We’ve been looking at passive income streams lately and if you’ve missed the beginning of this series, you can look at how we unpacked the glossy myths as well as the professional advice on the legal aspects.
With all this, having had a realistic look at the market and the legal fine print you are ahead of most people starting out. You know that “passive” income isn’t quite as passive as it looks on Instagram. But that doesn’t mean it’s a fantasy either. If you hear people’s success stories (mind you, success can look different for everyone) it’s because with the right approach, you can build a steady second income stream.
What you need is a realistic approach, a goal and making sure you know how much time you can invest – especially at the beginning, on a regular basis.
How to get started
Firstly, consider your values and think about your skills. For once, unlike a CV, we are mostly looking at specific skills rather than the transferrable ones, but you could make those work, too.
Skills can range from a specialist field you’ve worked in to a hobby you are proficient at. The goal is to find knowledge that people will pay for – something that offers genuine value or solves a problem – and market it.
Dr Michael Harrison, Senior Lecturer in Economics and Finance at the University of East London says, “Digital products are a little harder than physical ones, primarily in two ways. Firstly, there is the need to make sure that the offering is unique and can’t be copied too easily. This is vital as it gives more ability to charge a price that is fair to both sides! Second, is getting the marking right, to build a customer base quickly enough for launch and financial viability, especially if a brand community is an element of the offering.
“It’s well worth a few thoughts on what a good marketing strategy needs to look like. For a service business which is growing up fast, you actually need to have a dual strategy. First, and perhaps more obviously, you need to raise short term awareness and get attention. Social media is a good way to do this. However, to obtain growth and build trust there needs to be more brand focused promotion too, rather than just product promotion. The age-old curse is that advertising is expensive, but look for low hanging fruit in the social media space, and be sure not to neglect harder tasks such as Search Engine Optimisation.”
As you consider you marketable skills, think about what your product might look like (what is it? Is it digital or physical, one time or regular?) and also who might want it (your market) and how to reach those people (your target audience and marketing strategy).
If you like creating (be it writing, photography, design or drawing) you could simply license your work online, for example. The royalties may be small, especially at the beginning, but you are in charge of what you produce and when, and with the right tags on the right websites you don’t spend much time getting your product to the customer, as the sites are well-known.
What can I sell?
If you are struggling to turn your skills into marketable products, you may just not be looking at them from the right angle.
If you have a specific skill, why not turn it into an online course? It can be a language, a hobby or any other skill you may have. As this is something you record, it doesn’t require regular attention or work for each order. Though, depending on what you are offering, you could offer an online course with a 1-2-1 follow-up to set yourself apart (and add value!).
You could also write and sell an eBook if you like writing – fiction or non-fiction can be sold on platforms such as Teachable, Gumroad and Kajabi and even on KDP, the direct publishing platform of Amazon’s Kindle.
If you are crafty, you can make physical items to sell on Etsy. In this case, the more niche the better as you can create a personality online and set yourself apart from others. Here, your biggest challenge will be making sure it’s profitable as you need to consider material cost, time and postage and packaging. Especially if you offer personalised items, you will need to invest time whenever is needed, which requires flexibility.
And if you are looking at digital products, you can start small, creating guides for example. It could be on any topic you are comfortable with, from fitness and wellness to home improvement, personal finance, parenting, or cooking. You can make small individual products to keep the cost low for the consumer. For example, don’t offer a full fitness guide, but rather make several small ones for each section of the body people like to work on. If they like one, they will come back for the others. It’s similar for different aspects of finance; you can talk about different account types, investments, insurance, etc. Additionally, you could write a guide on cooking with lesser known or exotic foods, create charts parents can use with their children – from behaviour to potty training or chores, you can use your knowledge in real estate to create a guide on how to prepare your home for viewings or taking pictures for a listing, or create packing guides for travellers. The key is always to think about how it will help someone or solve their problem!
Now it’s your turn, take a look at your skills and see what you can do!
Featured image: Kampus Production
