![\"passive](\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/passive_income_700.jpg\")
<\/p>\nPassive income, by way of the web, often seems too good to be true.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no shortage of spam comments, weird pop-ups and affiliate blogs claiming that if someone\u2019s mother-in-law or step-cousin can make six figures with minimal effort, you too, can make things happen.<\/p>\n
Now let\u2019s be clear, passive income is not the same thing as \u201cmaking your money work for you\u201d through smart investments.<\/p>\n
Instead, we\u2019ll take a look at the reality of affiliate incomes, drop shipping, and other money-making schemes that promise comfortable living.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Traditionally, passive income includes things like a limited partnership in a company, real estate ownership, or dividends from investments. Online, however, other passive income opportunities promise a way to game the system.<\/p>\n
Admittedly, it\u2019s hard to find any information on passive income tips and tricks that don\u2019t feel like junk. Much of the online content consists of ebooks and courses and yes, mom blogs that rake in the residuals.<\/p>\n
So, how do you separate the fakers from the legit opportunities \u2014 and is it even possible?<\/p>\n
Digital entrepreneurship<\/strong> and affiliate links<\/strong> are a fact of life on the web. A good chunk of your favorite sites engage in some affiliate partnership; they\u2019re embedded in articles, YouTube videos, and online games.<\/p>\n A quick refresher: affiliate links are a type of advertising that pays sites a commission based on clicks and sales.<\/strong> Online content creators can sign up with Amazon<\/a> or other eCommerce programs and promote links within their blog posts and videos.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not just Amazon, either. Uber has an affiliate program, as does iTunes, and others.<\/p>\n The issue with affiliate marketing isn\u2019t that it\u2019s a scam. You can make some money this way, but it\u2019s not something that you can set up, forget about and get rich overnight.<\/p>\n For one, you need to have a website that generates enough traffic<\/strong> to result in income. You\u2019ll need to have a blog or popular website to do this \u2014 and, of course, that takes time and its skillset.<\/p>\n Affiliate programs also need to match your content.<\/strong> If you write a food blog then adding affiliate links for fishing gear and motorcycle parts isn\u2019t going to work. For one, customers will think that you\u2019ll shill anything, thus compromising your authenticity.<\/p>\n Second, those visitors likely are on your website because they want to learn how to make a chocolate cake that doesn\u2019t stick to the pan. They\u2019re not going to see a link and think \u2014 hey, I do<\/em> need a new fishing pole.<\/p>\n In addition to creating content, maintaining a website, and finding affiliate links that fit, you also need to have some marketing savvy<\/strong> to make this work. You\u2019ll have to start an email list<\/strong> and create landing pages<\/strong> that you promote to encourage new sign-ups.<\/p>\n There\u2019s more to affiliate marketing than what we\u2019ve listed here, but the point is, it\u2019s hard.<\/strong> If you\u2019re considering this path, you should want to create a blog\/site anyway.<\/p>\n Complete guide to advancing your career<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n Drop shipping, and its cousin, retail arbitrage, are something of a shortcut to establishing an online store. Instead of selling your products, you sell products from other companies.<\/strong> Customers submit an order through your website, but the company who makes the product ships it. The benefit is, you don\u2019t have to buy inventory and maintain stock levels. As such, drop shipping is often promoted as easy money.<\/p>\n That said, you need to find a way to promote your store in a crowded space. Cosmetics and vitamins are popular products in the drop shipping space, for example. You might run into a lot of competitors with the same products.<\/p>\n How to earn money with Instagram<\/p>\r\n read now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n With retail arbitrage, you buy up items on discount or clearance at your local brick-and-mortar store and flip them online for retail prices. In this case, you do the shopping, the packaging, and the shipping. Not super passive.<\/p>\n With either method, you will need to field customer service inquiries, which involves answering questions about other peoples\u2019 products and order statuses that may be out of your control. But customer service dealings may only take up a couple of hours here and there.<\/p>\n We should note, drop shipping needs to be approached with some caution. For example, many drop shippers are scammy.<\/strong> You also need to look for products that are trending and that you know enough about your audience to market effectively.<\/p>\n This article from Shopify<\/span><\/a> is a good source for someone looking for a primer on drop shipping. For retail arbitrage, check out these videos.<\/p>\n Digital resources include things like memberships, e-books, online events, and so on. These items are known as information products<\/strong>, and there\u2019s no shortage of bloggers promoting their own set of paid content.<\/p>\n The benefit of digital resources is, you\u2019re making almost 100% profit margin \u2014 you create a product once, and sell it over and over.<\/p>\n The only thing is, to make any money, people need to know who you are and you need to make something people want. Do you have knowledge that other people can’t find with a simple online search?<\/p>\n If you have an online audience and a skill that people want to learn, you could earn some passive cash by offering digital courses. Skills like photography, video editing, SEO best practices, e-commerce basics, and so on could all potentially net you some money here and there.<\/p>\n Creating courses that add value to your audience is not remotely passive.<\/strong> Up front, it\u2019s an investment that requires time and some cash. Thankfully, it gets easier after the initial push.<\/p>\n To do this, you\u2019ll need to create an email list as a means to promote your course to readers.<\/p>\n 4 free online courses for learning how to code<\/p>\r\n Read Now \u25ba<\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/div>\r\n <\/a>\r\n <\/div>\r\n<\/div>\n It\u2019s important to realize that there\u2019s no such thing as a truly passive income. Affiliate marketing, selling products, and monetizing digital resources all depend on your ability to drive traffic and create something that people want.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not simple, and it isn\u2019t passive. Instead, you need to be able to handle web hosting, copywriting, content creation<\/strong> and have a firm grasp of digital analytics.<\/strong><\/p>\n And, those skills are just the starting point. It\u2019s a whole other skill set to find and promote affiliate links that make sense for your audience. Developing online resources that have professional polish is a separate skill, too.<\/p>\n![\"affiliate](\"https:\/\/articles-img.sftcdn.net\/sft\/articles\/auto-mapping-folder\/sites\/3\/2021\/05\/affiliate_marketing_700.jpg\")
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\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Drop Shipping or Retail Arbitrage<\/h3>\n
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\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Sell a digital resource<\/h3>\n
Sell courses<\/h3>\n
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\r\n <\/div>\r\n \r\n Wrapping up<\/h3>\n