Being able to “make money while you sleep!” sounds cliché – but it is possible.
Most people think that making money online while sleeping is a dream, so to speak. But for many, this dream is a reality they live every day.
While it takes time to set up passive income streams that pay you while you sleep, I’m going to show you 11 methods that actually work.
The process is not straightforward, and neither is it simple. In fact, most people quit before they start making any money! This is because the payoff might be years away, and most people don’t have the patience for that.
And since passive income is the best income, why don’t we just get started with the list of the best ways to make money (while you sleep).
Table of Contents
11 ways to make money while you sleep
1. eCommerce store
If properly set up, eCommerce has amazing passive income potential. With that said, though, setting up an e-commerce business requires plenty of work upfront.
Here’s how it works. You first need to develop a product (digital or otherwise) that sells. Then, you’ll need to set up Facebook ads to sell your product. From there, it’s as simple as earning more than your ad spend.
As I’m sure you’re aware, online spending is at all-time highs with no signs of slowing down.
In 2018, a reported 1.8 billion individuals worldwide bought products online, with worldwide e-commerce revenues projected to reach $4.8 trillion before 2021.
Retailer e-commerce sales globally were 3.53 trillion dollars in 2019, with e-commerce sales expected to reach $6.54 trillion by 2023.
2. Affiliate marketing
There are many reasons why affiliate marketing is a great money-making avenue. For starters, the method requires very little money to start, and it is low-risk.
With affiliate marketing, you never have to spend time creating and distributing products yourself. As such, there is no risk of losing money to a failed idea.
Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, founder of Making Sense of Cents, claims that she makes about $100,000 or more every month from her blog. About 62 percent of that income comes directly from affiliate marketing.
Affiliate marketing can become a phenomenal passive method to earn money. How does it work?
First, choose a product you want to promote. Then, share an affiliate link to this product with your audience.
Audience, you ask? Of course, for affiliate marketing to work, it requires an audience.
You can get an audience doing YouTube videos, TikToks, or even a blog. But, regardless of where you choose to build your audience, establishing trust is key.
3. Online courses
Teachable estimates that their instructors earn an average of $5,426 from each course they create. You can use a platform like Teachable, Podia, Thinkific, Udemy, and LearnWorlds to learn more about how to create online courses.
You can also choose to host your online courses on your website using a plugin like Thrive Apprentice.
Once you create a course, you run it automatically and make money when you sleep. Automated webinars are also a great way to make money while you do other things. For example, you can sell products during the webinar, or you can ask for a subscription from the attendees of the webinar.
4. Ebooks
Ebooks are like online courses (with modules) but in the form of a book (with chapters). While you will undoubtedly make more money creating a course than an ebook due to the inherent value of video, don’t discount ebooks. There are still some old-school people who prefer to learn from reading.
You can sell the book through a platform like Amazon Kindle direct publishing or create a blog where you sell ebooks and online courses. If your marketing skills are not seasoned, selling the book on Kindle is the better idea.
5. Dropshipping
The concept of dropshipping is simple; market physical products, get a sale, pay the merchant, and the goods ship in your name to your buyer’s address.
A dropshipper connects buyers to a store through a platform. You never have to pay warehouse overhead or even buy the products you sell. You will only direct the order to the merchant, and the merchant will package and label the products sold in your name.
To start dropshipping, find a reliable store that sells products at a competitive price to allow you to make a good profit. Then, ensure that the said business can ship products directly to your customers. Next, list the products you want to sell on your Shopify store. You can start by creating a site and then use a platform like Oberlo to search for products.
Create a store with Shopify or any other platform and then use Amazon FBA or AliExpress as dropshipping companies.
6. Sell stock photos
If you enjoy photography, selling stock photos can be a good idea. You will take photos and upload them on major stock photo websites such as Getty Images. If you take good photos and your photos become popular, you can earn a lot of coin.
To start earning from Getty Images, you need the Getty Images Contributor iOS or Android app and about six sample images. Then, you can send links to the images or upload them on the site. Once they accept your images, you can start uploading and earn while you sleep.
While your pictures must be high-quality photographs, this doesn’t imply that you need to be a professional photographer. If you have a newer iPhone and a knack for photography, that could be all you need to get started.
7. Start a blog
No need to be intimidated. A blog is just a simple website where you share content. You can share written content, photos, and/or videos.
To make money with your blog, you’ll have to place ads (from an ad provider like Google Adsense). You can also add affiliate links so you can earn commissions on products you recommend. Finally, you can create and sell your own digital products, such as courses.
8. Rental property
One of the best ways to make money while you sleep is by investing in rental properties. First, you need to buy property in a good location at a good price and set up units for rental. Then, if you price them right, you will have enough tenants to pay your mortgage with ease.
Investing in rental property is a long-term investment. It has some challenges, such as lack of tenants and failure of tenants to pay on time, but it is a good form of long-term investment.
9. Stocks
Though the stock market is open from 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM, this could qualify as making money in your sleep if you’re the daytime nap type.
Set up a brokerage account somewhere like TD Ameritrade, choose stocks with high growth potential, then watch your balance grow.
10. Livestream yourself sleeping
Users of TikTok are streaming themselves napping in a new TikTok craze. As people watched him sleep, one 18-year-old earned approximately $10. A 24-year-old guy earned $50 by live-streaming his Tesla “sleeping” overnight.
18.5 million people watched a guy sleep on Douyin, TikTok’s Chinese equivalent. He made nearly $4,000 while sleeping.
Viewers love not just watching individuals sleep but also conversing with other viewers. Do you want to make money while you sleep? Stream it now.
11. Become a YouTuber
Can you educate and entertain? Or at least entertain? Then take your talents to YouTube and start your own channel. The top YouTuber last year (Ryan from Ryan’s World) earned a cool $29.5 million.
If you think you’re too late in the game, think again. New channels can still thrive on YouTube. And don’t be discouraged with your low views or lack of subscribers. All channels started with zero fans.
Making money while you sleep: The bottom line
Seriously, I’m just scratching the surface of ways to make money as you sleep. I mean, you can write a book, license music, even create and sell an app!
If you want to make money while sleeping, you need to invest both time and money into your idea. After all, passive income doesn’t just happen on its own. So choose the passive income idea that resonates best with you, and run with it!
