Looking for easy passive income ideas for students?
Being a full-time student makes it hard to do a job and earn money. But what if I told you you could easily make an income while pursuing your education?
That’s right.
As a student, you can look towards passive income as your number one source of earning.
Here are some of the best easy passive income ideas for students that are actually practical and have huge earning potential in 2022.
What is Passive Income?
Passive income is any income generated without investing a lot of time and effort.
It does not require a person to be actively involved.
In fact, most passive income methods only need some initial input, after which it can keep generating cash of its own. It helps you earn additional money and allows you more financial freedom and time.
So if you’re a student looking to fill your pockets or searching for ways to diversify your income streams, we’ve compiled a list of the most accessible passive income ideas for students to boost their cash flow in 2024.
1. Make Money through Drop Shipping
One of the highest-earning passive income methods for students in 2024 is drop shipping.
With drop shipping, you can generate cash from wherever you are located. Essentially, drop shipping is selling products to customers straight from the suppliers. By making a deal with a supplier and setting up an online store, you can direct the shipping of products directly from the supplier to the customer.
The best part about drop shipping is that you do not have to hassle about packaging and delivering the product, as that responsibility lies solely with the supplier.
As a drop shipper, you only have to manage an online store, market the products, and take and direct orders. You can learn how to increase online sales here.
Benefits of Dropshipping
- No need to pack or deliver products. As mentioned before, despite running an eCommerce store, you don’t have to engage in packaging and shipping products.
- Less financial risk. You do not have to pay the supplier until the customer pays you. This reduces the financial risks involved in eCommerce.
- Limited or no capital is needed. Since you do not have to send the products yourself, you do not have to buy an inventory. You simply need to connect with a supplier and use his stock.
- Lucrative business. Dropshipping is an extremely financially rewarding business, provided you put in the required time and effort.
2. Sell Digital Products Online
Suppose you’re a designer, an art student, a photographer, or a writer, for that matter. In that case, you might want to think about selling digital products to make passive income.
Basically, digital products are any kind of product that has a digital existence. It can range from digital drawings to social media templates, such as Facebook story templates or Instagram posts.
Digital products are the perfect passive income idea for students as they can only be created once and sold however often someone wants to buy them.
Types of digital products that sell like crazy:
- Photographs
- Facebook and Instagram post templates
- Plugins
- UX Kits
- Video editing templates
- Animation templates
- Digital drawings
- Digital worksheets, calendars, journal templates
- Fanfictions
- E-books and e-guides, etc.
Benefits of selling digital products:
- Needs one-time investment. Unlike a physical inventory that eventually runs out, you don’t have to create a digital product repeatedly, as it can be generated infinitely.
3. Create an Online Course
You must consider creating an online course to earn passive income if you’re studying a certain topic as a student or have become an expert in a particular field. With the help of an online course, you can teach your expertise to other people seeking knowledge or skills in your specific niche. These courses may be in video, audio, or written format, depending on your preference and the type of content.
Where to create an online course
Online courses can generate you passive income through platforms like Skillshare, Udemy, or Coursera. For instance, you can become a teacher on Skillshare. Additionally, you can offer these courses by making a Youtube channel or creating your website. Although free for its users, Youtube and the website can help you make a big buck through views and advertisements.
Benefits of creating an online course
- One-time investment. Unlike traditional teaching styles, you don’t need to deliver a lecture again and again. You only need to create your online course once and may only need to update it from time to time as required.
- Establish your authority in a niche. Apart from earning an income, online courses will help you establish your reputation as an expert in your niche. This will set you up as an influencer and open pathways for more passive income streams, such as social media. You can learn more about how to brand yourself and set yourself as an influencer here.
4. Earn by Blogging
Blogging is without a doubt one of the easiest and most traditional ways of making a passive income as a student.
Generally speaking, every one of us knows one thing or another.
Through blogging, you transfer that knowledge to others by writing about it and posting it online.
Admittedly, blogging is not as simple as penning down your thoughts. You have to take care of technicalities such as search engine optimization, so your blog can rank on google search results for people to click on it.
But you can learn how to do all that as there are tons of online learning resources on blogging.
5. Sell Digital Printables on Etsy
Etsy is one of the most well-known marketplaces for buying and selling handmade products.
Generally people don’t know that you can also sell digital products on Etsy, making it a great idea for students to earn easy passive income.
Most Popular Digital Printables on Etsy
Etsy is a popular place for selling printables, such as
- Daily planners
- To-do lists
- Self-care checklists
- Monthly calendars
- Digital diaries
- Printable wall art
- Meal planners
- Wedding planners and invitations
- Adult coloring books
- Photographs
You can start selling on Etsy here.
6. Write a Digital Guide
A digital guide is a step-by-step guideline for a process.
It is one of the best easy passive income ideas for students. In order to learn how to do something, people google it.
You can help them by creating your how-to guides and make easy passive income for yourself. It must be noted that you have to be an expert to be able to do so.
How to Write a Digital Guide
- Choosing your area of expertise– pick a niche on which you can write guides
- Brainstorm ideas– outline areas where people might be looking for directions in your niche. You can use google search results and keyword tools such as google keywords, google trends, Ubersuggest, etc., to see what people are searching for.
- Conduct research– you might want to check other sources of knowledge to add to your guide and cross-check your information.
- Formulate your writing into steps– structure your draft into easy-to-follow steps so people find it easy to follow what you’re saying
- Publish your guide– you can publish your guide by creating your website, or you can use free publishing websites such as medium.com that can publish your blog for free. You can also create social media accounts and publish your guides there. For example, Instagram is a popular social media website for influencers.
7. Create an App
Mobile apps make up one of the largest markets out there and can be an excellent idea for students to make passive income.
App development could be your ticket to financial freedom as they are challenging to develop; therefore, there is less competition in the market.
The best part is you don’t have to be a coder to develop an app. So if you’re willing to put in the time and effort, you might be the next Facebook or PUBG.
All you need to do is find a niche that doesn’t have a lot of competition and introduce app features that are better than existing alternatives. If your app solves a problem most people face or adds fun to people’s lives, you are in for a great source of income.
