How to make passive income online? What does it mean to create passive income online? It means you earn money while you are not at work, but enjoy a holiday paradise in an exotic country. Sounds fun, right?

It is not just about generating passive income via the internet, is becoming increasingly popular online and offline. But how do you obtain such a form of income?

When asked, “how do you earn extra money?” most people answer with “find a side job or work more hours.”

Regardless of the time aspect, it is, of course, much better to work smarter instead of working more. It is best to find a method that will allow you to make money with little time and investment.

In other words, build a passive income!

18 Easy Ways To Generate Passive Income Online in 2021 - passive income is financial freedom

In this article, we’ll show you 18 ways how you can achieve this and start to create passive income online without much effort. I am sure you will find at least one method that will suit you. You will learn how to make money in 2022, how to make passive income online, and share some passive income ideas in 2022.

Are you curious? Let’s dive right in!

Earn Passive Income Over the Internet With These 18 Easy Ways

If you want to make money in 2022, we have a few great passive income ideas for you. Below is a list of 18 ways to make money online, passively and easily. Despite the great variety, you probably already heard about some of them before. Go through them all and choose the methods that are best for you.

Are you ready to earn passive income online?

Start making YouTube videos.

Making videos for YouTube is a fast-growing sport. Nowadays, you can film from anywhere with high-quality cameras even on your phone. And the videos you make can really be about anything. Think of makeup, sports, crypto, and someone’s daily life (vlogging or keeping an internet diary).

The possibilities are endless!

1 - Start making YouTube videos to generate passive income
Photo by Terje Sollie

You will spend a lot of time making videos, especially when they are still subject to editing. When finished, however, they can create passive income online for a long time. You will earn with “Google Adsense” ads that are displayed on your videos.

Who can teach you better to become a super YouTube, than PewDiePie with his 100M subscribers?

You get paid every time someone looks at or clicks on this ad. The price per view is low, we are not talking about crazy money here, but if you have many views, it is becoming a bigger stream of income, especially when you create content daily.

Big Youtube stars, whose videos get hundreds of thousands of views every day, are making a full-time income just from Youtube.

Create a website for affiliate marketing. 

Another very interesting way, especially for people with an existing blog or website: is affiliate marketing. You can use this to place links on your blog that promote products. For example, you will receive a fixed amount or percentage of the sale for every order placed via your link. Do you have many visitors who are interested in certain products or services? Then you can certainly build a nice passive income with affiliate marketing!

Read also our popular blog post:

how much can you earn with affiliate marketing

There are numerous platforms where you can find companies that do affiliate marketing. They want to sell something, preferably through as many channels as possible. If your website has enough visitors, those companies are eager to do business with you. However, you can also start a very targeted micro niche website that will generate revenue with even smaller traffic.

The best way is to create a website or blog is to choose a topic you are passionate about, and promote products or services that are relevant to this niche. That increases your conversion rates! Read more about performance marketing software.

Sell ​​your photos on the internet.

Do you like photography? If so, you may be able to generate a nice source of passive income with your photos. You can post photos taken on so-called stock photo websites, such as Shutterstock or iStockphoto. This way, you will receive a fixed amount or percentage for every customer who buys your photos through that website.

If you make a nice portfolio, you can earn a great deal of money through it. Posting your photos is not difficult. The complete process is fully automatic. And the great thing is… every photo you take can be sold again and again and generate compound revenue. Ideal, right?

18 Easy Ways To Create Passive Income Online in 2021

Keep in mind that your photos have to be really good and high quality. It is smart to look at what is already in high demand. So make them slightly with a commercial slant; this works best 9 times out of 10!

Write an e-book

Writing an e-book seems like a lot of work at first… and it is! But once completed, it can be a fruitful source of income. Your book can be sold via your own website, but also, e.g., via Amazon or ClickBank. This way, you reach a broad audience in one go, but make sure that your e-book is worth reading.

generate passive income online by writing an ebook - photo of person s hand holding ipad
Photo by Lisa Fotios

You can write about anything, but you must know a lot about the subject. Give the reader a lot of useful information, use the right words, make it exciting and easy to read. Have you ever run into a problem that no one is writing about yet? Then you might have a gold mine in your hands.

Even with 1 good book, you can earn a nice passive income for a long time… because the sales could be unlimited!

Sell your own products.

Creating your own products can be considered a very broad topic, where you can sell just about anything. You can make your own products or have them produced cheaply in countries such as China.

You will have to build your own website for this, where customers can order the products. Another way is to place products on Amazon, which increases the chance of even more sales.

18 Easy Ways To Create Passive Income Online in 2022 - create passive income online
Marie Leslie selling her own products online

Always make sure that you have your own website anyway.

When you sell your own products, you have higher profit margins, more freedom, possibly more market dominance, and many sales opportunities. This way, you can quickly make more sales via large platforms (such as Amazon). They can even arrange the complete handling of your orders, leaving you more time for marketing and creativity.

Regardless of the time you put in, this is a great source of passive income!

Adopt a blog that already exists

Are you able to get an existing blog for a good price? Then you can also earn a very nice passive income with this blog. Blogs are being created all the time, but not all of these blogs are used to their full potential.

So make smart use of this idea.

You can do this with Google Adsense and affiliate marketing. Blogs with a lot of authority and monthly traffic are ideal for this. In financial terms, you should keep about 24 times the monthly income of the blog’s price. If the income is $300 per month (preferably consistent for several years), then you have a price of $7200. It is, of course, better if you can manage for less.

Pay attention to whether it is really a nice blog, or whether the owner wants to get rid of it for another reason. Savvy affiliate marketers make $10k from their websites, so there is definitely some room for making money!

Start an e-shop

Starting an e-shop is also a good idea, where your own products are not necessarily required. Starting an e-shop in a niche where your passion lies – makes it more fun and profitable. You can start small… and when everything goes well, expand your range with more related products.

m-commerce

You have to do a lot of work for it, but you will generate more and more passive income.

However, don’t want to be occupied with your eshop, all the time? Then you can automate a number of processes. For example, you can opt for dropshipping, where products go directly from the manufacturer or wholesaler to your customers. You can also place the storage of products at Amazon or ShareASale and have the complete fulfillment arranged by these parties. This saves you time, and you also get a lot of “exposure” for your products.

Plenty of features that may take some time in the beginning, will create passive income online later on autopilot!

Be a referring resource.

Any small (start-up) business can use referrals, which lead to more sales. Make a list of companies that you regularly turn to and that you can recommend to others. Then, ask them if they give you some sort of commission when customers come to those companies through you. It can lead to a nice side-stream of earnings.

You can even create a website for this with recommendations or quotations (something like a portal). Also, use social media and other online ways to increase exposure. When you approach it a little smarter, your earnings can suddenly add up.

It is, of course, important that you do not spend too much time on it. But it quite easily causes a snowball effect. In this way, you also build up real passive income, and you can do other interesting things while the money is being generated on autopilot.

Create an app

You can also start building an app. Yes, I know it’s not for everyone, but it’s not THAT hard. You have to ask yourself a number of questions.

  • What do you want your app to do?
  • How do you make the app attractive to users?
  • What problem do you solve with it?
  • How do users’ lives become simpler with your app?
  • And how are you going to market your app?

Of course, many developers want to release an app, so really stand out.

facebook application icon

It starts with a good idea, but then you also have to spend time developing it. Your app can be complex, but also super simple. Think of some games that literally don’t make sense, but have a great playtime. With the addition of advertisements, you can earn a lot of passive income with apps.

You can buy under-developed apps for a very low price, which will add up with massive use. This way, you can earn money for years with 1 made app.

If you are a beginner, ready to get started have a look at this detailed video tutorial:

Develop an online course

Everyone is an expert at something, so why not create an online course for this? It can be a great source of a passive income!

You can approach this in different ways. For example, there are websites like Udemy.com, with millions of students looking for new online courses every day. You can also post your online course on many other websites, including Thinkific, Kajabi, or Amazon, of course.

Now it is important to make an excellent online course. If you post your online course on international platforms, you will have to make it in English. The use of video lessons, checklists, small e-books for support, images, and, for example, an audio version to reinforce your content.

Also, make 3 different packages with corresponding price categories. This way, you reach every customer, so that you take full advantage of the customers’ volume and earn more.

Google Adsense

Google Adsense really is one of the simplest ways to create passive income online. You place advertisements on your website or blog and don’t have to do anything about it.

The income is generated every time when visitors click on your ads.

Although you only earn a few cents per click, it can add up when you get a lot of visitors. The percentage that clicks on it every day can thus lead from nice pocket money to a whole monthly income.

make money with google adsense - generate passive income online

So it works best when you have a website that is well visited. It can also help to take over an existing website. You can also combine Adsense very well with, for example, affiliate marketing or other revenue models. This way, you build up more and more income with one website.

What are the best spots for Google Adsense?

Pay attention to where you place the ads. The best locations for this on your website are

  • inside the content
  • in the header
  • and the sidebar’s left side

Also, make sure you use the recommended dimensions that Google uses. And use ads with images, but also with text only. According to measurements, that combination yields the most!

Donations

Placing a donation button can also lead to passive income. It may not be a constant source of income, but it can add up.

18 Easy Ways To Create Passive Income Online in 2022 - create passive income online

You work hard on your website, without perhaps getting paid. Some visitors are happy to lend you a hand. When this happens regularly, you can earn nice with it.

The best way is to post new content regularly and to be really valuable for your visitors. In this way, you build up a community bit by bit… so that people are also more inclined to make a donation.

You can use Paypal for this, for example, by making a donation button with your account (or just create it first). And then place it on your website. Most people have a Paypal account and can donate some money for free and quickly.

You can also receive donations on Youtube.

You can also receive donations on Youtube. In addition to a passive income on YouTube with your videos, it is an extra way to generate income quickly!

It often happens in live streams, where you can sometimes see the amounts increase considerably. Ok, you will have to build a large audience first. But there is a very good chance that they will give you something. Suppose you do a 1-hour live stream in which you answer questions. Then you can earn a nice extra cent with this. And your live stream can be viewed again later, where you place advertisements again. So do you regularly combine normal videos with live streams? Then you can earn money in 2 ways.

With donations, it is, of course, true that you get them. It is nice when your subscribers make a donation. This gives you extra for all your efforts.

Selling advertising space

18 Easy Ways To Create Passive Income Online in 2022 - create passive income online

Do you have a website or blog with many visitors? Then you can also make advertising space available for companies that want to advertise on your website. For example, you can place a banner in the header for a fixed amount per month. With a few banners, you earn a lot of money.

Create manuals

Are you looking for additional ways in which you can earn passive income? Then writing manuals might be your cup of tea.

You can create very extensive manuals for the most specific topics. A manual helps people to achieve a certain goal step by step. Usually, this is accompanied by a small fee.

Another way is to offer the manual for free, using a different revenue model. Think of Google Adsense, affiliate links, subscriptions, or other things.

It’s a smart way to make extra money!

Invest in real estate through crowdfunding

Invest in real estate through crowdfunding

Investing in real estate is a very profitable way to create passive income on the internet. However, buying a house or apartment is not really cheap. You will therefore need to have equity capital or borrow it from the bank.

But there are also ways to do it differently. For example, you can invest in real estate through crowdfunding. You don’t have to put in a large amount right away, and you can start with a few hundred euros.

For example, if you look at the Fundrise.com website, you will see that around 8.7 to 12.4% interest can be earned with this. You do not have a guarantee for a fixed percentage, but you will earn extra money anyway.

Investing in stocks

Buying stocks can also create passive income online for you for a long time. In many cases, you buy shares, and you also claim a part of the profit (dividend) every 3 months. Are you going to buy shares? Then do this from companies that are reliable and likely to make more and more profit.

blue and yellow graph on stock market monitor
Photo by energepic.com on Pexels.com

You can also learn more about how stock markets work. That way, you will be better able to buy stocks at a low point. Certainly, there is not always something wrong with the company for the larger companies when shares are low. If the shares then go up again, you can take advantage of the increases.

Depending on how much you invest, you can earn a nice passive income for a longer period of time!

Borrowing peer-to-peer (P2P)

It’s probably not your first idea to create passive income online. But it can be profitable to borrow peer-to-peer. You receive interest on money that you lend to others.

Borrowing peer-to-peer

Some people are not eligible to borrow through traditional financial services providers. However, some platforms lend it to that

makes people possible. You can register yourself, and that way, lend money to others. This does not even have to be very large amounts.

You will then receive interest on the borrowed money.

In most cases, it will earn you some extra money, but also carefully consider the risks. There are different categories, namely low risk, medium risk, and high risk. They indicate the risk of guaranteeing the loan. So pay attention to this!

Make money with things you already do

You can earn money with things you already do. This includes reading emails, shopping online, and searching the internet.

Of course, it does not bring in much, compared to the other ways mentioned. But it is a method to earn something extra, for which you do not have to do anything extra.

However, we recommend going other ways.

What are the best ways to create passive income online?

There are many ways to create passive income.

Our advice is to focus on the serious ways with which you really build an online business. They do take you some time in the beginning. But you will earn (a lot of) money online quickly and for a longer period of time!

You will always have to do something for it, but when everything is running… you will be very happy with the results achieved.

Do you also want to create passive income online?

We’ve shown you many different ways you can make money online without having to do too much time for it, leaving you a lot of time for other fun or interesting things. Continuous passive income 2020 trends are constantly changing, but you can always find something that suits you.

The list is as complete as possible so that you can choose a way that suits you best. That way, there is something for everyone!

How to make money in 2021?

If you want to make money in 2021 nothing has changed much since 2020, however, it is safe to say that after the coronavirus pandemic more and money people are turning to affiliate marketing and online income opportunities.

How to make money online in 2021?

Making money online in 2021 is easier than ever before since most people are turning to digital advertising, earning money from top referral programs, affiliate marketing, and blogging.

Passive income websites for sale?

If you are looking for passive income websites for sale, it’s best to check places like Namecheap marketplace or Flippa, where people are selling established websites, which already generate passive income.

How to earn continuous passive income 2020?

The only way to make continuous passive income in 2020 is to establish a micro niche business and build authority in your niche. You can make money from affiliate marketing, selling advertising space, or even through programmatic ads.

Is it possible to make money online 2021?

Sure! The only problem with making money online in 2021 is that the competition is enormous and it may look like some affiliate marketing niches became oversaturated. However, you can overcome this by targeting your efforts at a micro niche website.

What are the best ways to make money 2021?

The best ways to make money in 2021 are still promoting affiliate marketing products through trusted are reputable affiliate networks, selling advertising space, freelancing or starting your digital business.

Passive income ideas 2021

If you are looking for passive income ideas in 2021, check out our post about this topic:
Best Affiliate Micro Niche Ideas for 2021
The Ultimate 100 Profitable Affiliate Marketing Niches for 2021
How To Start A Micro Niche Affiliate Website?


Is it possible to make a digital advertising service residual income?

If you are running a digital advertising service, it’s possible to make residual income from the advertising alone, however you will still need to be actively engaged in your business, closing deals, getting new clients, sending payments. The income is absolutely passive though and can make a nice side hustle.

Last Updated on November 28, 2023

Author

Elizabeth is a Senior Content Manager at Scaleo. Currently enjoying the life in Prague and sharing professional affiliate marketing tips. She's been in the online marketing business since 2006 and gladly shares all her insights and ideas on this blog.