How to make a lot of money – 15 ideas

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19 min read
How to make a lot of money – 15 ideas
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Given the unprecedented turmoil of 2020, it makes perfect sense that people are hunting for side hustle and passive income streams to raise some money and create wealth.

Whether you want to work less (or not work at all) or simply supplement your regular income with a little extra cash, your bank account will surely appreciate a little cash injection. There is no reason why you should work hard to earn more. In fact, there are many ways to generate passive income without investing much of your time or labor at all.

If you are looking for passive income ideas, you have come to the right place. This article presents a number of ways to how to make a lot of money and you will learn the biggest pros and cons of each of them.

What makes income passive? This is when you don’t have to put in too much effort to generate income. Unlike most jobs that require you to work 8 hours a day, these are profitable ideas or projects that you can just put off and forget about.

Online store

Do you want to sell products? While it may seem like a big deal, running a small to medium-sized online store doesn’t have to eat up too much of your time. While you may not be able to accurately describe passive income as you will need to maintain your website and inventory, investing in a scalable online store is a great way to make money online.

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By the way, if you want to open an online store, make sure you use a trusted platform to set it up.

Pros of an online store:

  • Sell anything. Whichever range you choose, there is likely to be a niche for you.
  • Direct income. This is one of the passive income ideas where money comes directly to you for every product sold.
  • Scalable. From pocket money to thousands of dollars, an online store can bring in cash in the short and long term.

Cons of an online store:

  • Current work. This is not one of the best passive income ideas if you want to do nothing while you earn.
  • Seasonality. Depending on what you’re selling, chances are you won’t be making much at certain times of the year.
  • Expensive. Buying a product and managing an industry will eat up your passive sources of income.

Blog

A blog is the perfect way to turn your existing passion into wealth.

How to make a lot of money
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Whatever interests you or what you want to say, there will be an audience out there that will want to read about it. In the short term, a blog is a good place to share your thoughts and ideas about most things, but over time, the attention and traffic you manage to get to your blog can be a way to generate additional income.

Whether you’re running ads, adding affiliate links, or connecting an online store, your blog can generate passive income in a variety of ways.

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Pros of running a monetized blog:

  • Cover any topic. No matter what interests you, a blog is the place to turn your dream topic into cash flow.
  • Generate constant traffic. Once your blog is up and running and you have a reliable source of traffic that is easy to maintain.
  • Independence. You don’t need to partner with someone else to start your blog. This is one of the passive income streams that you can completely control yourself.

Cons of monetized blogging:

  • Indirect income. The blog itself is not a source of passive income, it needs to be monetized.
  • Current work. Unlike other passive income ideas, a blog requires regular updates and maintenance to keep making money.
  • Competition. Most blogs struggle to make money in an already competitive market.

Online course

This strategy is for knowledgeable people who want to turn their mind into wealth. Unlike taking online classes or traditional learning, pre-recorded online courses only need to be taken once and then purchased and made available to students whenever they want to see what you have to offer.

Anything from beginner piano to aerospace engineering can be taught online, so no matter your experience, there is money to be made. Your skills are the product.

Pros of creating an online course:

  • Wide audience. Online courses are a great way to make money, no matter what skills you want to share.
  • Low investment. You can create an online course basically for free from home.
  • High profile. If you want to have a public image, an online course is a passive income that will allow you to become a famous person.
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Cons of creating an online course:

  • Initial investment of time. Before you start earning passive income, you will need to work on building an online course in the short term.
  • Knowledge and specialization required. To make money with an online course, you must be able to offer real-world experience.
  • Depends on platforms. Most online courses are hosted on third party platforms.

Sell digital products

In addition to selling a physical product through an online store, you can also choose to sell digital downloads.

How to make a lot of money
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These are usually some kind of media that people want to use on their phones or computers.

Most types of creative digital projects can be sold as digital downloads, including but not limited to:

  • e-books
  • Software
  • music and audio
  • graphics and digital art
  • Photos
  • PDF files
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The sales concept works the same as with any product sold online, but instead of receiving shipping information, you provide your customers with a link to download the product they want.

Pros of selling digital products:

  • Unlimited downloads. There are no limits on the number of people who can purchase and download your products.
  • No inventory. You don’t need to manage inventory or ship to your customer.
  • Continuously scalable. You can always increase your income more from the same products.

Cons of selling digital products:

  • Initial investment of time. Developing a digital product for download means investing a fair amount of time and possibly money into the project.
  • Risk of copying. The likelihood that someone will steal your idea to make money from your creation is extremely high.
  • Market niche. Many digital products are only of interest to a limited audience, making them difficult to sell on a large scale.

Affiliate Marketing

You’ve probably heard of affiliate marketing before, but did you know that it’s one of the most popular (and lucrative) passive income ideas out there? Affiliate marketing involves you (the publisher) sending traffic to third-party companies (the advertiser) and pocketing a share of the revenue they receive from sales. Whether you have a blog, podcast, YouTube channel, or just a mailing list, all you need to get paid through affiliates is some relevant traffic.

Companies in most industries run affiliate programs, so you can pretty much pick the niche that you think promises the most wealth. This idea is perfect for those who really want to remain passive.

Perks of affiliate marketing:

  • High yield. Successful affiliate marketers can make millions every year.
  • A passive income stream. This is one of the cleanest sources of passive income that allows you to earn money while you sleep.
  • B2B revenue. Companies pay you, which means you don’t have to deal with clients yourself.
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Cons of affiliate marketing:

  • Competition. Since it is one of the easiest passive income ideas, affiliate marketing is a super competitive industry.
  • Dependent. You rely on third party affiliate companies to make money: Affiliate marketing is not direct income.
  • Revenue share only. Remember that you will only receive a small percentage of your partners’ income.

High Yield Savings Account

High yield accounts are a form of savings bank account that are federally insured and offer interest rates much higher than the average bank accounts.

How to make a lot of money
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While a regular account can currently earn you around 7% per annum of the amount you have in your bank, a high yield account can be as high as 12% per annum.

This is an ideal form of passive income if you already have start-up capital and don’t have any other serious ideas about what to do with it at the moment. Over time, high-yield accounts provide a reliable form of income.

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Pros of a high-yielding savings account:

  • Reliable income. Because these savings accounts are federally guaranteed, they are one of the safest places to keep your money.
  • Long-term savings. This is a great option if you’re hoping to save money over a long period of time.
  • No work. Since this style of savings only requires you to deposit some money into a savings account, it is one of the most passive forms of income.

Cons of a high-yielding savings account:

  • No huge payoff. With an average interest rate of around 1.5% per annum, this form of savings only pays off if you have a lot of capital to start with.
  • No short-term benefits. You will probably have to wait a few years with your money in the bank before you start seeing a decent return on your investment.
  • Links capital. While your money is being invested in a high yield account, you will either not be able to access it or face penalties for dipping into the Fund.

Index stocks

As you know, the most successful investor of all time, Warren Buffett, recommended becoming an investor in index stocks in order to secure passive income in the stock market.

An index fund is a form of mutual fund that holds shares of all securities within a particular index. This means that the performance of the fund, and therefore the money you invest, follows the performance of the index as a whole. As a passive income, investing in index stocks is similar to accumulating funds in a high-yield account, but with slightly more potential risk and reward.

Pros of index stocks:

  • Low fees. The fees associated with the purchase and processing of index shares on an investment platform are generally significantly lower than with other types of shares.
  • Low tax. Generally speaking, index stocks generate less taxable income than similar stocks that pay dividends.
  • Low risk. These are highly diversified stocks, making them an excellent low-risk investment choice.
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Cons of index stocks:

  • Bound to an index. Since the performance of the money you invest is index-linked, you will enjoy the highs of the stock market but have to suffer the lows.
  • Management fee. To avoid the whims of the markets, it is wise to have a fund manager who actively manages your money, which will accumulate fees.
  • Profits are averaged. Since your stocks are diversified across the entire market, you risk being limited to low-performing securities.

Property

Real estate may sound like a type of investment reserved for the wealthy, but with the help of real estate investment trusts, anyone can get an equity stake.

How to make a lot of money
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A real estate investment fund is an organization that owns and manages real estate, but allows investors of any size to invest in real estate and earn dividends.

This means that you don’t have to buy the property right away or even think about managing it. You just need to invest the amount you feel comfortable with and enjoy passive income according to the size of your investment.

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Pros of investing in real estate:

  • No need to buy. You don’t need to invest all your money in buying real estate to earn passive income.
  • Properties managed for you. You can invest and forget while the Trust manages the property you have invested in.
  • Relatively high returns. Considering the risk you take on, this form of investment is relatively profitable.

Cons of investing in real estate:

  • No control. If the Trust manages the property on your behalf, you won’t get much influence on how it is managed.
  • An unpredictable market. Because many trusts invest in vacations or short-term rentals, there is certainly market risk involved.
  • Scaling slowly. Since you are tied to specific properties, it is difficult to quickly scale this kind of investment.

Sell used items on social media

Sure, social media platforms are great for judging old school friends and finding out what your weird uncle’s current complaint is, but they’re also a money-making opportunity. Whether social media platforms have an official market (for your information, sites like Facebook and Instagram), there are still plenty of people willing to part with money for second-hand deals.

If you just want to earn a few dollars, you can rummage through your closet to see what you don’t need anymore that someone else can buy. However, there are many users who make good money by buying used items and reselling them for a profit. Whatever approach you choose, it can be a real money maker.

Pros of selling used items on social media:

  • Quick start. As long as you have something to sell that someone would be interested in buying, you can start earning passive income instantly.
  • Sell anything. As long as it’s legal and someone buys the item, you can sell whatever you like on social media.
  • (Usually) not taxed. If you’re just selling personal items, you probably don’t need to pay tax on that income.
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Cons of selling used items on social media:

  • Permanent work. Buying and selling on social media requires some work, so you won’t be making money while you sleep.
  • Low yield. If you can’t buy ultra low and sell ultra high, you will make modest profits with this passive income stream.
  • Risky. If no one is interested in the goods you bought to sell, you will probably lose capital.

Launch a YouTube channel

Do you want to become famous? Have a passion for something? With YouTube, you can go out into the world doing more and more.

How to make a lot of money
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Whether you have a new content idea, something to say, ideas to share, or just some fun videos to upload, you can get into the spirit of making money with the platform.

Successful creators can earn money from ads that play on their videos, as well as from sponsorships, affiliate ads, selling their own products, and more. If you can turn your YouTube channel into an influencer in your niche, you can make real money and benefit from brand freebies.

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Pros of starting a YouTube channel:

  • Low investment. Opening a YouTube account is free and you can record decent footage on most modern smartphones.
  • High profile. If you want to have a public profile, posting your face on YouTube is a great place to start.
  • Huge potential payoff. Top YouTubers earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a month for their content.

Cons of starting a YouTube channel:

  • High competition. With millions of people uploading content to YouTube every day, it’s hard for YouTube to hear you in all the noise.
  • But that’s a completely different matter. All YouTube channel related revenue streams are platform dependent.

Start a podcast

Like YouTube, podcasts are the perfect money making project for people who have something to say and are passionate about a topic. Podcasting has skyrocketed in popularity over the last 5 years, with millions of people around the world listening to everything from news and political analysis to true crime stories and reality shows. The wide range of topics covered by the podcasts makes it easy to find an audience in any niche you want to fill.

Podcasting has another similarity to YouTube in that it is not a direct source of income, but requires you to monetize. This leaves the door open for you to open up multiple streams of income from the back of the same podcast, maximizing the money you make.

Pros of starting a podcast:

  • Low investment. As long as you can afford a laptop and some basic recording equipment, you can start earning passive income from a podcast.
  • Only basic skills are required. Although you will get better with time, you can start working and earn money podcasting with a little skill.
  • It can be fun. Of all the passive income ideas on this list, this one probably has the highest potential for fun.
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Cons of starting a podcast:

  • High competition. There are tens of thousands of podcasts out there, making it hard to break through and generate passive income.
  • We need a good angle. To get started on a podcast, you need a really good idea to grab attention.
  • Indirect income. Since your income will most likely come from ads or subscriptions, this is a less direct way to make money as a side hustle.

Advertising on a car

Do you have a car? Great, you can turn this into passive income. Automotive advertising assumes that an advertisement for a specific company is printed on your car. When you drive around the city, people will see ads.

How to make a lot of money
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Working with companies like Carvertise of Wrapify, you can get just about any car wrapped in ads, as long as you have a clean license. This is an unconventional and low-volume way of advertising that can put an extra amount of money in your pocket.

Pros of car advertising:

  • Compensate for the cost of driving. Cars tend to cost a lot, so they become a way to bring in cash instead.
  • Choose advertisers. Unlike a lot of online advertising, you have the option to choose between advertisers.
  • Earn money offline. If you are looking for a way to generate some passive income without turning to the internet, this is an easy solution.
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Cons of car advertising:

  • If you don’t feel comfortable driving with ads on your car, don’t invest in it.
  • Not scalable. Unless you plan to drive more than one car at a time, you are limited to only one vehicle.
  • Not a huge income. You can expect an average of around $100 per month for driving with ads on your car.

Rent on Airbnb

Is there a free room? Renting properties in the best locations can make a ton of money every night, which means that even if you only have one room available and only rent it out for a few nights a month, you can still make a decent income from the platform.

The great thing about renting your free Airbnb space is that you can decide when you’re ready to host people and when you’re not. You can even just rent out your house when you go on vacation, meaning you can cover some of the cost of your own vacation from someone else.

Pros of renting on Airbnb:

  • Monetize existing space. With Airbnb, you can start making money as passive income from a spare room that would otherwise be empty.
  • Not necessarily taxable. In most cases, you don’t have to pay taxes on Airbnb income, just a service fee.
  • No experience. Thus, anyone can earn money on rental property without resorting to special skills.
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Cons of renting on Airbnb:

  • Share your space. You let strangers into your space, which can be your home.
  • Persistent content. You need to keep the space you rent out clean and in good condition.
  • Regional laws. Many places where Airbnb challenges the local travel trade have rules that target tenants.

Storage space for rent

If your home or apartment doesn’t have enough space to store all your belongings, you can ask a self-service provider for extra space. Rent is usually lower than residential space and you can come and go as you please.

How to make a lot of money
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The self-storage industry is currently worth an astounding $38 billion a year, and while you might think big companies are blocking unit ownership, an impressive 73% of all self-storage units are owned by individuals or small businesses. Buying shares or subleasing them can be a great cash flow for generating passive income.

Pros of renting storage space:

  • Generally people can access their units without your help, all you have to worry about is general maintenance making it a reasonable passive income.
  • High yield. This is a billion dollar industry that can make a lot of money if you position yourself correctly.
  • Reliable income. Because people tend to rent storage space for the long term, it’s pretty easy to predict your income from month to month.
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Cons of renting storage space:

  • Infrastructure. Unlike the online passive income offerings on this list, storage rentals are location-specific and require a decent amount of infrastructure.
  • Slow scaling. As passive income ideas go, these rentals are relatively difficult to scale at speed as they are location based and require a significant amount of capital.
  • Insurance. It is likely that insurance will be a major issue and cost as an operator of a self-storage device or facility.

Create an application

Do you have a digital solution to an everyday problem? Maybe you’ve come up with a great new way to connect with people? Or maybe you just know a great game that other people will want to play? If any of the above sounds like you, it might be time to create an app.

While this idea definitely takes more time, experience, and investment than others on this list, it also has the highest potential to make you a millionaire. There are many different ways to monetize your app, from simply running ads to getting users to buy subscriptions. Whichever path you choose, it can quickly generate impressive passive income. Unfortunately, if you don’t know how to code, you will probably just have to live with it and have someone else build your idea for you.

Pros of creating an app:

  • High potential returns. With successful apps garnering millions of downloads, the earning potential is very high.
  • Multiple income structures. Whether you prefer subscriptions, ads, or in-app purchases is entirely up to you.
  • The ability to update. Once your app is up and running, you can update it whenever you need to.
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Cons of building an app:

  • High initial investment. Building apps takes a lot of time and money before you start making money.
  • Skills required. In order to write a program, you either need to have, or learn, or hire the necessary skills and knowledge.
  • Required updates. To stay up to date, you will probably need to update your app regularly.

So, now you know more than ten ways to make a lot of money. Which way to choose is up to you. But in general, these ideas are the best and they are sure to help you if you are in a difficult financial situation.

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