Managing to create sources of passive income to supplement or diversify their monthly income is almost every person’s dream. The idea of not having to clock in or even go to the office at all and yet receive a paycheck at the end of each month is obviously incredibly attractive to most people, though that is not to say it won’t require a great deal of time and/or capital to set up such an arrangement.
So whether you are looking to supplement the paycheck from your day job, set up a source of income that will allow you to avoid the daily grind, or save up for retirement, let’s take a look at some of the best ways to earn passive income in 2018.
Become an affiliate
Becoming an affiliate is by far still the best source of passive income you will find this year. If you are unfamiliar with how affiliate marketing works, you will be promoting products and online services on your blog, social media platforms or YouTube channel with a large number of followers. For every person that clicks on the affiliate links or ads and ends up making a purchase or subscribing to a service, you will receive a percentage of the sale or a fixed fee. With hundreds, if not thousands, of affiliate programs out there, there are plenty of opportunities to make some very good passive money this way.
While most people get great results with Amazon’s affiliate program, one of the largest and most popular in the world, there are plenty of niche industries that pay big bucks for every client you throw their way.
You probably know how affiliate marketing works if you have a blog, YouTube channel or social media accounts with a large number of followings. It is possible to have multiple passive income streams just by promoting other people’s products or services. Forex companies like ForexMart offer huge CPAs of up to $1000, as well as large rev shares of up to 50%. Likewise, the online casino industry is one of the most profitable for affiliates, with companies offering great deals for affiliates that refer casino enthusiasts to their website as well as great bonuses for players, making it a win-win for everyone. Just make sure to always encourage everyone you refer to a casino to gamble responsibly.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping is another method of creating passive income that has become incredibly popular in the last few years, as it can be hugely profitable and require very little upkeep once it’s successfully implemented.
The idea behind dropshipping is to create your own online store, except you won’t ever have to own or store any of the merchandise that you are selling on your site. Instead, you will partner up with several suppliers, and sell their products on your site and on social media. Once someone purchases one of them, your platform will then automatically forward the order to your supplier, who will in turn complete the order and ship the product directly to the buyer. Whatever the difference between their price and what you sold it for, is yours to keep.
Since there is no need to keep inventory and all transactions are digital, dropshipping is something that can be done from anywhere in the world. Setting up a store is easy these days, thanks to amazingly simple platforms like Shopify, which allow you to do ecommerce from your site and directly from Facebook.
While there is plenty of work to be done in establishing your store, giving it a niche appeal, getting it to rank high on google or advertising it, once all is set in motion you can simply sit back and watch the sales come in.
Sell your photos or videos online
If you have a knack for photography or video, you can easily monetize it into a constant source of passive income by selling your work on stock picture/footage sites like Shutterstock or Envato.
While this certainly is not as profitable as the affiliate marketing or dropshipping options above, it requires a lot less work than those options as well and can possibly net you up to $10,000 for a particularly good or timely picture or video. Once you edit the picture and upload it, you won’t have to do much more than collect your earnings at the end of each month.
Renting properties on Airbnb
Everyone knows that real estate is one of the best ways of making passive income, and that is more true now than ever thanks to companies like Airbnb and Homeaway.
Whether you decide to buy a property and put it to rent, or simply fix that spare bedroom in your home and share your home with tourists a few times a week, there is plenty of money to be made from doing so.
If you are renting out your extra apartment/house, you can even find an Airbnb management company that can take care of all the logistics for you so that you do not have to worry about anything at all. While you will need to give up a percentage of your profits if you elect to go this route, it can be truly worth it to make this income source the true definition of passive.
