How to earn a passive income online in 2012

tagged with
Earn a passive income online in 2012 with blogging and affiliate. Pic by rbatina

"Are you an entrepreneur looking for a way to earn a passive income?" Having a passive income (sometimes called residual income) allows you to earn money from work you've done, over a long period of time.

This is often a desirable way to make money instead of being paid for time worked. Passive income online allows you to create content once, and earn income from it for years and years.

If you have ideas and passion about one or more topics, you can convert that into extra income using a blog or website.

If you're not tech-savvy, don't be put off by how much work or difficulty there is in setting up a blog or website. Blog and website development is faster, cheaper and easier now than it has ever been in the past.

This article gives a step by step guide to making money online, and also provides links to plenty of useful articles, resources and free eBooks that can help you to start generating income immediately.

5 steps to earning a passive income online

Does the thought of generating long term residual income from a blog or website while you are at work, sleeping, on holiday, or doing housework, appeal to you?

Anyone can earn a passive income online, provided you are prepared to put in a bit of time and effort into learning the right way to do things.

The extra cash you earn may be the difference between struggling to make ends meet at the end of each month, and having enough cash to take the family on a yearly vacation.

Here's how to do it...

1. Pick a topic

Making money online is about being able to create content that inspires other people. It doesn't hurt to think of cool ways to present that information.

Make it unique, fun, exciting, or different.

In order to write blog posts, make YouTube videos, create eBooks, or any other type of content of sufficient quality to blow people's minds, pick a topic that you are interested in.

Don't pick a topic because you think there is more money to be made in that industry!

Your passion for the content you create will help engage readers and help create buzz.

The more people talk about your content, the higher Google ranks it in organic search results. The higher your content is ranked in Google search, the more organic search traffic you get. The more organic search traffic flowing through your site, the more people read and share your content, driving even more traffic.

The following articles will give some advice on what niche markets and ideas you can use to start a blog or other online income earner:

Once you have a topic, it's time to...

2. Research

It's important to understand how big your chosen market is. How many people search for the type of information you intend to provide? Where do they come from? Are they wealthy, young, old, English speaking, etc?

Knowing what communities already exist, where your target market hangs out online, and what their preferences are help you to decide on how to create, share and market content in the best way.

The following articles show how to research the market using freely available tools:

3. Set up a blog or website

Setting up a blog, website or even an online store is a cinch - even for seriously non-tech savvy types.

It's important to remember that modern website builders and CMS platforms like Drupal can get you 80% of the way to having a site just like you want it, with little effort required on your part.

That final 20% doesn't have to happen over night either. Provided your blog or website is easy to use, easy to browse, and contains great content, you can add special touches as you build experience.

The following articles and resources show everything you need to know about setting up an online platform:

David Mercer's picture
WSM4B

I am a software developer, serial entrepreneur and bestselling author of programming, development, eCommerce and marketing books.

I love solving complex problems and bringing cool solutions to market. I have a cum laude science degree (double major in applied mathematics and mathematics), and 15 years of Web development, programming and online business experience.