What is Passive Income and How do I Get Started?

Passive income is one of the most common phrases online these days. It sounds intriguing ... but what exactly is passive income, and how can you create it yourself?

Passive income is a lot what it sounds like - it's an evergreen product that works as a consistent source of income.

Most online business owners, bloggers and creatives come up with a passive income source of some sort that works within their specific knowledge base, field and audience. 

Although passive income can be created both online and offline, in this case, we're going to take a closer look at ways to earn passive income online. 

The basic scheme of creating a passive income source is simple:

1. Come up with the idea

2. Create a product

3. Build a sales funnel

4. Watch the money start coming in! 

Now, let’s take a closer look.

Examples of passive income

- E-books

- Online courses

- Digital product shops

- Subscription services

- Affiliate marketing (selling other people products instead of your own)

As you can see, most of these products don't need any ongoing maintenance. Once you create them you can sell these products on an ongoing basis, without any further time invested in the product creation process. And guess what: that's exactly how passive income works! 

Why should you create passive income?

The benefits are pretty simple and obvious:

- You can still make money while on vacation, working on another business, spending more time with your family or whatever else suits you. 

- You can create a passive income source to help you save for bigger purchases or paying down your debt without investing tons of your time on a daily basis.

- Passive income is a fun way to provide more value to your audience. 

- It's a good backup for not so good times in your business and provides a safety net in case you lose your job or primary source of income. 

How to create passive income

The technical aspects of creating passive income depends on the type of product you want to sell. 

If you're looking into creating an e-book, online course or any other similar informational material, the first step will be to create the content itself.

Outline your ideas, create a curriculum to work with. You can easily update and change things along the way but to get started you need to have a big picture in mind. 

Even if your product is not related to content creation, make sure to create a plan and outline your idea. 

Next, you'll need to tackle the technical aspect of the things: 

- Putting it all together. What platform or software will you use?

- Giving people access. How will your buyers get access to the product? Online courses can be hosted on platforms like Teachable, Thinkific, Udemy and others. E-books can be sold on Amazon or your personal online shop.

- Getting paid. What'll be your payment gateway? Many platforms offer an easy payment gateway setup, just make sure their provided options will work for you.

- Making sales. What will your sales funnel look like? More on that later in this article! 

You can find a lot of descriptive guides online for each specific type of product and a step-by-step processes. You don’t need to have it all figured out right away - the most important part is getting started! 

For your first project, choose something rather simple. Don't start with the biggest and most time-consuming idea you can come up with. You can always build later on and create an even bigger and better product out of your initial idea. 

And here's another tip: don't aim for perfection right away. Getting it done is better than getting it perfect! You don't always need things to be perfect and complete in order to make your first sale. Think of what really matters. 

Passive income can be created both online and offline. Most online business owners, bloggers and creatives come up with a passive income source that works best with their specific knowledge, field and audience.

How to know which product will be the best fit for you

There are no limitations on what and how you should create. But it's important to understand what your audience needs and what you can sell. Because, well, that whole selling part isn't always that easy. Especially if you don't have an audience or if you've created a product that they don't really need. 

To determine what kind of a product to create, answer these questions: 

1. What is your main field of expertise that others might find useful? 

Many of us don't even admit our knowledge and experience. "I'm just a copywriter" can turn into an online school for new copywriters on how to get jobs, handle clients and boost creativity. "My expertise is not related to the digital world" is yet another excuse that can be turned into an amazing book or series of online webinars. There's always someone who will have less experience than you and who'll want to learn from your experience. Think outside the box. 

2. What is the most convenient way to share this expertise? 

Sometimes a video is the best way to go so you might want to come up with an online course or create a webinar. Other times, it's easier to follow a written text, so an E-book might be a better option. It depends on what kind of the information you're providing. For example, if it's a guide on how to use Photoshop, it'd be easier to follow a video instead of reading about it. But it can also depend on your audience's preferences. 

3. What does your audience need? 

How can you help your people? If you already have a blog, a clientele or any other source of traffic, think about WHY these people are around you. What are the things they need help with? Can you turn your client work into a passive income source? For example, instead of working on copywriting, write a book on how to be your own copywriter.

How to make sales

The most important part of any passive income source is making actual sales. Because, and let's be honest, coming up with a "passive income source" and getting no sales can be an epic waste of time.

Sales funnels are the best answer to making passive sales.

Although there are unlimited variations on how a sales funnel can look like, the baseline is as follows: 

1. Getting people to you. Most people rely on blogs, Youtube or Instagram to build up their audience.

2. Providing a "hook". Usually this "hook" is a free opt-in you give away to get their e-mail address and ensure that they get added to your contact list.

3. Building trust. This is the part where people get to know you, make sure of your expertise and really get interested in what you have to offer.

4. Pitching your product. For those who are still around and therefore interested in what you have to offer, this is the time where you give them opportunity to learn more by purchasing your product. 

This type of a sales funnel is evergreen - meaning, it can go on forever for each new person without you having to actively working on it. 

Of course, you still have to convince people to follow you and get them interested in what you have to offer. Rarely any business is "I'll go live in the jungle for the next 5 years and still earn money" kind of passive. 

Not conviced yet?

There really is no good reason not to create a passive income source that works for your business or is a part of your side-hustle. As long as you can come up with a relevant and useful product, you will find the audience and have the potential to see the sales start rolling in. 

Don’t hesitate to make the leap! It’s not a matter of “all or nothing”. You can dedicate a half hour per day to make this happen. Afterward, you can always improve, learn and grow. There’s always a way to make it work.

Best of luck in your creative endeavours!