Steal my easy 4-step beginner-friendly way to set up a passive income stream so that you can actually make money in your sleep.

In this post, I’m walking you through the reality of passive income so that you can *actually* make money while you sleep.

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There are many videos on YouTube called “How to Make Money in Your Sleep,” and while they share different methods you could try, like investing in stocks or real estate or starting a high-yield savings account, they don’t actually walk through the HOW of making money in your sleep. 

In this guide, we’re diving into ‘passive income’ practicalities. We’re covering:

1. The reality of “passive income” that no one talks about
2. 9 different passive income stream ideas for creators
3. My easy 4-step beginner-friendly guide to setting up your passive income stream so that you can actually make money while you sleep

Who is this guide for? Content Creators! I’m a content creator and in this guide, I’ll be walking you through how I make money in my sleep. As well as being a content creator myself, I also coach content creators and help other creators replace their 9-5 income with content creation. If that sounds like you, keep reading.

As always, if you prefer to watch instead of read, click the video below. Let’s get into it!

The Reality of Passive Income That No One Talks About

Passive income is not a ‘get rich quick plan’. At least, what I’m sharing with you today won’t be. 

If you see people claiming that you “could make money overnight”, it’s a scam. Because, while passive income is something that you set up to make money in your sleep, it still takes time and effort to get to that point. 

With passive income, you do a majority of the hard work upfront, so that in return you can make money passively.

There is a hustle phase.

There is a lot of work involved in the setup of passive income – you will need to do that before you see a return. 

But when you get through the hustle phase to the other side, the reward is unlike any other. 

Setting up passive income has been a five-year journey for me so far. And I remember the first time I actually made money in my sleep. It was July 26th, 2021 (almost two years into my journey).

And that was just the beginning. Over time, the work that I’ve done to set up passive income streams has helped my business generate over $20,000 a week. So yes, it takes time. Yes, there is work to do. But hopefully, this guide can be your launch pad into the world of passive income. 

So if you’re ready to set up the foundations of passive income for your business, then you’re in the right place. 

Different Passive Income Stream Ideas for Creators

Here are 9 different income stream ideas that can be turned into partially or fully passive income for you:

1. Affiliate marketing
2. Digital products 
3. Online Courses
4. Memerships
5. Print on demand
6. Platform Monetization
7. UGC
8. Brand Collabs
9. Developing an App/Software

What I love is that there is no right or wrong choice here. That’s the beauty of being a creator. You get to choose what feels the most exciting, or what is in alignment with your brand and goals. 

If you want a full breakdown of each of these income streams (and a couple of bonus ideas), you can read this post next. That guide (and video) will teach you how to get started with each of those income streams, and I’ll go over the maintenance of each one, to help you decide which is right for you.

My Easy 4-Step Beginner-Friendly Way to Set Up Passive Income for Your Business

Each income stream uses different methods for turning them ‘passive’. In general, there are endless strategies that you can implement. Today I’m going to share the easiest, most beginner-friendly way. 

This method is tried and true. 

It’s one of the main ways that my business makes money and I’ve seen it change creators’ lives. 

For example, I met Abigail Peugh at the Stan Million Dollar Mastermind, and she has made over $1 million by simply doing this one thing. So, what is it? 

Creating a simple email funnel. 

An email funnel is a series of automated emails that guide potential customers through the buyer’s journey to convert them into paying customers. 

Let’s use Abigail as an example.

Creates AMAZINGLY valuable content on social media → offers Free UGC Guide → Sends emails to your customers → upsell $47 UGC Starter Kit

This is what I’m going to teach you how to do right now. 

Let’s break this down into 4 simple steps: 

1. Choosing your product funnel
2. Setting your offers up to sell
3. Creating your automations 
4. Sending traffic to your funnel

Step 1: Choose your product funnel

Pick two products that go well together and cater to your audience’s needs. One will be your free offer, the other will be your paid ‘upsell’.

While there are many ways that you can look for ideas, today I’m going to share my favorite ChatGPT prompt with you. 

In ChatGPT type in this prompt and fill in the blanks with your information.

• Prompt: I’m a [NICHE] content creator looking to create my first email funnel so I can start making passive income with digital products. For my funnel, I’d like to create one free digital product to offer my audience (who are ______) and one paid digital product that I will upsell them to. Can you give me 10 Freebie ideas and 10 Paid Digital Product ideas?
• Example: I’m a chef & content creator looking to create my first email funnel so I can start making passive income with digital products. For my funnel, I’d like to create one free digital product to offer my audience (who are people who want to lose weight) and one paid digital product that I will upsell them to. Can you give me 10 Freebie ideas and 10 Paid Digital Product ideas?

Pick the two offers that excite you the most. 

In Abigail’s example, she created her free UGC Guide and upsold her UGC Starter Kit. In my business, I have my 50 Reels Prompts and my Reels Roadmap Mini Course. 

Here are some other examples that I’ve seen: 

Manifestation Coach Sarah → FREE Make Them Obsessed Class → $222 Manifest Magic Workshop

Selina: Fat adapting Chef teaches how to COOK Keto & Carnivore Recipes FREE Fat Loss Guide → $24.99 Becoming Fat Adapted Cookbook by Selina Abbew

Dentist Dr. Craig Clayton → FREE Live Cavity Masterclass (how to reverse cavities) → $47 Functional Dentistry Roadmap

As you can see, you can do this with any niche! Once you’ve picked your two offers, it’s time to get creative.

Step 2: Create your offers and set up the sale funnel

If your offer is a guide, workbook, planner, or anything else ‘downloadable’ as a PDF, create it in Canva! You don’t need to pay for Canva, you can get started for free. Just head into Canva and search through their templates until you find one that works for your offer and brand. 

Once you’ve picked a template, add your information and adjust the styling to match your brand. 

After you’ve created your product, you need to set it up for your audience to download or purchase. 

We’re going to set this up in your Stan Store. Once you start selling something to your audience, you are going to want to have a place where all of your products live – and Stan is the perfect solution for creators. 

If you want to watch me set this up for you in Stan, skip ahead in this video to 9:16.

However, the steps you need to follow are:

1. Go to your Stan Store
2. Click “Add Product”
3. Set up your free product by choosing “Collect emails/applications”
4. Continue to set up your free product by following all the steps in Stan

You’ll do the same thing for your paid product – by clicking on the option in Stan to create a “digital product”. Once again, you can watch me do a full example in this video at 11:14.

Do you have to use Stan? No, of course not. But I highly recommend it because it keeps everything in one place. The free offers, the products that you’re selling, your emails, and all of the email addresses that you’ve collected. It’s a great all-in-one tool for creators. 

If you want more information about how to create and set up your email freebie, watch this video next. And if you want an in-depth guide to selling your first ebook, I have a YouTube video for that as well.  

You can also download my 12-month Content Creator Guide. This 40-page eBook teaches you step-by-step how to become a content creator in just 12 months. It’s the most comprehensive eBook that I’ve created and helps you with actionable steps to turn your passions into a full-time career in a year. Plus, it only costs $1.

I hope you’re able to find a recourse on my little corner of the internet that helps you along your passive income and content creator journey. 

Step 3: Set up the automation

Now it’s time to set up the automation. By now, you should have your two products created in your Stan Store. What you want to do is set up the automation so that when someone downloads the free offer, they’re added to a sequence of emails that will eventually upsell them to your paid offer. 

If you’d like to watch me do this step-by-step, skip ahead to 15:30 in this video.

Here are some quick steps: 

1. Open your freebie → Click on ‘options’
2. Select ‘Email Flows’ → ‘Create Email Flow’ 
3. Give your flow a title
4. Add your emails (in this example, I am showing you 3 emails – Introduce, Educate and Pitch)

The purpose of these three emails: 

1. Introduce: build rapport with this person who has just downloaded your free offer. Introduce yourself and share your story with them as it relates to your product. 
2. Educate: deliver helpful, actionable tips that someone can use (in relation to your product). Give clear takeaways and a small call to action. This is also where you should tease your paid product
3. Pitch: this is the email where you are selling the paid product. Start with one more free actionable tip that’s going to make them want to learn even more from you. The paid product should be the perfect next step for them.

Step 4: Send traffic to your new funnel

Now it’s time to send traffic to your new funnel. As a creator, you should already be creating content. So why not create content that will direct people to download your freebie? 

My favorite way is through YouTube because of the evergreen nature of the platform. A freebie mentioned in a video at the start of this year or even years ago can still drive traffic to my funnel. 

You can also create videos and graphics for Instagram and TikTok about your freebie. Here’s an example where I’ve done that.

If this guide has gotten you excited about becoming a content creator and you want to learn even more – I recommend watching this video next. It’s my ultimate guide to becoming a content creator in the next 12 months, and yes, it’s free! 

Thanks for being here, follow your joy and I’ll see you in the next one!