What's All the Hype About Passive Income Online?

It's getting wild out here on the internet with all the promises of making easy, passive income from online side hustles. So what's the deal? Is it actually possible, or is it all a scam?

The passive income and side hustle culture is saturating the internet, but can you still make money?

Introduction

• What is Passive Income?

• What it really takes to make "passive" income.

• Ways you can incorporate passive streams of income into your business.

  
  
  
  

  What is Passive Income?

  
  

  Passive online income usually refers to any internet-based activity or business that you've set up that can continue to earn you money, basically with little effort.

  These are often products that are digital, courses that can teach you skills to make money, automation, or dropshipping, and affiliate links.

  
  

  Common Online Passive Income Sources:

  
  

• Affiliate Marketing

  • You promote other people’s products using special links.

  • When someone buys through your link, you earn a commission.

  • Works well through blogs, YouTube, newsletters, or social media.

    
    

• Online Courses or Ebooks

  • Create educational content once, then sell it repeatedly.

  • Platforms like Udemy, Teachable, or Gumroad can automate sales and delivery.

• Print-on-Demand Stores

  • Design graphics for items like t-shirts, mugs, or posters.

  • Services like Redbubble, Teespring, or Printful handle production and shipping.

  • You earn money from each sale without managing inventory.

• YouTube Channel

  • Create videos on a topic you know well.

  • After reaching certain views and subscriber thresholds, you can earn ad revenue, sponsorships, and affiliate commissions.

• Blogging with Ads or Affiliate Links

  • Write articles targeting specific topics or niches.

  • Over time, blogs can attract steady traffic and earn money through ads (like Google AdSense) or affiliate partnerships.

What it Really Takes to Make "Passive" Income Online

There are a lot of amazing ways you can set up passive income streams, but the word "passive" misleads a lot of people when they don't know what's involved upfront.

We've all seen so many TikToks telling us all how to make easy money, start side hustles, and quick ways to build a passive income stream. It's so saturated and most of those videos you see ARE a passive income that the user has set up - that's it. That user-generated content is basically a sales pitch, so you buy a course or a downloadable PDF guide to learn how to sell a course or a downloadable PDF guide.

And you can if you want! But you will need to hustle hard for the side hustle.

The start of building a passive online income stream can be a lot of work. Not to mention, there will almost always be some financial investment to access the tools and platforms you'll need. For example, if you are creating graphics and templates to resell online. You may need the pro version of Canva to access all the elements. Not to mention a website - if you opt out of a website you can use a Stan store. Again, there is a cost.

(Linktree has a great free version for a link store.)

Once you've done hours of work creating your digital products, posted on social media, and set up either a link store or website, now what? If you want to grow organically, that is going to take time and/or a ton of effort creating content to find reach, engagement, and audiences. Then you may want to consider paid ads - another cost (although it can be worth it and pretty affordable if you know how to target properly).

I think if you want to set up a passive income business, you need to commit to the huge front-end workload and expect to have some expenses. It is possible to make some great money, and it’s more accessible for everyone now than it has ever been historically. Be warned, there can be a steep learning curve for new platforms, social media, and software. If you aren't using these things, it's going to require some time to learn them. Social media platforms, especially paid ad platforms, are changing constantly, so you will have to be aware of the continuous updates.

Ways You Can Incorporate Passive Streams of Income Into Your Business

If you already have a business and you want to explore some passive income streams, I've got you!

This is a bit easier because you already have the foundation of a business set up, so this is essentially finding ways to scale it.

For example, if you are a content creator and you are getting brand deals and have a large following. Add in other streams! We see it all the time with some amazing influencers- they use every opportunity to monetize their business further.

Create a link store and curate the best content equipment with Amazon affiliates. For every sale through your links, you will get a percentage of commission.

If you have a large following, that means you have some authority and trust with your audience, and I bet that people are watching you trying to figure out how you did it. You could sell content coaching sessions 1:1, or a course, or an ebook. The possibilites are endless.

Start scaling your business by adding other income sources.

Key Takeaways About Passive Online Income:

• Online Passive Income is possible with the right knowledge, tools, and hard work upfront

• It often feels scammy because people get into it without knowing the work and investment, and it's usually sold as "easy."

• You can scale your already established business by adding some passive income streams

• It's competitive out there. I like the idea of passive income, but what I really want is wildly aggressive income, I mean, don't we all? 😂

I'd love to hear your thoughts and success stories about your business journey so far. If you have some great advice for anyone starting out, please share :)

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