How Technology Changed the Way People Earn Passive Income – People have been making passive income for decades. Among the most popular traditional passive income sources are real estate and stocks. Although you can still generate extra wealth the traditional way, you have a lot more options thanks to technology.
You can start a blog and monetize it. Or you could install an app that makes you money while you sleep. In this guide, we’ll breakdown how technology changed how people make passive income online.
Let’s dive right in.
1—Blogging
Blogging is a fun way to communicate with people who love the same topics as you do. Maybe you’re a basketball fan. You could start a blog focused on the NBA. You could post lineups, injury reports and results.
You could also open a forum to allow your fans to interact with one another through your platform. Although it’s sounds exciting, blogging requires hard work and patience to succeed.
You see, building an audience for a blog requires quality content. It also asks for diligent marketing. More importantly, it takes time before search engines like Google can rank your content on their first page.
After you starting ranking on the first page of Google, now you can monetize your blog through ads, affiliate links or by selling merchandise. The most successful blogs generate upwards of $100,000 per year, so it’s a great idea.
2—Passive Income Apps
Passive income apps exist only because of the advancements of technology. The apps work differently. But there’s good news—you can install multiple apps on your smartphone.
For example, you can make money from Honeygain app by sharing extra bandwidth with other Internet users. Then you could install Survey Junkie to generate extra income by completing online surveys.
There’s no limit to the number of passive income apps you can install on your devices. It all depends on your availability to complete online activities. Or you could stick to apps like Savvy Connect and Nielsen’s mobile panel—they pay you to observe your Internet behaviors.
3—Start a YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel has one thing in common with blogging: They both require hard work. If you choose to become a YouTuber, you need to post outstanding content to get views.
Luckily, there are hundreds of genres on YouTube, from gossip talk shows to channels about science and technology. Find a niche with a high demand but low supply of quality content.
Importantly, invest in a quality video camera and editing software. You can use a smartphone to record your videos. Just make sure the quality is good. Then learn how to edit your videos or hire someone to edit them for you.
When it comes to making money, YouTube is like blogging. Ads and affiliate links are the most popular monetization tools. Other ways to make money from your channel include donations, and selling merchandise.
4—Investing in Stocks and Crypto
Although stocks and crypto provide a way to earn passive income, the research involved requires ana active person. Not all stocks and crypto are worth buying. You must research to discover the best shares to purchase.
If you’re good at it, investing in stocks and crypto can help you make a lot more money that you could ever earn through a day job. Many stocks and crypto investment apps allow you to invest as little as $10.
What’s more, you could invest small amounts regularly depending on your income. And you don’t have to put your eggs in one basket. Most experts recommend that you start by investing in an ETF like the S&P 500.
An ETF is an Exchange Traded Fund. It’s a type of investment that track a particular sector, say technology. This way, you invest in the success of many tech stocks instead of one.
Cryptocurrencies are largely unregulated. They don’t even have ETFs. As such, you must be careful in your research to ensure you pick the right coins. Choose historically successful coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.
5—Build and Monetize an App
Technology is increasingly minting new millionaires. Some of the richest tech-based millionaires created apps that changed the world. Surprisingly, building an app is simple.
You need a couple of months to learn how to code. Then you can build your first app. It might not be successful. But through experience and by finding solutions to modern problems, you could build a successful app.
Let’s say you build an app that helps people find great shopping deals. You could partner with big brands like Amazon and Target. You make money by helping the brands get customers. In turn, you split some of your profits with your audience.
Depending on the app, you could also make money from adverts or by selling subscriptions. The good thing about app building is that it’s a lucrative career. Your apps might not succeed. But you could make money by helping others create their apps and software programs.
6—Sell Stuff Online
Running an online business sounds expensive. But thanks to technology, there are many ways to sell products and services even when you don’t have a lot of capital.
Think of drop shipping. It involves running an online store without handling stock. You work with suppliers to fulfill customers’ orders. But you only send money to the supplier after customers pay. This way, there’s little risk of losing money.
Another way to make money by selling stuff online is by using sites like Craigslist, Etsy and Poshmark. And if you have the capital, you can start your own store from scratch. It requires great entrepreneurship skills. But if successful, it can earn you enough money to go into early retirement.
Your Turn
The Internet has affected almost every aspect of our lives. Among the changes it has brought is the ability to expand our income streams. Today, you can make money through an app that does little more than to observe your shopping habits.
What’s more, you can start an online business that could make you enough money that you quit your day job.