15 Smart Passive Income Strategies for Earning $10,000/Month in 2024

15 Passive Income Methods to Skyrocket Your Earnings to $10,000/Month in 2024

10 min readApr 1, 2024

15 Best Passive Income Ideas to Achieve a $10,000/Month Goal by 2024

I recently discovered 15 passive income ideas that have the potential to generate up to $10,000 per month in 2024. While some of these ideas are truly passive, allowing you to start earning income immediately, others require some initial effort before the passive income starts flowing.

Additionally, a few of these ideas may be slightly less passive than others, but all of them present excellent opportunities for you to explore. I’m confident that many of the ideas on this list will be new to you. So, let’s dive in and explore these exciting passive income strategies.

We strongly recommend that you check out our guide on how to take advantage of AI in today’s passive income economy.

1. Selling Templates (Opportunity Score: 9/10)

One of the most underrated passive income ideas is selling templates online. There are numerous types of templates you can create and sell, including resumes, presentations, websites, Excel sheets for finances, and even notion templates.

Notion, a popular productivity and organization tool, has a thriving community of users who are willing to pay for custom templates. For example, a YouTuber named Thomas Frank started a second channel dedicated to selling notion templates and generated over $100,000 per month in revenue. Another Twitter user, Islo, reported earning more than $500,000 by selling notion templates.

The beauty of creating templates is that once you’ve made them, the income becomes completely passive as the templates continue to sell. You can sell your templates on platforms like Etsy, Creative Market, or even your own website.

2. Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) (Opportunity Score: 7/10)

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) offer a truly passive way to invest in real estate without the need for hands-on involvement. By investing your money in a REIT, you gain a small portion of ownership in various real estate properties.

Whenever the REIT generates income from these properties, you receive a dividend or a percentage of the profits. By law, REITs are required to distribute at least 90% of their taxable profits to shareholders, meaning you can earn a significant portion of the profits while the REIT handles all the work.

However, it’s important to note that to generate substantial passive income from REITs, you’ll need to invest a considerable amount of money upfront. Nonetheless, REITs provide an excellent opportunity to diversify your investment portfolio and earn passive income from real estate.

3. Selling Educational Worksheets (Opportunity Score: 8/10)

Creating and selling educational worksheets can be a lucrative passive income stream. This involves designing study guides, lesson plans, or practice sheets and selling them on e-commerce platforms.

Your target customers would be students, teachers, or parents seeking supplementary educational materials. The potential for earning is significant, as evidenced by Michelle Schroeder Gardner, who generates over $400,000 annually by selling educational printables.

You can sell your worksheets on platforms like Shopify, Etsy, or TeachersPayTeachers.com. While these platforms charge a percentage of your sales, they also provide exposure to a large audience of potential buyers. With the increasing demand for homeschooling resources and supplementary education materials, selling educational worksheets presents a promising opportunity to earn passive income.

4. Flipping Blogs or Websites (Opportunity Score: 8.5/10)

Flipping blogs or websites is a time-tested method of generating passive income. Platforms like Flippa.com allow you to purchase undervalued blogs or websites, improve them, and then sell them for a profit. The key is to buy low and sell high. Many individuals have found success with this strategy.

For example, Yaro reported making $180,000 in profit by buying and selling websites part-time, while Rob shared his experience of purchasing a website for $52,000 and selling it for $178,000 a year later. You can also apply this concept to domain names, identifying undervalued or potentially popular domain names, holding onto them, and then selling them for a substantial profit in the future.

To succeed in this venture, it’s essential to familiarize yourself with the factors that influence the value of blogs and domain names. With the right knowledge and strategy, flipping blogs or websites can be an extremely passive and profitable passive income stream.

5. Creating and Selling Online Courses (Opportunity Score: 9.5/10)

Online courses have become increasingly popular as people seek step-by-step guidance on various topics without the need to scour the internet or endure ads and sponsorships. Creating and selling online courses can be a highly profitable passive income stream, with numerous success stories of individuals earning substantial amounts. For instance, one individual built and sold an online course for $6 million in just two years, while another person, a former high school math teacher, earned $1 million by teaching online coding courses.

To determine what types of courses are in demand, you can research popular topics on platforms like Udemy and Skillshare. These platforms typically host lower-priced courses teaching commoditized skills, such as Python programming. However, you can also sell higher-priced courses by focusing on rare or specialized skill sets and conducting your own marketing. Alternatively, for more complex topics, investing in coaching or mentorship can be more effective than courses.

The beauty of uploading courses on platforms like Udemy or Skillshare is that they handle the marketing for you, making it a potentially passive income stream. To maximize your chances of success, identify a unique skill or knowledge that you possess and align it with the market demand. With the right course topic and marketing strategy, creating and selling online courses can be an incredibly rewarding and profitable passive income idea.

6. Starting a YouTube Channel (Opportunity Score: 10/10)

Starting a YouTube channel, while not passive initially, can eventually lead to a significant passive income stream. Building a successful YouTube channel requires a considerable amount of work upfront, but once established, your videos can continue to generate income for years to come.

Each video acts as a “soldier” that goes out daily to earn you money, and the more videos you create, the more passive income you can accumulate. When it comes to starting a YouTube channel, I recommend focusing on educational content rather than purely entertainment-based videos. Educational channels that help solve real problems for real people tend to attract more views and offer better monetization opportunities.

By consistently providing value to your audience, you increase your chances of success. Many individuals have found significant success through YouTube. For example, a 31-year-old creator makes $105,000 per month in passive income from her channel, working only 2 hours a day. While it takes effort to establish a successful YouTube channel, the long-term passive income potential is immense.

7. Rental Real Estate Property (Opportunity Score: 8.5/10)

Investing in rental real estate is one of the most popular and well-known methods of generating passive income. While not entirely passive due to responsibilities like vetting tenants, property maintenance, and repairs, hiring a property manager can alleviate most of the workload.

The process is straightforward: invest in a property, rent it out to tenants, and use the rental income to pay off the mortgage while potentially earning additional profit. As the property appreciates over time, you also benefit from increased equity. Moreover, rental properties offer valuable tax write-offs, making them an attractive investment option.

Countless individuals have found success in rental real estate, as evidenced by the numerous success stories available online. Although it requires more involvement compared to some other passive income ideas on this list, rental real estate remains one of the most reliable and lucrative ways to build long-term wealth.

8. Renting Out Your Car (Opportunity Score: 7/10)

Renting out your car through apps like Turo can be a creative way to generate passive income, especially if your vehicle is often idle for extended periods. For example, if your car sits in a parking lot while you’re at work for 8–10 hours a day, you can allow others to rent it during that time.

There are numerous success stories of individuals making substantial income through car rentals. One person reported earning $14,000 per month by renting out their car to strangers. While this passive income idea is relatively new, it has proven to be effective for those who know how to navigate the process.

However, it’s important to consider the necessary vehicle upkeep, which slightly reduces the passivity of this income stream. Nonetheless, renting out your car can be a smart way to monetize an underutilized asset and generate additional income.

9. Vending Machines (Opportunity Score: 7.5/10)

Vending machines offer an opportunity to turn snacks into stacks of cash. These silent salespeople work 24/7, generating passive income for their owners. While a single vending machine may not yield $10,000 per year, strategically placing hundreds of machines across a city or state can lead to substantial profits.

A 31-year-old entrepreneur turned his vending machine side hustle into a $300,000 business, working only 4 hours per week. Another example is a woman who purchased a vending machine for $1,600, and it now generates approximately $400 per month, providing a solid return on investment.

Although vending machines require some maintenance, such as restocking products or hiring someone to do so, they still offer a relatively passive income stream. With the right location and product selection, vending machines can be a profitable venture.

10. ATM Machines (Opportunity Score: 8.5/10)

Similar to vending machines, ATM machines provide an even better opportunity for generating passive income. Many ATMs are owned by individuals rather than banks, allowing these owners to collect transaction fees each time someone withdraws money.

ATM ownership offers a higher passive income potential compared to vending machines, making it an attractive investment option. By strategically placing ATMs in high-traffic areas, owners can maximize their earnings potential.

While some maintenance and restocking of cash are required, the passive income generated from ATM machines can be substantial, making it a worthwhile consideration for those seeking to diversify their income streams.

11. Starting a Membership Website (Opportunity Score: 8/10)

Creating a membership website is another viable passive income idea. Platforms like Patreon make it easy to set up a site where members pay a monthly fee to access exclusive content or resources.

The earning potential is straightforward: if you charge $50 per month and have 1,000 members, you’ll generate $50,000 monthly. Even a few hundred members can result in a significant monthly income. For example, Gillian Perkins started a membership site and reached $10,000 per month within six months.

While building a successful membership site requires considerable effort upfront, once established, it can become a relatively passive income stream. Nonetheless, due to the initial work involved, I give this opportunity an 8/10 score.

12. Writing an Ebook (Opportunity Score: 8.5/10)

Writing and selling ebooks on Amazon can be a promising passive income opportunity, especially for beginners.

Joe, the CEO of Empire Flippers, a company that facilitates the buying and selling of online businesses, believes that starting an ebook business using AI tools is one of the best opportunities for new entrepreneurs.

The process involves identifying popular subjects on Amazon and creating ebooks on those topics, leveraging AI tools like ChatGPT to assist with the writing process.

While AI won’t do all the work for you, it can significantly reduce the time and effort required. Although I may not entirely agree that this is the single best opportunity, I recognize its potential and assign it an 8.5/10 opportunity score.

13. Creating a Lead Generation Website for Service Businesses (Opportunity Score: 7.5/10)

Developing a lead generation website for service-based businesses can be a lucrative passive income stream. Lead generation involves creating websites that rank well for search terms related to specific services, such as plumbing, and then selling the leads generated from those websites to local service providers.

Service businesses are often willing to pay for leads, as it saves them time and effort in marketing. Much of the lead generation process can be automated, making it a highly passive income source once the websites are established.

However, creating successful lead generation websites requires significant work upfront and a deep understanding of search engine optimization (SEO). Due to the initial effort required, I assign this opportunity a 7.5/10 score.

14. Blogging (Opportunity Score: 9/10)

Blogging is a tried-and-true method for generating passive income online. You can earn money through various means, such as starting your own blog, working as a freelance blogger, or writing articles for platforms like Medium.com. When you create your own blog or post on Medium.com, you can generate passive income as the platform pays you based on the number of readers your articles attract.

Starting your own blog requires significant effort initially, but over time, you can monetize it through AdSense and affiliate marketing, making it a highly passive income stream. As your articles continue to rank well on search engines, you can expect a steady flow of traffic and income for years to come.

While you can outsource the writing process if you have the budget, creating a successful blog takes time and dedication. Nonetheless, with the right strategy and consistent effort, blogging can be a highly rewarding passive income idea, earning a 9/10 opportunity score.

15. Investing in Startups (Opportunity Score: 7.5/10)

Investing in startups is no longer limited to venture capitalists. Platforms like StartEngine allow individuals to invest in early-stage companies, providing an opportunity to generate passive income. While most startups fail, the potential returns from a single successful investment can more than compensate for the losses.

Venture capitalists understand that the majority of their startup investments will not succeed, but the ones that do can yield returns of 100x, 200x, or even 500x. By diversifying your startup investment portfolio, you can mitigate risk and increase your chances of backing a winner.

However, investing in startups comes with inherent risks and requires careful due diligence. Additionally, the returns may take several years to materialize, as startups often require time to grow and exit. Considering the high risk-reward nature of startup investing, I assign this opportunity a 7.5/10 score.

Conclusion

In conclusion, these 15 passive income ideas demonstrate the vast potential for earning substantial amounts of money in 2024 and beyond. From selling templates and online courses to investing in real estate and startups, there are numerous opportunities to suit various interests and skill sets.

While some ideas require more upfront effort than others, all of them have the potential to generate significant passive income streams over time. By exploring these options and finding the ones that align with your strengths and goals, you can start building a diversified portfolio of passive income sources.

Remember, the key to success is consistent effort, patience, and a willingness to adapt and learn. With the right mindset and strategies, you can achieve financial freedom and enjoy the benefits of passive income. So, start exploring these ideas today and take the first steps towards building your passive income empire.