Passive income is the goal for many of us. After all, who doesn’t love the idea of being able to sit watching Netflix for an evening, but be earning money at the same time? Passive income is like sowing seeds, then waiting for them to flower and your personal budget to expand.

However attractive passive income is, there’s also the reality: getting there is difficult. You’re going to have to be willing to put the work in initially, to get to where you have a decent chance of sitting back and reaping the rewards. If you’ve got a good work ethic and are willing to learn new things, investigate the forms of passive income below and see if you can find something that works for you.

Write An Ebook

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You can write an ebook on any subject in the world. Maybe you’ve got a few great family recipes to share, or you know more than the average person about parakeets– the subject doesn’t particularly matter. If you can write well, offer insight and advice to the reader, then there will undoubtedly be a market for your work.

The most popular ebooks are ones that explain something, offer advice, give guidance to the reader. “How To” guides are eternally popular, so if you have a special insight to share then you could monetize this with relative ease. You can write fiction for an ebook, but the market is wildly over-saturated and is unlikely to earn the return that you want.

Here are the steps you need to take to get your ebook up for sale:

• Write the book
• Have the book edited professionally; this is an expense, but a good editor is worth every cent.
• Learn how to publish your ebook on Amazon
• Promote your ebook on your social media
• Earn money from sales.

A single ebook is unlikely to earn your fortune; the more you write, the better your earning potential. It’s worth remembering that once the book is written, the work is done, so you could be generating a passive income from your effort for literally years.

Become A Bitcoin Investor

It’s fair to say that Bitcoin is an often-misunderstood service, but it’s one you’re going to want to get to grips with: it could make you a fortune.

Earning a passive income from Bitcoin couldn’t be easier. In fact, it can be broken down into a few simple steps:

• Step One: Buy Bitcoin.

• Step Two: Sit back and wait for the Bitcoin to increase in value, which trends suggest it will.

• Step Three: Sell your Bitcoin for a profit.

… And that’s pretty much it! If you’re willing to pay for the coins initially and then monitor the price of Bitcoin on a daily basis, then you could turn a nice profit for relatively little work. This is just one of the ways you can use Bitcoin for investment purposes; browse xCoins for more ideas and inspiration on how else you can earn a passive income with the cryptocurrency.

There’s no doubt that investing in, and earning money from, Bitcoin involves a huge amount of research. The learning curve is steep, but if it’s one you’re willing to get to grips with, then this is a reliable and ever-growing way to earn some extra cash.

Sell Your Photographs Online

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If you’re a keen amateur photographer, then you will be delighted to learn that there are companies who will be more than happy to pay for your work. There are a myriad of different sites who will list your photos and share the royalties with you when your image is purchased. Most sites allow an image to be purchased multiple times, so the cash could still be rolling in years after you took the photograph.

Try Peer-To-Peer Lending

If you have some cash to invest in your quest for a passive income, then peer-to-peer lending is one of the best options for you.

Peer-to-peer lending is very much what it sounds like; you lend money to people. The transaction is usually arranged by one of the many peer-to-peer lending sites. You will then receive interest on the amount of money you loaned, and your original investment will be repaid. So if you lend $100 at 3%, you will make a $30 profit for doing little but moving money around on your computer.

Obviously, this method is not risk-free. Most peer-to-peer lending facilitators are very thorough when they vet their borrowers, but there is always a chance that any money you lend will be defaulted on. If you’re nervous, start with small amounts, then slowly build up your confidence as each transaction passes without issue. Some sites will guarantee the money you lend, but others don’t– it’s vital to read the terms and conditions in detail.

Create A Product Site

If you know how to put a website together, then a niche product site is arguably the most hands-free method of making money online. As with most passive income methods, it requires some work upfront. The process works as follows:

• Pick a high value item. Let’s say you decide you’re going to use air conditioning units.
• Write a number of reviews and product guidelines onto your site.
• URLs such as “bestaircon.com” are common for product sites; you’re creating something very niche and specific, so your URL should reflect that.
• Use good SEO tactics to drive customers who are considering buying an air conditioner to your site.
• For every air conditioner you review or write about, you should include an affiliate link to the actual product.
• Customers will read your reviews and guidance, then — hopefully — click through to buy the item in question, generating you a passive income from affiliate sales.

These sites can do quite well, so it’s worth considering if you don’t mind writing a few thousand words about a rather uninteresting (but valuable!) product.

In Conclusion

Passive income is possible, provided you’re willing to do the work beforehand. Try one of the options above and, who knows, you might be earning a tidy second income before you know it.

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