With 2020 being the year of economic uncertainty you might be looking at ways you can make extra money for your family. This article on the best passive income strategies is very informative. Some of them take a little bit of time to get started but afterwards you should begin to enjoy a bit more financial security.

Blogging

Blogging was one of the four suggestions in the article. Despite blogging for over eight years, I am obviously not making the most of my potential passive income. I do not have any pay-per click ads on my site. I feel like I am missing out on a valuable source of extra income there. Many of my blogger friends have monetized their sites with affiliates marketing and adsense. Although I do find pop up ads can be distracting for followers.

Depending on your page views you can sign up to Mediavine, which offers full-service ad management. I have heard more bloggers mentioning this lately. If you decide to go down that route, then it is a good idea to make sure your site speed is good. They had a section on there website with blog income reports, its interesting to see where the most successful bloggers are making their money. Have a read and feel inspired.

Although to be honest I didn’t start blogging with the attention of earning money its just a nice bonus when you do. You will want Google to index your pages so you get found in searches, generating more traffic to your site. I was very late to add my site map to the Google Search Console. Sometimes I feel like I am ten steps behind other bloggers. I do get there eventually, but I seem to take my sweet time going about it. Working on your SEO is very important. I have found it much easier to do this since I moved over to WordPress. You can read an earlier article I wrote about SEO tips when blogging which might be helpful.

Developing An App

Some app creators have done very well for themselves, usually the ones owned by large tech companies. But you could try developing an app on a smaller scale and hoping it will become a success. Take Snapchat for example, initially developed in 2011 by three Stanford University students; Evan Spiegel, Reggie Brown, and Bobby Murphy it went on to be worth an absolute fortune. Although with apps its always the next big thing and having to continually move with the times.

For example, Snapchat now has to contend with the likes of TikTok so they are now giving away lots of money to their most engaging users. So perhaps even if you don’t develop an app, you could try and do something that makes you go viral and make extra money that way. Like LadBaby who started out with a toolbox from a hardware store he repurposed into a lunchbox for his son. If you don’t have any capital to use on app development try and go down the entertaining route and watch the money flood in that way.

Develop An Online Course

Some bloggers developed online courses letting others know how to make a successful blog. They charge a set amount, and they then reveal all the strategies to gain readers and generate a sizeable income. In lockdown more people shifted to making online courses such as Lucy Gough who made an online interior styling course. She says she is set to make 20k a year through passive income. When the course is up and running, you just enjoy the money coming in.

It can get expensive hosting your online course. You need to consider sites that offer you unlimited users, because if you suddenly grow in popularity you don’t want to have a user cap limiting your potential earnings.

Producing Stock Photography

If you are already a photographer, you could consider branching out into stock photography. As a blogger I regularly use stock online libraries. But I tend to look for photos on sites like Unsplash that allow you to use photos for free. However, magazines, newspapers and big brands will have budget to spend. So even if you aren’t a photographer yet, you could invest in a camera and start to develop your skill. Just make sure you brush up your photo editing skills too, so your photos really stand out.

It’s a great source of passive income once a photo is uploaded you can make money every time it is used. Think about the sites you join, some expect exclusivity but sites like Alamy are non-exclusive, so you’re not tied in and limiting your earning potential.

Hopefully, you will have a better idea of ways to make extra money for your family now.