7 Passive Income Ideas for Freelancers

As freelancers, we all see the ups and downs in our bank accounts. I don’t know about you, but that affects anxiety levels on top of what’s already there.

My parents are not the smartest ones when it comes to managing their money; my dad would spend a fortune on a happy meal in the most expensive restaurant in town when the salary hits the bank that afternoon. And my mom doesn’t have any income as a housewife.

And I was only thinking about traveling and doing fun stuff when all my other friends and classmates were working normal hours and making a regular salary.

Some of them hit rock bottom after the COVID-19 affected the world workforce; what used to be good now it’s terrible.

Therefore everyone should have at least one or two passive incomes that generate money when they sleep.

Before we start, I would like to say there’s no pain, no gain. We all need to invest some time or money into the things we believe in, so we can harvest the result in the foreseeable future.

Let’s Go.

1. Publish Articles on medium.com

When you are reading this, I am making money. (Ka-ching!)

That’s right. I made money whenever someone clicked on this article for reading pleasure on medium.com by joining the medium partner program that gives royalty to writers. The income from medium.com depends on the number of views of your article. The more people reading your article, the more reward you will receive.

I am passionate about entrepreneurship and building multiple income streams, so these are the topics I write about. You can write about anything.

Just start writing with your favorite subject. This is a great way to start earning with writing even if you don’t have any followers.

2. Sell an ebook with Amazon KDP

Self-publication has become so easy these days I think even my dog could have her ebook.

There are many different kind of ebooks you can publish by yourself. Easy ones such as a cookbook, how-to books, or low content ebook like planner and journal.

The good thing about self-publishing is that it is completely free to publish your book online.

Of course, to make a best-selling ebook takes more work than this, you will need marketing, pre-order, reviews, but it is doable even for an ordinary person like me.

3. Teach Your Skill Online

I knew nothing about editing a video before I started my YouTube channel.

I started learning how to do video editing by watching tons of YouTube videos, and there are online courses available promoted by the video creators.

You can start with finding a topic you know a lot about and create a series of videos or presentations teaching about it. If you need some idea on what to teach or how to set the price, go through other peoples’ courses and see what they are offering will be a place to start.

Some example online course platforms are Skillshare, Udemy, and Teachable. Online education could be one of the best way to give back to the community and make a profit at the same time. Share your skill!

4. Blogging with Affiliate Marketing

It’s relatively easy to start blogging, and there are many free blogging sites out there. You can focus on topics that interest you, and you don’t have to worry about creating your website or product. Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money blogging.

Affiliate marketing also allows bloggers to show ads for products that they use and enjoy. Since there are several different affiliate programs, it’s easy for bloggers to select affiliate offers that appeal to their audience.

Besides affiliate marketing, Google Adsense is another income source once your blog starts to see some traffic.

5. Sell Designed Merchandise on Etsy

People buy crafts and accessories on etsy.com all the time. Artists and graphic designers can use this platform to turn their creativity into cash. This will also be a great traffic source if you want to build your personal brand in the long term. Redirect your customers to your website or Instagram account so you can keep them for yourself for future purchases.

Best selling products on Etsy include stickers, planners, icons, seasonal graphics, and templates.

There are free tools online you could leverage like Canva.com even if you are not a graphic designer. Or you could hire a graphic designer on Upwork or Fiverr if you have some money to invest in this venture.

6. Sell Graphic T-Shirt on Teespring and Merch

If you are a graphic designer, this might be the one for you! Create your unique logo or patterns and upload them to TeeSpring to make a T-Shirt for sale. TeeSpring is a Print-On-Demand platform that allows designers to upload their design, and the platform will handle the merchandize printing, shipping and collect the payment for you.

Try thinking about what’s trending right now and add your creativity to it. Your creation might be the next top seller of the month.

I know a girl from LA who’s super talented at calligraphy & hand lettering. She would put beautiful handwritten signs on each different food at the party. And make direction signs to each area of the house, so we don’t get lost between toilets and bedrooms. Last month I overheard her struggle not getting enough raise and glimpse possibility for a promotion in this kind of economy, so I suggest her to start selling on the Print-On-Demand platform.

She end up selling inspiring quotes on mugs with her beautiful calligraphy that makes $500 a month. Good for her!

7. Sell Stock Photos on Adobe Stock

I have a friend who’s an excellent photographer, and he makes good money shooting photos at the events and the studio. However, he’s been having trouble making the same amount of money due to the COVID-19.

I asked him, what about putting some of his photographs on Adobe Stock or Shutterstock? “It’s too cheap.”

Well, it’s better than nothing!

Seriously, wake up! The time of easy money has gone. In my experience, even if you have new clients, their budget will not be the same as two or three years ago before the COVID. So it is super important for us, especially freelancers, to find additional income sources with the same skills and time.

According to the Shutterstock website, you will be able to make 20%-30% of the image price you are selling for, which will be paid to you monthly by ShutterStock. And once you uploaded the photos and add description and tags there’s nothing you need to do.

What’s better than making money while you sleep?

My Takeaways:

Building passive income streams is like growing vegetables. You might not be able to see tomatoes the next day after you put the seeds in the soil. But once you start putting efforts into the side hustle each day, you will be able to see the result one day. And after that, everything will be much easier when you have that solid foundation to build on.

Additional info

To access unlimited stories, consider signing up to become a Medium member for just $5. If you sign up using my link, I’ll receive a small commission (at no extra cost to you). Thank YOU!

Here’s an article you might be interested:

Hello, 👋 It’s Vicky. I’m a YouTuber & writer based in Yunnan, China, and looking forward to sharing my story with you.