Imagine waking up in the morning, checking your phone, and seeing that you made money while you slept. That’s the power of passive income—earning money on autopilot with little to no ongoing effort.
But let’s be clear: passive income isn’t magic. It usually requires work upfront to build, but once set up, it can generate income month after month without you having to trade your time for money.
If you’re looking for ways to earn at least $1,000 per month in passive income, here are 12 proven ideas to get you started.
1. Start a Blog and Monetize It
Starting a blog takes time and effort, but once it gains traffic, it can generate passive income through:
- Ads (Google AdSense, Mediavine)
- Affiliate marketing (recommending products and earning commissions)
- Selling digital products (ebooks, printables, courses)
Example: Lisa started a travel blog and made $300 in her first six months from affiliate links. After a year, she was earning over $3,500 per month from ads, affiliate income, and digital products.
How to start:
- Choose a niche (food, homesteading, health, crafts, parenting, etc.).
- Set up a WordPress blog with hosting from Bluehost or WPX Hosting.
- Write helpful content and promote it on Pinterest and Google.
2. Sell Digital Products Online
Selling digital products is one of the best ways to make passive income because you create the product once and sell it unlimited times. I would actually qualify this as “semi-passive” because you should keep creating new designs and occassionally you’ll have to answer customer service questions.
Popular digital products include:
- Printables (planners, worksheets, calendars)
- Canva templates (social media graphics, business card designs)
- Budget / financial planners
- Recipe cards
- Vision board templates
- Coloring books or coloring pages
- Elementary-age education activity sheets (very popular for home schoolers)
- Ebooks and guides
Here are a few real life examples:
#1 | A teacher sells printable lesson plans on Etsy and makes $1,500/month with minimal upkeep.
#2 | A college student creates coloring books using AI and sells them on Amazon Merch on Demand and also sells coloring pages on Etsy. She makes a profit of $600 to $1,800 per month.
#3 | A real estate agent makes editable real estate marketing guides and social media templates on Canva. He is able to sell the templates to other real estate agents on his Shopify site as well as Etsy. He said he typically sells about 1,000 per month and averages $1.40 per sale (so $1,400/month)!
How to start:
- Create your product using Canva, Google Docs, or Adobe Illustrator.
- Leverage AI (ChatGPT or Claude) to help you generate unique ideas for new digital products
- Sell on platforms like Etsy, Gumroad, or your own website.
3. Start a YouTube Channel
Once you have a YouTube channel up and running, the opportunities to earn money are endless. You can do affliate marketing, sponsorships and the YouTube Partner Program (YPP). In the partner program, that just means that youtube will share a portion of the ad revenue earned with you!
To start earning through the YouTube Partner Program, you’ll need:
1. Get 1,000 subscribers with 4,000 valid public watch hours in the last 12 months, or
2. Get 1,000 subscribers with 10 million valid public Shorts views in the last 90 days.
How to start:
- Choose a niche (tech reviews, tutorials, personal finance, making art, etc.).
- Film high-quality videos and post consistently.
- Apply for YouTube’s Partner Program once you hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours.
4. Rent Out Property (Airbnb or Long-Term Rentals)
If you own property, rental income is one of the best ways to generate passive income. For example, you could rent out a spare room on Airbnb and potentially earn over $1,000/month after expenses.
How to start:
- Rent out a spare bedroom, guesthouse, or vacation home.
- Use Airbnb, VRBO, or long-term rental platforms.
If you don’t own property, you can try rental arbitrage—renting a property long-term and listing it on Airbnb for profit.
5. Invest in Dividend Stocks
Dividend stocks pay regular cash payouts to shareholders—meaning you earn money just by owning them.
Example: John invested $30,000 in dividend stocks and earns $1,000/month in payouts.
How to start:
- Open a brokerage account with Fidelity, M1 Finance, or Vanguard.
- Invest in blue-chip dividend stocks like Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and AT&T (this is NOT financial advice – we just wanted to give you a few examples of “blue chip” stocks!)
6. Write & Sell an E-Book
E-books are easy to create and sell forever, making them a great passive income source.
Example: Emma wrote a self-help ebook and sells it on Amazon for $9.99. She now earns $1,500 per month in royalties.
How to start:
- Write an ebook using Google Docs or Scrivener.
- Publish on Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or your own website.
7. Create and Sell an Online Course
If you have knowledge or skills others want to learn, you can package it into an online course and sell it.
Example: Mark created a beginner’s photography course and makes $2,000 per month selling it on Udemy.
How to start:
- Choose a topic you’re knowledgeable in.
- Create video lessons using Teachable, Thinkific, or Udemy.
8. Print-on-Demand (POD) Business
Print-on-demand lets you sell t-shirts, mugs, phone cases, and more without handling inventory. What this means is you create the image / art that would go on the t-shirt or coffee mug and a 3rd party will automatically print and ship when an order comes in.
How to start:
- Check out our latest article: Print on Demand 101: How to Start Your Own POD Empire From Your Laptop
- Design graphics using Canva, Photoshop, or one of the amazing AI image generators
- Sell through Etsy, Printify, Redbubble, Teepublic, Amazon Merch and/or Teespring.
9. Buy and Sell Websites (Website Flipping)
If you understand SEO and website traffic, you can buy underperforming blogs, improve them, and resell them for a profit.
Example: David bought a blog for $5,000, optimized its traffic, and flipped it for $20,000 in 6 months.
How to start:
- Browse sites for sale on Flippa or Empire Flippers.
- Improve traffic and earnings, then resell at a higher price.
10. Sell Stock Photos and Videos
If you enjoy photography or videography, you can sell stock images and video clips online.
Example: A travel photographer uploads landscape photos to Shutterstock and earns $1,500/month in passive income.
How to start:
- Upload your photos to Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, or Pexels.
11. License Your Music or Sound Effects
If you create music or sound effects, you can sell royalty-free licenses for others to use.
Example: A music producer sells background tracks on AudioJungle and earns $1,000/month.
How to start:
- Upload music to Epidemic Sound, Pond5, or Artlist.
12. Automated Dropshipping Store
Dropshipping allows you to sell products without handling inventory—your supplier ships items directly to customers.
Example: Jake set up a dropshipping store using Shopify and earns $2,500 per month selling home gadgets.
How to start:
- Use Shopify and apps like Spocket or AliExpress to source products.
- Focus on a niche with high demand.
Final Thoughts
Passive income isn’t instant, but if you put in the effort upfront, it can become a reliable income stream that pays you every month. The key is choosing a method that fits your skills and interests and staying consistent.
If you’re ready to start earning at least $1,000 per month, pick one of these ideas and take action today.
