Wouldn’t it be nice if you could make one sale, and continue earning money from it for months (or years) to come? With these residual income ideas, you can!
With residual income, you typically do something one time, and then continue to get paid for a time afterward. For instance, if someone makes a purchase to a subscription-based product with your affiliate link, many companies give you a commission from every payment that customer makes.
Since you get paid repeatedly from one sale, it’s an awesome way to boost your passive income.
There are lots of ways I’ve found to earn residual income, and I’ll show you some of my favorite ideas today.
Affiliate Sales With Recurring Payments
Back in April of 2016, I referred someone to ConvertKit. They purchased their subscription with my affiliate link. And ever since then, I’ve been earning a monthly commission. That’s nearly three years of residual income from a single sale!
If you have multiple people sign up with your link, you can see how your monthly income can increase exponentially. Especially if you have more than one product you’re recommending.
I’ve already mentioned ConvertKit, so here are ten other companies I’ve discovered that offer recurring payments:
- Leadpages
- Beaver Builder
- SEMRush
- AWeber
- Freelance Writer’s Den
- Teachable
- PicMonkey
- Tailwind
- TubeBuddy
- Pixistock
Would any of those resonate with your audience? If so, become an affiliate for them today, and start referring traffic. With some programs like this, you may need to be a customer yourself. Others are open to anyone that qualifies. Affiliate income is a fantastic way to earn more as a blogger.
Start a Subscription Box
Do you have a great idea for a subscription box? They’re all the rage right now, and so much fun to be a part of. When you’re ready, you can sign up with Cratejoy and turn your idea into a residual income stream.
You will need to decide what your niche will be. The more specific you can get, the easier of a time you’ll have marketing your subscriptions.
With Cratejoy, you start by putting together a prototype box. This gives your potential customers an idea of what they can expect. You take lovely photographs of your box and do a prelaunch. Your goal is to see if your idea is going to be profitable.
If your prelaunch is a success, you move into the production phase for your first month’s box. Then, as long as your customers keep coming back, you send them a monthly shipment.
This is a fun way to build residual income for someone who enjoys curating amazing products for their clients. This definitely doesn’t fall into the passive income category, however! Subscription boxes take a lot of work to make a profit.
Direct Sales
Are you great at telling other people about amazing products? If so, you might be a good fit for direct sales.
It used to be that most people in direct sales hounded their real-life friends and family to make purchases. But, thanks to social media and blogging, that’s not the case anymore. Done correctly, you can market your product directly to people who actually want it.
Not every direct sales company will come with a built-in recurring income opportunity. We typically find these with companies in the health and wellness sector. You will likely need to look for those companies with consumable products that offer autoship. It’s those monthly authomatic shipments that provide recurring payments.
With so many direct sales opportunities to choose from, you’re sure to find a company you can stand behind. But, before you get started, here are some questions to ask yourself and your potential teammates:
- Do I actually use and recommend these products? (If no, pick something else because your attitude will show!)
- What are the income opportunities?
- How much money do most beginners make on average?
- How do I level up? (If you’re with a company with levels.)
- Are there any annual fees or starter kits?
- Do I have a minimum threshold each month?
- How long has the company been around?
You want to know what to expect. And you want to make sure it’s not a scam.
The last thing you want to do is sign up for a company thinking you’ll start earning lots of money, only to find out you aren’t great at selling and now are committed to bringing in $100 of product sales each month for a year. Because often you’ll be the one who pays that $100 a month.
So, read the fine print so to speak, and know how things work. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. A reputable company won’t be afraid to answer them, and you’ll get a sense of how supportive your “upline” is. Don’t ever join a team that isn’t friendly and responsive, because you’ll likely be needing their support as you learn the ropes.
Again, the terms vary greatly from company to company, so always take time to learn how it works before signing up. See a product or company you can get behind? Get started in direct sales today.
AdSense
If you start a blog or YouTube channel, ads are an easy way to monetize it. Here’s a quick overview of how it works:
You have a website or YouTube channel. You create content and market it to your audience. On your site, you place ads. The more traffic you have, the more money you can potentially earn.
When you first launch, your income will be tiny. But as your traffic grows, you will be able to receive more.
You have some control over the type of ads that are on your site. And, you get to decide where to put them. It’s difficult to make a lot of money from ads right out of the gate, so keep your expectations in line with the industry trends. Some people prefer to have an ad-free viewing experience for their readers and viewers and find other ways to monetize, but there are still many ways to do ads well.
Create Multiple Residual Income Streams
The best type of income is one that comes from many sources. You don’t want to have all your eggs in one basket.
In addition to the residual income streams mentioned above, here are five others for you to research and consider. Some have large payouts, some are mere pennies. But, they all add up over time!
- Investing
- Real estate management (i.e. being a landlord)
- Retainer-based freelance clients
- Money-making apps with referral programs like Swagbucks
- Creating a subscription membership site
I highly recommend adding residual income streams. It’s a great way to earn more money every month. Which of these ideas jump out at you?