Last updated on February 1st, 2023 at 10:20 am
Passive income blogging is one of the best ways to make extra money from home. If you’re looking for passive income ideas that will teach you how to make money from your blog using affiliate marketing and other strategies to turn your blog into an online business, you need to read this.
You’ve probably been told that you shouldn’t start a blog just for the money. I totally agree.
You should not start a blog just in hopes of earning money. However, if you provide great content and actually help your readers, there’s absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t be able to create an income stream from your blog.
If you haven’t started your blog, but you’re thinking about it. Read my step-by-step tutorial that will help you get your first WordPress blog set up.
Before you set up your blog, don’t forget to check out the blogs with the highest searches. This way you won’t be wasting your time blogging in a topic that people don’t enjoy reading.
You’re probably thinking, is it really possible to earn money from a blog? If so, what’s the best way to get started?
This isn’t something that generates money quickly. In fact, I recommend that you don’t quit your day job while you work on growing your online empire.
I Don’t Have A Lot of Time
We all have 24 hours in a day. I totally understand that you’re probably still working a full-time job. That means that you won’t be able to devote a lot of time to grow your blog.
However, if you really want to learn how to create a successful blog that hopefully earns you some passive income over time. You’ll have to learn how to manage your time.
This means that instead of coming home and sitting in front of the television and watching TV, you’ll have to spend time working on your blog.
You may also have to give up your weekends and spend them working on growing your blog empire.
Maybe you can do what I do and get up 1-2 hours earlier than normal just to get your blogging tasks completed. If you’re not a morning person, then I just recommend working your blog in the evenings and the weekends.
Regardless of when you decide to work on your blog. Just know that it’s going to take a lot of hard work to grow your blog. Don’t expect to write a couple of blog posts and start seeing the money.
Many successful bloggers will tell you that it took them several years to start earning significant money from their blog before they could walk away from their full-time jobs.
So work hard and give it time. Join me on my journey as I work hard to grow this blog.
Now let’s dive into what is passive income and why you should start focusing on it to create the lifestyle you want.
Why I Love Passive Income
People talk about passive income online because it’s very enticing. Everyone has their own opinion or definition of what passive income means to them. For me as a blogger, it means that I do the work once and continue earning from that work months or years down the road without a lot of upkeep.
If you’re thinking that it’s going to be easy, then you’re in for a rude awaking. You’re going to have to put in a lot of effort and work on the front end.
In fact, if you’re starting a blog in hopes of earning money online. Be prepared to work for free for several months. Yup, you probably won’t earn a dime.
Sure you might earn a few pennies if you add Google Adsense to your blog. But that won’t be life changing or help you walk away from your job.
Grasping Passive Income
It takes time to understand that it is possible to earn an income with a blog. Especially, when all you’ve experienced is being an employee.
You’re not alone, I worked as an employee my whole life. Now I work as a WordPress freelancer which is almost the same as an employee, but with a little bit more flexibility.
Here’s what my life used to look like when I worked a regular JOB.
My Ritual as An Employee
I would wake up the sound of a screaming alarm. Then I would get up make breakfast, shower and rush out the door. I’d make my way to work while fighting the morning rush hour.
Then I would punch a clock so my work day could begin. I’d spend at least 8 hours delivering mail and once I was done, I’d clock out and then get back in my car and drive home.
Only to do it all over again the next day. It was like I was a hamster wheel. I’d do the same thing day in and day out. It was crazy.
Enter Freelancing
It’s pretty much the same thing but the biggest difference is that I don’t have to fight the morning commute. I’m still trading my time for money.
That’s why I started this blog. As I get older, I realize the importance of earning passive income so I can save for retirement.
Plus I am tired of trading my hours to grow someone else’s business. I’d rather work hard on growing an asset for myself.
What Is Passive Income?
Passive income is so different than what you’re used to. Right now you are trading your time for money. When you start focusing on passive income, you no longer trade your time for money.
It’s nothing more than “income that comes in without regard to your time.”
Now I know what you’re thinking. It’s too good to be true and how can I get started.
Before I give you some ideas and send you on your way, I first want you to be aware of what to expect.
Lagged Income
As you know, I started this blog so I can replace my freelance job. My goal is to walk away from my freelancing business and stop dealing with clients.
I’ve put in tons of hours upfront and the first year of blogging, I probably made a few hundred dollars.
You might be thinking, wow, I’d love to make a few hundred dollars. But the truth is that I put in so many hours on my blog that I wasn’t even making an hourly wage.
Not to mention the costs that I invested to start a self-hosted blog.
Related: Blogging Costs A New Blogger Should Not Skimp On
If you do start a blog in hopes of creating multiple income streams that work day and night, be prepared to work for free for several months. If you’re using a blog as your platform, which I suggest you do.
You are going to have to build up your blog and gain a following on your blog actually starts working for you. It takes time, heck you might even fail. (I failed more than once) That’s why when I started this blog, I invested in this course so I would make sure that I knew exactly what it takes to build a real business.
Importance of Passive Income
One of the great things about passive income is that there is no limit on the amount of money you can make. Unlike freelancing you can only take on the clients that you can work with.
Yes, you can start outsourcing, but then you have to deal with the headaches that come from outsourcing. I personally do not want to deal with having to deal with outsourcing my freelancing tasks.
Plus outsourcing costs money and the last thing that I want to do is charge my credit card to pay someone to do work for me.
That’s one of the reasons that I am focused on increasing my own income through blogging. We’re all getting older and eventually you are going to want to retire.
If you work hard on creating multiple streams of income right now, you won’t have to worry about where the money is going to come from.
How to Make Passive Income
If you have access to a computer and the Internet, then you have the ability to make money from home. Everyone has their own definition of passive income.
Before you start working hard on yours, I suggest that you read the definition that the IRS applies to passive income. Make sure that you’re aware of it before next tax season.
You’re going to be required to pay taxes on the money that you make on your blog. I am not a tax accountant, so you will want to make sure that you check with your CPA before filing your taxes.
How to Earn Passive Income Blogging
These are just a few ideas that you can start using to create passive income from your blog. Here’s a blog post that discusses several other ways to create more income.
#1 Write an eBook
If you are starting a blog, chances are you know something about your niche. Blogging is hard work, you have to learn how to manage your time, write content, market your blog and network with other bloggers.
The tasks are never-ending. As you continue working on your blog, you are continually learning and developing new skills. You can write an eBook and share your newfound knowledge with your readers.
There’s a lot of work upfront, but once the eBook is created, you’ve created an income stream that has the potential to bring you money for months or years. That’s what I’ve done with the eBooks that I sell here on my blog. I also have some of my eBooks on the Kindle Marketplace, you can see them here.
Related: Can You Make Money Writing eBooks and How to Get Started
#2 Sell Your Own Products On Your Blog
Info products can be a game changer. Chances are you have purchased a course that has taught you how to accomplish something online. I know that I’ve purchased my fair share of online courses.
Have you considered creating your own? I have but I just haven’t taken the time to create one yet.
The great thing is that platforms like Teachable make it so easy to have your readers access your products. I haven’t personally used it, but when I create my product, that’s probably the route that I will use for my online course. (I won’t actually know until I create my first product)
Update: I actually decided to go with Digital Access Pass for my own products. I’ve just finished creating my very first product and you can see it here.
#3 Make Money With Affiliate Marketing
Just because you don’t have an online course or haven’t written your eBook yet, you can start setting up passive income through affiliate marketing.
You can recommend products that you use or have experience with and write a review or add links to your blog posts. Eventually, over time as your readers start to trust you, they will buy the products that you recommend.
If you’re blogging on a self-hosted blog, that means that you have invested in hosting. Why not sign up as an affiliate with your hosting account and start recommending it to your readers.
Chances are you are happy with your current hosting account. Plus you are a customer and if you weren’t happy, you would move your blog to another hosting account.
That’s what I do with SiteGround. I host this blog there and I am very happy with them so I don’t hesitate to recommend them to new bloggers.
If you’re completely new to affiliate marketing, check out this course. You’ll learn how to start making money with affiliate products and what it actually takes.
#4 Make Money With YouTube Videos
As you know, I love creating YouTube videos and if you haven’t signed up for my YouTube channel, you can subscribe here.
Did you know that you can monetize your channel? When I started my channel, I had no clue that you could either. At the time of this writing, you can’t monetize your channel until you have reached 10,000 views.
If you spend time creating videos that are helpful and people love, you shouldn’t have any problems reaching 10,000 views. I’ve had my channel for over a year at the time of this writing and I have received 7,042 views. Once I reach 10,000 views, I will be able to make some money from my channel.
Just don’t expect to get rich from the money that your YouTube channel generates. I’ve read that it’s not life-changing.
But remember, every penny adds up and if it’s passive that’s awesome in my opinion 🙂
#5 Sell Digital Products Using An Online Shop
It won’t take long to find a blogger online that sells digital products using an online shop on their blog. If you’re using a self-hosted WordPress blog, you can use a free plugin like WooCommerce to set up an online shop.
This can be a great way to turn your blog into a money maker. Just like anything else when it comes to blogging, it’s going to take some time to start earning money.
#6 Make Money With Amazon
The Amazon commissions are not very big, but if you’re focusing on creating a passive income blog then the more income streams that you add to your blog the better you will be.
Just remember if you do sign up with Amazon, you’ll be required to make two sales in 90 days. Don’t worry, it’s not hard to make two sales, as long as your blog is getting some blog traffic.
How Do I Price My Products?
One of the most challenging things for most bloggers is pricing their products fairly. Most of us tend to undervalue our products.
When I started freelancing, I underpriced my WordPress services. I didn’t think that anyone would be willing to pay me premium prices for my services.
If you are selling products online, it’s important to price your products properly. It’s okay to sell lower priced products but you should make sure that you have higher priced products in your arsenal.
Remember, you’re not trying to sell to everyone. You are trying to sell to the right one. If someone says your prices are too high, so what. That isn’t your customer.
They are probably looking for a push button system because they don’t want to do the blogging work.
When you do create your first online course, don’t try to create the course for everyone. Get specific, for example. I’m no longer buying products that teach me the beginning stages of starting a blog.
I’ve already set up my blog, purchased a domain and set up my hosting. At this point in my blogging career, I’m only investing in courses that cater to my stage in blogging.
So don’t be afraid to create products for the beginner, advanced and intermediate blogger. Remember we’re all at different stages in our blogging journey. This is great news for you because it means that you have a lot of income potential when it comes to creating online products.
Passive Income Ideas for Everyone
I know that not everyone blogs about blogging or ways to earn money from home. How can I create an online course or eBook if I can’t teach anyone anything? It’s easy to believe that you can only make money if you blog about blogging.
But the truth if you have followers, they are likely to be interested in hearing what you do. Anyone who has a blog can create an eBook and here are two posts that will help you start brainstorming:
It Takes Time
I know that you’re probably excited about starting your blog in hopes of turning it into a profitable venture. The most important thing to remember is that it’s going to take time to grow your blog and your following.
Don’t expect to start a blog today and start making money tomorrow. You’re going to have to put in a lot of hard work on the front end.
However, if you stick with it and don’t quit, you can look back 3-4 years from now and see the online empire that you created. I don’t know about you but if it takes me 3-4 years to create passive income that changes my life, I am all for it.
I’m not saying that it will take you that long to earn from your blog. As long as you don’t start your blog believing that you’ll start making a fortune by next week, you should be fine.
Final Take Away
While I can’t guarantee that your blog will become successful and earn money. I can tell you this.
If you start your blog and provide great content that helps your readers. You will make money. Start your blog with the intention of helping your readers.
Don’t focus on the money. Over time the more people that you serve and help, you will start to see the money coming to your passively.
Hand Picked Articles for You
- Day in the Life of a Part-Time Blogger and Freelancer
- How Much Money Can You Make Blogging
- How to Blog Effectively When You’re Feeling Stuck
- Can You Live Off Blogging Income?
Have you started your blog? If so did you start it in hopes of earning passive income to change your families lifestyle? Are you using any of the ideas that I mentioned in this blog post? Let me know, I’d love to hear how you’re profiting with your blog.
