19 Passive Income Ideas for Beginners that YOU CAN TRY TODAY

Ankita Kamat

Passive income ideas for beginners to create wealth. Have you ever thought to earn more money with smart work? Well, passive income is all about earning money with fewer efforts and smart work.

Passive income streams are my favorite income sources! As a beginner, you may think that earning passive income is very difficult. But in reality, if you collect the right information about passive income streams then you can earn passive income easily.

When I heard about passive income for the first time I got very excited. And I started to figure out more passive income streams. To be honest, after my graduation my first earning was from the passive income stream. So now I’m going to share passive income ideas for beginners along with my own experiences.

Passive Income Ideas for Beginners

Realistic passive income ideas for beginners that ACTUALLY WORK

Do you know in passive income there is no limit to earning money. But you can’t be a millionaire just in a day or two days. Earning money is also a skill.

Let me pitch easy passive income ideas for beginners-

1. Know how to make passive income through affiliate marketing
2. Know how I have earned money by selling ebooks
3. Know how to earn passive income by clicking pictures from a smartphone
4. Know how I’ve earned passive income through a mutual fund
5. While making payment use Google Pay to get cashback
6. Create a kickass strategy to earn money on YouTube
7. You can create  infographics and earn money
8. Register your name to create designs and logos on t-shirts
9. Join reselling programs to earn effortlessly
10. Teach craft and art on YouTube
11. Review products and earn well
12. Share photography tips and techniques
13. Sell digital products online
14. Share kitchen tips to make money
15. Make a healthy cooking blog and YouTube channel
16. Start to learn about share market
17. Create music and make passive income
18. Think about making money from social media
19. Create your own online store with less money

To earn passive income your initial efforts are required. All these are like one time efforts, then in the future, you will earn money multiple times.

19 SURE SHOT Passive Income Ideas for Beginners

Earning passive income is easy if you prepare a kickass strategy. So, let me help you to create a kickass strategy to start earning passive income. Now I will explain in detail these passive income ideas which will help you to choose the right passive income stream for you to make money.

1. Know how to make passive income through affiliate marketing

I have personally tried many affiliate programs like Amazon affiliate program, Flipkart, Blue Host, Cluelinks etc. These are all popular brands so you can also sign up for such affiliate programs and earn passive income in the form of commission.

I suggest you joining Cluelinks because there you will get all the popular brands like Amazon, Big Basket, Flipkart and almost all the affiliate programs are available at the same place. Here you just need to log in and share the unique link of the products. When people buy those products then you will earn a commission on that.

You can promote affiliate products on  Pinterest, YouTube, on social media like Instagram, Facebook. Even you can promote products on the blog. I’ve shared the details about earning passive income from blogging and also shared other sources of income in my other article. You can check that article here.

2. Know how I have earned money by selling ebooks

I invested my time to write an ebook and published. This was my one-time effort and I started to earn passive income. After graduation, this was my first earning.

Actually I was preparing for competitive exams. I thought to do something else also to along with my studies. So I started to create ebooks and listed them on Instamojo. This is a free platform. This is how I published my digital product and earned passive income.

Steps to make passive income from ebooks

  1. Create your ebook in a PDF from
  2. Sign up online platforms like Instamojo or Amazon Kindle
  3. Decide a reasonable price for your ebook
  4. Create attractive Cover Page for ebook
  5. Publish your ebook
  6. Start to promote ebooks among your friends and family
  7. Earn more money by improving your sales of an ebook

3. Know how to earn passive income by clicking pictures from a smartphone

First I advise you to choose a niche, I mean a particular topic like nature, food, water, education or any good topic on which you can click good pictures. If you choose your topic as the education you can include various types of images like a pencil, school bag, black-board etc.

So choose a topic so that you can reach a large audience and sell more images and earn more passive income. Then there are various online platforms like Getty Images, iStock, Sticky, Shutterstock and many other online platforms to sell those images.

First, sign up and upload all the images. Then whenever people pay and download your images you will earn commission on every download. This is how you will be earning a lot of passive income by just clicking and selling good images. Now you may think that how much passive income you will be earning from this.

Well, you will get a commission from 20% to 75%. So don’t miss this easy opportunity to earn passive income.

Passive Income Ideas for Beginners

4. Know how I’ve earned passive income through a mutual fund

When it comes to passive income I can’t ignore investment. When I got a job I started to save 70% of my monthly income. Then I collected a lot of information about mutual funds. I analyzed how many types of mutual funds are there. Then I started to invest some part of my monthly income in mutual funds.

Well, nowadays there is no much paperwork to invest in mutual funds. I personally use Groww App to invest in mutual funds which is totally free. And I think, the 20s are the best age to explore various things. This is the time when we don’t have many financial responsibilities.

So at this time, you can also take some calculated risks in life to grow financially. But I suggest you do your own research before investing your money as a beginner. Do you know in mutual funds you can even invest just 100 or 250 INR per month. So take simple actions to make passive income in the long run.

5. While making payment use Google Pay to get cashback

Do you still use hard cash to make payments or to transfer money? If yes, then you are losing the earning opportunity. Yes, by using some apps to make payments you can get a huge cashback. I use Google Pay to make payments.

You may feel that sometimes you will get a very small amount as a cashback. But remember every single penny counts. This is all about living frugally and using resources without wasting them. So learn the art of earning by being frugal.

6. Create a kickass strategy to earn money on YouTube

Well, nowadays everyone watches videos on Youtube. But have you ever thought to make passive income on YouTube? If yes, then now I’m going to tell you how to start making passive income on YouTube.

Choose any topic which you like and you have more knowledge about it. Then create videos and upload them on YouTube. Your videos must be very useful for people. There are many types of videos on YouTube like cooking, dancing, drawing, craft, comedy, educational videos and much more.

If you like doing comedy then you can just record your videos and upload them. Then there are many ways to monetize your videos like Google Adsense, sponsorships, affiliate marketing etc.

Even I have created a few YouTube channels. So I suggest you to have the patience to earn passive income from YouTube. You don’t need to quit your job to start a YouTube channel.

But you can manage your job and YouTube to earn some extra money. If you are a student then along with your studies you can earn some money by making videos on YouTube.

7. You can create  infographics and earn money

As blogging and the YouTube industry are growing the infographics are in demand. Many popular bloggers and YouTubers hire people to create infographics o they buy infographics online.

The images and visual graphics attract customers. So if you can create such attractive infographics then you have an amazing opportunity to make money. You can sign up for websites like Visual.ly, Fotolia etc.

So just grab your smartphone or laptop and start to create infographics. As a beginner, you can create simple graphics then start to improve day-by-day. Then you can make more money from this.

8. Register your name to create designs and logos on t-shirts

Here you don’t need to invest any money. There are websites that allow you to create logos and designs on T-shirts online. Then if anyone buys that T-shirt you will earn a profit. Well, I’ve come across the website called Teeshopper where you can register yourself and create designs

This is all an online process. First, you can sign up and start to create designs or logos on plain t-shirts. Then decide your profit margin and start to sell. You don’t need to worry about printing the design or delivery of the product. As they will look after all these things.

So you don’t have to bear any charges here. You just need to create attractive designs. This is how the young generation has amazing opportunities to make passive income online.

9. Join reselling programs to earn effortlessly

There are many brands or companies which allow reselling programs. Even small scale businesses implement such programs to grow their business. So figure out such programs and start to make money.

If you choose companies which are already established then you can easily re-sell their products or services. So make your pick wisely which has high earning potential.

10. Teach craft and art on YouTube

I’m also interested in exploring craft and art. Whenever I want to create any craftwork or art I look for YouTube videos or blogs. So if you are someone who creates a new type of crafts or artwork then teach them to people.

Art and craft are such a huge category that you can choose a particular niche and start your own YouTube channel and blog. Then you can make money by monetizing your blog and YouTube channel. Also, sell your art and craft and take your business to the next level.

Passive Income Ideas for Beginners

I’ve created this cute Panda mask:) I watched a YouTube video and created this by using waste material. So you can also teach such art and craftwork for people like me who look forward to learning art and craft.

11. Review products and earn well

Just by reviewing products, you can make more money. But do not choose products like mobile or laptop or any products which have huge competition. Choose products that are in demand but a very few YouTubers or bloggers talking about such products.

You can do your own research here. Then start to review products. By this, you can make more passive income by sharing affiliate product links on your blogs or YouTube.

12. Share photography tips and techniques

If photography is your hobby then you can convert it into a passive income source. There are many people who want to learn photography online. So as a beginner, you can help others who want to learn photography.

You can create your own blog and YouTube channel to reach out to a huge audience, who wants to learn photography. You can also share your real-life stories and experiences related to photography.

13. Sell digital products online

Have you ever thought about selling digital products online? Well, the one thing which I really like about selling a digital product is- I don’t need to worry about packing product and delivery. As it is a digital product so your clients will simply pay you money online and download the product.

This is one of the best ways to earn a passive income without spending any money. So create useful digital products like PDF, ebooks, video clips, music etc. Then decide your own price and publish them. There are many online platforms where you can publish digital products with zero investment of money.

14. Share kitchen tips to make money

Women usually know many kitchen tips. And there are many passive income streams for women to make money from home.

You can start sharing kitchen tips on YouTube and blogs to make passive income. There are many topics that are related to this niche like cleaning tips, storage tips, safety tips etc. So you can explore this topic and grow as a blogger and YouTuber through this useful niche.

15. Make a healthy cooking blog and YouTube channel

There are so many cooking blogs and YouTube channels. So cooking is actually a competitive niche when it comes to making money from this niche. But you can analyze your strength and analyze which type of healthy recipes you prepare well.

Then choose a sub-niche like fruit recipe where you will be sharing only recipes related to fruits. This is just an example, I want you to choose a particular topic and explore that completely. Then only you cooking blog and YouTube channel will stand out. Thereby you can make more money.

16. Start to learn about the share market

When I  started to look for various money-making opportunities in my early 20s, I started to collect more information about the share market. But still, I’m collecting more information and doing my own research about the share market.

The share market is also a huge source of passive income. I advise learning about investing your money from now, as it includes risk. Practically I have not directly invested my money in the share market. But in future days I will surely explore this opportunity to make money from money.

17. Create music and make passive income

Creating music and earning passive income, is this idea sounds great? Well, if you are interested in music then you can create your own music and sell to others. The demand is more for this so earning potential is also high.

Have you ever observed that YouTubers use many verities of background music? So you can create music and sell them to YouTubers. Creating music is a one-time effort. But you can sell your music to many people and earn money.

There are also many websites where you can sell your music. For example- Pond5, AudioJungle.net and many other websites. If anyone purchases your music on these websites then you will earn a commission. So, compose your music and visit various stock music platforms to sell the music.

18. Think about making money from social media

Nowadays the use of social media has increased. And according to some research youngsters and kids are spending more time on smartphones rather than outdoor games.

But instead of just scrolling your phone you can be more productive. Millennials have more money-making opportunities online. So use social media to earn some money. You can become a social media influencer to earn pennies.

19. Create your own online store with less money

There are websites like Etsy. Where you can open your own online store and sell handmade products. Etsy platform is especially for handmade products. So be more creative and start to sell online. As your business grows your earning will improve.

How much time it will take to earn passive income?

Well, there is no fixed time. And there is no hard and fast rule about earning passive income. Earning passive income depends on your strengths and smart work. But I suggest you to maintain consistency to earn passive income.

If you are creating YouTube videos then be consistent and even if you want to publish your ebook then write daily few pages and create good content. Whatever stream you choose to make passive income be passionate about it and be sensible to choose the right option for you.

As a beginner how to start earning unlimited passive income?

Earning passive income is not like earning a monthly salary by doing a job. Here you don’t need to impress your boss for increment or to get a bonus. Here you must experiment with new things and explore new passive income opportunities to know which things work for you.

Trust me, once you start to earn passive income then in future days you may be earning more than your current monthly salary which you are getting from a job. So never underestimate passive income streams.

So it depends on you, if you are doing a job then you can earn money by investing your money. But I earned my first dollar through a passive income stream.

These passive income ideas for beginners are very simple and easy to implement practically. These ideas do not require much much money to invest. So take simple steps to grow financially by making passive income.

Ankita Kamat

I'm Ankita Kamat, the creator of Frugal Beat, a blog dedicated to frugal living. Join me in exploring practical ways to save money, reduce waste and live a purposeful life. Let's embrace frugality as a lifestyle together.