27 Passive Income Ideas to Increase Your Earnings and Build Wealth in 2024

Napoleon

Jul 14, 2024 — 21 min read

Passive income ideas are a great way to build wealth. Most of these business ideas do not have a particular age group, so almost every person can try out these businesses.

With the introduction of technology, making passive income has been made easier and has made interaction with clients easy and stress-free.

1. Dropshipping

A dropshipping store is a good passive business idea to make money from anywhere, especially if you have a small budget and cannot get a physical store.

In dropshipping, you do not have to be directly involved with the products you sell. You have to get an online store where customers can search or see your products and when a customer orders a product; you forward their order to your supplier, then get the products delivered to your clients or customers.

Steps involved in dropshipping

Below are four steps explaining the dropshipping process:

For an online store: First, you must create an online store where customers can search for and buy products. You can create online stores on any platform of your choice like Shopify, which is one of the best platforms for online stores.
Research for products and suppliers: secondly, you have to do your research and choose the products you want to sell. After getting your products, you can proceed to search for suppliers who are reliable and supply quality products for the best price.
Advertise and market your store: once you have successfully created your store and you have successfully filled your online store with products, you can start advertising and marketing your store on your social media handles and you can pay for ads to gain more audience for your products. You can also use SEO to attract more traffic, which can drive sales to your website.
Order and customer service: once all these have been set up, you then proceed to receive orders from your clients and forward them to your suppliers who will handle shipping of the goods to your customers.

The Dropshipping Business Model

The dropshipping business model is less risky and a very good way to earn. In dropshipping, you don't need to buy products and stores, you just have to order from the supplier and your products will be shipped directly to your customer without you coming in contact with the product. In the end, you receive a commission.

2. Print on Demand Store

For artists, designers or entrepreneurs seeking to turn their creativity into profitable businesses and a passive income stream, a print-on-demand store is a very good business idea. The print-on-demand business model involves partnering with suppliers of these products as an entrepreneur to customize plain or blank products like t-shirts, posters, and backpacks based on orders.

With a model similar to that of dropshipping, you pay for the product once the sale has been made and there is no need to buy products in bulk or manage inventories. It is a low-risk option for generating passive income as an entrepreneur.

Advantages of Print-on-demand Stores

Fast product creation: products are designed and created quickly. Once you have the specific design ready, you can then upload them to your store and make them available for sale within minutes. This allows you to follow market trends or seasonal demands for certain products or designs.
Easy Shipping and Fulfillment: Your supplier handles the creating, printing, packaging and shipping or supplying of your products. With this type of business, you don't need to directly handle the logistics of storing inventory or supplying these products to your clients.
Marketing and Sales are Automated: once you have successfully set up your store, you can use various marketing tools to automate your marketing and sales processes. For example, you can schedule ads and social media posts, set up email marketing campaigns and use paid advertising to drive traffic to your store.

Starting Your Print-on-demand Store

Select a Product: in every business model, you need to select a product you want to sell. For this business model, you have to choose a particular product you want to customize and sell. There are a variety of products to try out for your business. You need to research and select your products based on your terms of product variety, quality, and shipping times.
Online Store: Next, you will create and manage your online store. Your online store will help potential customers navigate your products and designs available for sale.
Marketing: Once your store is all set, you just have to focus on marketing and advertising your store and its products to your target audience. You can use social media, SEO or paid ads as a form of advertising for your print-on-demand store. Always make sure to deliver the products to your customers to create trust between you and your customers.

3. Digital Products

In this technological age, selling digital products is a very good business idea. Digital products are assets, tools and pieces of media that consumers can download and stream but cannot touch. These products can come in ebooks, templates and PDFs.

Digital products offer a high-profile margin because once your digital product is created, you can sell them repeatedly to different customers through your online store and there is no need to manage storage or inventory. This means that your products are made once and can generate income for a very long period.

Advantages of Selling Digital Products

High Profile Margin: since these types of products do not require materials, storage or shipping, the cost associated with creating the product is minimal and so; you are allowed to have a large portion of profits from your sales revenue.
Scalability: a digital product does not have a limit you can sell. As a creator, you can also expand your income by offering different varieties of digital assets, such as kits, printables, and files that professionals in different fields can use.
No Inventory Management: Since digital products are created, marketed and sold online, there is no need for inventory and this goes a long way to reduce the cost of production of the products as inventory costs are not included, unlike physical products. With no inventory, the profit also increases.

How To Sell Digital Products

Type of Product: Deciding the type of digital product you want to sell is the first step to take when considering selling a digital product. To choose your type of product, boys need to consider your skills, interests and what your target audience needs.
Create Your Product: after you have selected the type of product you want to sell, you can move forward to creating your first digital product. When creating it, you choose software that is available to give you an easier job. For example, canvas for designs, excel or other tools was created.
Create Your Store: once you've successfully created your products, you need to create a store where your customers can go and navigate through your digital products and pay for them.
Market Your Product: put more effort into marketing your products to your target audience. You can use social media accounts, SEO, or paid ads to market your product and make sure your marketing strategy is selected for your ideal target audience.

4. Tutor Online Courses

As an educator, teaching online courses has made teaching as a whole easier and stress-free. You can teach your students from the comfort of your home and get paid. All thanks to the increasing availability of platforms and software, making teaching easier and stress-free for educators where they can arrange or create their courses or tutoring materials and offer them to their students online.

Whether you have expertise in marketing, illustration, entrepreneurship, or any other field, you can create pre-recorded courses and sell them with minimal restrictions. This type of business allows you to sell your courses repeatedly and with no need to manage an inventory or stock, making it a good source of income.

Creating and selling online courses does not need an upfront investment. All you need is a careful and thorough plan and outline of your course content, record your lessons, and then develop supplementary materials like templates or worksheets that students can use. Once the courses are created, you can sell them repeatedly without additional effort.

Advantages of Tutoring Online Courses

Minimal Startup Cost: to start up this kind of business, you need little to no startup cost. All you need is the initial time investment necessary for creating the courses. You also need some equipment for recording, making videos and also a stable internet connection. Compared to other business models, the cost is low.
Scalability: You can have an unlimited number of students without any additional efforts and once your course is live, you can continue to generate a stream of income from it regardless of how many people enroll for your classes.
Flexibility: As an educator who tutors online courses, you have the freedom to create courses on topics or subjects you are knowledgeable in and have an interest or skill in that field. With this, you can share your expertise and help others while earning money. Also, you have the flexibility to teach from anywhere and also teach at your preferred time.

Getting Started With Tutoring Online Courses

To begin with, teaching online courses, you have to start with mini-courses with just a few hours of content. This will help you test your demand and gather feedback from your first students. You have to choose a topic you are passionate about and have an interest in, to write about. And make sure to create a detailed outline of your courses, breaking them into sections of modules to enhance the learning experience.

Next, you'll make sure to record your courses using a good microscope and camera to give off quality. The audio and video should be clear and professional, and the videos and audio should be edited to be more engaging and easy to follow.

If you are done with creating your mini-course, you can search for platforms where you can upload your courses to serve as an online store for your courses. These platforms help you manage your courses and payments, also providing marketing support to reach a wider audience.

After launching, gather feedback from your students and use this feedback to improve your content. Once you have met the demand and refined your courses, you should consider creating more courses to expand your store. Be consistent in providing your audience with quality content and you can build a successful and profitable business through online tutoring.

5. Blogging

Although earning as a blogger is quite challenging, once you have your blog all set and consistently keep it going, you can create a constant source of passive income for many years to come. While it takes time and effort to build a successful blog, the reward is significant only if you consistently create quality content and promote your content through various platforms.

Advantages of Blogging

Multiple Streams of Income: Once you have successfully built a good audience, there are a variety of ways to earn from your blog. These include selling affiliate products by including links in your posts and earning commissions on any sales made through those links, creating sponsored posts for companies who pay you to write about their products or services, you can also sell your products such as eBooks, courses or merchandise to your audience. Also, you can run ads through programs like Google AdSense and monetize your blog.
Less Complicated Startup: one of the advantages of Blogging is that as a blogger, you don't need any website design or programming knowledge to go into the business. User-friendly systems like WordPress help set up and run a blog more straightforwardly. These types of platforms offer various themes and plugins which make the customization of your blog easier and also you can add functionality without needing any technical expertise.
Long-Term Stability: Unlike some online business that only lasts for a short time, blogging is a long-term business and can create a stream of passive income for decades. As long as you consistently provide quality content for your blog, you keep on attracting a loyal audience that returns to your blog regularly, ensuring a steady stream of traffic and income.

Getting Started With Blogging

Before starting a blog, you have to first research and find a niche that fits your interests, skills and knowledge and has a good audience. Your niche could be travel and lifestyle, technology, or finance. Once you have selected your niche, the next step is to create a content plan outlining the topics you can cover and what type of content you will produce.

Next, you have to sign up for a platform like WordPress to get started with your blog. Always choose domain names that reflect your blog's focus. To set up your blog, select a theme and customize it to match your style and brand. You can now begin with creating high-quality content that is valuable to your readers.

Promote your blogs through social media, email marketing and other channels to attract visitors. Join affiliate programs and add monetized links to your content. As your audience keeps growing, explore additional monetization strategies for your blog such as sponsored posts, sales of products, and advertising.

As long as you consistently produce valuable content and promote your blog, you can become a successful blogger with a stream of passive income from your blog. Since blogging does not produce immediate profits, you have to be patient and consistent.

6. Sell Handmade Goods

Selling handmade goods online is also a good way to earn passive income. There are various online platforms available to sell your handmade creations, while some of these websites are for specific niches, some offer a wide variety of niches. These platforms include Faire, Amazon, eBay, Ruby Lane and AliExpress.

Considerations of Selling Handmade Goods

To sell handmade products, you have to invest your time and money initially. You need to get the materials necessary for producing these products already before you can start making the products themselves. You also need to set up an online store to showcase your creations.

Your online store has a lot of advantages, if you have a personal online store and sell directly from this store, you can reduce the fees that the third-party platforms charge on each sale, also having your store helps you build and establish a unique brand. Over time, a strong brand identity can help you attract an audience and increase customer engagement, which ultimately will lead to increased sales.

Getting Started

First of all, you need to research and plan the type of handmade products you want to sell and the platforms available for selling your products. Also, if you want to create a personal store, you can start researching how to create one.
You can then move forward to creating your product. You must take into consideration the cost of producing these products before going into the business. You also need to take time to practice and perfect your skills to make and sell quality handmade goods to your customers.
Upload your products on your online store and engage in marketing and advertising to attract a larger audience to your products. Also, try to build a brand identity for your products.
Monitor and improve your skills from feedback from clients and it helps you and your brand do better in the business.

7. Run an Affiliate Program

Affiliate marketing involves marketing a product or service to your audience and anytime someone purchases that product using your link, you get a commission from the original owner of the product or service. Affiliate marketing is a very good way to earn passive income as it allows you to earn with minimal effort since you do not create these products or render the services.

Advantages of Running an Affiliate Program

Simplicity: One of the primary advantages of affiliate marketing is its simplicity. As an affiliate marketer, you focus solely on promoting the products or services. The brand or company you are affiliated with handles product development, order fulfillment, and customer service. This means you don't have to worry about inventory, shipping, or dealing with customer complaints.
Low Risk: Affiliate marketing is a low-risk business model because it typically costs nothing to join an affiliate program. You can start promoting established products and earning commissions without any upfront financial investment. This makes it an accessible option for many online entrepreneurs.
Scalability: Another significant benefit of affiliate marketing is its scalability. As an affiliate marketer, you usually don't need to hire additional staff. You can expand your business by introducing new products to your audience and creating more marketing campaigns.

Getting Started With Affiliate Marketing

Select a Niche: selecting a niche is very important as it helps you to narrow down your target audience. You should select a niche you are passionate about and know. Knowing your niche helps you to easily create engaging content and effectively connect with your audience.
Join Affiliate Programs: once you have selected the niche you want to affiliate on, you can then research and join affiliate programs. Many companies offer affiliate programs, including platforms like Amazon Associates, SharesASale, and Commission Junction. Always remember to look for affiliate programs that offer competitive commissions and products that align with your audience's interests.
Create Engaging and Quality Content: to attract and maintain the right audience, you have to create quality and valuable content. Your content could be in the form of blogs, reviews, tutorials, videos, or social media posts.
Promote Your Affiliate Links: add your affiliate links naturally into your content, ensure that your promotions are honest and transparent and always disclose that you may earn a commission from the sale of the product. You can use various marketing strategies such as email marketing, social media marketing and SEO to drive traffic to your content.

8. Sell Stock Photos Online

If you are a good full-time photographer, you can turn your skill into a steady stream of passive income by selling stock photos. You can take high-quality photos of videos and post them on websites such as Pexels, Shutterstock and other online media houses where you can sell them. Once you upload your photos on this website, you earn money each time the video or photo is purchased or downloaded by someone. This helps you to warn for a long while after uploading your photos or videos on the platforms.

You can also choose to engage in print-on-demand business. As a photographer, you can take images and print them on plain products and sell them to your customers or retailers.

To start, you have to get familiar with the major requirements and restrictions of the platform you have decided to upload your photos to. Also, check out the requirements for uploading photos on the platform. Pick a photography niche you are more passionate about and also the niche in Hugh's demand and take photos in that niche. Upload your photos if they meet the requirements of the platform and you can earn.

As a social media influencer, you have to have a loyal audience and be able to influence them in one way or the other. To start influencing, you should choose a niche you know about to ensure effective interaction with your audience or community. If you are a fan of comics, sports, animé, home decor or lifestyle, you can start by creating content in that particular niche.

You can create this content on platforms like TikTok, Instagram or YouTube and with consistency, you can create an audience and grow a follower base. Your followers have a great impact on your ability to earn as a social media influencer.

Once you can produce quality content and keep your audience engaged, you can monetize your influence. There are a variety of ways you can monetize your influence; you can partner with brands and sign ambassadorial deals with them and promote their products to your audience and followers. You could also sell merchandise offering your audience unique items that go in line with your brand.

To start, you need the tools necessary for influencing. For example, if you want to make videos on TikTok or YouTube, you need a good sound recording device and a good camera quality to record your video sessions and for Instagram; you need a quality camera to take quality and professional photos to help enhance the quality of your brand.

10. Buy a Rental Property

Investing in real estate is one of the oldest and most reliable ways to build long-term wealth. If you have the necessary capital, consider investing in properties such as apartments, land, or renovation projects. As these properties are appreciated, you can benefit from the increasing equity.

Additionally, you can lease out these properties to generate rental income. While managing rental properties can be an active job, hiring a property manager can turn it into a more passive income stream. Property managers handle tenant issues, maintenance, and other day-to-day tasks, allowing you to earn income with minimal involvement.

11. Invest in the Stock Market

Although the stock market is not easy to navigate and progress in and requires thorough learning and understanding, it is a great way to build a passive income. The key to a successful investment is thinking of long-term wealth and diversifying your portfolio. By investing in mutual funds, index funds, exchange-traded funds and high-dividend stocks, you can reduce the risk and achieve capital gains over time.

The goal of an investment is to create a balanced portfolio that can grow despite market fluctuations while providing steady returns. Consistent investments and reinvesting your dividends can also grow your wealth with time.

How to start: to start this type of business model, you have to create a brokerage account with a registered and recognized financial institution. It is best to consult a financial adviser to develop a plan that aligns with your financial goals and risk tolerance.

12. Rent Out Your Spare Space

If you lack the capital to invest in a rental property, you can consider renting out unused and free space in your house. The free space could be a room, your garage, your basement or any other area in your house that can be rented out. You can connect to people who want to rent spaces on platforms like Airbnb. That can be a great source of income, especially if you live in a good and desirable location.

And if you want to maximize your income, you can consider renting out more than one room or space in your house, or buy rental properties specifically for short-term rentals, depending on the local law of that area. This approach is different from renting your personal space because it requires an initial investment, but the returns can be significant.

To start this business model, you have to first make sure your house has a space that can be rented out and then you sign out to platforms like Airbnb and connect with people who want to rent these spaces. Make sure your space is comfortable and well furnished and also take good quality images of the space before you lose your room on any platform.

13. Rent Out Your Car

In the same way, your house is valuable and can be rented, that is the same way your car can also get rented and you will earn from it. You can list your vehicle for rent on platforms like Turo. You can also offer services like Uber or Lyft where you can drive others to their destination for a price and earn extra income.

You can also lease out your vehicle to someone who drives for Uber or Lyft. This method, instead of spending your free time driving others to their destination, you can relax at home doing other things while your car is out on the road warning you. To start, you have to read thoroughly the requirements for Uber and similar platforms. Always ensure that your car meets the standard of these platforms before you apply or sign up for this service.

14. Lend Money Out

If you have extra cash, you are not using and will not be using soon, you can consider lending out some to people who need them and receive interest in return. You can also choose to lend to small businesses in need of money and receive the agreed interest over a period. The interest generally depends on the borrower's credit history and returns range from 5% to 6%. The more money you lend out to people, the more money you make through the interests you get.

To start this type of business, you can find out if your friends or close persons need money for their businesses or their personal lives. You lend them the money and agree on a particular payback time alongside a particular payback interest.

15. Earn While Shopping Online

Some sites offer cashback rewards to customers for shopping on their sites every day online. Once you sign up on these websites, you can earn points or cash back for every purchase made through their links. With this, the more you shop, the more you earn cashback. Always remember not to spend above your means in the pursuit of rewards on shopping platforms.

To get started, sign up and create an account on popular cashback websites like Swagbucks, Mypoints, and Rakuten. Use these platforms to shop and gain rewards for every shopping.

16. Buy and Sell Websites

You can also purchase existing websites, which can be a great way to earn passive income as most of these websites already generate income through affiliate links, ads, memberships, or product sales. If you buy these websites, you can take advantage of the already-established traffic and revenue to make an income.

However, you can still sell these websites you have bought and also earn from them. You can turn the buying and selling of websites into a profitable business and also create an agency that specializes in that.

To start this business, you can check out marketplaces like BizBuySell and Flippa to find websites that are for sale. You can buy them, generate income from them and still sell them out on these same websites and earn from them.

17. YouTube Channel

Similar to blogging, starting a YouTube channel is a very good way to generate a passive income stream. Although the reward is not immediate, the reward is significant enough if you are consistent. This type of business requires you to invest your time and effort into creating quality content in the form of videos and generating a loyal audience or subscribers. YouTube has very large platforms that reach people from various diversifications around the world.

Once you successfully build your YouTube channel and gain subscribers, you can monetize your channel through ads, sponsorships, affiliate marketing and selling merchandise.

To start, gigs need to first learn how to create quality video content that is capable of attracting your audience and you also need to learn SEO to be able to optimize your content for better visibility and engagement and also to meet the right audience. Research monetization strategies and work on building your audience over time.

18. Invest in REITs

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a business model that allows you to invest in real estate without having to buy the properties directly. With a minimal investment plan, you can pool your money with other investors to own a share of a diversified real estate portfolio. These portfolios can include commercial properties, apartments or other income-generating real estate assets. REITs provide a good way to learn and earn rental income and benefit from properties without the trouble of direct ownership.

To get started with investing in REITs, do thorough research on popular REIT platforms like Fundrise to understand the investment options. Always remember to begin your investment with an amount you are comfortable with and monitor your performance of investment before you can invest more.

19. Sell Designs Online

If you have a great interest in design and you have design skills, you can earn a passive income by selling your digital design creations on popular marketplaces like 99designs, Theme Forest, or Creative Market. These platforms provide a built-in audience for those who are looking for design resources, such as website themes, logos, templates, illustrations and fonts.

To get started, apply to become a seller on platforms like Creative Market. Once your application has been approved, you can then set up your storefront and start uploading your designs. Remember to regularly update your offerings and promote them to attract.

20. Invest in Other Businesses

With all thanks to modern technology, investing in business opportunities has become very easy compared to the pre-technological age when it was more difficult. With platforms like Mainvest, you can easily invest passively in other business opportunities with as little as a $100 initial investment and there are no investor fees involved. Your returns can vary depending on the business but the Mainvest aims to provide earnings ranging from 10% to 25%.

No need to worry about researching or vetting these businesses as the Mainvest takes care of that process. Your only role on the platform is to invest your capital and sit back to watch your investment grow.

You should always remember to ask yourself your financial goals and risk tolerance whenever you want to start an investment.

21. Create a Job Board

Running a job board is also a good way to generate passive income online. As a job board, your role is to connect employers with job seekers. You can charge employers for posting jobs and offer premium features like sponsor listings or unlimited access to your database of candidates. If you don't want to design a job board from scratch, you can buy an already existing job board theme and continue running it to make money.

Although building the site will be very easy, creating awareness and marketing your job board will be the most difficult part of your journey. Once you can get an audience and start connecting employers with job seekers, you can grow your audience and grow your income as well.

You can use successful job boards like ProBlogger, Dribble or Construction boards for ideas and inspiration.

22. Create No-Code Apps

Creating mobile or web apps is no longer for experienced developers only. With platforms like Appy Pie, Adalo, or Bubble, even beginners can also create apps without the need to write code. Start by deciding whether you want to create a website or a mobile app and think about the niche it will serve and the problem it can solve. Knowing the purpose of your website or app will help you in marketing and getting to the right audience. You can monetize your app through various methods, including subscriptions, ads, pay-to-download options, or a marketplace model.

23. Earn Royalties From Inventions

As an investor, you can earn passive income through securing royalties from their creations. Although inventing is less frequently discussed as a passive income stream, it will always remain a good option for people who are creative and good with inventions. The initial stage of inventing is stressful, and you need to think of the idea and how your idea solves a problem. As long as your invention is on the market and remains in the market, you can earn royalties based on the income generated by the invention. Websites like Invention City can help you start the process of selling your inventions.

24. Record Audiobooks

If you love narrations and are very confident, you can consider recording audiobooks and earning commissions from their sales. To be able to do well in this business, you need to master a few skills such as auditioning, proper narration skills, finding a good niche and also good editing skills. Once you have all these skills and have the proper equipment necessary for recording audiobooks, you can then start in the business.

25. Invest in Bending Machines

I know you've been wondering how these vending machines get to keep up with our cravings and who keeps them running. Well, people own these vending machines and earn a semi-passive income from these vending machines. To start a vending machine business, you have to make an initial investment in purchasing the vending machine and stocking it with products.

Also, you need to research on suitable locations for your vending machine and before you can do this; you need to make agreements with store owners or property owners that you might want to keep your vending machine on their property. You can purchase your vending machine from websites like Amazon, eBay, or other marketplaces.

26. Buy and Sell Spreadsheet

If you have a skill in creating good and well-designed spreadsheets, you can consider creating these spreadsheets and selling them to other people. People and businesses often need spreadsheets for various purposes, such as budgeting, profit projections, habit tracking, and financial statements, but they may not have the time or expertise to create them. You can also create and sell them as templates on Excel or Google Sheets.

27. Rent out Appliances or Machines

You can rent out your appliances such as lawnmowers, drilling machines or other equipment to others and get paid for it. You can create a line of passive income through this, as you can use these appliances and still rent them out to people when you are not using them. This type of business does not directly need an investment, as their appliances are being used by you.

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Conclusion

Passive income ideas are a very good way to make money in 2024 and as a student, a worker or a sit-at-home mom, you can try out any of these ideas for a profitable business and earn while in the comfort of your home