Who doesn’t want a little more cash flow into their business? Creating passive income is a great way to diversify your cash flow and supplement your income during the slow months. Plus, if you’re a service provider, you’ve got tons of options!
Here are four ideas for service providers who want to create passive income in their businesses.
What Is Passive Income?
Passive income refers to any income source that doesn’t require your constant attention. Basically, they’re sources of income that you put work into at the front end and see the return from over time. You’re not working one-on-one with anyone or receiving a paycheck from an employer.
Passive income isn’t a get-rich-quick scheme, though. It takes a lot of work up front, and then it provides a slow, steady stream of income over time. That way, you’re still making a bit of money during slow months or time off from your primary offers.
4 Ideas for Creating a Passive Income Stream As a Service Provider
These are the biggest (and hardest) lessons I learned from tripling my revenue.
1. Turn your expertise into a course.
This might be the most lucrative option for most service providers, but it also requires the most effort on the front end. Take whatever knowledge you share with your clients–on copywriting, coaching, designing, whatever–and turn it into a self-paced course.
I created my first course last year, and it taught me a lot about creating passive income. Some tips:
Don’t try to cover everything. Pick one aspect of what you do, and teach that in your course. It’s taken you years to get great at what you do. No one’s going to learn it all in one self-paced course.
Marketing, marketing, marketing. Creating the course is only half of the work. Focus your energy on marketing it, and watch the momentum build over time.
Don’t give up! Your first launch isn’t always an indicator of your course’s value. Give it a few more tries, and make tweaks to your marketing as you go.
When in doubt, seek support! There are tons of contractors out there who specialize in helping knowledgeable but busy business owners turn their expertise into profitable courses.
2. Amp up your blogs with affiliate marketing.
If you’re already blogging, why not amp things up a bit? With affiliate marketing, you can add links to your posts, and you’ll receive a small commission every time someone clicks the link and purchases the featured item. Think of all those Buzzfeed product lists or TikTok hauls. Yep, that’s affiliate marketing!
A word of warning, though: Don’t become one of those bloggers who recommends anything and everything. Choose products you’d actually use and that relate to the nice you write in. That’s how you build trust with your readers and create a brand for yourself.
3. Create templates for the DIY crowd.
If you’re an online service provider, it just makes sense to sell digital products!
If you’re a copywriter or content creator, write templates for social captions, emails, or sales pages. Your clients can then plug their information into them and use them in their own marketing.
If you’re a graphic designer, why not sell graphic templates? There’s a huge market for Canva templates to use on Instagram, Facebook, and even ebooks.
If you’re a website designer, consider designing website templates. Most hosting platforms like Wordpress, Showit, and Squarespace make it possible to create and share layouts with buyers.
If you’re a business or career coach, you can create templates for resumes, scripts for sales calls, and even DM sales templates.
If you don’t fall into these categories, no worries! Take some time to brainstorm possible templates that could either benefit your current clients or help you reach a new audience.
4. Become an affiliate for the programs you recommend.
Do you have a software or program you’re constantly plugging on Instagram stories? An app you tell all your clients to download? If so, you could be making money from it!
Tons of apps in the online business space–like Canva, Honeybook, and even Loom–have affiliate programs. Through them, you’re given a special link, and you receive a commission on any purchases made through that link. It’s a small payout, but every little bit helps!
Also, reach out to your online business community about becoming an affiliate for their courses and programs. It’s a great way to collaborate with your business pals and make a little extra cash while you do it.
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