Are you looking to build multiple income streams to get you out of the rat race?
If so you’ve come to the right place. In this article you’ll learn how to start building multiple streams of income online with little to no financial investment.
But there’s a catch…
It isn’t going to cost you a tonne of cash, but, it is going to take a bit of work. You know nothing in this world comes for free right?
However, unlike your day job all of that hard work leaves a digital footprint that never goes away, and compounds over time.
You see, diversifying your income into multiple streams is not only the quickest way to becoming financially free, it’s also the best way to secure and safeguard your financial future.
There’s so much bullshit get rich quick advice out there that’ll do more harm than good. So, rather than focusing on trying to re-invent the wheel, this article instead of going to focus on what’s proven to work. No crap, just actionable advice.
If you’ve had enough of your day job, and you’re looking for a pathway out, read on, as this article could well be the catalyst to set you on your way.
The Genius Of Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the quickest way to generate your first passive income dollars.
It’s the easiest of the income streams to set up, and takes the least amount of time. For 99% of people looking to make money online, this is where their journey will begin.
So what is affiliate marketing exactly?
Affiliate marketing is a way to earn a commission by promoting other peoples products. It’s such a great system. All you need to do is find a product you use and like, and promote it to others to earn a reward for each sale that you make.
The best affiliate products are Win-Win for all involved.
You – Market and drive sales for an affiliate product
Buyer – Gets a discount for using your affiliate link
Business Owner – Generates more sales
You – Earn a commission for each sales
Let me walk you through a typical affiliate program set up.
Here’s an affiliate program that is offered by Airgms (they build automation software for Airbnb Hosts). Outlined below are the terms of their affiliate program and the commissions you’ll earn for any sales you drive their way.
Once you’ve gone through the necessary steps to sign up to the program you’ll be assigned a unique URL that will look something like this:
https://example.com/afmc=1f&utm_campaign=1f&utm_source=leaddyno&utm_medium=affiliate
See the little snippet of code at the end of the URL?
afmc=1f&utm_campaign=1f&utm_source=leaddyno&utm_medium=affiliate
That is your unique affiliate code!
Every time a user clicks on your affiliate link the session is tracked. If they turn into paying customers then “Viola“, you have yourself your first commission.
You’ll typically have access to your own affiliate dashboard to track your sales and commissions, and also measure your stats to improve your success rate over time. Here’s an example of an affiliate dashboard powered by Lead Dyno:
It really is as simple as that.
Affiliate sales are an insane way to get your blog generating income quickly. And what’s even better, is that affiliate marketing can scale. Unlike your day job, affiliate selling has no ceiling.
There is no limit to how much income you can generate, and you can create as many affiliate income streams as you like.
Finding affiliate products to sell is easy too. There’s a whole marketplace out there of affiliate products selling everything under the sun. So whatever niche you’re in, there’s sure to be an affiliate product that suits.
Probably the biggest affiliate marketplace out there is Click Bank. So go have a browse and see what you can find.
Here’s the key though…
You’ve got to create great content that drives traffic to your affiliate posts.
This is an art unto itself, and is beyond the scope of this article.
To get a good understanding on the subject before you get started, here’s a couple of great articles by Neil Patel and Matthew Woodward that you’ll love.
E-Book Money Making
Are you a literary genius?
Probably not, and that’s ok, writing a killer e-book won’t require you to get a degree in “Creative writing & Literature”.
In fact, having writing skills like that can do more harm than good when it comes to writing a book that sells. People aren’t buying your e-book for your character building and story telling, they’re buying for actionable content that solves their problems and improves their lives.
You’ve just got to know your stuff.
If you’ve already started a blog and you’ve already got some killer posts under your belt, you’re well on your way to the framework of a great Ebook. Much of the content will be written (to a certain extent), and you’ll just need to re-structure and re-format it into an e-book.
Writing and publishing an ebook is now ridiculously easy too…
You can launch your e-book as a simple PDF, or choose to self publish on Amazon. With a platforms like this you can release your e-book to the worldwide market at the click of a button.
Over 90 million people in America are active ebook readers. Many of those use Amazon as the source of their Ebooks for their insanely popular Kindle Readers, and nearly 38% of Amazon’s Ebook sales are generated through self published titles!
Once your ebook is written and published you can now sit back and watch the royalties roll in.
Sort of…
If you want to generate lots of sales you’ll need to get out there and spread the word. You need to get creative, and learn how to market your new Ebook.
Here’s a quick list to get you started
- Create some Buzz and anticipation around your Ebook launch.
- Create a killer Ebook cover.
- Blog and create videos about the Ebook.
- Build a squeeze page to collect email addresses.
- Run giveaway competitions.
- Give copies of your Ebook to influencers and get testimonials.
If you’re enjoying this article about generating multiple streams of income, then you’ll probably find my other writing on Income Stacking and Productivity useful. Each week, I share tips based on proven research and my own trial and error (lots of error… Don’t worry, I’m working on it) through my free email newsletter.
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The E-Learning Revolution
The e-learning industry is expected to reach $275.10 billion by 2022!
That’s huge.
As people are seeing through the mirage of generic traditional education, they’re looking for bespoke, focused learning on very specific niche topics.
This is why E-learning fucking rocks.
So how do you even get started creating a course?
I hear you, and it can be a daunting thought at first. You can come at it from two different angles:
a) As an Expert.
Or,
b) As a Novice
So there really are no excuses.
Before you even attempt to start creating your online course, it’s imperative you do a tonne of research and are sure there is a market for your course. Trust me, I’ve done this the hard way before and wasted a fuck load of time.
Don’t make that mistake and read this article before you invest any time.
When it comes to online course software or LMS (Learning Management Systems) there is a heap to choose from, each with their own pro’s and con’s.
Here are a few options I’ve used in the past which you can check out to see how they fit:
- Thrive Apprentice (recommended)
- Teachable
- Thinkific
- Learn Worlds
As you can see Online Courses are one of the best ways to create passive income online, are an incredible income stream if done right.
There are lots of people making mind blowing income selling their knowledge in Online Courses, so don’t miss the boat and get started!
Drop Shipping No Brainer
Do you already have an audience?
If yes, then you need a online shop (if you don’t have an audience yet, you’ve got to get off your ass and get one!).
The average conversion rate for most E-commerce stores is around 2%. So for every 100 people you get through your store you should expect two people to place an order. With an average order value of $45.
Not bad hey!
And, 2% is just the average. Once you learn how to market, write killer sales copy, buyer phycology, conversion optimisation etc. your conversion rate will be more like 5%+
So if you’re selling items your audience just can’t wait to get there hands on, then you’ll have no problem shifting product.
What is drop shipping exactly?
“Drop shipping is a supply chain management method in which the retailer does not keep goods in stock but instead transfers the customer orders and shipment details to either the manufacturer, another retailer, or a wholesaler, who then ships the goods directly to the customer”
You can literally create an online shop full of products with no outlay, no warehousing costs and no manufacturing costs.
And, there are literally thousands of producers out there eager to drop ship products for you.
So you can offer your readers/customers a shop full of awesome products and take a cut each time one is sold. It doesn’t get much better than that.
Creating an online shop is crazy simple nowadays with the likes of Woocommerce and Shopify.
If you’re using WordPress then setting up a store is a pretty simple task. The most widely used e-commerce software in the world is Woocommerce, a free WordPress shopping cart plugin that can be set up in minutes.
Finding products to drop ship is easy too. There’s plenty of drop shipping marketplaces out there to search for products related to your niche.
Here’s a couple to point you in the right direction:
And hers’s a short video to show you how it works:
As you can see, if you can create an audience and drive traffic to your shop, you’ll have added another income stream steering you towards financial independence.
Build Digital Products/Tools
If you’ve successfully managed to create each of the multiple income streams above, you’ll now have a solid skill set and have the experience needed to build digital product.
I’d advise getting all of the other income streams optimised, automated and churning consistent income for you before you embark on building a digital product/tool.
My reasoning for this is that the first 6 passive income streams cost almost zero to set up, however, building a digital tool/product can take a considerable investment, and is far from guaranteed to succeed.
So tread with caution, and earn the right to take the risk.
All of that being said, digital products/tools are kind of the holy grail in passive income streams as they can be so crazy lucrative.
If you’re able to create a digital product that gains traction, such as a Fully-Verified platform, then you can expect to generate big returns, month after month.
Here’s a list of digital products to give you an idea.
- Software as a service
- Website add-on
- Browser extension
- Phone App
- Online Games
Creating a successful digital product takes experience, a big investment of your time and is high risk. As this blog is all about getting your finances handled once and for all in a proven method that actually works, I’m not going to go into digital products/tools in anymore detail.
Prioritise all of the other income buckets for now.
Conclusion
This is by no means an absolutely conclusive list of all the multiple income streams out there, but they are the most proven to work (with the exception of number 7).
“If you actually follow along, and actually take action, and actually do the work. You will ACTUALLY get the results.”
Me
The intent of the Minimum Viable Life Project is not to possibly get you rich, but to definitely get you financially free.
So don’t wait to get started, go do it now, and don’t let “Perfection be the enemy of Progress”
“Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.”
Napoleon Hill
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I want to hear your questions and I am here to help.
So if you’ve got questions, suggestions or advice, I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.
Peace out.
Rowan.
The path out of my job now seems so much clearer. I can’t wait to get started. Thanks.
I know how you feel. The most important thing is that you just start. Stoked I could help.
Thanks Rowan. Very helpful. Can I ask do you have to have a blog to sell affiliate products? Thanks🙏
Thanks Emma.
It’s totally not essential to have a blog, but you do need an audience. So if you’ve got a social media following etc. then that can work well.
If not I’d recommend you starting a blog. It’s such a good way to start generating traffic and building an audience. Also, unlike social media, you have complete control.
Hope that helps.