Five ways you can earn passive income in tough economic times

When Jose was approached by a private developer to help market parcels of land for sale on his social media accounts, he did not give it much thought at first. He did have a heavy footprint on social media where he commands a sizeable following, but he also had a steady job. What made him take up the offer was the commission he stood to receive from each sale.

Jose’s commission can be viewed as a form of passive income. When it comes to earning extra income, what comes into one’s mind is playing the lottery and expecting to hit the jackpot, or investing in stocks when the prices are right and reaping big. Here we examine some other ways you can create passive income.

Affiliate marketing

This one links the product owner or the vendor to an affiliate or the marketer. You may have come across products in online sites like Amazon and Jumia. You can help promote a product by signing up to such a site and once approved as an affiliate, you help market the products that interest you. Each product you have signed for has a unique link that takes the potential customer to the vendor. And if the client ends up buying that product, you get a commission.

Create online courses

Say there’s something that you’re passionate about and you’re looking for an outlet in raising awareness or teaching about it. The best way would be to use your skills or experience to create a course. With the rise of online learning and YouTube tutorials, you may get many clients especially if you promote your courses through social media or other digital marketing platforms. It may take time before you begin to make money, but there is no limit to how much you can get when it is up and running.

eBooks

You’re probably acquainted with sites like Amazon Kindle. If you’re good at writing and editing, you can mint money by creating and selling your eBooks there. With Kindle Direct publishing, you have the advantages that traditional book publishers may not offer. Here, you design your own eBook and set the price. And as a marketing gimmick, you may throw in some special offers. Note that you won’t get 100 per cent of the sales proceeds, but you will be entitled to around 70 per cent as your royalties.

Blogging

Maybe you blog as a pastime, but do you know blogging can earn you passive income? How does it work? If your blog is monetised and readers click on adverts in your blog, you get to earn some money. Depending on the traffic flow to your site, it can take time before you begin earning. You can do affiliate marketing or allow companies or businesses to place advertisements or do sponsored posts on your site.

Market your skills

If you’re skilled in an area and believe there are others out there who may need your time, sites like Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr have your back well covered. All you need is to sign up to such sites, create your profile with a set of your specific skills and services. Are you good in writing, designing, marketing, event planning or computer programming? These services are highly in demand and could help you make that extra money.

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