Whether getting paid or billing by the hour as an employee, business owner or freelancer of any stripe, you might have thought about finding ways to diversify your income portfolio.
The brains behind Freelance Switch decided to offer their own guide on the topic of Making Passive Income (their description) at Not by the Hour.
The E Book can be Read Online or downloaded as a PDF.
It is divided in 4 parts named Selling Stock (not company stock, photos and other materials), Making Stuff such as T Shirts, Books, Calendars and the like, Selling Subscriptions (to services not magazines, being a reseller actually), Building a Web Business is the 4th part.
In my opinion Part Two and Part Four might be the best bets.
Any of the 4 options will take time and effort. You will find out what works for you by trial and error.
Let me add a few resources to those that they suggest, all in the Web Business Department.
First would be French based Zlio which allows you to build a store with other people’s product. It is well designed and easy to use. You can build as many stores`as you wish but you might spread yourself too thin. I have to confess that I started one but have not worked on it much.
In the Advertising options, I like Adify (which I currently use). Adify lets you decide what ads run on your sites which I find a plus. The quality of the Ads is quite good so it will not turn off the visitors and readers.
For a while, your audience might not be big enough to get you a spot with some of the big boys of Ad Networks. A good option at this early stage regarding both Ad selection and revenue split in my opinion are positive through BlogAds.
Before spending time on any of these options, accept the fact that it could take up to a year to generate a decent amount of income.
A healthy way to envision your Not by the Hour work is as creating additional streams of income not replacing the main one.
Be careful to choose the companies and services that handle all the process from making your items, to shipping and handling them, and the billing of course. All you have to worry about in the end is getting your cut of the sale so pick the right mark up. Do not short change yourself!
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