As far back as I can remember – I always remember me having a problem with this idea of having to work 60-odd years before you can do as you please with the little time you got left.
In this post, I am going to talk about passive income, more specifically; passive income ideas for 2021.
The passive income idea is a relatively recent term, most probably made famous by the solo-preneur’s classic read “The 4 Hour Work Week” by Tim Ferris.
As you can imagine, I got hooked to this idea that you can make money passively early on and I don’t quite remember when exactly, but I did at one some point realize you can make passive money online – this was around 2009.
Bingo.
In this post – which I’ll try to keep as short as possible even though there’s a lot to cover – I am going to share with you the best (online) passive income ideas which I think you should look into in 2021 and beyond.
There are many ways to earn a passive income – not just online – but given how my experiences have (so far) only been with online income, I’ll stick to what I know.
So – are you interested in learning how to create a passive income business or at least; a passive income stream online?
Here’s what I think will be good options in 2021 – methods that I think anybody can do, no matter how old, how rich, how poor or how dumb.
Let’s get into it.
What Is Passive Income Really?
First, let me just clear the air about what I consider passive income.
Passive income is defined as earning an income which you do not have to work for.
For example; a rental property or an investment in a company (that pays dividends) is the perfect example of passive income.
However, there’s also another form of passive income – and it’s the one which I am mostly knowledge about and that is;
Online passive income that does require some work – but it pays passively.
Let me explain:
I now run four mini niche affiliate websites that use the affiliate marketing business model that earn me a nice chunk of change online which allow me to do this full time.
Is it passive? Yes.
Do I work on it? Yes
So does that mean it’s not passive then?
Sort of.
The work that I’ve put into my online assets has happened in the past and today I just earn the income from them passively month-on-month.
(I still do work on them sometimes but it’s so little it’s basically non-existent).
This site you are reading right now – 3HUNDRD.com – is my main website, i.e; the big earner.
This takes a lot of work – I do five posts like this a week + a daily newsletter + mentorship program.
However; the money I make here happens passively as well – I can be sleeping and still be earning money.
I can be on holiday far far away from my home office and I would be making money.
So it is passive – but not the chill-on-the-beach-and-do-nothing-ever-again type of passive.
Catch my drift?
I hope so.
Now – passive income does sound too good to be true, I’ll give you that. However – it’s possible and yes; you too can start earning a passive income this year!
I’ll be telling you about the best opportunities available very soon – hang in there.
Can YOU Earn Passive Income With No Money?
Anyone – and I really do mean anyone – can earn a passive income online and the best thing about it is that it does not require you to invest heavy upfront.
You can start with a tiny $100 budget and make it work.
I don’t care how dumb you are or how “unfortunate” you think are, you can make passive income online.
Maybe not the Jeff Bezos type of passive income (that takes a certain level of skill), but something that can earn $1,000, $2,000, $10,000, $20,000 a month in income?
100% possible!
& that is achievable by just about everyone reading this who is ready to put in the work first, before enjoying the benefits of a passive income stream.
Coincidentally, I just finished reading this story from one of the students inside the Wealthy Affiliate platform that shows how she went from next to $0 to $40,000+ in 2018 alone.
My guess is that she will double that in 2021 – that is the true power of passive income – but I’ll leave you to make the assumption yourself after you read her story.
Anyways…
But can you earn passive income online?
Sure you can. Here are the best ways to go about achieving that (from my own experiences).
What Are The Best Passive Income Ideas For 2021?
Now that you know the difference between passive income and passive income (online), here are some ideas you may want to consider.
Affiliate Marketing
This is by far my absolute favourite way of making money online.
I give you a much more detailed explanation of affiliate marketing here, but in a nutshell; it basically involves selling other people’s products for a commission online.
To do this, you are going to need a niche audience, which is the hardest part to get but once you do that (which when you know what you are doing, it’s really not that hard), you are in the money.
And yes; affiliate marketing is passive income at its finest.
Build up a website that gets readers, a YouTube following that loves you (or anything that allows you to build an audience) and promote products which make sense to you.
Of course, this does not mean spamming, but you do need an audience that you can sell to over and over again.
Again; I refer you to my affiliate marketing for 2021 mini-guide or if you’re serious about this, just jump onto Wealthy Affiliate platform and get started with your free 10-day course.
Dropshipping
Another personal favourite is dropshipping and I do plan on making dropshipping a more significant portion of my earnings pie in 2021.
It basically involves outsourcing products from China and shipping them to customers in the US.
The logistics of it may sound complicated, but trust me; it’s super easy to do.
Getting it to work and keeping it running is tough though and it’s not really and truly passive since it does require consistent effort but;
It does allow you to make money at any time of the day, wherever you are, whatever you are doing.
Take a look at my dropshipping mega-guide here to get the full deets on how I built my dropshipping store to $4,000+ a month + what I plan on doing in 2021.
Sell What You Know (Online Courses)
This is big and I’ve only come to realize how incredibly powerful (and why everyone seems to be doing it) after I launched my own SEO course back in September of 2018.
As I said; no matter how dumb or smart you think you are, you know something that somebody else out there would like to know -and they are willing to pay good money for it.
This is the era of online courses and with regards to online passive income ideas for 2021, I really do think this may be the best.
Sell what you know!
But how do you do this?
Create your own course on something and then sell it.
I created my SEO course in September and it took me about a week to finish.
Every month since then, the course has been pulling in ~$600 a month without me doing any actual hands-on work.
(I answer comments and do live updates as a bonus to my students, but that’s about it).
Truth be told though; I can just completely and forever stop producing content for it and just keep driving traffic to the course page and it’ll keep making sales.
I don’t mean to make it sound simple because it isn’t, it does take work to set up and sell but once you’ve got the hang of it, this can be the easiest money you’ll ever make online.
Yes – dare I say this is right up there with affiliate marketing for me as the best way to earn passive income online.
You can check out my guide on how to create and sell your own online course here or you can see the course I created if you’re interested.
I sure as hell would be creating more info-products in the coming months and I think you should too.
Crypto Investing?
What I have discussed above are things that I know will work because I myself make money with them day in / day out.
However, when it comes to crypto and stock market investing, this is what I think will work and not what I know will work.
I’m a fan of the crypto movement, I got into it August 2017 and I’ve seen the highs and the terrifying lows we currently find ourselves in.
Still hodling btw 😉
However – and this is not financial advice – I do think we are bound to see a reversal in 2021 and seeing how we’re at the bottom (or close to it), I really do think that if you’ve ever considered getting into crypto, now would be a good time to do so.
Truth be told; crypto may just well be the easiest way to earn passive income online but of course; these are very speculative and not guaranteed to work.
However; if you can just dedicate some money to them – maybe a little bit each and every month – I think you will be well positioned for when the crypto-train takes off – which I think it will.
Stock Market Investing? Avoid!
Every article discussing “the best ways to make passive income” will all mention the stock market.
Yes, it is an excellent way to make money, but probably not in 2021.
I’m no Warren Buffet, but I do have some experience with stocks and as I see it; it’s time to get out of them.
As you probably know already; the markets are in a mood.
The only way you can make money this year (I think) is by shorting the daylights out of the major indices.
If you don’t know what I am talking about, then trust me you do not want to get into the stock market just yet.
What You Need To Know About Passive Income in 2021
As I said – the markets do seem to be primed for a major recession sometime in late 2019 / early 2021.
It’s my personal opinion that we are about to see some major shifts happen and it’s not going to be pretty.
For this reason – I want to bring to your attention to some things and that is:
- How important it is to have an extra income source.
- How important it is to make wise decisions with your finances.
The above passive income ideas I shared with you (barring crypto and the stock market) are very low risk and easy (cheap) to start.
An affiliate marketing website can be started with just $100 for example and if it doesn’t work out, it’s not the end of the world (if it does work out; you’re laughing).
A drop shipping store is a bit riskier since you need at least $1000 to really make any significant moves, but in the grand scheme of things, a $1000 should not break your bank either – if it does, don’t do it.
Selling your own course is also a cheap way to start your business – just get yourself a Teachable account (this will run you about ~$39 a month) and create your content and learn how to sell it.
What I am trying to say is to be careful what you are doing and be careful with what you are spending.
Having a passive income-producing business is excellent (and it could even save your life if the recession hits as badly as many expecting it to be).
