Are you a programmer searching for ways to make some extra money? Then look no further because here we have some exciting ways through which you can earn money without having to learn any additional skills then the ones you already use as a developer.
It is recommended that we all have side hustles to generate additional income besides our day jobs, the more passive the better. Don’t get me wrong, some of these methods also require your time and effort, but once you do put in that effort, this gift keeps giving. Through the course of this article, we will talk about 15 different ways to generate passive income, so without further ado, let’s move on to these methods.
Chatbots
The use of chatbots has exploded. You must have noticed that when you visit a site a small dialogue box appears in one of the corners asking you if you have any queries. Those are chatbots. They perform many functional tasks such as greeting visitors, collecting user information, answering FAQs, and helping companies increase their productivity. You can create chatbots with many different programming languages (like python, java, c++ etc.), and the future of chatbots is leaning towards Bots as a Service (BAAS). Companies are now looking for chatbots that can handle their most demanding tasks and help them become more productive because insights that are collected from these chatbots are than used by that company’s data scientists to extract useful information.
Time:
You might need a little time to prove that your chatbot is a worthy investment for your target market. Therefore, before your chatbot gets enough traffic (number of people who visit your website) to attract advertisers and other people, you will need to be a little patient and test it out. Collect data, conversion stats, and success rates to make it an easy sale to future customers. Similarly, if you are seeking a partner who will find a way to make money off your bot and share the profits with you, you will have to build your chatbot’s reputation as well.
Pros:
- Not a seasonal base
- It does not require much investment
- Provides several other ways to earn passive income
- Being weak in coding won’t hold you back from earning money through this
Cons:
- Creating a chatbot is easy but making profits may take some time
- Choosing the wrong industry for your chatbot is a substantial risk
Membership Sites
A niche membership site has a section that is accessible exclusively to members only. For this reason, a site member pays a monthly or yearly fee to access the exclusive content. Non-members generally have limited access to the site, whereas paying members can also access premium content.
Building a niche membership site can be a terrific way to make passive income. Membership sites are prevalent, and if you have the knowledge and skills that you could share, this can be a very lucrative way to monetize a blog. If subscribed members are willing to remain, you can expect a steady income flow.
Time:
It takes time to build a successful niche membership site. It would help if you invested some time in developing your site, creating content, building your membership area, and market your site to get paying members. Not only that but you also have to offer unique and high-quality content or digital products that will make people want to pay for a chance to join your site as members.
Pros:
- No seasonal effect if you choose the right niche
- It yields a high ROI (Return on Investment) i.e., higher profit rates
- Low-cost and low risk
Cons:
- Minimal physical activity and more screen time
- Getting the right amount of viewership often takes a lot of time
- Coming up and keeping up with your content can be stressful
Blogging
A blog is a source of information on topics the writer cares about and shares with the world. A blogger’s primary goal should always be to provide value to the people reading reading their blog rather than to make money. Once you receive a significant amount of monthly traffic, then you can make money from that blog’s traffic by monetizing it.
The content may be monetized in several ways e.g., display ads, affiliate marketing, or eCommerce.
Time:
Time is required to set up a successful blog that can offer a passive income. It can take a few weeks or even months to create the content necessary to generate enough traffic. And it will take Google and other search engines just as much time to index your site and start showing it in search results. You will need to draft long-form articles that answer real-world questions that you researched to provide actual value to your audience.
Pros:
- Low-cost investment
- Flexible work hours
- Allows you to build a connection with your audience
Cons:
- Requires regular updates
- Being too honest may lead to trouble
- Time taking
- Overly saturated market
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is a process through which you receive a commission by successfully marketing another person’s products or services. Generally, you get paid a commission for the sales or leads you generate for those products or services. Affiliate marketing can be done online or offline, in person or virtually.
Affiliate marketing can generate passive income, and it can be an excellent passive income stream for beginners. If you dream about making money while you sleep, then affiliate marketing is something you should give thoughtful consideration to.
Time:
Building a website that generates decent monthly income takes a lot of initial time and effort. Please re-read that last phrase. Contrary to what some people may sell you, it takes time and effort. This will take a couple of months and sometimes years.
Pros:
- Customer service is not your responsibility
- Flexibility and independence
- Low investment
Cons:
- Can not establish your own customer pool
- Uncertainty in the revenue that is generated
Selling Products Which You Don’t Physically Have
Selling products you don’t physically stock is elementary and only requires your implication if you make a sale. I only had to pick up, pack and ship the products once they were sold. This was an excellent way to reduce stock. However, the risk to this was products not being available in the store after the sale was already made. This didn’t happen too often, but it did require me to cancel some excellent sales. This is a great way to test products and their pricing on the online market (like on eBay or Amazon) to know if they would sell.
Pros:
- Eliminates the need to have stock
- Only ship products if they sell
Cons:
- The product may be out of stock from your supplier
- You may be required to go to multiple stores in case of a large order
Dropshipping
Acquiring and stocking products are some of the most complicated parts of selling physical goods online. If you want to sell products without handling them, then drop shipping is the way to go. Drop shipping consists primarily in selecting and promoting products that are offered by a fulfillment service. The fulfillment service then stocks the products and ships them directly to the client once a sale is made on your website. It is a great way to sell products online without having to manage them physically.
Pros:
- You won’t have to manage the goods on your own
- No need to ship products
Cons:
- Low margins, high expenses
Sell software for a Time Fee
This is one of the best ways to earn money as a programmer and the best use of your skills. An overwhelming majority (89%) of B2B (business to business) researchers use the internet in their research process. There are some excellent marketplaces where you can sell your software.
The following are some examples where you can sell your software applications and the expected income:
App Store/Play Store: You can sell your mobile app in the Apple app store or Google play store for a one-time fee. The setup is straightforward as they handle the payments. You will earn 70% from each sale in the Google play store. Starting July 1, Google Play is reducing the service fee from 30% to 15%. Apple also takes a 30% commission, but it will also lower its charges to 15% for small business owners. You can also spend a few bucks on promoting your app in the store, or you can do SEO (Search Engine Optimization). Once you get customers and a good rating, the money will come automatically.
Themeforest: This is the biggest WordPress theme marketplace on the web. The website traffic will help you get your first few sales, and then it’s off to the races. If you sell your products exclusively on Themeforest, you’ll earn 62.5% of each sale. Your commissions increase consistently as your total sales increase. Once you reach $75,000 in total sales on their platform, you’ll keep 87.5% of each sale. Non-exclusive authors get only 45%.
CodeCanyon: This is yet another popular marketplace by Envato. If you’re interested in selling WordPress plugins, CodeCanyon is a viable candidate for your products. There are tons of other marketplaces where you can sell your software. Programmers are earning a lot from selling themes. You must make a good theme or software. The top two pieces from the last month in Themeforest have earned $780,000 and $128,700, respectively.
SaaS Product Selling
Building connections between applications and Software as a Service (SaaS) programs can provide a stable passive income. Many companies have heavily adopted API (Application Providing Interface) bridges, so learning or mastering their development can be profitable. The goal is to save the company’s time and money by allowing it to eliminate person-hours and replacing manual tasks with automation. If a company uses one software for billing, but another CRM (Customer Relationship Management) for order management, instead of spending time manually copying/pasting information, an API bridge allows the two apps to communicate together directly in real-time. If you offer bridges as a SaaS product, you can make excellent passive income. The most important work will be ongoing maintenance and support, which you could always outsource to make it more passive.
Find Security Flaws and Hacks
Many security flaws lurk behind the “impenetrable” surface of businesses’ websites, mobile applications, and proprietary software. You can help companies guard themselves against service attacks, viruses, malware, and hackers looking for an opportunity to break into their systems. Gray hackers are helpful for companies, and most are paid a lot to find these security flaws. Security flaws and hackable code can be found in many areas of a company’s online presence, including its databases, encryption, and network. Some companies may add third-party plugins to their systems, which can also introduce security flaws that would be difficult for anyone but a developer to detect. For passive income and a chance to protect the data of various companies, contact companies, offer your services as a gray hacker at a high-ticket price, and eventually outsource the work to make it more passive.
Creating and Selling Web Themes
This is a classic passive income idea for web developers. Through a combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and plugins, you can create a variety of professional website templates that can pull in impressive passive income. The competition is fierce, so it’s crucial to stand out from the crowd. Niching down is one way to provide templates for an underserved target market. Look for a niche you are passionate about that has a target audience looking for templates and does not have much selection. There are many templates you can create, including those that are geared towards children’s items, authors, programmers, life coaches, indie developers, and eCommerce.
WordPress Plugins
Millions of people use WordPress to promote their businesses and services. Creating WordPress plugins could prove to be an excellent way to generate passive income, as people are looking for many ways to expand the features of their WordPress sites. When you’re creating a plugin, focus on a real-world need. You can find what people want in WordPress forums, blogs, and YouTube channels. An excellent way to identify what the people are looking for is be searching for reasons that frustrate them. On these forums, you can market yourself as a developer dedicated to fixing these issues, offer your technical know-how to problems that haven’t been solved yet, and become their go-to person on WordPress forums. If you already have an audience who knows you, it will be easier to sell your plugin once it’s created.
Print on Demand
Similar to a drop shipping service, print on demand allows you to ship products directly from a fulfillment warehouse. The only difference is that the customer can order a personalized version of the product that you created on your site.
You can choose your products from a range of over 200 items and add them to your site, customize them with your designs after which Printful will handle the entire fulfillment process for you (printing, packing, shipping, and returns). With Printful, you can promote your brand and sell high-quality products with excellent standards. You have complete control over your profit margins and your product designs. It is a perfect solution for anyone who is looking to monetize their audience. Artists, designers, podcasters, and YouTubers love Printful because it makes it easier for them to build their brand and make more income.
Pros:
- Very passive
- No need to ship
- No stock management
Cons:
- If the product is not evergreen, it will need to be updated
Digital Goods
Digital goods are by far my favorite products to sell online. Digital products can consist of informative products such as courses (videos) or eBooks (.pdf files). Not only that but they can also consist of tools like Photoshop pre-sets, which are files that allow you to add filters to your photos. Additionally digital goods may also include instructions, music files, games, or code.
If you created something you can bundle into a file and sell as a digital good you are good to go. With Ecwid eCommerce, your customers will automatically receive their order a couple of minutes after it is paid for in their inbox. You can automatically make and fulfill orders at any time of day.
Pros:
- Very passive
- No need to ship
- No stock management
Cons:
- You would have to update your product regularly
Physical Products
If you have a physical product you want to sell, getting it online and in front of the right audience is an excellent way to market your products and get sales. You can fulfill orders yourself or have them fulfilled by your supplier. It is usually best practice to perform the first orders yourself to handle the entire process and ensure product quality. However, once the process is up to par, you can outsource it to your supplier or to a fulfillment service (ps. they may take a cut).
Pros:
- Great way to get started for a beginner
Cons:
- Stocking products
- Handling, packing, and shipping products
- The entire process relies on you
Game App
This is a classic for app developers, but game apps are so popular and there is an incredible opportunity in this niche, especially if you can be ahead of the crowd. Try to think outside the box with game apps in places like 360 and VR. Classic Android and iOS apps are well-known and a bit saturated. But why not create apps for other companies like Windows phones instead? Creating mobile games is a huge niche that has only gotten larger as phones have become more prominent and influential and wireless networks have grown faster. They won’t be going away anytime soon. After you have created these games and tested them extensively, some features that can increase your passive income include downloadable content, access to behind-the-scenes videos, monthly subscriptions that offer bundle apps, parts, or assets, and pro subscriptions which will remove ads and in-app purchases. This developer offered in-app spending and increased his passive income immensely.
Pros:
- Easier to reach out to your audience
- Easy accessible
- More attention
Cons:
- Challenging development
- Oversaturation in this market
- Cutthroat competition
By now you have probably realized that the key to maintain a steady passive income is patience because it takes a lot of time to rise to popularity and build a reputation and that too is only possible if you are making use of your skills the right way. Once you’re on the right track it’s all good from there.