I have not included SwagBucks, PrizeRebel and InboxDollars because I do not think of them as true passive income, though they can definitely earn you a bit of money for investing.
This website is a little different, as I will be personally testing out most of these ideas myself and letting you know the results. Please share your experiences in the comments.
Without further ado, here is the list:
1. Write A Book
Writing a book in any genre is a good bet for passive income. You can either attempt to publish professionally, or you can self-publish. Your book can be sold as an e-book, physical book, or both. There are lots of options out there to help you write quality books. These include free courses like Coursera's Writing for Young Readers. Udemy also has a large collection of free and paid courses. Someone on Fiverr can even design the cover for you.
2. Be A Shoe Artist
Bucketfeet is a website that will buy your shoe artwork. If your submission is chosen, you get $250, 2 pairs of the shoes you designed, and $1 from every sale. Some artists have several shoe designs available. Vectorized submissions are preferred. You can learn how to create vector illustrations here.
3. Teach A Course
Do you know mindfulness meditation? Yoga? C++? Chinese? If you are knowledgeable in a subject, why not share that knowledge with others? Websites like Udemy are great platforms to market your skills. You can set your own rate per course. In Udemy's testimonials one man already earned $185,000 from his course. The average instructor, though, earns $8,000 per course.
4. Make A Series Of YouTube Videos
YouTube shares some of its ad-generated revenue with subscribers. All you have to do is have your own channel and post a video or, better yet, a series of videos. You can post original content or fool around with public domain content. I enjoy watching original music videos. As long as you come up with something people actually want to watch, then you should be able to create a decent stream from your YouTube channel. YouTube even offers a Creator Academy on how to run a successful channel.
5. Record A Single Or Album
If you possess some musical talent, this one's for you. Has anyone ever told you that you should be a professional musician? Nobody has ever said it to me, but I've said it to others! Buy some studio time or record in your own home studio with a microphone and some software. You can sell your music via CD or digital download. I recommend CDBaby, but there are other places that will sell your music for you. All you have to do is set up your account and watch the sales come in. You can promote your album for 5 bucks via Fiverr.
6. Take Photos
We all take photos with our phones and cameras. Now, we can get paid for our photos. The following stock image websites will pay you a percentage of the sales each time one of your photos sells:
The apps Snapwire and Foap are also great venues for photo sales. Please be apprised that some of the websites have specific camera and quality requirements.
7. Invest In The Stock Market
This is an excellent way to earn passive income. I use apps like Robinhood and Loyal3 because they cut out the middle man and enable you to trade for free. You can find stocks for all budgets and then watch your dividends come in. This is a good option for your InboxDollars earnings.
8. Lend Money
Peer-to-peer lending is a popular option. You lend money to other people and earn interest. A favorite is The Lending Club, but Prosper, Upstart, Peerform, and Funding Circle are also excellent choices. Zopa is for UK residents.
9. Design An App
You can either offer your app for free with advertisements that randomly pop up or you can sell your ad-free app for a fee per download. You can learn how to design apps through Coursera. They offer a number of courses that teach app development on several platforms.
10. Make A Computer Game
Computer games are popular and there are many sources that will sell your game for you. Itch.io for example. There are also some terrific programs, both free and paid, to help you create a fun game that people want to play. A favorite is AGS. You can take these courses to help you learn game design.
11. Sell Domains
Buying domains and attempting to sell them for more than you paid can earn you extra cash. You can buy a domain and raise its value through content. I buy all of my domains from NameCheap. They're always having great deals. I bought almost all of my domains for only 22 cents each! You can see what your domain is worth at $iteprice.org and ValBot . A second way to go is to anticipate what domain people would be willing to spend good money to own. Some domain marketplaces are Flippa and Sedo.
12. Run A Blog
Running a blog is not only fun, but lucrative. You can fill a niche, content-wise or you can just write about you day-to-day life. As long as you can garner an audience then you can earn some bucks via Google AdSense and affiliate links. Blogger and WordPress are some well-known blogging sites. They make the whole process of starting a blog pretty easy, especially if you don't have a lot of technical experience. You can head over to NameCheap to buy a domain for your website. If you want to learn ways to make your blog really stand out, you can take a course.
13. Invent Something
Creative types, take notice. If you have an original idea for a product, you can sell your idea and earn royalties. The Snuggie didn't invent itself; someone had a great idea and patented it. Davison is one place you can pitch your idea. Need to get in touch with your creative side? Take a course in business idea development.
14. Open A High-Interest Savings Account
If you look around, you can find some pretty decent interest rates out there hiding among the truly horrible rates. Ally Bank offers a rate of 1% on savings accounts. This rate can net you some pretty decent interest per month.
15. Rent Out Storage Space You're Not Using
If you're like me, you never actually keep your car in the garage, but use the garage space for a multitude of other things. If you're willing to clean out your garage, you can rent it out as a storage unit to one or more people. You can post on your local Craigslist, a community bulletin board, or anywhere else that makes sense to you. Garages aren't all that can be rented. Maybe you have a shed or room in the basement? People often have more than they can fit in their own living quarters. Travelers, especially, might need some storage space for their large suitcases while they travel around the country with backpacks. It's an excellent way to make some extra cash from that unused space. A website that might help is StoreWithMe.
16. Write An Article For A Website
Some websites will pay you a portion of the revenue from ads that appear with the article or story you've written. HubPages and Wizzley are two such websites. There are also lots of websites that will pay you a flat fee per article, but, since we're looking at perpetual sources of income, I will not include them on this website.
17. Sell Digital Prints Of Your Artwork
You can post your artwork and get paid whenever someone purchases one of your prints. DeviantArt is a community of artists where you can submit and sell your work. Imagekind is another place to sell artwork. Don't forget that photography is a form of art, as well.
18. Join An Affiliate Program
Affiliate programs are great ways to earn extra cash. Commission Junction and Share-a-Sale are popular places to find affiliate programs to join. You just stick these on your website and when someone clicks through and makes a purchase you get a share of the profits.
19. Be An Online Sales Representative
Has someone ever tried to sell you essential oils, protein shakes, jewelry, or other items? Usually, these sales representatives have their own websites you can go to where you can purchase the items. These are modern day equivalents of the Tupperware party of yesteryear. If you're interested in being a representative for companies like Scentsy and doTERRA but don't want to do a lot of work, just pay someone on Fiverr to market the items for you or include a link on your website.
20. Trademark A Character Or Phrase
Several years ago a Vermont man named Bo Muller-Moore won a lawsuit with Chik-Fil-A over the phrase "Eat More Kale". Muller-Moore had trademarked the expression in 2001 and sold products with that logo. Chik-Fil-A felt it was too similar to its company's "eat mor chik'n". The courts sided with Muller-Moore. If you have a logo or character, it is important to obtain a trademark specifying ownership. One place to license or sell your trademark, logo, and what it represents is U.S. Trademark Exchange.
21. Start A Business
Starting a business requires an initial investment of time and money. Once you can get everything going, though, you can hire people who will take care of most of the technical details to keep the company successful. Your involvement will be minimal, but you can still retain creative control and collect a paycheck. Origami Owl was started by a 14 year old girl who wanted to buy a car on her 16th birthday. She had people sell the products for her and gave them a share of sales profits. A good way to come up with business ideas is to think about what you like and what you're good at.
22. Write A Song
I'm a music lover. I love all types of music: instrumental, country, pop, folk, rock...You name it, I'll listen to it. You can write a song, publish it, and, if it gets recorded, receive payment for your work. If you need some help getting those musical juices flowing, I'd suggest Coursera's Songwriting course. It's the third course in a series of four courses from Berklee Music School. Best of all, it's free. There are courses available through other avenues, as well.
23. Invest In Real Estate
If you're able to buy an investment property, this is a great opportunity for monthly income. Renters either work directly with you or a management company. If you don't want to buy property just yet, you can purchase a share of property. The formal term for this is a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). You can do this through RealtyShares and RealtyMogul. These require users to have a minimum income.
24. Buy High-Earning Websites
You can purchase domains that are already earning active income. Go to Flippa and scroll through the established websites to see if anything interests you and fits your budget. You can even increase the value of these websites after you purchase them if you have experience with SEO and website design. You can learn some SEO skills at Udemy or elsewhere. Fiverr has lots of SEO experts who can help you with keywords and optimization.
25. Write A Play Or Screenplay
When I was in college I wrote a short play for English class. It was based on a poem I had read and was surprisingly fun to write. My professor gave it an "A" and asked if he could keep it. You can learn some skills here. Then, you can attempt to sell your manuscript at Off The Wall Plays or through Amazon. Be sure to copyright your work first, though.
26. Offer Coupon Codes On Your Website
I'm the first to admit that I look for coupon codes when making a purchase. There are lots of websites out there that specialize in coupon codes. When you click through these links, the people who run these websites are making a profit from your online purchase. You can run a site like this, too, but it requires some research and work. You'll probably spend at least an hour a week updating your site. That's not a bad deal, though, when you consider how much you can earn by posting these links. Coupon codes can be found through the affiliate programs you belong to.
27. Be a Re-Seller of Digital Property
You can sell digital files from your website and earn some extra cash whenever someone makes a purchase. Websites like PayLoadz allow you to set up shop through your domain. This is particularly useful if you run a niche website. For example, suppose your website is focused on adventure games or trance music. You can "stock" your shop with items directly connected to these themes.
28. Loan Out Your Car
Perhaps you have an extra car? Or you drive your car infrequently? I can recommend a great opportunity for you. Rent out your car! You can just leave it right on the curb. Turo and GetAround will take care of everything for you. If you live in the UK easyCar Club is your service.
29. Rent Out Your Spare Room
The indisputed master of this realm is Airbnb. You can rent out a room or your entire house or apartment using this website. If you have a unique living space, this is a bonus. I've seen treehouses and lighthouses for rent. By charging a nightly rate, you maximize your earning ability and you can also set a deposit and cleaning fee if you're concerned about rock stars coming and trashing your place. I believe most experiences with this company have been positive, so rent with ease. Tripping is also a site where you could list your home for free.
30. Offer Your Driveway As A Parking Spot
I did this for years. I lived in an urban area in one of the more desirable parts of town. It was a nightmare for people who worked in the area to find parking. I had an empty space in front of my garage, so I rented it out by the month. The man who I rented it to generally paid me for a few months in advance. This was before the internet. It's much easier now for people to connect with each other. CurbFlip, JustPark, and Parking Cupid will connect you with potential "parkers".
31. Buy Royalties
Yes! You can buy future royalties for songs, books, games, and whatever else earns royalties. You're taking a bit of a gamble as you really have no way of knowing what will catch on and what won't. Royalty Exchange auctions off royalties from lots of familiar sources. Some of them have already been proven to earn high royalties. You can really cash in if the artist dies or is embroiled in a scandal. More positively, the song may be used in a film and result in a buying spree. Your investment will likely pay for itself within the first couple of years.
32. Create Educational Worksheets
There are lots of homeschooling parents, teachers, and tutors who would pay to gain access to high quality educational materials. If you have a background in education and pedagogy, this is a plus as you can list that on your website. You can offer your worksheets for free and gain revenue from ads, offer them as paid downloads, or offer access with a membership. The latter would likely require some programming skills, unless you pay someone on Fiverr to set it up for you. Possible subjects are math, foreign languages, and reading comprehension.
33. Sell Step-By-Step Solutions To Textbook Problems
I earn a living as a tutor. Most of my students study at the local university and come to me for help in math. One thing my students really would benefit from is step-by-step solutions to textbook problems. I buy lots of used textbooks from the local library's sale shelf for a quarter or two apiece. You can also find really affordable used textbooks online. Statistics, algebra, and calculus are my most frequently tutored subjects so I look for representative problems in these books and write out solutions. I make xeroxed copies of the solutions to give my students for reference when they're studying. A great idea for enduring income is to sell a solution for a buck or more per download on your website. I've had students tell me they would pay for well-written solutions. Just be sure to list the book, author, edition, section, and problem # on your website.
34. Design Your Own Product Line
Cafe Press, and Zazzle are websites that allow you to let your imaginative side run wild. If you have a clever idea for a t-shirt, mug, apron, etc., these are the websites that will help you bring those ideas to fruition. Your ideas can be humorous, political, serious, clever, artistic, and everything in between.
35. Rent Out Your Bike
I have a really nice bike that I don't ride as frequently as I want due to an unfortunate tendency to injure myself while riding. Yup! I fall off my bike a lot. I can minimize my fall:no fall ratio by renting out my bike through SpinLister. Donkey Republic, another service, is not available in my city yet, but when it is I'll be sure to sign up.
36. Promote Businesses And Products On Your Blog
This is similar to joining an affiliate network, but rather than just having an affiliate link on your blog, you write a post promoting the product or the company. It is best to promote a product that you personally use and find value in. It is more sincere and gives your post more integrity.
37. Record Your Own Podcasts
Podcasts are not only a great way to promote whatever it is you're selling, but also a great way to earn money in and of themselves. Podcasts come in all flavors. I enjoy listening to a series of Podcasts that teach languages by speaking slower than normal and using more basic foreign words. There are podcasts for business, health, spirituality, literature, hobbies, and much more. You can sell your podcasts on your blog or through venues like iTunes. There are a lot of courses out there that teach Podcasting at all levels.
38. Run A Tutoring Business
I work as a tutor and make a decent hourly rate. I was recruited by a popular local tutoring company a few years ago. I know they charge clients $75/hr and require payment for 10 sessions in advance. They were offering me $20/hr to work for them. You read that correctly. They were making a $55/hr profit. While I do NOT suggest paying your tutors such a low hourly rate, I would definitely recommend recruiting lots of tutors for all subjects. Your only job is to find clients. This can be accomplished through your local Craigslist, advertising on campus, bumper stickers, and word of mouth. You can even offer students a few bucks to pass out flyers to other students. For five smackaroos someone on Fiverr will design the flyers.
39. Loan Stuff To Your Neighbors
A couple of websites will facilitate the lending of unused items to locals. Through sites like Rentything, Spinlister, and Loanables you can lend out skis, tools, TVs, computers, and whatever else you aren't presently using.
40. Upload Files
You can upload files through a service that pays you for hosting your files with them. Then, post a shorte.st link to those files on your website. If you did not create the files, please be sure that you're legally able to distribute the files.
41. Become A Dropshipper
This is one I've only recently discovered. It seems to have some potential. It basically involves selling an item on your website that isn't in stock. The order goes to a facility where it is produced and shipped. It's a hands-free way to sell products. Shopify will guide you through the Dropshipping process if you are interested. After you decide you want to do it, you'll need to find some wholesalers via Doba.
42. Sell Your Old Class Notes
Some of you might be college students. Rather than throwing away last semester's notes, you can earn cash for them. Notes should be legible. It might be worth your time to rewrite them or type them up. You can offer them on your own website or through a service like NoteCrammer or Swapnotez.
43. Design A Website Template
I'm sure there are some good graphic design artists out there. You can design and sell your template at WrapBootstrap and Templamatic. A good way you can hone your craft is by taking a course in graphic design.
44. Create 3D Printer Models
3D printers are amazing. I heard about a college student who 3D printed his own braces to straighten his teeth. You can be sure that saved him a lot of money. You can sell your own original 3D printer designs at TurboSquid and Shapeways.
45. Let A Professional Sell Stuff For You
Every month I make a pilgrimage to the local thrift shop and used record store to look for hidden gems. I've found lots of items with surprisingly high value at low cost to myself. It only takes one day of work to collect these items. From here they can be sold to a professional seller. Ebay has a service called Ebay Valet that will provide free shipping to send them your items. Once they receive them, they will sell them, ship them to buyers, and send you 60 to 80 percent of the profits.
46. Write Source Code
You can learn coding online through Codecademy or one of the other sites listed here, if you don't have knowledge of it already. You can sell your original source code for your self-designed programs, apps, etc., at CodeClerks. This is also a great place to buy code to improve your website's appearance and functionality.
47. Keep Exotic Fish, Amphibians, And Reptiles As Pets
On the local Craigslist I always see African cichlids, axolotls, seahorses, and other interesting small creatures for sale. They seem to sell well and have some level of demand. I knew a man who kept rare snakes and sold the babies for nearly $1000. It was a hobby for him as he worked a 9-5 job. I believe this earning opportunity is best left to animal lovers who have some time to study up on the care and breeding of these critters. Also, exotic fish should never be released into non-native waters, so please be mindful of the ecosystem. You can purchase males and females from BackwaterReptiles, Reptiles-N-Critters, LiveAquaria, and Foxy Saltwater Tropicals. Check your local Craigslist if you don't want to pay shipping fees.
48. Buy And Lease Farm Land
Owning farm land has many benefits. One of those benefits is the potential to lease your land out as a windmill farm. Another possibility is leasing the land to organic farmers who sell produce at farmer's markets or the local co-op. Maybe you know someone who has horses and wants a place where they could run free? The possibilities are endless. You can buy land at Lands of America.
49. Have Expertise In A Foreign Language
Speaking several languages is an asset in all aspects of life. I'm tragically monolingual, but I have made great strides in my knowledge using apps like Duolingo. You can see a comprehensive list of language learning tools by clicking here. One way you can earn some income with this skill is by translating a public domain book into another language and selling it on Amazon. If it's a kids' book, you can illustrate it or have someone on Fiverr illustrate a few pivotal scenes for you.
50. Design Sewing And Knitting Patterns
My grandmother used to take me to Woolworth's when I was a child and there was a large, seemingly unsorted, collection of sewing patterns towards the back of the store. She would buy them, along with some fabric, for use with her Singer sewing machine. If you know how to design these patterns, you can sell them online. Craftsy offers a marketplace for your sewing designs and even has online classes where you can learn an assortment of crafts. Patternfish and PatternSpot are other places you can submit your pattern files.
51. Record A Public Domain Book
The public domain has some great stuff. If you have voice over skills (get some here!) then you can head over to Project Gutenberg or a similar site, download ebooks, and record some audiobooks. You can sell them on your website or through a distributor. It's all up to you.
52. Write Essays For Students
53. Compose Memes For Social Media
Those viral memes that circulate all over facebook are earning people some pretty decent money. By clicking on the meme, visitors will end up at the author's website where they will find more memes...and affiliate links. It's a great method to drive traffic to your website. If you need some help creating viral memes, Udemy can help you.
54. Invest in Startups
FlashFunders and StartEngine are crowdfunding websites that enable you to invest in shares of budding businesses. When you invest in these businesses you are buying a part of the company. The potential payoffs could be quite high, but there is also the chance the business won't take off as expected. Choose your investments wisely.
55. Play Computer Games
Most gamers have heard of Twitch. It's a website where you can broadcast videos of yourself playing games. While there are livestreams, you also have the option of recording yourself and making the video available on demand. If your channel is popular, you will earn money for your videos.
56. Get Your MLM On
MLM stands for Multilevel Marketing. You sell products, receive a percentage of sales, recruit other to people to sell the products, and receive a percentage of what they earn, and on down the line. Although the premise sounds a bit like the dreaded pyramid scheme, people make good money with MLM. I've known people who sold Amway and HerbaLife and had no complaints. They made steady income.
57. Find Deals For People
Design a website for a specific product that sorts the product from lowest priced item to highest priced item. Use your affiliate links to earn some money when someone buys the product. For example, set up a website comparing textbook prices. Use your affiliate links for online textbook stores to profit from the sales. I got this idea from a University website. They sell books from their own bookstore but they also give students the option of searching other stores. They make some money from these sales, as well.
58. Find A Flea Marketing Friend
Do you have a friend who goes to flea markets? Gather up all the stuff you don't want anymore. Be sure to check the garage and closets. These are great places to look for hoarded and no longer desired objects. Buy some low-priced curios from the thrift shop. Make some jewelry, pottery, or other artwork. Offer a percentage to your friend for selling it next time he or she goes to the flea market. 10-25% seems reasonable and it costs your friend nothing. The bulk of the sale will go to you. This should net you some extra cash each month.
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