When I first started blogging I began chasing the passive, residual income dream. Everyone was talking about it. There were a lot of naysayers telling me I would never get there. They were wrong. If you are willing to put in the upfront work – residual does not mean easy or quick – they can be wrong for you too. Things I did a year or two years ago continue to bring in money each month.
What is Residual Income?
Residual income is money that continues to be generated long after the initial effort. Though you will occasionally hear people refer to it as “passive income,” there is almost always some type of ongoing maintenance required. It may be a little marketing here and there, a little updating to make sure things are current, or it may be just the occasional tweet to get whatever it is back out in front of the masses. It may be very little maintenance, but in the name of full disclosure please be aware it may not be entirely “set it and forget it.”
What is the Key to Residual Income?
If you are looking to maximize your *almost* hands off income, diversification is the name of the game. The more avenues you have bringing in money, the better. Here are a few of the areas I am involved currently:
Digital Products – There is a huge market for eBooks, podcasts, apps, images, themes and plugins. These items can be sold directly or through a third party like e-junkie, Clickbank or Amazon.
Profit Sharing Sites – Revenue sharing is available through the more well-known sites like HubPages or Squidoo, but there has also been an expansion into other areas as well. Coupon Chief and MooLaLa are two of my favorite sites right now.
Niche Sites – Blogs are great for residual income. A nice search optimized post can continue to generate income for years. Your options here are many; affiliate marketing, PPC ads, direct advertisers and more.
Private Label Rights (PLR) – Unlike writing on spec for private clients, PLR can be sold over and over again.
Other Options
Paid Membership Sites – Membership sites can be private forums or even just content that is only made available to paying members. Your level of day-to-day engagement with members can be highly involved or you can choose to be relatively hands off.
Direct Sales or Network Marketing – Most home party plans offer some type of downline commission. This allows a representative to earn a small percentage of team sales. Your level of activity will be determined by the individual company’s policy.
Rental Properties – This one is not an online option, but it is a home business. Your level of necessary involvement will obviously fluctuate.
How is your residual income journey going? Did I forget any avenues that you are finding profitable?
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Angie Nelson
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These are great! I am working hard on some Niche Sites right now and just started getting into PLR.
Best of luck, Julie!
Great post Angie. Interesting that you refer to some businesses as home party plans. It amazes me that these businesses have not grasped the potential of the Internet. My wife and I feel like pioneers in this type of business.
I would say the majority have embraced online marketing at this point. They do still focus on the one-on-one, face-to-face relationship that comes with home parties and trade shows however.
@ Angie, if you do a Google Alert for Herbalife blogs, you get little or no response. Most of the Herbalifers I speak to refuse to entertain online marketing. I know because I do inbound and content marketing and have tried to tap into the Herbalife market. Everyone I have engaged is hell bent on nutritional clubs and weight loss challenges. Apart from the fact that I want to do this online, I have a moral issue with the nutritional clubs.
It’s encouraging to know the effort can pay off if done right! Getting it right is the hard part, lol. I guess I need to just keep on keeping on.
Trial and error is a big part of this business, Patti. Keeping at it long enough to make it work is where many fall short however. Don’t give up too early!
Thanks, Angie, for the encouragement. I need it, lol!