Learn how I earned an extra $15,000 a week last year through these easy passive income streams.

Today I’m sharing 5 easy passive income streams for content creators, and I’m ranking them in order, starting with the ones that made me the most money last year.

DISCLAIMER: Links included in this post might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting me so I can continue to provide you with free content each week on my blog and on my YouTube channel!

Now, when I say passive income, I don’t mean “get rich quick” hacks or lazy ways to make money overnight. That’s not what this is.

Passive income means you do the heavy lifting up front, and then over time, that work keeps paying you, even when you’re not actively working. Yes, there’s a hustle phase. Yes, it takes effort to set up. But once it’s in motion? You can start earning while you sleep, film your next video, or take a real break for once.

If you’re a content creator who’s tired of trading time for money and ready to build income that runs in the background, this post is for you.

I’m breaking down the 5 passive income streams that have made the biggest impact in my business. These are the ones that helped me grow, scale, and actually create space in my schedule.

For each one, I’ll walk you through:

• What it is and why it works.
• How you can get started and make it your own.

So take notes, borrow what works for you, and start building your own streams of income that keep flowing, even when you’re offline.

Let’s dive in! And as always, if you’d rather watch than read, just hit play on the video below.

5 Easy Passive Income Streams for Content Creators

#1 Online Courses

You don’t need to be an expert to create and sell an online course. What you do need is real experience in something you’ve actually done, and seen results with. If you’ve figured something out for yourself, you can teach it to others.

Last year my online courses generated my business approximately $575,000.

Before I made an online course, I was doing 1:1 and group coaching which is considered an active income stream. Unfortunately, with coaching, I wasn’t able to scale my income or grow my business, because my time is limited.

At some point, the only way to make more money was to take on more students and I just couldn’t. 

With coaching, I was saying the same things over and over to each student. I thought I could package all the questions I’m asked as a coach into an online course. And this, was the best decision I ever made. 

In my first year of selling online courses I made $96,000.

Courses are typically pre-recorded videos that follow a syllabus or structure of some sort to offer the student a transformation, result, or tangible outcome.

Why should you sell an online course? What if you’re not an expert at anything? Can you still sell a course?

The eLearning market size has grown rapidly in recent years. It will grow from $314 billion in 2024 to $354 billion in 2025. There is a lot of potential earnings here because so many people love an online learning experience that they can take on their own time.

And ANYONE can sell an online course on literally ANYTHING.

The biggest misconception about online courses is that you can’t sell one unless you’re a coach or an educator or an expert at XYZ topic and that could not be further from the truth. 

You don’t have to be a master or expert of anything. Scratch that, you don’t have to feel like you’re an expert, because sometimes the things that feel the most mundane and easy to us, is exactly what we can be teaching to others.

All you need is experience in a specific area where you’ve seen results for yourself (ideally this falls in line with the same type of content you create), and then you can teach those results to your audience.

Here are some examples of online courses:

• School of cakepops (Rachel)
• Christmas Lights Training Course
• Thomas Franks Notion course
• Indoor Gardening Course

So how can you get started and create your own online course?

1. Validate your course topic
2. Outline your course 
3. Create your course
4. Sell it

Step 1: Validate Your Course Idea 

Before you create a course, you want to make sure the topic is something people actually want to learn about. That’s called validating your course idea, and it’s such an important step.

As a content creator, the easiest way to validate a course topic is by creating free content around it first. If people are already watching, engaging, and asking questions, that’s a sign there’s real demand. For example: let’s say you make cake pops and your followers are constantly asking for your recipes, tools, and tips. That’s your course! Package up everything you already know and turn it into something they can buy.

Step 2: Outline Your Course

There are a million ways you can outline your course… but I love the sticky note method. It’s simple, visual, and honestly, it makes the whole process way less overwhelming.

Here’s how it works: Grab a stack of sticky notes. Then, start brain-dumping everything you want to teach, one idea per sticky note. Don’t worry about the order yet! Just get it all out of your head and onto the notes.

Once you’ve got all your ideas laid out, you can start grouping similar topics together. Those groups usually turn into your course modules. From there, organize the sticky notes in a logical order, like how a beginner would want to learn the material. That’s your course outline.

The best part? If you get stuck or need to rearrange things, you just move the sticky notes around. No pressure, no perfectionism. Just progress.

Step 3: Build Your Online Course 

For a lot of my online courses, I keep things simple: I create my slides in Canva, record myself walking through them on Zoom, and then edit the video in CapCut. That’s it! You can totally use one of Canva’s free templates, or if you want something a little fancier, check out creativemarket.com for beautiful plug-and-play options.

Once your course is recorded and ready to go, it’s time to upload it to your course platform. Personally, I highly recommend using Stan, especially if you’re a content creator. Stan lets you host your course, create your sales page, set up checkout, and handle everything in one place. It makes the entire process easier not only for you as the creator, but also for your customer. And a smooth checkout experience means more conversions. Win-win.

I’ve been shouting about Stan since 2022, back when I was a paying customer way before they ever sponsored a single video. So yes, they’re sponsoring this one (hi, Stan!), but I’d be raving about them either way. I genuinely love this tool, I use it in my own business, and I fully believe it’s the best all-in-one platform for creators who want to make money. Period.

And remember, your course doesn’t have to be huge. Some of the most profitable courses are short, focused, and packed with value. You can price your course anywhere from $47 to $6,000 depending on your topic, your authority, your audience. (Just maybe don’t start at $6,000 for your first one, okay?)

Step 4: Sell It

Make your course your main call to action, and talk about it everywhere. Your content should lead back to that course topic so that the more people watch, the more they realize you’re the go-to person for this thing they want to learn.

#2 Platform monetization (Specifically YouTube Monetization)

YouTube was a major income stream for me. Last year YouTube generated my business $114k. AND in my first year of being monetized, back when I was a baby YouTuber, I made $9,500.

You don’t need millions of subscribers. You just need consistent, helpful content and a little bit of strategy, and YouTube can absolutely become a reliable passive income stream for your business.

Platform monetization can be passive income because if I stop posting to my YouTube Channel tomorrow, I will still be making money. Once you’re monetized, you get paid for the views that come, whether or not you keep posting. 

For example, this is a video I posted in 2022 that I am STILL making money from, because I am still getting views from it. 

Now technically, you can get monetized on any social media platform. Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok all have different eligibility requirements, where when you meet them, you can start earning money through your content and other monetization features.

So if I had to rank them in order of which platform has the best payout process or income-earning potential:

• YouTube is first. They’ve been paying Creators for years, they already have their monetization figured out. My payout was just based on views, I didn’t have to use any of their other monetization tools. 
• Next is TikTok. While getting paid for views on TikTok doesn’t earn as much as on YouTube, TikTok has a lot of monetization tools that Creators have been making a living off. (For example, TikTok Shop is basically a form of affiliate marketing directly on the TikTok platform.) There are Creators who make millions on TikTok Shop. 
• Last is Instagram. While Instagram does have Creator tools that can make you money, I can honestly say that I haven’t heard of ANY creator who is making a living specifically off of Instagram monetization. Personally, I think that they’re still fine tuning how monetization works for them. 

What can you do to get monetized?

For YouTube there are two levels you can meet:

• The first level will unlock fanfunding on YouTube (like channel memberships or super chats). To get access to that you only need 500 subscribers and 3,000 hours of watch time.
• Then to get access to full monetization (like ads) on YouTube where you get paid per views, you need to have 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours within the past 12 months.

If you’re interested in growing on YouTube, I do have a course, The Channel Growth Lab, that teaches my 0-1,000 subscriber roadmap. I’ve helped students grow and monetize their channels in as little as 3 months! If you’d like to learn more about that course, you can find it here. 

For TikTok qualifications: 

• If you want to qualify for TikTok Shop you have to have a Personal account (not a business account), be 18 years or older, and have a minimum of 5,000 followers.
• For their Creator Funding (aka getting paid for views) you have to also be 18 years of age, in a country that offers the Creator Funt, have 10,000 followers, and 100,000 or more video views in the last 30 days. 

For Instagram monetization:

• Monetization for Instagram is more ambiguous because they keep adding and removing monetization options but generally to get access you need to be in a country that’s eligible for monetization, your account needs to follow community guidelines as well as be a business or creator account, you need to have 10,000 followers and be actively using their features. 

#3 Affiliate marketing

Last year, my business brought in just over $50,000 in affiliate sales. And just to show you what’s possible. My very first year adding affiliate marketing to my income streams? I made $2,000. So yes, it can grow over time if you stay consistent.

Affiliate marketing is when you earn a commission or fee for recommending a product you love and use to your audience. There are two main ways creators get paid:

• Pay per click — You earn money just by getting people to click your link.
• Pay per conversion — You earn a commission when someone buys the product through your link (this is the most common type for creators).

Bonus: There’s never any extra cost for the person using your link. That means they get the same price, and you still get paid.

Let’s talk examples:

• TikTok Shop is a great one. You earn a % of each sale that comes from the little orange cart button on your video.
• Or maybe you’re sharing your favorite espresso machine in an IG Story, add your affiliate link and anytime someone buys from that link, you get commission.

Now here’s what most creators don’t realize: Not all affiliate programs pay the same. And depending on your niche, some industries are just way more lucrative than others.

For example:

• In the luxury beauty space, if you’re linking to high-end products on Amazon, you can earn 10% commission.
• But if your content is focused on health and wellness, Amazon only pays out 1% commission per sale in that category.

And it’s not just Amazon, all affiliate programs vary.

The good news? As of February 25, 2025, the average annual pay for an affiliate marketer in the U.S. is $47,500. So if you’re ready to be intentional and set up a solid affiliate strategy that works behind the scenes of your content… this income stream has major potential.

How do you actually get started with affiliate marketing? 

Step 1: Pick (and Commit to) Your Niche

You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s worth repeating: niching down is the fastest way to grow an audience you can genuinely influence. The tighter your niche, the easier it is for followers to trust your recommendations, and the easier it is for you to keep all your affiliate links laser-focused on what they already care about.

More relevance = more clicks = more commissions.

Step 2: Apply to affiliate marketing platforms

Here are my three go-to “link-anything” networks:

1. Amazon Influencer Program
2. Share-A-Sale
3. MagicLinks

These platforms let you create an affiliate link for practically any product you want. Each one has its own eligibility rules. Things like follower count, posting frequency, or engagement metrics, so double-check before you apply.

Or you can apply directly to the brands you already use and love. Stan Store, Canva, or TubeBuddy all offer their own affiliate programs. Direct programs usually pay better, but juggling dozens of logins can get messy.

Pro tip: create a bookmarks folder in Chrome (or your browser of choice) so every affiliate dashboard is one click away.

Step 3: Create your links and start the snowball effect

Once you’re approved, place your links everywhere your audience hangs out:

• YouTube video descriptions
• A dedicated IG Highlight for “Shop My Faves”
• Your link-in-bio landing page
• A neatly organized Amazon storefront
• DM automations that send the link the moment someone asks

Affiliate marketing only works when people can find your links. Make them impossible to miss, and watch the commissions start rolling in.

#4 Digital products

Last year, this income stream brought in around $40,000 for my business, and nearly 40% of that came from just one product: my 12-Month Creator Plan, which only costs $1.

In my very first year of selling digital products? I made $3,800. So yes, this is one of those streams that builds as your audience grows.

Now even though this is #4 on my list (because it didn’t generate as much as my online courses), this is my #1 recommendation if you’re just getting started.

If you were to pick just one income stream to focus on right after reading this post, make it this one.

Creating a digital product is one of the easiest and fastest things you can do as a creator. You can do this is just one weekend.

Digital products can be anything you deliver in digital form:

• E-guides
• Notion templates
• Lightroom presets
• Downloadable planners
• Canva templates
  …the list goes on.

And here’s the proof: Stan analyzed data from over 65,000 creators selling on their platform, and they found that digital downloads actually get more sales than coaching, courses, and memberships.

It’s low-ticket, low-lift, and high-converting. This one’s a no-brainer.

How can you get started if you want to sell a digital product?

Step 1: Identify a problem in a particular market or industry 

For example:

• Industry: Social Media
• Audience: Content Creators
• Problem: Creating highly engaging videos
• Your Solution: 100+ Hooks to Increase Engagement

If you can’t think of anything off the top of your head, take this format and ask ChatGPT. 

Say “I’m a content creator in the ____ industry. My audience is ______ who are struggling to ______. What are 20+ digital product ideas that I could sell to my audience to help provide them a solution?” Boom. Pick one to create.

Step 2: Provide the solution to that problem

Now you have to provide the solution to the problem. I create all of my digital downloads in Canva using free templates. And once I’ve finished that, I set up my digital products in Stan. 

Pro Tip: When Stan did their study analyzing 65,000 creators’ stores, they found that if you’re selling a product that is $49 or more you are actually 3.5 times more likely to make $100 in your first 30 days of selling. 

And if you want to increase your chances by 43%, when you create a free resource first that is related to your paid digital product, you are even more likely to increase your sales of that product.

Now the whole freebie to digital product is a deepdive itself, and luckily for you I have this video here that teaches you step by step how to set up that funnel from pick a freebie, create it, pick your digital product, create it, setting everything up to sell in Stan AND how to automate the email funnel so that if someone downloads your free offer, they are upsold to your paid offer.

#5 Memberships

Last year, I launched a membership in August and ran it for 5 months. During that time, it brought in around $6,000, so about $1,200 a month in recurring revenue.

At its core, a membership is a space where your followers pay a monthly fee in exchange for exclusive content or community access they can’t get anywhere else.

What I love about memberships is that they allow you to build a deeper connection with your audience while creating consistent, predictable income for your business. Recurring revenue for creators is GOLD. It gives you breathing room and stability, two things every creator needs more of.

Now, there are a ton of different ways to set up a membership. Some are more passive, and some require a lot more hands-on time.

For example, if I offer weekly LIVE calls, exclusive content drops, and stay active in a chat where members can ask me questions any time—that’s an active income stream. I have to show up regularly and really pour into the community.

On the flip side, a more passive membership could offer things like:

• Voting on future video topics
• Early access to YouTube uploads
• A group chat where members connect with each other

That still delivers value without requiring you to be “on” all the time.

Neither option is wrong! I just want you to be aware of what you’re signing up for before launching a membership, because that was one of my biggest mistakes when I first started mine.

I didn’t fully consider how much ongoing time and energy it would take to deliver on what I promised… and that’s a lesson I learned real quick.

So take a beat, think about your capacity, and decide what kind of membership model works best for you.

How do you get started with creating a membership?

Step 1: Ask your audience what they want access to

The best way to start making money with a membership is to directly ask your followers what kind of content they would like to see, and what they would be willing to pay extra for. Once you determine the value you can offer, you’ll be ready to set up your membership.  

Step 2: Set the perks

Let your audience know what the perks will be. 

Step 3: Choose your membership site

There are a lot of different places you can host your membership. You can use something as simple as Slack, Facebook or Circle. Or you can set up a video library membership with a website like UScreen. 

Step 4: Keep posting about it

Keep creating content and let your audience know that they can get even more from you! All they have to do is join your membership. The more you talk about it, the more you share the value, the more members you should see coming in. 

These are more of a mix between passive and active income because you need to retain your members. But this one is GREAT because you’re able to create a predictable monthly revenue for yourself as a creator.

BONUS #6: UGC

As promised here is a bonus income stream that you can look into even if you have 0 followers: UGC.

UGC stands for User Generated Content. User Generated Content is content, whether photo, video, text, a review, etc, that was authentically created by an everyday user of that product or brand. 

Brands have found that UGC is 42% more effective and 6.9x more engaging than content created by the brands themselves. 

According to a Nielsen report, over 60% of consumers trust user-generated content over content created by brands or influencers.

The difference between UGC and brand collaborations is that with UGC, you do not need to be an influence or have an established platform because the brand doesn’t want you to post the content. They just want you to make it, and they will post it or use it for ads.

So how can you get started with it? 

Step 1: Build your portfolio

You’re simply going to create videos about products that are already laying around your house. This is to create a sample UGC. Doing this Increases your experience and with videos that you like, you add them to your portfolio to show brands the type of videos you can make for them 

Step 2: Apply to job opportunities online or pitch to brands directly

Once you’ve made a few videos start applying to opportunities online: Joinbrands.com to set up your account, create your portfolio and certificate.

Alternatively you can pitch to brands directly: Here’s a pitch template you can use.

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Subject: UGC for @brandhandle

Hi BRAND,

NAME here, as you can tell by this video, I’m a huge fan of PRODUCT. More specifically, REASON. 

When scrolling through TikTok I saw you had a few UGC style videos already on your page and was curious if there was an opportunity to create some videos for you and your team.

Here’s my portfolio and if it sparks inspiration for you I’d be happy to hop on a call to talk about your business goals and a few exciting content ideas I have!

SIGNATURE

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For a more IN DEPTH video that teaches you everything you need to know about getting started on UGC, watch this video next. 

Which income stream would you set up first? I’d love to know! Leave me a comment below and I’ll see you in the next one. 

Follow your joy!