5 Ways to Make Passive Income Online That Are Actually F*cking Passive

If you’ve looked into ways to make passive income online, you may have found yourself overwhelmed by how much it requires to work.

Most so-called passive income streams taught online are anything but passive.💥

Especially when you’re juggling a 9–5, a creative business, or a side-hustle you’re trying to grow without burning out.

What I'm going to zero in on here is different...

This is income you set up once, and that continues to pay you for years.

The kind that makes sales while you’re asleep, on holiday, or deep in your next creative obsession.

I know this works because every method I’m about to share is something I’ve personally built, and each one has generated money long after the initial setup was finished.

This is for you if you’re craving real financial breathing room and more control over your time.

Whether that means funding your alternative lifestyle, reducing your reliance on client work, or simply proving to yourself that your ideas can create long-term income.

So let’s get into five ways to make passive income online that are actually f*cking passive.

And how you can start building them for the long haul.

So let's kick things off!

Continue reading, OR if you prefer listening because you're busy creating your private Pinterest vision board, click below for the podcast version 🪄 🎧💫

Prefer to watch instead of read? Watch the YouTube version here (it's a replay of a LIVE video I did in my Facebook group!)🪄 📺💫

Here’s the bigger strategy most people miss: passive income never happens in isolation.

If you want an income stream to be truly passive, it needs to be attached to other, more active streams in order to work.

Think of it like your main thing is the plant you are watering, but all the passive streams are all the plants that surround that main plant that benefit from the water run-off.

It’s an ecosystem.

Each asset you build feeds the next, compounding your traffic, your authority, and your sales over time. That’s how you create momentum.

And that’s how this truly crafts 'Walkaway Workflows' (The 'W' in my S.W.A.N. Transformation Marketing Strategy mentoring framework).

So before we dive into the first of these ways to make passive income online, remember: you don’t need to build everything at once.

You just need to start with the one that will create momentum for the rest!

So for that reason, I recommended building them in the order that I share them with you here.

1. The Affiliate Marketing Newsletter

If you’re brand new to online business, this is hands-down one of the smartest ways to make passive income online. This is because it turns the tools, products, and resources you already use into long-term, compounding revenue.

Affiliate marketing simply means you get paid a referral commission when someone signs up or buys through your link. Think of it as a digital tip for sharing what you genuinely use and love.

Most people scatter affiliate links randomly across content and hope for the best.

But the best passive version IMHO, and the one that keeps paying you for years, is an automated affiliate email sequence.

Here’s why this works so well.

No matter what you sell, even if it's jars of herbs in a witchy Etsy shop, there are always many curious people in your audience who will be asking two things:
👉 What are you using?
👉 How did you do that?

That means your email list becomes the perfect place to house your recommendations.

Start by signing up for the affiliate programs for the platforms and tools you already use in your business.

Become an affiliate for your existing email service provider, your course platform, your go-to book seller, or even physical products if they’re part of your lifestyle or workflow.

Many companies offer this, and programs like Amazon Associates allow you to generate links for almost anything.

Then you build a welcome sequence — around 10–12 emails is perfect — that:

• walks new subscribers through your best advice
• builds trust and connection
• naturally recommends the tools and resources that helped you get results

Once that sequence is written, it runs automatically. Every new subscriber enters, reads the emails, clicks the links, and generates income, all without you having to create new content each time.

That’s what makes this truly passive!

And the long-term effect is powerful: as your audience and traffic grow, more people enter the sequence, more links get clicked, and those small commissions stack into consistent background income.

This is also why I believe every single online business should have a newsletter.

It’s not just for nurturing your audience. It’s a self-building asset that can monetise itself from day one.

Click here to learn about the difference between plain email writing vs automated newsletters (and why they are SO important if you want to make ANY money online!)

Digital Assets & Intellectual Property (Royalties That Pay You for Years)

This is where passive income starts to feel like magic. And where YOU start to feel like a Marketician! 🪄💸

Because you create something once and get paid over and over again for it.

We’re talking about digital assets that generate royalties.

Online course platforms like Skillshare and Udemy are the perfect example of this. You upload a course a single time, and every time someone watches or purchases it, you get paid — whether that’s next week, next year, or three years from now.

I have a course I created in half a day over two years ago, and it still brings in money every single month. I don’t promote it. I don’t update it. I don’t even think about it. It just sits there in the background doing its job — and the income has actually increased over time.

That’s the definition of truly passive.

And this is why digital assets are one of the most powerful ways to make passive income online: the work is front-loaded. Once the asset exists, the platform’s built-in search, recommendations, and traffic keep selling it for you.

But courses aren’t the only option. Digital intellectual property can include:

• templates
• ebooks
• swipe files
• Notion dashboards
• stock photos or design assets
• printables

Anything that can be created once and delivered infinitely without your involvement becomes a long-term income stream.

The key is to think like an asset builder, not a content creator.
You’re not just making something for today — you’re creating something that can sell for the next five years.

And when you stack multiple assets like this, the income becomes predictably recurring without needing constant new work.

Low-Ticket Digital Products (Sell It Once, Deliver It Forever)

If you’re a freelancer or service provider, your income is automatically capped by your available hours. You get paid when you work. And it stops when you don’t.

Digital products are how you break that ceiling.

Instead of creating something once for one client, you package the same knowledge, process, or template and sell it over and over again as a downloadable resource. No extra delivery. No extra time. No ongoing effort after the initial setup.

That’s what makes this one of the most scalable ways to make passive income online.

Think about the assets you’re already creating in your business:

• client templates
• onboarding workflows
• content planners
• Canva designs
• spreadsheets
• swipe files
• checklists

If it saves you time or gets a result, it can become a product.

These work especially well as low-ticket offers — typically under $50–$100 — because they don’t need a complicated launch or paid ads. You can:

• Link them in your Instagram bio or TikTok Shop
• Add them to your website
• Include them in your email sequences
• Mention them inside your free core content (podcast, blog, or YouTube videos)

They become quiet, consistent background sales.

Yes, there’s a small amount of upfront setup. You’ll need a checkout and delivery system through a platform like ThriveCart or Go High Level (which I love because the affiliate payout is so high!).

But once the product page is live, the process is fully automated.

So here is the mindset shift I hope you take away from this...

You do not have to wait until you’re “done” with your current employment or business model services to start this.

Build your digital products alongside your client work so that, over time, more of your income comes from assets instead of hours.

Because every product you create is another stream that can sell while you’re working… or while you’re not.

Tripwires (Turn Freebies Into Instant Sales)

This one’s a bit more advanced! But once you get it, it’s a game-changer.

You might have heard of opt-ins, right?

Those free downloads, checklists, or guides that get people onto your email list. They’re usually centered around a specific problem, like “Here’s how to see if your car is working properly” or “Discover your brand archetype in 5 minutes.”

Here’s how it works: when someone opts in, they’re already engaged and motivated to solve that problem. That’s where a tripwire comes in.

A tripwire is a small, low-cost offer you present immediately after someone signs up. It's usually on the “thank you” page. Think of it as an instant solution to the problem they just signed up for help with. It can be a mini digital product, a template, a guide, or anything that solves their problem quickly.

Tripwires are a kickass, simple way to create an income engine that compounds over time.

The brilliance of this tactic:

• You’re collecting emails while simultaneously offering a sale.
• Your leads are HOT AF. They just showed interest in solving a problem.
• Once it’s set up, it runs automatically, creating income while you sleep.

You can place tripwires behind:

• blog posts
• content pages
• ads leading to your opt-in
• social media links

The setup is simple: someone clicks, enters their email, sees your tripwire, and (if it’s valuable and solves their immediate problem) they buy.

No pitching, no chasing, no extra work from you once it’s live.

Tripwires are a strategic way to combine lead generation with passive sales,

Once it’s built, it keeps working — quietly, consistently, and profitably.

Affiliate Marketing Partnerships (Collaborate to Scale)

This one’s a bit more advanced — but it’s where passive income can really multiply.

You’ve already seen how affiliate newsletters work for beginners: you drop links into emails, collect commissions, and let the sequence run on autopilot. Affiliate partnerships take it a step further.

Here, you create a product, course, program, or event and then collaborate with other people to promote it.

These affiliates act like your personal sales minions.

They send traffic to your offer, and in return, they get a percentage of the sale. Everyone wins: you reach a bigger audience, they earn a commission, and your income grows passively as more people promote your product.

This isn’t something you jump into on day one. It works best when you already have a program, course, or offering worth sharing.

And strategy matters. One of my favorite resources for learning how to build this is The Dream 100 by Derek Derricks. It’s a modern take on the classic Chet Holmes strategy, teaching you how to identify your “dream” collaborators and gradually build relationships that lead to joint promotions.

I wrote about how to use The Dream 100 strategy as an Instagram engagement strategy here.

Affiliate partnerships are POWERFUL AF networking and reputation-building assets.

Once set up, this system can bring in consistent sales with minimal effort, letting you leverage other people’s audiences to grow your income while you focus on creating your next asset.

If you want passive income that truly scales, this is an advanced Marketician-level move!

Conclusion: Start Building Your Passive Income Empire

So there you have it! Five ways to make passive income online that are actually f*cking passive. Whether you’re just getting started or looking to add new streams to your existing business, there’s something here for you.

1. Affiliate marketing newsletters - Set up automated emails with links to tools, books, or products you love, and let them earn while you sleep.
2. Digital assets & royalties - create courses, printables, or stock content once, and keep cashing in for years.
3. Low-ticket digital products – package your knowledge, templates, or designs into affordable downloads that sell over and over.
4. Tripwires – turn free downloads into instant sales with smart, automated offers that convert your leads into paying customers.
5. Affiliate marketing partnerships – collaborate with other creators or businesses to amplify your reach, letting your network become your sales team.

Each one of these works best when you think long-term.

That's the key here: you are sowing an entire garden, not one lonesome pot-plant.

Building an ecosystem of assets that feed each other, grow your audience, and generate income without tying you to your hours.

Making passive income just takes strategy, creativity, and a little bit of hustle up front. But once you set it up, it can keep paying you back for months and years to come.

Pick one, start today, and watch how a few smart, automated systems can start working for you while you focus on your next big idea. Your future self (and your bank account!) will thank you!💸✨

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