Passive Income opportunities for Freelancers
If you’ve been freelancing for longer than a couple weeks you will have more than likely run into the feast or famine cycle at least once. During those times, the wheels turn at an increased speed trying to find ways to fill your pockets with more money.
You can submit to more job boards, set up guerrilla marketing tactics to find more work, etc. But what about figuring out ways to make money over and over again without any additional work? Got your interest?
Passive income is a great way to earn some additional cash while still doing your current freelance work. Yes, you’ll work more hours, but you’re a hustler so why would that bother you?
The hidden truth behind being a freelancer is that you’re not truly free – you’re working for clients, bending to their needs and in essence, they’re your boss. In order to be truly free, passive income comes into play. It’s all around you, but sometimes it’s hard to see it since
Ebooks
One of the quickest ways to earn some passive income is by sharing your knowledge. I’ve personally done this with the Guerrilla Guide and One Man Army books I’ve released on this site and can say without a doubt that it’s a great way to earn some extra income.
Think about your current business and write up a guide for beginners on how they can do what you do, or go in a completely different direction and write an ebook about one of your passions – sports, painting, etc. If you pack the book with enough kick ass information you’ll be able to sell the hell out of it and build your passive income up to a respectable level in no time.
Vector/Graphic Files
How many files do you currently have on your computer right now that were built for a client but never used in production? How many times have you posted random designs to Dribbble that were created “just for fun”? Well, these files can be turned into passive income.
If you check out sites like istockphoto, graphicriver, etc. you can see how people are able to upload premium design files and sell them. Do you run your own blog? Sell the items directly on your own website and keep 100% of the profits.
Web Hosting Recommendations
This is one that I’ve currently been implementing into my business lately and I have to say that it’s a great way to get some checks in the mail for virtually zero work. If you’re a web designer and your clients don’t have hosting set up, why not recommend them to a hosting company that you like and get paid for the referral?
I personally recommend HostGator for hosting (coupon code: GuerrillaFreelancing gets you the first month for 1 penny) and get paid every time someone signs up under my affiliate link. I recommend it because I use them for my own websites so I know they’re a good company and worth the client signing up for.
WordPress Themes
I know what you’re thinking, “aren’t there enough of these damn sites out there already?”, and you’re right – there are a lot of WordPress theme companies out there. Yes, it seems like an over saturated market but then again people say the same thing about earning money by running porn websites and we all know those will never go away.
So instead of trying to build your own full blown theme company, release your own commercial WordPress theme on your portfolio website or your own blog. By doing this, you aren’t running the risk of building a WordPress theme company that eventually has to close down.
Build your own websites
If you look at this website, Guerrilla Freelancing is a perfect example of building your own website to earn some extra cash from. I write about things I know a lot about, I teach others on a daily basis and I have a blast doing it. In return, I release guides and have advertisements on the site which earn me passive income.
So get out there, build a website surrounding a passion of yours, put some ads in place and start earning yourself some passive income. Yes, the site might take a while to build and start earning money, but once it’s grown to a respectable size, the effects snowball themselves. Pat from Smart Passive Income has a TON of great information on building niche websites that you might want to check out as well.
Software Development
Everything from WordPress plugins, iPhone apps, web apps, etc. can be turned into passive income. Do you want to build your own to-do web app or how about a project management app? If you’re not able to code out something like this, link up with a developer who knows how to code and you bring your skillset the table (designing, copywriting, etc) and join forces to earn some passive income together.
Stock Photography
This is another passive income stream that I’m working on over at the inspiiired magazine website. By taking photos of textures and releasing them I am able to build up traffic and exposure for my site. Now I’m working on actually taking stock photos to release which will grow the passive income earned from the site because every shot I upload has the potential to earn money on a regular basis.
iStockPhoto is a great place to look for ideas on what Stock Photos earn the most money. Check out their popular items section and see which items you’re able to recreate and sell on your own website. Everything from business men and women to children toys have the potential to earn you cash so don’t limit yourself to only one or two types of shots.
What are you waiting for?
If you’re reading this and you’re still not doing something at this very moment to help you earn some extra passive income, what are you waiting for? Is there something holding you back from building up some nice side business income? If so, let’s talk on Twitter and see what we can do in order to get you moving forward with at least one passive income stream this week.
