Photo credit: Monkey Business Images, Shutterstock
Can you believe it?s May already? For us parents with children at school it starts to signal that the summer is only just around the corner! For me the easiest way to juggle the children and a business is to take the summer off. I realise this isn?t the best option for everyone but hey there?s only one of me and to be honest I look forward to it. I start to plan our summer holiday in advance, organising days outs, squirreling away money for treats, even down to organising my inbox. I schedule a lot of my social media content for the 6 weeks and occasionally I do book a kids club day or two enabling me to earn some cash. However wouldn?t it be great if more of our income was earned passively?
What is Passive Income?
Passive Income for me is about creating something ONCE and selling it over and over (and over and over). Whether that be an ebook, adding links and banners to your site or creating ecourses. The options are endless but the outcome the same.
Emma Drew has an excellent introduction post to Passive Income and the various areas you can consider. Emma looks not only at business ideas but also personal so using shopping cashback sites to save money on everyday essentials. Pete from Household Money Saving has a round-up of some of the best sites to use.
What examples can I add to my business?
- Write an Ebook : Sarah from Sarke Media suggests ?Don?t just write the eBook, sell it. Today it?s very simple to put a book for sale on Kindle via Amazon.co.uk. Even if you only sell your book for 99 pence you can make a nice, steady recurring revenue stream.?
- Join Affiliate Programs : Emma Drew has a comprehensive list of affiliate programs and how each works. I use Awin and Amazon but my earnings are minimal. I think most of that is down to not doing it right, Emma?s site is full of useful hints and tips.
- Upsell : Give something away for free in order to sell other products and services. One of the easiest ways to do this is via a free webinar, whereby you give a few nuggets of information away and then promote a course, book or seminar at the end.
- Advertising : Emma from The Freelance Lifestyle gives 3 amazing examples of using your blog, podcasts and newsletters to make a but of extra money.
If you have any top tips regarding developing a passive income stream then do leave a comment below. Next months topic is using You Tube, hints and tips. Please do tweet your blog links to @CharlieMoos.
About Joanne Dewberry
Joanne is a 30 something coffee lover living in rural Dorset with her long suffering partner and three children Charlie (2007), Megan (2008) and Olive (2011). Joanne is owner, designer and creator at Charlie Moo’s specialising in handmade fabric party bags. She also writes a small business blog, is a Sage Business Expert and author of Crafting a Successful Small Business. In 2010 Joanne was named Dorset Business Mother of the Year and has numerous accolades and awards to her name. In her spare time she likes to eat and watch crime dramas sometimes at the same time!