It seems like everyone is selling courses online, writing e-books on Amazon, or creating content for partnerships and affiliate links on Instagram and TikTok these days.
These passive income ideas have been touted over and over again until you’re probably bored of seeing them recommended. But did you know that there are other passive income streams which may not be as popular in freelancing and side hustle advice, but still work well in enabling you to achieve work-life balance while creating a steady income stream?
The key to a successful, unique passive income idea is to niche down and be very specific in what you want to offer and to whom. Once you’ve decided on your skill and industry, you need to figure out the demographic, vertical, and exact needs and preferences of those you will be offering the service or product to.
After you’ve pinned this down, you’re in a better position to build passive income because you’ll have a steady flow of loyal clients from this niche base.
3 High-Paying, Scalable Passive Income Ideas
The following side hustle ideas may not be frequently mentioned in popular blogs and listicles on passive income ideas, but they should still be on your radar because these could potentially open up lucrative opportunities that enable you to build once, and sell forever.
Check them out:
1. Mini Workshops
You might not be ready to launch a full-scale online course yet, or might be bored with the idea. So why not try a different approach? Launch mini-courses or bite-sized workshops instead.
Here’s how simple it can be:
Record yourself on Canva delivering a one-hour mini-workshop on a specific area of expertise that you’re skilled in. So let’s say, for example, your skill area is in digital marketing. You could record a one-hour workshop on how to create high-converting social media copy.
Once this is recorded using slides on Canva, you can use this as a passive income stream by selling the resource to clients. It can be put on your website, shared on your LinkedIn, and advertised on your other social media accounts. Using AI tools to help you generate the slides and using Canva’s design tools, you could technically build this and be ready to sell within a day.
What’s one idea that you know how to teach exceptionally well? Go ahead and start building the mini-workshop now.
2. Print-On-Demand For Niche Audiences
This is print on demand, but not as you know it. When you see print on demand suggested as a passive income stream online, they usually recommend selling mugs, t-shirts, totes, etc. These are branded as you like and can include motivational quotes, humorous captions, etc.
But you can take this a step further and specialize in a niche. Tap into a loyal community of hobbyists or specialists in a specific field and build a new community that revolves around your print on demand products.
For example, if you’re an avid runner and you’re connected to a community of long-distance runners, you can design print-on-demand products for runners. These are very specific and lead to loyal repeat customers. It also helps you direct your focus while building passive income so that you’re not just targeting everyone as a generalist.
From this online community, you could find other ways to monetize them by creating a subscription for regular content or even supplies related to their main interest (in this example, running).
3. Prep Packs
If you’ve ever worked in recruitment and talent acquisition, passed with top marks in your class and graduated with honors at university, or are a teacher or tutor, you could prepare prep packs for exams and interviews that enable your customers to get top grades, pass the test with flying colours, and succeed at job interviews.
Again, the key is to niche down, to figure out what you’re good at, and teach it as a prep pack.
So get started and design the resources. You can easily do this with Canva and other AI tools which complement existing study materials.
Let’s say, for instance, you’re a project management professional and your goal is to help other project managers pass their PMP. You could create a set of digital resources, guides, tools, fact sheets, revision, etc. to complement their PMP certification course. You could also include a resources list of employers hiring project management professionals, a weekly update of fresh jobs for project managers, and a step-by-step template to answering common project management interview questions.
Do you see how easy it is to start building passive income from your laptop? With technology advancements, AI, and done-for-you tools at your fingertips, combined with strong online demand, there has never been a better time to launch out on your own and create additional income streams to profit from your skills.