Inflation has taken over the world by storm.
People are struggling every day to fulfill their essential needs. They are always looking for easy passive income ideas to combat financial issues and have extra cash on hand.
Most people fail to take out time out of their hectic schedules to generate additional income, and that’s where passive income enters the game!
Passive income is easy money. Why?
Because, unlike a typical 9 to 5 job, it doesn’t demand continuous and consistent effort.
In this blog, we present you the 13 best passive income ideas online that will help you cushion your cash flow and live a jubilant life with minimum effort.
So, without any further ado, let’s jump right into it!
Disclosure: Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links that I will earn a little commission from at no additional cost to you. This commission helps make this guide free of charge to you; however, the links are for products that I personally use to be successful online.
13 Best Passive Income Ideas to make money
Here is our list of the best online passive income ideas you should right now!
1. Starting a Blogging Business
Blogging is, by far, the most effective way to generate passive income online. It has helped the myriads of entrepreneurs generate a prodigious amount of income online.
The idea of making money blogging may seem intimidating at first, especially to beginners. However, it’s not that difficult as it seems.
Find your passion, look up for low-competition keywords, prepare 20-30 high-quality blogs, buy a domain and web hosting, and you are good to go.
Preparing blogs and purchasing the domain and web hosting may demand initial investment in the beginning. However, once your blog is up and running, you will recover this investment eventually.
The biggest advantage of establishing a blog is its ability to generate multi streams of income. With a blog, you can make money through affiliate links, online courses, sponsored posts, and much more.
Thus, making ‘blogging’ the most effective option in the ‘best passive income ideas’ category.
Getting your blog live on the internet requires you to take the first step with Bluehost. Get your hosting package for as low as $3.95/month plus a free domain name for 1 year.
Try Bluehost2. Start an Online Store
Online stores are gradually outshining the physical stores.
Life has become hectic. People find it difficult to physically go to the store after an exhausting day at work, and therefore, prefer online shopping in the comfort of their homes.
Besides, online shopping’s innumerable benefits, such as visiting dozens of products simultaneously or 24/7 access to the store, have made life much convenient.
According to a statistic, the number of global digital buyers are expected to hit a massive 2.14 Billion in 2021.
With eCommerce gradually taking over the world, it makes sense to start an online store to generate passive income.
Do you have a creative business idea? Then leave all the passive income ideas behind, and start working on this one.
Let us explain to you using an example.
Imagine yourself as an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to launch a new clothing line for women. You open a physical store and use conventional ‘point of displays’ to market your business.
Do you think you will generate a great amount of income?
There is a slight chance some people may buy from you, but you won’t get the desirable results.
It would have been better if you opened an online store that required much less initial investment. It would also have widened your customer reach, enabling you to target more customers across the globe.
We hope you get the picture.
Create an online store now, and generate passive income for yourself. The best platform to start an online store is Bigcommerce.
Try Bigcommerce3. Money Making Websites (make money flipping websites)
As discussed earlier, blogging is an effective way to generate passive income over time. However, if you do not want to do all the work from scratch and build a successful blog, buy one!
While some bloggers start a blog to share their life experiences with the world and earn nominal revenue from Google ads, others do it just for the sake of money. They produce stellar content, implement effective SEO strategies, and rank higher in the SERPs. Once the site starts making good money, they sell it.
You can buy these money-making websites. The ever-green content on these blogs will generate passive income for years. To maximize this income graph, update the content using the high-targeted keywords, and follow the latest SEO trends.
Some people buy money-making websites, improvise them, and sell them further at a higher price.
This process is called Website flipping. The term originated from the real-estate industry, where investors purchase a property, revamp it to add value, and then sell it at a higher price. Website flipping is the same procedure done in the online space.
The flipping website has extensively contributed to generating revenue online, making it the best passive income ideas in 2020.
4. Take Up Freelancing
We all must have done freelance work at some point in our lives.
In the United States, the freelancing boom has pushed the number of freelancers from 53 million to a whopping 57 million today, and consequently, made it the best passive income ideas this year.
People do freelance work to generate additional residual income to save for higher studies or save for a rainy day.
Unlike most typical jobs, freelance doesn’t demand high qualifications and experience. If you have skills – in any particular niche and essential equipment, you can take up freelancing and start generating passive income right away.
Many freelance platforms have made it easier for people to acquire clients and take up freelancing. Let’s discuss some of the popular platforms.
Fiver
Founded in Israel, Fiverr is a popular marketplace for freelance services. The platform provides amazing opportunities for freelancers to showcase their skills and abilities and pitch clients from around the globe.
A general perception of the platform reveals limited opportunities or unfair payment for services. That’s not true. The better you showcase your skills and abilities through compelling gigs, the more chances you have to do business with clients.
There are a plethora of freelancers who are making a hundred and even thousands of dollars. If you want to become a part of that pie, click here to learn how to make money on fiver.
Join FiverrUpwork
Upwork Global Incorporation, previously known as Elance-oDesk, is another great freelancing platform for various industries. Be it design, administration, or technical, Upwork has freelancing jobs for all industries.
Acquiring projects on Upwork can be an uphill task because of the high competition. However, if you possess a unique set of skills and know-how to market them, you have a chance to generate passive income online.
5. Drop-Shipping
Another passive income idea that has been significantly prevailing on the digital front is Dropshipping!
In literal terms, drop shipping refers to shipping products from the wholesaler and directly selling them to the customer. From Fashion to Home Decor to Beauty, you can sell products in different drop shipping niches.
Many people are doing it and generating passive income for themselves.
The best part about dropshipping is the fact that you get to control the prices of the products. In fact, out of all the passive income ideas in this blog, drop shopping offers the most control over the money you make.
With the number of drop shippers increasing in the market over the past few years, the competition has quadrupled.
The most important factor to look after in the drop shipping business is to know how to provide value to your customers.
Anyone can drop ship products from retailers and sell them to the customers. What matters the most is how ‘well’ you do it. Don’t just offer the products; provide value through useful insights and solutions.
So, if you excel in that aspect, you will certainly ace the dropshipping business.
6. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another effective passive income idea to make money online.
In simple words, affiliate marketing refers to earning a commission by promoting someone else’s products or services.
Some common channels to do it involves a blog, social media, and email.
Unlike other passive income ideas on this list, affiliate marketing doesn’t demand much time and investment. It is one of the most cost-effective ways to market a business and generate successful leads that convert into buying customers.
The fierce competition online has rendered an alternative for ad revenue a necessity. Affiliate marketing is the best alternative in this scenario.
Several entrepreneurs incorporate affiliate marketing in various ways. Simultaneously, some mention links to the sponsor’s website, review the products themselves and share affiliate links to the amazon products.
On every purchase of that product, they get a small commission. As long as the prospects use that link to purchase the product, you will make money, making affiliate marketing the best passive income idea online.
If you have a well-established website with a massive list of subscribers and visitors, we highly recommend this passive income idea to you!
7. Start A Youtube Channel
A statistic from Pew Research reveals that YouTube is the most popular online platform in the United States.
If you are on the lookout for the best passive income ideas online, try making money on Youtube.
Youtube is a great platform to generate passive income over time. From views to sponsored videos to ad revenue, Youtube comes with various income streams.
The mechanism of Youtube is very similar to a blog.
Pick a niche, set up a Youtube Channel, upload videos that offer value, and that’s it. Every time someone views your video, you will make money.
Of course, the platform comes with a set criterion of advertiser-friendly content guidelines that need to be fulfilled. But once you meet these requirements and get your channel monetized, it’s time for you to rake in hundreds and thousands and millions of dollars!
According to popular YouTubers, consistency plays a crucial role in the success of a Youtube career. Create a schedule for uploading your content, stick to it, and you will start reaping the passive income rewards within no time.
8. Become A Social Media Influencer
Instagram and Facebook are not just social media platforms anymore. They have become popular podiums to market various brands. Companies, nowadays, are increasingly asking social media influencers to promote their products and services.
Do you know that the highest-paid social media influencer is a 22-year-old Kylie Jenner?
She can make more than $1 million per sponsored post shared with her 185 million followers on Instagram. Impressive, isn’t it?
Now you know why we have listed this category under the ‘best passive income ideas’ category.
You can also become a social media influencer and generate passive income for the years to come.
Of course, that won’t happen overnight. Everything takes time, and this will be too.
To become a social media sensation, you first need to discover your niche.
If you think you are good at makeup, set up a beauty blog on Instagram.
Once you have decided your niche, it’s time to conduct extensive analysis on your target audience. Try to find what your customers expect from you and create content accordingly.
Consistency and patience are the two principles that you need to follow rigorously to attract followers organically. Try to interact with your customers, do giveaways to build a loyal follower base.
The amount of income you generate is majorly influenced by your follower count and outreach success. The better your customer engagement, the more brands will approach you and vice versa.
According to a statistic, 19% of marketers are expected to invest $1,000 – $10,000 annually on social media influencers, while 18% will spend between $100,000 – $500,000. 7% of companies plan to invest over a million dollars in influencer marketing in 2020.
This reveals that influencer marketing has a great scope in the future as various companies will leverage it to promote their products and services.
9. Take Stock Pictures to Sell Online
The next one under our ‘best passive income ideas’ category is stock pictures.
If you are a beauty admirer obsessed with capturing beautiful shots, it’s time to take your passion to the next level and make money out of it.
You can click pictures and videos and post them online for sale. If you are a hodophile and also loves photography, you can generate a passive income online.
All you need to do is capture the historical monuments, culture, and traditions of various countries and upload them online for sale.
People are always looking for high-quality images and videos to use in their design for various purposes.
While some people use them to market and advertise their brands, others use them to add value to their websites and blogs.
10. Sell an eBook
eBooks first took the world by storm in 2009 and still serve as a popular content medium.
As the digital space evolved, eBooks’ usage parallelly increased, and so did the opportunities to generate passive income through them.
With all the amazing book writers such as Philip Roth, J.K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, Stephen King, James Patterson, Nicholas Sparks on board, the competition has become fierce, and the market has become saturated.
However, if you believe you have a unique art of storytelling and incredible writing skills, we strongly recommend leaving all the passive income ideas behind and going for this one.
Pick up your favorite niche, create incredible How-To eBooks that draw readers’ attention instantaneously, and generate passive income for the years to come.
11. Create and Sell an Online Course
Creating and selling online courses is one of the best passive income ideas of 2020.
The sales graph for online courses has significantly steeped over the past few months.
COVID 19 has forced people to get quarantined in their homes. They are buying online courses, now more than ever, to kill their time and learn new skills at the comfort of their homes.
Now is the best time to take advantage of this opportunity and create an online course.
If you have valuable information to share, create an online course, and use popular platforms like Coursera and Udemy to attract prospective customers. People are always hunting for courses that may add value to their skillset and abilities.
You can also advertise your online course on your blog to broaden your customer reach and boost your chances of generating more revenue.
12. Create an App
We are exposed to hundreds of mobile apps every day.
WhatsApp and Facebook are the mandatory apps found in almost every phone. According to a statistic, Facebook-owned WhatsApp has generated $15 billion revenue with its 1.3 billion active users.
Impressive. Isn’t it?
Have you ever considered creating a mobile app and generating passive income online?
If you have a creative idea for a mobile application, leave all the passive income ideas behind and go for it.
Don’t stress if you aren’t a developer or programmer yourself. Hunt for one online, and you will find many freelance developers ready to create an app for you.
A mobile app comes with various income streams. One, you can sell it to Google Play Store or App Store and charge users who wish to purchase your app. Two, you can offer your app for free and get residual income through ads.
In either case, you will generate passive income with minimum efforts for the years to come.
13. Start A Podcast
While podcasting may not be as effective as other passive income ideas, it still has the potential to generate a good income.
A podcast refers to a series of audio conversations about a particular topic or idea in simple words.
The process of establishing a podcast is much simpler and straightforward. A good microphone, headphones, recording space, and editing software are all you need to get started.
However, you should have great communication skills and use them well to hook your audience. Once your audience likes you, the money will start pouring into your account.
Remember, a podcast doesn’t become successful over time. It takes time, and in this case, you need to be extra patient. It takes time for listeners to decide whether you have value.
Another thing that plays a crucial role in the success of your podcast is your content.
Make sure you are podcasting about something that you find interesting. This could be anything from your travel experiences to favorite movies to favorite books. Try not talking about things you don’t personally like, even if you think it would do well.
Conclusion
So that is our take on the best passive income ideas.
With inflation increasing fanatically, passive income has become an absolute necessity. The additional income generated through these passive income ideas create financial stability and fill gaps that a typical 9 to 5 job can’t fill.
If you want to do both, you can easily do it as these passive income ideas require minimum effort and time.
Exploring more passive income ideas
Don’t restrict yourself to these passive income ideas. If you have some other idea and you are confident about it, we encourage you to go for it.
After all, the most important thing that matters is to get started.
Last Updated on January 1, 2021 by Isaac Ss
