Easy Passive Income Ideas for Artists

Passive income is by far one of the best ways to avoid financial strains as an artist. We all know how challenging it gets when only relying on our nine-to-five jobs. It’s even more difficult for artists to rely on money from the arts alone. That is why many are finding side hustles to support their careers. You may have heard of making money online through survey platforms as an alternative passive income stream.

However, you must know there are other ways to earn passive income online besides selling your digital art. Creative projects take a long period to work on, making it extra difficult for artists to work on other side hustles. That’s why you need to try these passive income strategies.

What Is Passive Income for Artists?

Passive income is money you earn without investing too much time and effort. As an artist, you can already do this in a way by creating art or using previously created art to market and sell it. Besides this strategy you can employ using your own creative aptitudes, there are numerous types of other income methods you can try out. In this article, we’ll introduce you to some of these passive income ideas. We’ll also show you how much earnings you can make from these platforms.

Passive Income Strategies for Artists: Types of Passive Income

There are various strategies to use as an artist to make passive income. The types of passive income we will be discussing are: 

• Print-on-demand services
• Affiliate marketing
• Selling artwork courses
• Leasing
• EBook
• Subscription services  
• Print-On-Demand Services 

Recently, the demand for print-on-demand services has seen a notable upsurge. As a designer and artist, you can put your artwork on mugs, bags, t-shirts, or mats to generate passive income. Though it may need some time and work upfront, it’s worth the wait. Because after you have completed your artistry work and marketing on platforms discussed later, you’ll now passively generate revenue on it. 

To get started, you’ll need to partner with print-on-demand companies hosting your products on their website. The company handles inventory and shipping work, and then you receive payment in the form of commissions for each sale. 

Companies like Redbubble are risk-free print-on-demand platforms where you can sell calendars, notepads, phone cases, t-shirts, pillows, art prints, and more. With print-on-demand services, there is no limit on how much you can make. But, on average, you can earn $1 per listing. 

• Affiliate Marketing 

Affiliate marketing is dependable if you’re looking for the most effective passive income stream as a beginner artist. Affiliate marketing means you market products by sharing an affiliate link to each product. These are products that meet your target audience. If you’re a photographer, you can market animal photos or something related.

So, when a customer clicks the link and purchases the product, you receive payment in the form of a commission. To succeed in affiliate marketing, you must have a good number of social media followers. You’ll also need quality marketing strategies to attract customers. Sites like Amazon, eBay, and Etsy allow you to earn through this method. Expect to earn anywhere from 1% to 30% in commissions. 

• Selling Artwork Courses 

Online courses are one of the best passive income ideas that you can rely on. They are particularly worth it if you have the knowledge and are skilled at handling complex art-related software. Any valuable skills that can help you set up the courses are also beneficial. You can choose whether to offer online or face-to-face artwork classes.

By teaching artwork online, your work reaches a larger audience, increasing the possibility of making sales. Besides, you don’t need to teach lessons repeatedly. After video recording your material and uploading it to sites such as Udemy and Skillshare, millions can access it anytime. 

• Leasing 

As an artist, you know how long it takes to sell your artwork. Rather than waiting months or weeks to make one sale, consider leasing as you wait for a buyer. Leasing artwork operates the same as how renting works. There are art leasing companies such as IPaintMyMind and Rise Art that you can count on. Still, you can lease it yourself, too, if you so decide.

For example, you can rent your art to a party for a certain period. This approach is also another marketing strategy for your work to gain recognition. Businesses and individuals can rent your work and may even refer your artwork to others, thus increasing your leasing potential. With this lucrative business, you can generate passive income with ease. Artists make from $200 to $10,000 with an average fee of $500. 

• EBook 

Another option for an artist to make passive income is through eBooks. You can combine all your knowledge and expertise about your artistry work into an eBook, as many people would be interested in such content, especially beginners. After that, sell it through online marketplace stores such as Amazon. Still, if you have a website, you can publish it there and market it through your social media accounts.

If you have little knowledge about a specific topic, you can find a copywriter to compile the content for you and a graphic designer to design the cover page and book outlook. For eBooks, there are no upfront publishing costs. You can sell your eBooks online in PDF format. Generally, anybody can create an eBook to generate passive income. You can make $1,000 monthly if you use a site like Amazon. 

• Subscription Services 

Offering subscription services through social media platforms is also an easy passive income idea. This strategy is perfect if you have a great social media following. There are subscription-based sites such as Spotify where once you have a membership program, your subscriber can access new videos and work previews. That’s after you have shared with them in your handle.

To start this side hustle, it needs some upfront work and upkeep. First, thoroughly research the best subscription service and use it to generate passive income. Major labels pay artists 16% of their royalties — sites like Spotify pay from $2 to $4 per 1,000 streams.

Platforms Artists Can Use to Earn Passive Income Revenue

Now that you know which strategies you can use to generate passive income as an artist, you need to find platforms where you can offer your services. When looking for one, be mindful that some are better than others regarding their payment threshold. Here are the best platforms you can count on: 

• Instagram 

Instagram is an extensively used social media platform artists can count on. As a beginner artist, you won’t need to wait until you have a great following to succeed on this platform. What you need is to curate optimized content. SEO strategies like keyword usage and hashtags can attract people to your content. All you need is to understand how it works.

Then, post high-quality images; you can use photo editing services to edit your images with clean backgrounds. Now, create an optimized caption for your content and include a well-optimized bio for your page. Becoming successful on Instagram will depend on how in demand the art is. Also, how engaged your followers are will determine your success. Ensure your content is what your target audience wants. 

• TikTok 

We’ve all heard about TikTok and can attest to the success story people have from the platform. People are making millions from TikTok. Writers, musicians, performance artists, and visual artists have maximized this platform to connect with fans worldwide. Thanks to its optimized algorithms, this highly interactive platform can help you generate massive passive income. Earning engagement on TikTok is easier than on Instagram. So, you have a higher potential to reach users.

To succeed on this platform, plan your content and remain consistent. By doing so, the TikTok algorithm categorizes your content and channels it to the right audience. If it works, you’ll start generating passive income from sales or views through the platform. Sales can be through your affiliate links. TikTok takes 50% of your earnings, leaving you with 50%. Additionally, stream gifts are a great addition to your earnings. 

• Fiverr 

Another platform to consider is Fiverr. Though most people know it as a freelancing platform, Fiverr is more than that. Remember, even freelancers use it to sell their services. You can also sell print-on-demand (POD) services through it. 

If you’re selling graphics, fonts, artwork, or logos that you already have in your portfolio, this is an excellent alternative to easily generate passive income. When you sell from a POD supplier, they may sell it at $9; you can market it and sell it at $20 to get a good profit from it. Depending on how in demand your artwork is, you can make up to $500 selling through POD services on Fiverr. 

• Creative Market 

Creative Market has gained popularity and is among the best platforms for passive income. This platform is the best for those with design and creative skills. If you want to showcase your illustrations, digital designs, web themes, photos, and fonts, it’s the place for you. Its project licensing is a pre-designed asset always ready to use. You get to choose between monthly and enterprise licensing memberships. In Creative Market, you can make up to $100k over time. One thing you need to be aware of about the platform is that they take a 40% commission on any sale you make.

So, when you sell an art for $19, you’ll make $11.40. Another thing is you can earn through commission. If your customer is a first-timer, you get a 15% commission for the purchase they make within the first 30 days. When a new customer buys from your shop through your link, you will make 85% on sales and 15% on partner commission. 

• Udemy 

Hands down one of the finest platforms to make passive income by selling online courses. Udemy is the most popular e-learning site worldwide. When you create a course and sell it through this platform, around 50 million potential students can have access. 

You can create courses on video editing, online writing, web designing, and more. As an instructor on Udemy, you receive a 30% commission for every course bought. Udeny takes 70% of the earnings. Some top instructors have managed to make over $1 million yearly, while some beginner instructors have managed to secure $200 monthly.

Final Thoughts About Passive Income for Artists

You can participate in online surveys while waiting to sell your artistry work or market it through an e-commerce platform. Pawns.app is one of the best online survey platforms paying people to participate in these market studies. Signing up on this legit site can get you $0.25 to $5 per completed survey.

Why pick an online survey platform for passive income? Easy. If you choose this online survey site, you will always have the capital to finance the budget you need to fund your art projects. You won’t get stuck on financing your art hustle or any new side hustle you opt to follow. With millions of products reaching the market daily, companies need to determine their market performance from consumers. This fact guarantees you’ll always earn through surveys daily.

Thanks to increased technological innovation, every platform is changing, and it’s now easy to make passive income as an artist. Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram are the best revenue sources for this strategy. Other sources listed in this article will also earn you a good amount, provided you apply a sound strategy and have enough determination and patience to see things through. Start making passive income with the ideas above today!

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