We’d all like to find a way to earn a little extra on the side with the least amount of effort possible, right?
Well, although nothing comes without a little bit of work, the idea behind passive income is that after the initial setup, you’ll sit back and watch that additional funding accumulate.
Here are five passive income possibilities, but remember, all passive income requires a bit of work up front — some more than others.
Dividend stocks
Although the world of stocks might seem heady and intimidating, especially considering the risk of losing everything if your stocks crash, dividend stocks can offer a stable and reliable income.
You simply invest in shares in a dividend-yielding company, and each quarter you’ll get a payout from the firm’s profits. The more shares you own, the higher the payout.
You’ll need to spend time investigating various companies to see which ones offer the best return on your investment.
A bond ladder
A bond ladder is a bit like an elaborate domino run: it’s important to get all the pieces lined up properly, but if you do it right, the results can be spectacular—and it just takes one push to start it off.
Basically, this is the purchase of a series of bonds with different maturity times, from one year up to, say, nine years.
You’ll collect interest payments along the way, and when that first bond matures, you can use that payday to invest in another long-term bond and keep the chain going.
A rolling advertisement
Does your day job involve a hefty commute? Do you drive on regular cross-country trips? You could get something productive out of that time by hosting wraparound ads for products.
Specialized advertising agencies will check out your driving habits — where you drive and how far — and consider wrapping your car with ads from one of their partners.
Check out Wrapify for an example.
Blogging
Content is king, and if you’ve got a hobby, passion, or area of to share, you can build a great following and earn money through ads or affiliate links, which direct traffic to business websites in exchange for payment.
Blogs are a popular source of additional income – if they can draw an audience.
A blog provider such as WordPress is easy because it walks you through all the steps, but you’ll need to spend time creating the content and getting established.
With a few high-value posts that get traction on Google, though, can keep bringing you income indefinitely.
Writing a book
Yes, writing a book sounds like a lot of work, but like writing a blog, if you have knowledge to share you could have a thirty-thousand-word e-book written in a month, at 1,000 words per day.
Self-publishing via Amazon or Smashwords is easy, and if your book takes off you could net a decent income each month.
There’ll be marketing involved, but if you’re already active on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, you already have an audience.
