Making money while you sleep is the dream of many people. Passive income streams can make that dream come true. In this blog post, we will discuss 9 ways that you can make passive income online. Passive income is a great way to supplement your income and provide you with financial security in the future. Let’s get started!

Note: Some of the links below are affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you sign up through them. It doesn’t cost anything extra and it helps keep this site going strong!

1. Affiliate Marketing

If you have a website or blog, you can sign up for affiliate programs and earn a commission on the products and services that you promote. For example, if you have a blog about travel, you could sign up for an affiliate program with a travel company and earn a commission on every booking you refer.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make passive income because you can earn a commission on your sales. And it doesn’t require much time or effort to get started. All you need to do is find a company that offers an affiliate program and signs up for it.

Your unique affiliate link will be provided to you once you sign up. You’ll earn a commission if someone purchases through your affiliate link. Some of our favorite affiliate programs include Amazon (because of how many people shop there), Bluehost (because of how many people want to start websites and a great commission payout) and Squadcast (because of how many people want to start podcasts).

2. Real Estate — But Not How You Think

The housing market has been booming over the past couple of years, leading people to rent out portions of their homes — or even entire houses — to earn some extra income. While a check each month is nice, being a landlord is a lot of work.

What if you could still get many of the benefits of investing in real estate without having to worry about keeping a home or apartment in good condition, dealing with pesky tenants, and keeping an eye on ever-changing landlord laws?

Tools like Fundrise and Groundfloor make these passive real estate investing dreams a reality. Fundrise invests in both residential and commercial properties and gives you exposure to those investments through e-Real Estate Investment Trusts, or eREITs. You don’t have to worry about dealing with property managers or negotiating deals. You simply invest what you’re comfortable with and let Fundrise handle the rest. They pay out dividends each quarter based on appreciation and any selling of property they’ve made. It works out to about an 8-12% return annually.

Groundfloor, meanwhile, lets you contribute to loans for property, often single-family homes. Groundfloor gives you insights into the property, including what its intended purpose is, what the funds will be used for, and the level of risk of the investment. In many cases, a borrower is using Groundfloor to buy a house, renovate it, and sell it for a profit. Generally, you can expect about an 6-15% annual return on your investment, which are typically paid off after 6 to 12 months. Occasionally, a property will go into default because the borrower can’t fully pay Groundfloor back. In those cases, it may take longer to get your money, but you’re still earning interest along the way.

You can get started in both for as little as $10. Check out Fundrise here and snag a sign-up bonus $25 or Groundfloor here.

3. Create an Online Course

Are you an expert on a particular topic? You can create an online course and earn passive income. For example, if you’re a web developer, you could create a course teaching people how to build websites. Or, if you’re a photographer, you could create a course teaching people how to take better photos.

Creating an online course is not only a helpful component to growing a business, but it’s also a great way to make passive income because you can sell it repeatedly. And once it’s created, there’s very little work required on your part. Just keep up with promoting your course and handle any customer service inquiries.

If you’re interested in creating an online course, we recommend using a platform like Teachable or Podia, which make it easy to create and sell your course online. Plus, they handle all the payments and customer service for you. All you need to focus on is creating your course and promoting it to your audience.

4. Sell Products on Etsy

Etsy is a popular online marketplace for handmade and vintage items. You can make money by starting an Etsy shop and selling products there.

You can sell just about anything on Etsy, but the real passive income sources come from selling printables, digital products and services, or print-on-demand (POD) products. Printables would be something a customer would download and then print, such as an online calendar, planner, or bachelorette party game ideas.

Digital products are similar, but instead of being printed out, they’re designed for online use. Examples of digital products on Etsy include content templates, e-books, or email newsletter subject line ideas.

Finally, POD products are also great passive income sources on Etsy. Using a platform such as Printify or Printful, you’ll upload a design or text onto a shirt, hat, tote bag, wall art, mouse pad, or another item, and then link it through Etsy. Since Etsy is a massive marketplace with millions of customers each month, you have the potential to get in front of a lot of eyeballs — and make a lot of sales.

Once you’ve created a product, you can sell it as many times as people will buy it. Each product costs 20 cents to list on Etsy, but click this link to get 40 listings for free.

5. Invest in Music Royalties

Music royalties are a newer type of passive income, but they’re jumping on a trend of musicians selling the rights to their back catalogs. Stevie Nicks, Bob Dylan, Shakira, and many other artists have sold some or all of their music for huge lump sums.

Platforms such as Royalty Exchange offer the opportunity to invest in those music catalogs. Royalty Exchange has two major features. One is auctions, where people bid on a catalog over a set period and the highest bidder wins.

The other is the eXchange, where people can re-sell catalogs they’ve purchased through the platform. Royalty Exchange pays out quarterly based on when performance-rights organizations such as ASCAP and BMI send their payouts. Royalty Exchange does have a steeper entry point. Most catalogs on there probably won’t accept an offer less than $2,000. Some might go for upwards of a million, depending on how regularly the song is played on the radio, streamed, or featured in movies or TV shows. What’s cool is you can see the breakdown of both domestic U.S. and international earnings. Maybe one song makes most of its money by being on a syndicated episode of Friends, while another catalog features frequently streamed songs. It can all add up to a nice payday four times a year.

Another platform, Royal, is exploring music NFTs. The platform partners with artists like Nas, Big Boi, and Timmy Trumpet to create exclusive digital assets alongside a royalty share. If you were to invest in, say, a new Nas album, you’d get an exclusive digital token to enjoy (or re-sell) and earn a quarterly payout based on how much money the song makes from streaming platforms and radio play. Royal is still in beta mode but it’s an interesting platform to keep an eye on, especially if you’re into crypto.

6. Sell an eBook

If you’re a good writer, you can write an eBook and sell it online. This is a great way to make passive income because once you’ve written it, the content won’t change. And there’s no limit to how much money you can make from selling eBooks.

The best part about selling eBooks is that anyone can do it. You don’t need to be a professional writer or have any experience writing books. All you need is a good idea for an eBook and the ability to write it yourself. However, you should certainly take the time to invest in a quality editor and designer to ensure you’re putting out a top-notch product that will catch people’s eye. You can find editors and designers on sites such as Reedsy, or Google for local editors and proofreaders in your city.

If you’re interested in writing an eBook, we recommend using a platform such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing. Kindle Direct Publishing makes it easy to self-publish your eBook and get it in front of a large audience. Plus, they handle all the payment processing for you. So, all you need to do is write your book and promote it to your audience.

7. Make A Blog

Many people don’t realize that you can make money from having a blog. But it’s true! You can earn passive income from your blog by selling advertising, selling products, and affiliate marketing.

Making money from your blog lets you earn passive income while you sleep. All you need to do is create great content and promote your blog to your audience. The more traffic you have, the more money you can make.

If you’re interested in making money from your blog, we recommend using a platform like WordPress. WordPress is a popular blogging platform that makes creating and managing your blog easy. In fact, This Quirky Home, the very site you’re on, uses WordPress! Plus, plenty of plugins and tools are available to help you make money from your blog.

8. Create a YouTube Channel

YouTube is a popular video-sharing platform with more than one billion users. But you probably need us to tell you that. The more important thing here: A YouTube channel is a great opportunity to make money by selling products, running ads, and affiliate marketing.

Creating a YouTube channel is a nice way to make passive income because you can earn money from your videos even when you’re not actively working on them. Create great content and promote your channel to your audience. Remember that YouTube is the second-largest search engine behind Google, and Google owns YouTube so you know it’s giving it some nice juice. Take advantage of that to add keywords and helpful answers to content in your videos. The more views you have, the more money you can make.

9. Sell Stock Photos

Got a nice collection of pictures or an eye for photography? Make money by selling your photos online. This is among the best passive income ideas because once you upload your photos, people can buy them over and over again. And there’s no limit to how much money you can make from selling photos.

You don’t need to be a professional photographer or have any experience selling photos. All you need is a good camera and the ability to take great photos. Good editing software wouldn’t hurt, either, but there are tons of free apps to help with that, such as Adobe Lightroom or Snapseed.

If you’re interested in selling your photos, we recommend using a platform like Shutterstock. Shutterstock is a popular stock photo platform that makes it easy to sell your photos online. Plus, they handle all the payment processing for you. So, all you need to do is take great photos and promote your photos to your audience.

The Bottom Line

There are many ways to make passive income online. And the best part is that anyone can do it! Whether investing in music royalties, real estate options, selling photos, or selling products on Etsy, you can make passive income online — and lots of it.

Now that you’ve got some passive income examples, it’s time to get started! Pick one of the methods above and start earning money while you sleep.