Passive Income Opportunities - 1

Best Passive Income Opportunities For Designers

Designers know best how it is to work part-time and spend days without an order to take over. These times are the most challenging, which is why the same as all creative workers, web designers need a source of passive income to cover their expenses in the meanwhile.

The odds are decent, especially knowing how much businesses are investing nowadays to maintain admirable websites. The trend of hiring designers will only move upwards, and provide the best passive income opportunities for designers to grow income only because of the fact that they have the experience and skills to do it.

Knowledge and skills are the most powerful sources of passive income for designers, and there are plenty of things they could do with them. That’s why we decided to give a hand and provide some interesting passive income ideas for designers to apply when not busy.

Best Passive Income Opportunities for Creative Web Professionals

Become a consultant

If nothing else, the designer can use his knowledge to provide consulting services on some of the many popular platforms with a large number of clients. Obviously, passive here doesn’t stand for doing absolutely anything, but it is not that much of an effort and it doesn’t require to hit the radar to make money.

artboard_1_copyImage source: Cole Townsend

For designers, consulting services are a real blessing in disguise, as they already know whom to address and what to do.

The only thing they’ll eventually have to develop is marketing wisdom (even if freelancers already have it), and even dedicate themselves completely to it in case business is going fine. Novice designers can benefit from it in particular because for them it will be a great learning experience.

Resell Hosting

3Image source: Bill S Kenney

This method is applicable to literally every designer out there, and it genuinely means making money out of the blue. You can visit places such as BlueHost and resell low-cost hosting to the web clients.

This will not require you to build up a hosting service all of a sudden, or literally create a hosting brand with its own logo and website, but rather to let clients know you can take over their hosting needs, and generate some income.

Sell templates and themes

Presentation Templates
Image source: Biggest Presentation Templates Bundle

Why wouldn’t you practice a bit more, and design brand new themes and templates even when not required to? Use your creativity to make them unique, and attach them on Template Forest or another web store where customers can see them. In such way, you’ll earn money for something you genuinely enjoy doing.

It shouldn’t be difficult for you to build a lasting customer relationship, as millions of people and companies require fresh WordPress themes every day. Buying your theme, they will spare the trouble of hiring a designer to create a unique website for their business.

Teach

The web design industry is becoming more and more popular to creative people, meaning there is a knowledge-hungry bunch waiting for people like you to assist them when mastering the craft.

For the purpose, you can make tutorials or give online video courses both to stay in line with the new trends of your industry and to earn money. You can either organize them completely on your behalf or research marketplaces where they can be published.

Write guides and eBooks

darkartImage source: The Dark Art Of Freelancing

You’re the master of your skill, and you need to convince your future customers of it. A good way to attract them and to earn some extra cash is to share knowledge in quality guides and eBooks, meant to be used both by fellow designers and potential customers.

This would be a win-win solution in case you actually know how to write, so expect your masterpiece to sell as fast as hotcakes. Properly written and SEO optimized materials can bring you more income than you ever expected, but don’t forget to focus on the marketing and money-making strategy of the method you’re presenting.

Affiliate marketing

dribbble-shot_affiliate-marketingImage source: Arturo Jimenez

The fact that you have your own website to use as a portfolio is not just a way to showcase your work, but a true coffin of hidden treasure you haven’t exploited. You need to consider affiliate links to the hosting provider, or similar services such as invoicing services and premium membership and place them in the footer area where users can easily see them.

The links can even be sent to leads while closing a deal, promoted through news feeds and emails, or shared on social networks and forums when providing advice. The better you are, the more companies will turn to you to feature them, and that’s exactly what pays the most on the web.

Design mobile apps

There is no way for the mobile trend to go down any time soon, so make use of it. Instead of focusing on websites only, try to repurpose your skills and to develop amazing practical and entertaining apps.

Design clothes

ossco_dribbbleImage Source: Mike Jones

Who said web designers were supposed to design websites only? The creative juice doesn’t choose where to flow, and it can easily be transformed into something accessible to larger audiences.

The easiest way to shift from web design to the fashion one is to make T-shirts with unique imprints, either by providing your special skills to an established producer, or
producing them yourself. The more creative you get, the more people will like the T-shirts, which means you’re already on a good way to earn serious money.

Reuse your outdated graphic files

The old vectors some previous client refused are not a completely vain investment, especially if you polish them a bit, and upload them in a place from where they can be more visible to clients. Someone will eventually be interested in them, and you will be able to earn extra cash between projects.

Sell stock photographs

Professional, high-quality cameras no longer cost an arm and a leg, and as a designer, you should afford one to shoot some creative photos and sell them on stock websites.

Establish a SaaS (Software As A Service) business

so-much-room-for-activitiesImage source: Patryk Sobczak

You may consider establishing a private business to go a bit too far across the lien of what you can spend, or the skills you actually possess to create it, and you’re not alone in it.

Many designers around the world prefer to stay away from the spotlight and work freelance behind the curtains, but that’s only because they don’t know they can provide software based service in a much more affordable way.

SaaS businesses make efforts pay off, as you will be charged only at the beginning (the same as on job boards), but money will continuously flow on your account due to the subscription services you’ll be providing.

headerImage source: Guillaume Marc

The only challenge you’ll have to surpass is the lack of technical skills, as most designers have no coding background at all. This shouldn’t worry you because there will be many developers or designers interested to co-found it.

You can either choose a non-technical partner and share cause, or one that will complete the software and earn a percentage. If nothing else, you can always try with a WordPress blog and earn good money with literally minimal investment.

Final thoughts

Extra income can be earned in many ways, even outside the scope of those methods we mentioned. Just think of creative ways to invest your knowledge, and ideas will start to come app. At a certain moment, the income flow may become so positive that you will even stop looking for another job.

As a web designer, you need to appreciate your title and to be completely aware of how financially independent and secure it can make you. Most designers are able to work only on projects they’ve chosen, and that’s all due to the wisdom of using their sills properly.

Web designers have a very real opportunity to make themselves more financially secure and independent by creating sources of passive income. They can also sell their creative designs/work on online graphic design marketplace to the people and generate some extra revenue.

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