35 Ways To Profit While You Sleep

35. Pay Off Bills And Cancel Unnecessary Subscriptions

Have you ever sat down and realized how much you spend every month paying all your credit cards and other bills you don’t necessarily need? Have you looked at how many subscriptions that you don’t really need?

Paying off your credit cards or canceling subscriptions can save you so much money it is like you are earning a passive income every month. Think about it – if you’re spending $300 every month on monthly credit card payments, you can turn this into extra money by paying off your credit cards.

34. Create YouTube Videos

YouTube allows you to create and post videos on nearly any topic. You can quickly start to make a passive income by attaching Google AdSense to your videos. The trick is that your viewer needs to click on that ad for you to gain a profit.

To get passive income started on YouTube, you will need to do some work. Beyond making the video, you will need to share your videos on social media sites. You will always need to make more videos, but once this is done, you will see money rolling in.

33. Real Estate Investing

Real estate is a great way to invest your money and earn a passive income, especially if you’re determined to turn your investing into a business. While you will always need to do some type of work, you can relax a little more once the money starts coming in.

You might also find yourself making enough money to hire employees that will do more of the leg work than yourself. That doesn’t mean that you should take a back seat and not check in on your employees as you always want to do your best for your business, but you can go on more vacations.

32. Rent Out Your Apartment Or Home

One of the ways to earn a passive income through real estate is the purchase of an apartment building. While you will need to either save your money or take out a loan, you can quickly generate income through renting out apartments.

Of course, you will also need to look at how much money you need to earn to pay the bills and keep maintenance costs in mind, but many people receive the majority of their income through renting apartments, rooms in their home, or an old house.

31. Airbnb

Over the last few years, Airbnbs became the way to stay while you are on vacation, a business trip, or a digital nomad. Because they are so popular, Airbnbs are one of the growing businesses in the passive income world. All you need is a place that you can rent out to people who are looking for a place.

You will want to do some research to make sure you can make money through an Airbnb in your area. You will also want to do all your advertising and contracts through the Airbnb website to ensure safety on all levels.

30. Stock Market

There are many ways that you can make a passive income in the stock market. As long as you don’t become a trader that has to watch the stock market daily, you can make a good amount of money if you understand the terms of the market and learn about holding stocks and other investments.

There are many people, such as Warren Buffett, who became millionaires by investing in the stock market. As Buffett states, the best way to make a lot of money without lifting a finger is to find the best stocks to purchase and then hold them forever.

29. Index Funds Are A Part Of The Stock Market

Index funds provide a great source of passive income as long as you have the patience to allow your funds to grow. Before you take a step into the world of index funds, you want to have a clear idea about investing in the stock market and what indexes are the best for you.

One of the benefits that make index funds passive is that you don’t need to worry about rebalancing your portfolio, what companies are doing well, or what companies you should sell. Hundreds of companies are a part of an index fund, and they will balance each other out so you continue to gain a profit.

28. High Dividend Stocks

High dividend stocks are the stocks you want to look for when you are investing in the stock market. While you will need a brokerage account, they can give you income through dividends and capital gains. You will typically earn more money through high dividends than you will with index funds and other types of stocks in the market.

Before you purchase a stock, you will learn about the companies information and how much they pay through dividends. Some companies, such as Amazon and Microsoft, will pay more than other companies such as Walmart and Target.

27. Affiliate Marketing

Do you have a blog or website that receives a decent amount of traffic? If you do, you can promote services or products to earn a passive income. For each sale purchased through your site, the company will pay you a flat fee or a certain percentage.

Don’t worry about needing to go through an extensive list of companies to find the best products for your site. Companies are usually willing to work with owners of websites to promote and sell their products. Other than contacting companies directly, you can look at websites like ClickBank to find companies willing to sell their products on your site.

26. Sell Your Products Or Services Online

Whether you are an artist or have a product that you can promote, one of the ways to earn a passive income is to place it online. You might have to do more work than you imagined at the beginning, but once your product starts to sell, you will quickly see the money rolling in. You might sell the product through Amazon, another website, affiliate marketing, or by establishing your website.

One of the best parts of selling your product online is you can start this as a side hustle and still work your regular full-time job. When you generate enough money, you can quit your job and start working from home.

25. Photography On The Web

Say goodbye to the days of needing to carry a lot of camera equipment to take a good picture. Most smartphones will snap great photos. In fact, some phones will capture a better image than regular cameras.

If you enjoy taking pictures or have an eye for photography, you can make a passive income by selling your photographs online at iStockphoto or Shutterstock. You can do this through various websites, working with a company through a freelance photography job, or by creating your own site. While you will need to take pictures, your pictures can make you money for years.

24. Write A Book

While the world seems to be full of eBooks, there are still millions of people who like to purchase a good ol’ fashioned hardcover or paperback book at a store. They also enjoy meeting the author at book signing events.

Therefore, one way to generate a passive income is by writing a book and making money off of the royalties. There is a lot of work that goes into writing your book unless you hire a ghostwriter, but once the book is published and selling, you will start seeing the benefits.

23. Buy A Blog

It is true; you can buy a blog that someone abandoned and start to generate a passive income as long as you can put forth the work to gain enough traffic, find affiliate ads, and continue to update the blog. However, it is also possible to find a blog that already has a good amount of traffic.

You might find yourself buying a blog and realizing it will take a few months to start generating a profit. It is because blogs usually sell at a higher price than what they make every month – about 24 times their monthly income. But, this also means you have an idea of how much your blog should earn every year.

22. Write An eBook

It seems that the digital age started taking over the world years ago. If you are an avid reader, you probably have a Kindle or Nook and receive your books digitally. Many authors publish their books online and don’t worry about making hardcover or paperback books.

You will need to take the initiative to write the book, but once it is published, you can sell it on Amazon, your website, or affiliate marketing for years to come. Of course, you can also pay a ghostwriter to write your eBook for you.

21. Start Your Own Ghostwriting Business

Because there are so many people who want to sell eBooks, but they don’t know where to start or how to write, there is a growing need for ghostwriting companies. These companies help people get a finished eBook, blog post, or article out there.

While you will need to do a lot of work to get your company started, once you find customers and hire ghostwriters, you will begin to see a profit. Eventually, you can hire support staff to help you manage your company and take a back seat while your income continues to grow.

20. Become A Silent Partner In A Business

You probably don’t realize how many businesses have silent partners. A silent partner is a person who invests in the business but doesn’t run the day to day operations. This usually happens when a person agrees to help support the industry, but instead of taking out a loan, they will take an equity position in the company.

Your role is to participate in the business’ profits without needing to worry about hiring, firing, or any other part of the company. However, you might need to take an interest in some important meetings.

19. Create An App

It seems that the world can’t get enough apps. They’re a growing trend that won’t die down any time soon because the world continues to grow in the digital age. It doesn’t seem to matter what type of app you can create as long as you create one.

You can look through the current apps and find ways to better them or generate your own app with a brand new idea. You can sell your app through your webpage or affiliate marketing. You will have to do some work at the beginning, along with learning how to code, but if you create a unique app, people will quickly latch on.

18. Invest In Real Estate Through Investment Trusts

You learned about different ways you can invest in real estate earlier. However, there is one way to invest in real estate without doing a lot of leg work, and this is through Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs).

Similar to the stock market, you will find an investment trust that you want to purchase and hold for an extended period. You will then sit back and receive passive income through high dividends and interest. It allows you to get involved with real estate without needing to own and purchase a building.

17. Teach People Through An Online Course

If it wasn’t for the Internet, we would not have the options for passive income that we have today. It also seems that every day someone if finding a new way to generate money. One of the latest techniques is through online learning.

While a degree will help you with credibility, you can teach anything online if you are invested in assisting people to learn a new skill – whether you have a degree or not. You can do this through your own website or by connecting without sites, such as Udemy.

16. Cash Rewards On Your Credit Cards

You probably receive at least a couple of credit card offers a week. In fact, if your credit rating is excellent, you’ll receive them daily. While the credit card offers might look tempting, they will usually increase your debt instead of helping you earn a passive income – unless you find the right type of offers.

The best credit card offers to help you start to earn a bit of a passive income is focusing on the cash rewards cards. You will receive a certain percentage back for each purchase you make on your credit card.

15. Create An Online Guide

Are you more of a technical writer than a creative or academic writer? If you feel you are good at following steps and could create an online guide to help people through a particular process, this is an excellent way to earn a passive income.

SecurityGuardTrainingHQ.com is one great website that can give you started or at least give you an idea of creating guides. You can sell your guides on specific sites, through affiliate marketing, or other means.

14. Earn Money For Tasks You Already Do

Can you earn money on tasks that you already do? Yes, there are many ways to make a passive income. The key is to look at what you do that will allow you to generate money. For example, if you like to shop, you can look into becoming a secret shopper.

Thanks to the Internet, you don’t always have to shop at a store. You can shop as a secret shopper online. You can also check out a website like Swagbucks that will help you get paid for something you already do.

13. Sell Someone Else’s Product On Your Website

This one is a bit different than affiliate marketing, though it follows a bit of the same flow. Instead of having a blog, you create a website designed to sell someone else’s product for a profit specifically.

There are many companies that will give you a certain percentage of each sale or a salary for keeping the website up to date. You might have to ship the product out or connect with a warehouse that will do this for the company, but a little work is usually worth a passive income.

12. Invest In A High-Interest Savings Account

Do you want to increase your savings and your passive income at the same time? If you find a bank that has a high-interest savings account, this is possible.

While you will need to deposit a nice amount of money to receive a decent amount of interest from the savings account, making sure that you look high-interest savings accounts over regular accounts are a way to start building a passive income. It’s an excellent way to grow your savings and pay at the same time.

11. Become A Referral Source

Referrals are something that every business needs, especially smaller ones. However, they often have trouble finding enough references. If you know of businesses that need referral sources, you can look into the store and decide if you would make a good source.

If you feel you can recommend the company to other people, contact the business, and see if they have any offers available for this service. Even if they don’t have a referral program, they might establish one for you. It could be a bonus or a percentage of sales by someone you referred to the company.

10. Hire Freelancers To Free Up Time

It might seem like a strange concept to you – hire someone to help you free up time when you are trying to create a passive income. Well, there are two ways to look at this. First, it allows you to free up time so you can focus on other tasks to generate a passive income.

Second, it releases some of your control, so you continue to generate a passive income with your business without having to do all of the work. Tasks that are easy to freelance are writing, record keeping, and accounting.

9. Rent Out Items You Own

Just like you can start making money off tasks you already do or rent out space in your home for an Airbnb, you can also rent out items you own. Usually, photographers and other artists will look for vintage items they can borrow. Therefore, if you have old furniture from your grandmother or found a unique article at a thrift store, this is something you should look into.

You might want to set up a place in your home where photographers and their clients can come in and take pictures. It is safer than allowing someone to move the item to their location as your item can become damaged.

8. Become A Social Media Influencer

Social media influencers are nearly as popular as most social media sites. If you can influence people with your thoughts and wisdom, this might be a job for you. Most social media influencers will create blogs and share their knowledge through Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or another social media platform.

To make money, you can ask people to donate to your cause, travels, or you can contact companies for affiliate marketing. While this isn’t entirely passive, it’s a great way to get a good word out there, do what you love, and make money.

7. Purchase A Bond

Bonds are a way to build a passive income that works every time. You can purchase bonds through a government entity or a bank for a certain amount of money. Some bonds are as little as $50, while others are thousands. You set the terms for the bond when you buy it.

For example, you will receive so much interest every year for allowing the bond to grow for 10 years. After the 10-year mark, you can cash in the bond, or you can continue to let it grow and collect interest.

6. Rent Out Your Car For Ad Space

Another way to start building a little passive income is to drive around with someone else’s advertisement on your vehicle. Many companies will pay hundreds of dollars to put an ad on your car.

You might need to have someone paint something on your car or simply receive a car magnet in the mail to stick on your vehicle. Other than setting it up, all you need to do is sit back and drive around.

5. Become A Peer To Peer Lender

People are always looking for a loan for a house, car, or personal matters. Stock market investors will sometimes look for a loan when they can afford a stock that they want. There are many ways that you can become a peer to peer lender.

All you need to do is visit a website like LendingClub and place so much money and your requirements into your account. Once someone asks to borrow your money, you come up with terms, such as how soon your client needs to pay you back and what your fees and interest rates are. You get your money back plus more.

4. Sublease Your Apartment Or Rooms In Your House

This item is similar to renting, but you will sublease when you are renting. Of course, you have to get permission from your landlord, but some will let you sublease your apartment if you aren’t there for a while or a room in your rental house.

Your landlord might request a little bonus, but these terms are negotiable. All you need to do is ensure you can trust the person you are subletting to and set any conditions.

3. Create Software

Again, the digital age becomes a helpful tool for people who want to establish a passive income. Just like you can create your app, you can also develop your own software to sell. If this is your niche, coming up with an idea and making it a reality is easy.

However, if you feel you need to learn a little more information about developing and marketing new software, you can look into taking an online course or doing some research.

2. Purchase A Certificate Of Deposit (CD)

Similar to bonds and a savings account, you can open up a certificate of deposit at your bank for a certain amount of money and gain interest every year. You will establish all of the terms when you set up the CD.

As long as you don’t borrow against it or touch the money in any way, you will continue to see your CD grow, giving you a form of passive income. Most people earn about 2% to 3% of their money in interest every year.

1. Rent Out Your Parking Space

It happens often – you rent out an apartment, and a parking spot is part of the deal. Essentially, this means that you are paying for a parking spot when you pay for your rent. For people who don’t drive and don’t have a vehicle, this can turn into an annoyance because you are paying for a service that you don’t need.

However, one opportunity for you is to find someone to rent your space. They will give you a certain amount of money every month, and you can use this to pay a portion of your rent or simply save your passive income.

Sources

“24 Best Passive Income Ideas in 2020.” Deacon Hayes, Well Kept Wallet. January 2020.

“22 ways to earn passive income.” Jeff Rose, Business Insider. December 2015.

“BEST PASSIVE INCOME IDEAS FOR 2020.” Grant Sabatier, Millennial Money. January 2020.

“31 Passive Income Ideas To Get You Off The Hamster Wheel.” Andrew Flebert, Listen Money Matters. January 2020.