10 Best Ways to Make Money While You Sleep

You can make money while you sleep. Yeah, you read that right; this is not some crazy joke. If you play your cards right, you can even retire early or quit your job and still earn comfortably while catching some much-deserved Zs. The secret: passive income. This money-making approach lets you make a living without being actively involved in day-to-day work operations. It’s pretty much like making income on autopilot, in the background, while you live your best life.

When you invest enough time and resources upfront, a passive income venture can continue to generate revenue even while you take some time off. Sounds incredible, right? In this post, we will explore how passive income works, the ten best passive income ideas you can try in 2023, and tips to maximize your earnings. We will also showcase success stories of individuals who have earned six-figure incomes while working less than 15 hours per week. Keep reading!

The Appeal of Passive Income

What was that adage? Oh yes, make your money work for you. In today’s technology-enabled world, achieving financial independence without actively working day and night appeals to many — and it’s perfectly possible thanks to smartphones, the internet, and the gig economy. Who wouldn’t want to make a comfortable income with little to no effort? Once you set up a solid foundation for your passive income streams, the money will continue to flow in even when you’re asleep.

Suppose you desire a more flexible lifestyle that is free from the constraints of a regular 9–5 job, demanding bosses, irritating coworkers, and rush hour commutes. In that case, the idea of creating a passive income stream may interest you. Everyone’s dream, and their mom’s, is to build a business that runs efficiently and brings profits without their constant involvement. Luckily, you can begin doing it right away. If you need some ideas to get started, we’ve compiled a list of ten practical suggestions you can implement.

10 Best Passive Income Ideas to Make Money While You Sleep

As we enter the second half of 2023, making money while sleeping is no longer a dream but a tangible reality many live by. The secret is to research different income opportunities and settle on the ones that align with your passion, skills, and available resources. Here is our list of the ten best passive income ventures anyone can try. Remember that you can engage with most of them while in the comfort of your home without leaving your couch. 

1. Pawns.App  

Launched in February 2021, Pawns.app is one of the best gig economy apps today. It helps users make money online flexibly, even while they sleep. Pawns.app provides three different ways of earning cash: 

• Paid surveys: By providing your honest feedback to some of the most relevant brands available today, you can make up to $70 bucks each month. Surveys are short and easy to respond to, so you could be able to take up to 10 per day. 
• Internet sharing: Pawns.app lets you sell your unused bandwidth to those who might need it more than you. This way, you can take full advantage of your internet plan while making a pretty penny out of it. This method lets you earn up to $96 per month.
• Referral programs: Sharing is caring, especially when it comes to money-making opportunities.Pawns.app understands this, which is why they offer you a generous commission for inviting your friends and family to join this profitable venture. When you ask anyone to join the platform, they get $1, and you make 10% of their every payout.

The best thing is, unlike other gig economy apps, Pawns.app is not restricted to a specific geographical location. Users from across the globe can join and make anywhere from $5 to $140 extra every month. 

2. Live-Stream Yourself Sleeping (Serious, No Kidding)

Believe it or not, you can get paid for sleeping, literally. If you have a TikTok account with considerable followers, you can try the new trend of steaming yourself overnight and earning money. It may sound ridiculous, but according to a report by the New York Times, a few Zoomers made considerable cash from doing precisely this.

One 18-year-old reported making $10 from followers watching him in his slumber, while another user made $50 from streaming his sleeping Tesla ride. In addition, a Douyin user had 18.5 million viewers watch him sleep, earning him more than $4,000. You probably won’t make this much from people just watching you sleep. However, if the video is captivating, it can draw in more viewers who may engage in live chats, leading to increased earnings.

3. Start a Blog or Niche Site

A blog or niche site can bring you money through display ads, sponsored content, sale of digital products, and affiliate commissions. All these monetization methods work differently for different niches. For example, ad revenue is 100% passive and can generate money while you’re sleeping.

Starting a blog or niche site requires initial effort and commitment in the first six months. You’ll need to come up with a profitable niche idea, buy domain and hosting, publish valuable content, and generate revenue with display ads and affiliate marketing. The first six or 12 months will not bring much revenue, but if you’re patient and persistent, you will eventually start earning through organic traffic.

Ultimately, your blog might become profitable to the point you’ll need to hire freelance writers and virtual assistants to help you create content and manage the site. From there, you won’t have to be actively involved in running the blog, and you can make money on autopilot. Average earnings range from $100 to $100,000 or more per month. 

4. Write an eBook and Self-Publish

Have you ever bought an ebook from Amazon or Kindle? Then you’ve read a book self-published by others. Self-publishing is one of the most flexible ways of earning passive income on autopilot. You don’t necessarily need to work with a publisher in the traditional sense. You can take matters into your own hands and utilize various free tools online to get the job done in just a few days.

If you can write, you only need a computer, inspiration, and creativity. To maximize your success on Amazon, it’s crucial to professionally design your book so it can rank well against competitors. You can also expand your reach by promoting your book on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Google. With these efforts, you can expect to earn an average of $300 to $1000 per month.

5. Dive Into Affiliate Marketing

There are various ways to earn passive income through affiliate marketing besides promoting products and services on your website. Email and Instagram are two other avenues that can be utilized for this purpose.

You can easily monetize your organic traffic if you have an email list or a significant social media following. All you need to do is post engaging content and embed affiliate links to promote products and services. You earn a commission whenever a follower or subscriber clicks on the link and makes a purchase. To get started, you need a stable traffic source, a landing page, and engaging content that provides value to your audience. With these in place, you can start earning affiliate revenue, estimated at $1,000 to $100,000 per month.

6. Start a YouTube Channel

Becoming a YouTuber seems to be what all cool kids are doing these days to make money. You can start a YouTube channel if you love creating videos or educating people. Like other passive income ideas in this list, a YouTube channel requires much work to set up and gain considerable subscribers. Initially, you’ll need to create regular videos about a particular topic and build a stable following before you can monetize it. However, once the channel is up and running, you can earn from it even while sleeping. 

People are constantly searching for video content on different topics, and if you can fill a gap and solve their problem with your channel, you’ll generate revenue in due course. You won’t make money on day one, but if you’re persistent and committed, you’ll enjoy the benefits once your channel is established. Average earnings per month range from $1000 to $3000. 

7. Turn Your Passion Into Cash

If you’re passionate about photography and video shooting, there are platforms where you can turn your hobby into a money-making venture. Sites like Shutterstock, Pixabay, Getty Images, and iStock can pay you to post your unique shots on the platform.

To sell your photos on stock sites, you’ll need a quality camera and other equipment to capture stunning, authentic shots. Purchasing the necessary tools might require an initial investment, but it’ll be well worth the splurge. The good thing is these sites allow you to set your own price, so once you post a photo or video clip, people will watch them as you sleep, sending revenue your way. The average monthly earnings from selling your photography work online is between $200 and $400. 

8. Become a Host on Airbnb

Hosting is another income avenue you can try in 2023 — and beyond. If you have extra space or room in your apartment, you can rent it out on Airbnb, a hosting platform that lets you make money while sleeping. You can make an average of $900 monthly, allowing visitors and tourists to stay in your unused space or property. This amount, however, depends on a few factors, like the size of the room and how often it’s booked. 

You’ll also need to hire cleaners once guests leave and be available to handle guests’ inquiries. If hosting is not your thing, renting the room as storage space is another option. That’s more hands-off and flexible as it requires little to no involvement on your part. 

9. Invest in Stocks

So far, we’ve established that some of these income streams cost initial investment in money and time. In other words, to make money while sleeping, you must be willing to put in some of your hard-earned cash and dedicate a certain number of hours to the endeavor. However, stock investing offers a different approach.

By carefully selecting profitable stocks and strategically managing your portfolio, you can generate a passive income that continues to grow even while you rest. As your investments perform well, dividends and capital appreciation can contribute to your earnings without the need for active involvement. Stock investing allows your money to work for you, and the interest you earn depends on the amount invested and the economic situation. 

10. Try Email Marketing

Email marketing benefits you by building relationships with target customers and earning revenue by promoting products and services. You can use email marketing to generate leads and make sales. Moreover, you can even educate and inform your audience about a particular product or service. So how do you do this while sleeping? Through automation. Sign up with a trustworthy email service provider and automate everything. 

Examples of reliable email service providers include:

• ConvertKit
• Hubspot
• Mailjet
• MailChimp

Create and set up a series of email messages and schedule to send them at various intervals. Using automation allows you to track your progress and see how many messages were opened, when they were opened, and how the audience engaged with them. Once you automate your emails, you don’t have to be involved constantly. As long as you maintain your subscriber list, you can make between $500 to $5,000+ per month.

Success Stories of People Earning Money in Sleep

You may be wondering how these passive income ideas are viable. To clear your doubts, here are a few success stories of people who ventured into the passive income world and earned six figures monthly, working just a few hours daily. 

Michelle Schroeder-Gardner, 33, Blogger

When 33-year-old Michelle Schroeder-Gardner first thought of starting a passive income venture in 2011, her goal was to pay off her student debt, amounting to $40,000. That’s when the idea of creating a personal finance blog struck, and she dived right into it. She launched her niche site, “Making Sense of Cents,” to help her track her journey to becoming debt-free. 

Michelle says the blog quickly picked up, and within a few years, she was well off enough to quit her 9 to 5 job so she could dedicate her time to her uprising business. She managed to pay the $40,000 student debt from revenue generated from her blog and even built a comfortable life for her loved ones. Today, she works two hours a day and spends her time touring with her family. Michelle states starting her blogging business gave her financial freedom she would never have had, even if she held a few jobs. 

Graham Cochrane, 40, Business Coach, Music Producer and Author

Business coach and author of “How to Get Paid for What You Know,″ Graham Cochrane first ventured into the passive income business in 2009. At that time, he had no idea what he was doing, except he knew he wanted something that would give him a comfortable lifestyle and freedom. He was a passionate music producer who eagerly wanted to earn from it. 

Over the years, Graham managed to build a music blog and a business coaching brand, two online businesses that now bring him $160,000 a month in passive revenue. Graham claims he now works a maximum of five hours a week. 

Kat Norton, 28, TikTok Content Creator

Kat Norton has always been proficient in Microsoft Excel and passionate about teaching others. However, she was shy and had self-esteem issues that made her procrastinate her dream of starting a business in that line. Kat badly wanted to create online tutorial videos on Microsoft Excel, but her lack of confidence got in the way. 

Eventually, she read five self-help books that motivated her to post Excel training videos on TikTok in 2020. Going by the name Miss Excel, Kat now teaches people how to use Excel sheets, and by February 2021, she was able to quit her 9–5 job. She currently manages her business full-time and has generated more than $1 million in revenue. Kat reports making over $100,000 in sales in just one day. She now has over one million Instagram and TikTok followers and works 15 hours weekly. 

Main Keypoints

• Passive income enables you to generate earnings without the need for daily active work, creating a consistent stream of income that persists even when you’re asleep.
• The appeal of passive income lies in the ability to achieve financial independence and flexibility, free from the constraints of a regular 9–5 job. 
• Most passive income opportunities online are work-from-home ideas, and you can work anywhere in the world. 
• The most profitable passive income ventures may require an initial investment in the form of time and money for you to see the results. 
• You can earn passive income through side hustles that align with your passions, such as writing, photography, and online tutoring.
• The success stories of people who have earned six-figure incomes with minimal time commitment show that passive income ventures are a viable option.

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