A look at how to earn passive income (and the added benefits it brings)
Can you really make money online if you only sell expensive products and services right now?
Let's talk about passive income and how you can create passive income no matter what your business does or how much you charge.
Passive income, like sales funnels, is no doubt a term you will have heard of. And just like the latter, the idea of passive income isn't new.
Authors, songwriters, and musicians are well-known examples of professions where passive income can be made long after they've put the initial work into creating their products. Write a best-selling novel or a catchy song, and you could be making money for years to come.
If you've heard people talking about ‘making money while they sleep‘ and you're asking yourself “How can I earn a passive income?” then rest assured that after this very brief introduction, you'll be able to take the ideas you've learned to get thinking about how to create a passive income for yourself.
You'll need to think about what that money-generating idea is and how it fits into your business, as well as consider the overall goal. Do you want this to be a standalone product, or will you be bringing new customers into your sales funnel?
How to earn passive income from products
A common practice for many online businesses is to pay for advertising with the money generated from low-cost products like books.
A great way of generating passive income for your business is to create a digital product that you can sell online. You don't need to be a digital expert to do this, and you don't need to be running a company that would normally produce digital products online. There are plenty of platforms out there to assist you, and the benefits of producing a digital product can be staggering.
Have a read of our article on how to build a sales funnel quickly and easily if you need some ideas.
What is passive income? Money for doing nothing?
Sorry to disappoint you but creating a stream of passive income still involves actually working. The difference is that you do the work upfront, which is ‘active' work. Once you've created something, you can then earn money from your effort with little or no maintenance as time goes on.
“It's important to track every passive income stream and watch it like a hawk, no matter how automated it might be.” (entrepreneur.com)
Does your business need multiple streams of income?
No matter how amazing your products are or how talented you are, it's never a good idea to place all your eggs in one basket. Market changes, staff problems, your own well-being, or an unforeseen catastrophe (like the global covid-19 pandemic) all have the ability to disrupt your sales.
“Sometimes, it can only take one bad month of sales to set your company back 12 months.” (qualitycompanyformations.co.uk)
If your business relies solely on one-time purchases or project work, then it's a good idea to think of ways to add new money to your revenue.
Can you bring clients in on a retainer to add recurring revenue? Do you create content you could monetise or could you boost your profit with affiliate marketing by promoting complementary products and services to your customers?
“There is no “one size fits all” advice when it comes to generating income streams. How many sources of income you have should depend upon where you are financially, and what your financial goals for the future are. But having at least a few is a good start.” (bankrate.com)
You absolutely can create a passive stream of income no matter what business you're in. The most important thing to consider is what type of product you could create that solves one common pain point your audience has and how you can do this quickly and efficiently without spending too much money.
Stick to what you're best at and work on something that serves your own audience.
Your product doesn't have to be cheap, but keep it as low-cost as possible to make it accessible to a wider audience and to grow your own authority.
5 Huge Benefits of Creating Passive Income
1. Earn Passive Income = More Money
The most obvious benefit, and sometimes the only reason for wanting to earn a passive income is money.
Supplement your main source of income, and as time goes on, you can create multiple income streams from your various products.
Having an extra source of income can help cushion the blow of losing a client or tide you over when business is slow. That extra income can give you the breathing room you need while working on landing new clients.
2. Grow Your Influence
Growing your audience and being seen as an expert in your niche can take you to a whole new level. Books are a prime example of how entrepreneurs can build their authority in their industry.
Let's say you need some help with creating a podcast for your business. Maybe you want someone to help you with branding the show and putting everything together.
You come across two podcast marketers offering exactly what you're looking for, and you need to pick one. They both offer the same services, both seem to know what they're doing, and both have great testimonials. But one is also the author of a book on podcast marketing and offers free podcast checklists and guides on his website.
Which one would you prefer to work with? Who would give you more confidence that your podcast will be in good hands?
Social media allows you to reach your ideal customers across the world. Use your products and freebies to grow your brand and entice your new audience to learn more about you.
3. Speaking and Media Opportunities
Use products in your business and stick to a consistent marketing plan, and you'll be able to land speaking gigs, podcast interviews, and other media opportunities more easily.
Podcasters, journalists, and event organisers are always on the lookout for potential guests and speakers, and the global pandemic has caused a huge surge in the number of virtual events and remote interviews.
Having your thoughts heard in new places will raise your profile and help you to reach even more new people.
4. Build Trust, Nurture Relationships
Having a range of products and services allows you to build and nurture relationships over time, giving you the chance to sell products to people that wouldn't otherwise buy from you for several reasons. Sometimes they can't afford your products; sometimes they're just not ready to work with you. And sometimes they don't know you well enough to part with big sums of money.
By creating a sales funnel you can lead your prospects on a journey over time, warming them up with a low-risk low-cost product before nurturing the relationship over time, helping them to get to know, like, and trust you, and eventually enticing those customers to buy your more expensive products.
5. Marketing Made Easier
When you have products, you're lowering the barrier to entry when it comes to becoming a customer. Use your products in your overall marketing plan and run promotions on social media to gain more traction.
Having a product rather than a one-off service also gives you the opportunity to bring in affiliates to help you market your product and make more sales.
You can give a small part of your product away for free to entice potential customers and build your email list.
Offer a paid product as a free bonus to customers who sign up for your high-end course or consultancy package. Make your promotions interesting, and engaging to attract attention, run a challenge on Facebook or Instagram to build excitement and interest.
I hope that helped and has given you some ideas on how you can earn passive income by creating your own product.
If you want help with creating multiple products to earn a passive income from then, you can register your interest for my free workshop where I'll show you how to quickly and easily create low-cost products that you can sell time and time again. You'll find out how to create them quickly, how much you should charge, and how to create what your audience wants.
Let me know if you have any questions, and feel free to share if you found this useful.
