Creating a passive or residual income is the dream of many people, and it has become very popular to pursue this goal online.
But what is the truth about passive income – is it even possible to create, and if it is, what would the best way then be?
As there are many misunderstandings about this topic, I decided to write this article about myths and truths about creating a passive income online.
Unfortunately, there are many scams that take advantage of the dream many people have about creating a passive or residual income.
By being aware of what is realistic and what is not, when you look for an online income, you will be able to avoid the scams and save yourself a lot of time and money.
What is an online passive income?
Passive or residual income are two terms often used about the same topic. For this article, I will just call it passive income for the ease of it. But if you read about it elsewhere, it might also be called residual income.
So what is meant when people talk about having a passive income?
According to Wikipedia, a passive income is when you on a regular basis keep getting a cash flow which requires minimal effort to maintain. This could, for example, be by having made some great investments.
As more and more people wish to have the freedom to make an income on their own terms and having more time with friends, family, etc., having a passive income is something many people dream about. And as the internet offers a lot of opportunities, many people pursue it here.
However, even though it is definitely possible to make really good money online, there are in my opinion, also a lot of misunderstandings about what a passive income means, and these misunderstandings often lead to people losing money instead of making any.
Is passive income a myth?
So is it even possible to create a passive income online?
I would say it depends – from the above definition it might sound like it is just matter of finding the right trick, and then the money will keep flowing forever, without you have to do any work or make an effort.
Many systems promise this online. An example is UtubeCash, which for example promises you can make a full-time income by just doing a bit of easy work 30 minutes per week.
Some programs claim you can make a lot of money without any effort.
If that is your understanding of creating a passive income, then I am afraid I have to say it is a myth.
There might be a few lucky people that just hit the jackpot, but for the majority of us, it is just not the reality to be able to make this kind of money without any effort or without any investment.
But what is possible is to put effort into building an online income. Once it is up and running, you will continuously get an income from it, if you do it right. So you will get paid even when you are on holiday, and even at night when you sleep, as the internet never sleeps.
So in that sense, you will get a passive income. But that does not mean you can just retire and the money will keep coming for the rest of your life.
As with any business, the income of an online business will fade over time, if you stop working on it. But if you keep putting in work, you will build your income, and then the possibilities really are limitless online.
So passive income is not a myth if you see it as getting paid even when you take breaks or are on holiday. But if your expectations are, you can become rich without ever doing any work, then it is definitely a myth and there is a great chance you will end up falling for one of the scams that promise this.
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What to be careful about!
I have already mentioned several times that there are many online scams that want you to believe, they have the magic trick, so you can become rich overnight without ever doing any work.
It is very important to be aware of this, and therefore I want to emphasize on it again.
Many people are so eager to believe it is very easy to become rich online and do not see the warning signs and end up being scammed and lose a lot of money instead.
So let me make it clear – you should never join a program that promises you can become rich online without any effort.
Never join a program that promises you can become rich overnight and without any work – you might as well just burn your money.
They will in many cases lure you in with a cheap price, and once you are a member, there will be many upsells, and I know people that have ended up losing thousands of dollars this way without ever getting any value or making any money themselves.
So be careful about joining programs that promise you can become rich overnight, and be careful about thinking you, in general, can become rich online without any effort.
If you are willing to make an effort and are aware of how to spot the scams, then there are definitely great opportunities to make an income online no matter your previous experience.
How to make a passive income online?
By now you should understand what it means to create a passive income online – it does not mean you never have to do any work, and it does not mean it will happen overnight.
If you understand this, there are great ways to make money online.
My personal favorite way to create a passive income is through affiliate marketing, where you can build an online income by promoting products and services you are passionate about without having to have a webshop, storage, etc.
It has amazing potential if you do it right, and it makes it possible for you to build an income based on your passions and interests.
The best place I have found to learn about this is Wealthy Affiliate, which is a learning platform where you can learn to build an online income step-by-step no matter your previous experience.
I am a member myself, and before I joined, I tried to do a bit of affiliate marketing but failed miserably despite many years of experience with online marketing. Thanks to the training there, I have learned the whole process step-by-step, and I keep earning while learning there every day.
So if you want to create your own online income and are willing to make an effort, I strongly encourage you to check out Wealthy Affiliate.
You can join and test the training for free to see what it has to offer before you make any decision. You can read more about the platform in my full review by clicking the link below.
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Final thoughts
Depending on how you define a passive income online, it is definitely not a myth to be able to create one. However, if you think passive means you never have to do any work, and you can become rich overnight, you will probably end up being very disappointed.
With effort, creating an online income can give you a lot of freedom and also eventually a lot of money. Just do not fall into the trap of believing the programs that promise you a system that can do all the work for you, so you can just lean back and they will make you rich in a few weeks or months – it will just not happen.
I hope this article has cleared some misunderstandings about what is possible, when it comes to creating a passive income online, and hope you now have a good understanding of what is realistic and how to achieve it.
So if you are interested in testing the training platform I use and recommend, I hope to see you there as a member.
If you have any comments, questions, or have any thoughts or opinions about creating a passive income online, feel free to leave a comment below. I would love to hear your thoughts and answer any questions.
Mikael, I think those who think passive means no work probably are pretty passive with their whole lives. People who are hard workers and go getters will do a lot better at pursuing an online lifestyle. And they will achieve a great passive income.
Their makeup will not allow them to rest on their laurels.
My personal (non) like scam are those who go on and on until they tire people out by the time their spell, be it video or text, ends. If the site doesn’t get right to the point I am out of there.
I am sure your post will guide people. They can now be more careful when looking at potential online groups who can help them on a successful path.
Well done.
Ciao
Helen
Thanks for your comment Helen.
I agree that people that are hard workers can do really well creating an online income.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic.
All the best,
Mikael
Wow, excellent article about the myths and truths about passive income!
I’ve definitely heard of passive income before, but like many people who have been duped by scams, I had thought before that you set up something once, and it will continuously make you money without ever having to do anything else. Now I know that is completely false, as you do have to put in the work and still have continuous effort, but what is nice about affiliate marketing is that it can generate you income while you sleep, if done right as you said.
How long have you been doing affiliate marketing?
Hi Brian,
Yes it is definitely nice that affiliate marketing can make you money 24-7, but it is important to know that it does not just happens on its own. It takes effort and time, but it can definitely be worth it.
I myself have been doing affiliate marketing since mid 2016.
All the best,
Mikael
Hey Mikael, honestly I never believed any of those get-rich-quick programs because they always make it sound way too good to be true.
I agree with your definition of passive income about how it can generate income for you even while on holiday, but also just as important is how you can maintain that passive income just by doing a little work everyday.
Using an affiliate marketing blog for example, maintaining it is as simple as writing a blog post every other day, and that only takes 1-2hrs. So we’re looking at maybe 10hrs a week, sounds pretty passive to me. But building it in the beginning is so difficult and takes so much work.
Besides building a blog, what other ways of generating a passive online income would you recommend?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Kent.
Definitely agree that once you have built an online income, it does not necessarily take as much work to maintain as it does to build it, but it still takes work. And I also just wanted to emphasize that people should not expect to become rich online within a few weeks by just working 30 minutes a week, as I have seen some programs claim. This is just not realistic and gives people false expectations and hopes.
My specialty is in building an online business, so I cannot advise about any other ways I know really works to be build a passive income. I am sure there are some investing opportunities that can make a lot of money, but it probably also takes a lot of skills, investment, and risk. But as it is not something I have done, I can not really say what would potentially be a good option in that area.
All the best,
Mikael