A Passive Income Stream for Every Creative

One of the best things about passive income is the number of possibilities. I believe there is a passive income opportunity for everyone out there no matter your creative skillset. In this post, I mention several I’ve explored and talked about before, but don’t be afraid to stray from this list to find a side hustle that works for you!

AFFILIATE MARKETING

Affiliate programs work especially well with digital products (as opposed to physical products). It typically doesn’t cost the creator any more to sell a digital product and they can give the affiliate marketer a higher percentage of the sale. Make a list of all the programs, products, and courses, you’re obsessed with and can’t live without. Some examples for me include Honeybook, Canva, and Creative Market. It’s important that you actually care about these things and would be excited about sharing them with your audience. Once you’ve compiled your list of favorites, head over to their website to look around. Once you have an account they may offer a referral program with a unique link or code for you to share with your family and friends. If you don’t see anything on their website simply google:  “x (brand)” affiliate program. You may find that the company you’re looking for uses a third-party platform like Awin or Refersion. Once you’re an affiliate, start sharing! 

PRINTABLE PDFS

The possibilities are endless with printable PDFs! A printable PDF can be just about anything from art, to invitations, to project instructions. Once it’s created and in your shop, it’s ready to be purchased and downloaded instantly by an unlimited amount of consumers. The best part? Aside from fielding a few questions here and there from customers, all effort and time spent on your product is done prior to the sale. Although having a digital product on Etsy may not generate a full income, it can be a pretty amazing side hustle. Typically, shop owners with digital products on Etsy make anywhere from $500-$1000 a month. Not too shabby for income that’s almost entirely passive! Check out this post for more tips on how to create and sell printable PDFs

STOCK ILLUSTRATION

If you have unused work that you either created for yourself or for a client, you can still get some use out of them! Each illustration must be reviewed and accepted, just like with stock photography, so make sure everything you upload is your best work. Use the steps below as a guide to make sure you’re submitting your best work in the best technical way possible.

1. Decide if you’ll upload and sell Raster images (JPEGS) or Vector images

2. Think commercially and put yourself in your customer’s shoes

3. Get inspired by visual trends on Instagram and Pinterest

4. Consider using Procreate to create your illustrations

5. Find relevant keywords

6. Get necessary model releases or property releases

7. Create a tidy, well-organized file for submission

   1. Avoid using text

   2. All of your lines should be strokes

   3. Patterns need to be seamless

   4. Avoid auto-tracing as much as possible

   5. Use correct artboard size

   6. Organize all your layers. Make sure that each one is unlocked and labeled really well

   7. Check to make sure all your filled shape paths are closed

   8. Make sure all your pattern’s fills are expanded

   9. Make sure you’re using text very minimally. Create outlines for text that you are legally able to include.

   10. Make sure there aren’t any pixel-based images embedded in your file

   11. Save your file in an older version of Adobe Illustrator, as an .AI or .EPS file and make sure it is no larger than 45 megabytes

CREATIVE MARKET

Have you heard of Creative Market? It’s a slightly addictive resource for anyone who needs ready-to-use design assets. I was recently accepted to open a shop and sell my photos on their site. A great way to sell photos on Creative Market is by creating bundles or collections of photos with a specific theme. On CM it’s also extremely important how you brand and present your images. Compared to Etsy, CM is much more selective about who can set up a shop on their site. I had to fill out an application which took about a month to be approved. If you are accepted this can be another excellent source of passive income. 

STOCK VIDEO

With stock video, you may be looking at an extra time commitment, but the payouts could be worth it. Plus, with Instagram and google favoring video over still photos, businesses will be looking to buy video clips for their marketing. Most cameras can shoot HD, so if you’re a photographer, it would really only take a few tweaks to your workflow to integrate video into your process and add another income stream. And if you’re a videographer or filmmaker you’re in luck, because you’re probably sitting on a goldmine of content already! Consider submitting via Black Box or Wirestock. These agencies allow you to submit to multiple agencies at once.

If the world of stock video, photography or illustration really interest you, check out my Stock Photography Academy for in-depth actionable tips to get you selling fast.

So there you have it! The opportunities for passive income are endless. Do any of these ideas pique your interest? Could you see yourself setting up at least one? I hope that you feel empowered to use the talents and resources you currently have to set up a passive income stream today!

Ready to start making a passive income, but need a little more guidance to help you reach your goals?  Sign up for my coaching program and I’ll be there to guide you every step of the way!