Passive Income Online: 5 Simple Strategies to Get Started

28 Mar

Earning a passive income is a goal for lots of people, and the internet has made it easier than ever to earn money without actually working. From affiliate marketing to creating an online course, there are many lots of ways to generate an income online.

In this guide, we'll explore five proven methods to allow you to earn money while you sleep.

1. Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is a popular way to earn passive income online, and involves promoting products or services and then earning a commission for each sale that is made through your own unique affiliate link.

To get started with affiliate marketing, you will need to find products or services that you are interested in and sign up for a related affiliate program. Many companies offer affiliate programs, including Amazon and Squarespace.

Once you have signed up to their affiliate program, you then need to promote the products or service, encouraging your readers to travel to the recommended sites using your unique affiliate link. You can do this through a variety of methods, including blogging, social media, and email marketing.

The key is to be genuine, provide value to your readers and only recommend products that you truly believe in. Its a win-win for both!

2. Create an Online Course

Creating an online course is another great way to earn. If you have expertise in a particular subject, you can create an online course and sell it on learning marketplaces like Udemy, or better still host it yourself to maximise revenue. Once you have created the course, you can continue to earn money from it for years to come, with fairly minimal effort.

To create an online course, you will need to decide on a topic and create a course outline. You will then need to create lessons, and exercises that build your students’ knowledge and skill.

Finally you will need to market your course online, using organic marketing such as blogging or social media, and advertising (e.g. Google, Facebook).

Most importantly, building a quality product with a well designed ‘learning journey’, will mean students have a positive experience and are more likely to help spread the word about your teaching.

Click here to learn more about how to go about building your own online teaching course.

3. Invest in Dividend Stocks or Shares

A potentially more risky way to generate passive income is by investing in dividend-paying stocks or shares. Dividends are payments made by companies to their shareholders when they make profit. These stocks can also increase in value if the stock price increases.

By investing in companies that have a history of paying dividends, you can earn an income as long as those companies remain in profit. You can also invest in dividend-focused funds, which spread your investment across multiple companies to reduce risk. These can be multiple market sectors as well, and international or just national-focused.

Just make sure that you do your research and choose investments carefully, because stocks can go down in value as well as up.

4. Rent Out Your Property on Airbnb or Other Platforms.

One of the easiest ways to generate an income passively is by renting out your property on platforms like Airbnb. If you have a holiday home or even a spare room you can list it on Airbnb and earn money from visiting guests.

The platform handles all the booking, legals and payment processing, so all you have to do is provide a clean and comfortable space, and abide by the companies rental rules.

Just be sure to check local laws and regulations before listing your property, and consider investing in insurance to protect yourself from any potential damages.

To get started with Airbnb, you will need to take some photos, decide on a price and create a listing on their platform. Look around at similar properties in the area to get an idea of a competitive amount to charge. Make sure to promote all the benefits of your accommodation, including location, views and local amenities.

5. Start a Blog or YouTube Channel and Monetize Your Content.

Requiring a longer term approach, starting a blog or YouTube channel and monetizing your content can bring in an income. By offering interesting and engaging content on a specific topic, you can build a loyal audience and earn money through advertising, sponsorships, or affiliate marketing.

It does take time and effort to build up your audience and create quality content, but once you do, the potential for passive income generation can be significant. Just make sure to learn about creating quality content, and marketing effectively online so that your content can be easily discovered by your target audience and considered valuable.

Check out this guide for how to make a successful blog and this one for building an awesome YouTube channel.

Earning a passive income online can be a great way to achieve some element of financial freedom, but it usually involves effort up front to establish effectively. Whether you choose to pursue affiliate marketing, create an online course, or rent out your property there are many opportunities available to you.

The key thing is to choose an option that fits in with your lifestyle and daily/weekly schedule. With some hard work, especially to begin with, you can develop a passive income stream or “side hussle” that generates a supplementary income for years.