive income. Another great aspect of building a blog or website is the ability to turn one revenue stream into several different ones. That might look like selling an online course for a niche subject (DIY home renovation) or becoming an affiliate marketer.
Related: How To Start A Profitable Blogging Business in 10 Simple Steps
Tap Into Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing requires a large blog/website following – or social media presence. This is why it works best for those already blogging to a big audience.
How does it work? Affiliate marketing pays you by referring customers to other brands or companies. You post affiliate links or ads, and brands automatically track which leads you generated. Every time you drive a sale for another brand, you get a commission.
This might not seem like much, but affiliate marketing is a multi-billion dollar industry in the U.S. alone.
The vast majority of online advertisers and publishers rely on affiliate marketing to drive sales.
As an affiliate marketer, you can easily promote a huge range of products within a niche and earn commissions from all of them, utilizing your blog or social media presence. Upon joining an affiliate program, like Awin or Clickbank, you’ll receive a unique link that contains a tracking ID. This lets the merchant know you referred the customer to them.
If you want to succeed as an affiliate marketer, you’ll need to create high-quality content and have a popular website or blog. These are things that involve going the extra mile. For example, if your focus is on product reviews, you’ll want to ensure you purchase the actual product.
Success as an affiliate marketer isn’t an overnight journey, but often takes years. The return on investment can be huge, as many make $10,000 – $60,000 per year from affiliate links alone.
Final Thoughts
We all have a limited amount of time in one day. Full-time jobs or careers can make the ability to generate extra income seem impossible.
The ability to make more money passively is a game changer that can offer flexibility a full-time job can’t. Whether you begin a dropshipping business or want to start your own blog, you need to capitalize on the endless supply of free online resources and begin building wealth today.
