Passive Income Ideas For Machine Learning Engineers [2024]
Interested in earning passive income as a machine learning engineer in 2024?
We put together a few of the best passive income ideas you can start as a machine learning engineer today. These will help you increase your quality of life by bringing in more income for yourself or your business.
For each income idea, we’ll show you real-world examples, revenue expectations for each idea, plus some things you might need to know before you start your passive income journey as a machine learning engineer.
Here's the full list:
1. Make passive income with an AI writing tool ($255K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, starting an AI writing tool could be a practical way to supplement your income. Utilizing your expertise in AI algorithms, you could develop a tool that automates the generation of accurate and engaging content. This tool would be valuable to businesses, bloggers, and students who need to produce high-quality content efficiently.
Given the increasing demand for constant, quality content, your AI writing tool could significantly ease the workload of writers. By providing a solution that saves time and reduces errors, you could offer a product that streamlines the writing process and boosts productivity. This project could be your opportunity to make a meaningful impact in the digital world while creating a steady stream of passive income.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $1,000,000/month
How long does it take to build: 52 days (?)
Rytr, a new AI writing assistant developed by a startup platform and business incubator, has become a market leader, serving over 300,000 customers across the world and doing seven figures in ARR.
2. Make passive income with an ai based business solution ($55.8K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could leverage your expertise to create an AI-based business solution that helps other businesses streamline their operations. This endeavor could involve developing tools that optimize customer service, manage inventory, or perform data analysis, helping companies enhance efficiency and reduce costs. By integrating AI, you can automate repetitive tasks, gain valuable customer insights, and predict market trends with impressive accuracy.
The demand for AI solutions is rapidly growing as businesses increasingly seek to gain a competitive edge through technology. By tapping into this expanding market, you could establish a passive income stream while helping other businesses make data-driven decisions. With the right planning and focus on high-impact areas, launching an AI-based business solution could be a strategic move to showcase your innovation and contribute to better business performance.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $120,000/month
How long does it take to build: 125 days (?)
Mikkelsen Twins grew an online education company from scratch with over 800 students, making over 6-figures in profit every month thanks to their successful program, Audiobook Income Academy 2.0.
3. Make passive income with an email marketing tool ($235K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could leverage your technical skills to create and manage an email marketing tool. Email marketing software helps businesses send bulk emails to reach potential customers, which can be an incredibly effective way to generate leads and boost sales. By building an email marketing tool, you could automate many of these processes, adding value through smarter segmentation and personalized content driven by your expertise in machine learning algorithms.
In addition, the email marketing industry is growing rapidly, with market size expected to reach $2.53 billion by 2028. This creates a lucrative opportunity for you to develop a tool that not only serves startups and entrepreneurs but also taps into more niche markets. With your background in machine learning, you could offer advanced features such as predictive analytics and behavior-based automation, setting your tool apart from the competition.
Starting this endeavor would require just a domain and hosting account, but the potential for expansion is immense. You could offer subscription-based services, creating a steady stream of recurring revenue. With the rise of email marketing as a key digital communication channel, your tool could provide immense value to businesses seeking to optimize their outreach efforts.
How much you can make: $120 — $2,083,333/month
How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 170 days (?)
H-supertools founder Hasan developed a set of free SEO and digital marketing tools generating $2k per month in profit using Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, selling ad spaces, and email, plans to launch a membership option, and has attained over 80k registered users and 300k monthly visits in less than two years.
4. Make passive income with a lead generation tool ($108K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could leverage your technical skills to develop a lead generation tool that automates the process of finding potential customers for businesses. By integrating this tool with websites, social media, and other digital platforms, you could help businesses capture valuable data such as email addresses, phone numbers, and customer interests. This could save companies a significant amount of time and free them up to focus on converting leads into paying customers.
Given the high demand for efficient lead generation, your tool could become a valuable asset to businesses looking to streamline their marketing efforts. This venture could generate a steady stream of passive income as businesses subscribe to your service. Plus, your machine learning expertise would give you an edge in refining and optimizing the tool continuously, increasing its effectiveness and, ultimately, its profitability.
How much you can make: $1,000 — $400,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $600 (?)
How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)
Dux-Soup is a LinkedIn automation tool that helps business owners and sales & marketing professionals generate more leads, increase efficiency, and save time; with over 70,000 users and revenue of nearly $5 million, it offers automated top-of-the-funnel LinkedIn outreach activities, targeted LinkedIn campaigns and multi-touch & personalized LinkedIn drip campaigns for lead generation.
5. Make passive income with a social media automation business ($148K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, starting a social media automation business could be a great way to supplement your income. You could build tools and services that automatically schedule posts, interact with followers, and analyze data across different platforms. This taps directly into your skills in software development and data analysis.
Small businesses and influencers would pay you to save them time and help grow their online presence, creating a steady stream of income. Given the constant demand for strategic social media engagement, your technical expertise would allow you to develop innovative solutions. This would not only be lucrative but also a chance to apply your skills in a new and exciting way.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $400,000/month
How long does it take to build: 50 days (?)
MeetEdgar, a bootstrapped social media automation tool founded in 2014 by Laura Roeder, has grown to $4 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 5,000 customers, with a team size of two dozen, achieved through content marketing, social media marketing, and organic search.
6. Make passive income with a mobile app ($70.3K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, creating a mobile app could be a great way to supplement your income or even start earning passive income. You likely already possess the technical skills needed to develop an app, and your expertise in machine learning could bring unique, intelligent features to your application, setting it apart from the competition. Whether it's a productivity tool that leverages predictive analytics or a game that uses AI for smarter opponents, your specialized knowledge could make your app highly appealing and functional.
Developing a mobile app involves planning the user experience, designing interfaces, and ensuring the app works smoothly, tasks that dovetail well with problem-solving and analytical skills. You could either code the app yourself or hire a developer to bring your vision to life, focusing on your idea and market research. Once your app is developed, effective marketing is crucial to attract users and generate downloads, turning your innovative idea into a potential source of ongoing revenue.
Given the ubiquitous nature of mobile apps in daily life, there’s immense potential for an innovative solution to gain significant traction. If you have an idea that could solve a problem or entertain users, the app development field is a promising avenue to explore. With the right vision and strategy, your app could become successful and provide a steady stream of passive income.
How much you can make: $1 — $500,000/month
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
BACH, an app that plans and books bachelorette parties, has grown from $0 to >$1M net revenue run rate in less than 6 months, gained over 100,000 users in their first 60 days, and has over 40,000 parties using the app this month.
7. Make passive income with a YouTube channel ($72.1K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, one possibility for supplementing your income is starting a YouTube channel. You could create compelling video content that shares your expertise in machine learning, such as how-to guides, tutorials, and project walkthroughs. By consistently producing valuable educational content, you could attract an audience interested in learning about the latest ML techniques and applications.
Your YouTube channel offers multiple revenue opportunities, including ads, sponsorships, and merchandise. Engaging regularly with your audience and applying basic SEO for videos and social media marketing can help drive traffic to your channel. Although it requires dedication and effort, the potential rewards make it a worthwhile venture.
How much you can make: $2,000 — $333,333/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,250 (?)
How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)
This case study follows the journey of a young entrepreneur from Nigeria who started a profitable blog generating a monthly revenue of $1,500+ through sales of advertising space, sponsored posts, and information products, and shares his strategies for success including a Twitter growth challenge and guest post pitches.
8. Make passive income with an online course sales business ($85K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could harness your expertise to create and sell online courses, turning your knowledge into a steady stream of passive income. Many people are keen to learn about machine learning, from programming basics to advanced algorithms, and your hands-on experience could be precisely what they are looking for.
By creating detailed and engaging lessons, you could reach a wide audience, sharing your skills with those eager to break into the field or advance their careers. With the e-learning market expected to be worth over $645 Billion in the coming years, this could be a lucrative endeavor.
All you need is to choose a target audience, design your course content, and select an online learning platform to distribute your course. This way, you not only supplement your income but also contribute to the education of future machine learning professionals.
How much you can make: $100 — $300,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)
A multipreneur shares how she built a successful print on demand side hustle, generating $120,000 per year through multiple brands spread over various platforms.
9. Make passive income with a cold email service business ($170K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could leverage your analytical skills and technical know-how to start a cold email service business. This involves crafting targeted email campaigns to help companies reach new clients directly. With your background, you could easily understand and utilize email marketing tools to analyze client needs, research target audiences, and track metrics like open rates and conversions.
Your strategic mindset and ability to engage through words could make this quite rewarding. You could start with small businesses needing lead generation and, as your success stories grow, so could your clientele. This business combines your marketing skills with your technical expertise, creating a service that is always in demand and has potential for scaling.
How much you can make: $4,000 — $450,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)
How long does it take to build: 35 days (?)
GMass, an email marketing platform that allows users to send cold emails and email marketing campaigns with Gmail, has attracted over 500,000 user signups, including major tech companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, and now generates over $200K in monthly recurring revenue through a successful content marketing strategy and focused ad spend.
10. Make passive income with a niche website ($107K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could leverage your expertise to create a niche website centered around machine learning tutorials, industry insights, or practical applications of ML algorithms. This type of site would attract a specific audience interested in machine learning, making it easier to create targeted content that provides real value.
Additionally, you could monetize this niche website through affiliate marketing by recommending courses, tools, or software relevant to machine learning. Over time, as your site gains traction and attracts a loyal audience, you could generate a steady stream of passive income through ad placements and selling digital products like eBooks or code templates. This venture could not only supplement your income but also establish you as an authoritative voice in the machine learning community.
How much you can make: $400 — $250,000/month
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
DPW (Digital Procurement World) is a fast-growing conference and community in procurement that has more than tripled in revenue since launching in 2019, capping out the year at €1.8 million, with 95% of their growth coming from inbound traffic leveraging LinkedIn and applying social selling techniques.
11. Make passive income with a wordpress plugin business ($33.4K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, starting a WordPress plugin business could be a great way to leverage your problem-solving skills and technical expertise. Since many websites rely heavily on plugins to function smoothly, you could identify a common issue or area for improvement and develop a plugin to address that need. For example, you might create a plugin that optimizes website performance using machine learning techniques, enhancing load times and user experience.
Once you've developed your plugin, you could sell it on platforms like CodeCanyon or through your own website. This not only provides a steady stream of passive income but also allows you to impact a broader audience. Plus, the initial effort of creating the plugin can pay off continuously as long as there's a demand for your solution.
How much you can make: $120 — $120,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)
How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)
Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week
Wheely Sales CEO Josh created a lucky wheel popup that has grown revenue from $0 to $600/month in just 4 months since getting started and has attracted over 1.1 million users to his customers’ websites, all while proving that when it comes to creating a product, competition is validation.
12. Make passive income with a niche blog ($31.5K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could start a niche blog focused on sharing your expertise in machine learning applications, techniques, and breakthroughs. By diving into a specific area like natural language processing, computer vision, or AI ethics, you could establish yourself as a go-to resource for others interested in these topics. This could attract a dedicated audience eager to learn from your insights and experiences.
To monetize your blog, you could include affiliate links to relevant books or online courses, collaborate with tech brands, or even offer your own webinars and consulting sessions. Over time, you could see your blog grow into a steady passive income source, while also contributing to the broader AI and machine learning community. Engaging regularly with your readers and creating unique, informative content will be key to maintaining and growing this income stream.
How much you can make: $100 — $650,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $650 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Starter Story grew to 1.4 million monthly visitors and millions in annual revenue by sharing the stories of entrepreneurs. Pat breaks down the early days and how he grew the business into something that changed his life.
13. Make passive income with an affiliate marketing business ($77.5K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, starting an affiliate marketing business could be a practical and rewarding side hustle. You could utilize your analytical skills to identify the most promising products to promote, ensuring you choose items that would appeal to your audience. By creating content that ties into your expertise, such as blog posts, tutorials, or webinars on machine learning tools and technologies, you could attract a relevant audience interested in buying related products.
Moreover, your understanding of data analytics could help you optimize your marketing strategies, track performance, and adjust your approach based on what works best. This means you could potentially earn significant passive income over time by recommending products that genuinely help your audience. As you grow your affiliate marketing business, the commissions from each sale can supplement your income, offering financial benefits without the need for constant active effort.
How much you can make: $500 — $773,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $700 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
This case study explores how Spencer Mecham founded Buildapreneur, an affiliate marketing business, and has made over half a million dollars in profit with no employees, relying solely on content marketing through platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.
14. Make passive income with a stock photography business ($14.6K/month)
As a machine learning engineer, you could supplement your income by starting a stock photography business. With your analytical eye and attention to detail, you could create high-quality stock photos that businesses use for marketing purposes. This could include investing in some good photography gear, learning how to take compelling stock photos, and making them available for sale on stock photography platforms.
By uploading your photos to these platforms, you could build an impressive portfolio over time. Your online presence could help you sell your stock photos faster and at profitable margins, creating a stream of passive income without much day-to-day involvement. This approach could offer you the flexibility to continue your primary job while earning extra money on the side.
How much you can make: $1,200 — $45,000/month
How much does it cost to start: $3,500 (?)
How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)
Pro Photo Studio founder Tsour Lee Adato shares how she turned a $5k investment into a business that services over 500 clients annually and makes approximately $350k per year with plans to expand and become a 7-figure business while offering advice to fellow entrepreneurs to always be innovating, learning and growing, and not to undervalue themselves.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
