Passive Income Ideas For You Tubers [2024]

Updated: September 21st, 2024

Ever dreamed of turning your YouTube channel into a consistent money-making machine while you sleep? You're not alone. Thousands of creators are looking for ways to transform their passion into reliable passive income, and 2024 offers more opportunities than ever before. But where do you start?

In this article, we've done the legwork for you and rounded up the most viable passive income ideas tailored specifically for YouTubers. Imagine leveraging the content you're already passionate about to earn extra cash with minimal effort. Intrigued? Let’s dive into how you can make your YouTube channel work smarter, not harder, and explore various strategies that have proven successful for fellow content creators.

1. Make passive income with an online course sales business ($85K/month)

Here's the full list:

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 (?)

I Make $120K/Year With My Print On Demand T-Shirt Side Hustle

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.

Read by 11,988 founders

2. Make passive income with an affiliate marketing business ($77.5K/month)

Here's the full list:

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 (?)

My Affiliate Marketing Business Earns $500K/Year Profit [No Employees]

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.

Read by 24,540 founders

3. Make passive income with a podcast ($97.9K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $400 — $1,020,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 2 hours/week

How I Started A Successful Podcast Production Company

A successful podcast production company that grew from one client making $15/hour to a team of 10 contractors producing over 30 shows per week with revenue of over $10k/mo, primarily through referrals and with a focus on providing high personal touch and being picky about working only with clients who are a good fit.

Read by 19,161 founders

4. Make passive income with a niche blog ($31.5K/month)

Here's the full list:

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 (?)

How I Turned A Crappy Idea Into A $3M/Year Business

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.

Read by 77,072 founders

5. Make passive income with a social media automation business ($148K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $4,000 — $400,000/month

How long does it take to build: 50 days (?)

How I Bootstrapped A Social Media Automation Tool To $2MM/Year

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.

Read by 15,178 founders

6. Print on demand business ($411K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $200 — $3,000,000/month

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week

How I Started A $330K/Month Ecommerce Specialized In 3D Printing

Founder Roy Kirchner shares how he started an eCommerce business specializing in 3D printing with an initial investment of $65,000, which now averages monthly gross sales of $330,000 and has partnered with international manufacturers and local businesses while offering technical support and education.

Read by 29,917 founders

7. Make passive income with an ecommerce reselling business ($83.3K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $4,000 — $150,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,999 (?)

How long does it take to build: 75 days (?)

My Side Hustle Makes $1.2M/Year Selling Car Accessories

Empyre Off-Road, an e-commerce business founded by Greg Shuey which sells aftermarket parts for Toyota Tacomas, Tundras, and 4Runners, generated approximately $100,000 a month in revenue and was able to expand its product offering, focusing on content marketing, email marketing campaigns, and organic social media to attract and retain customers.

Read by 7,345 founders

8. Make passive income with a stock photography business ($14.6K/month)

Here's the full list:

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 (?)

How I Started A Commercial Product Photography Business

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.

Read by 15,372 founders

9. Make passive income with a mobile app ($70.3K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $1 — $500,000/month

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

We Started A $6M/Year Bachelorette Party App

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.

Read by 10,957 founders

10. Make passive income with an ai based business solution ($55.8K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $4,000 — $120,000/month

How long does it take to build: 125 days (?)

How We Launched A $120K/Month Audiobook Publishing Course

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.

Read by 21,941 founders

11. Make passive income with an AI writing tool ($255K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $4,000 — $1,000,000/month

How long does it take to build: 52 days (?)

I Built A Simple AI Writing Tool That Makes $60K/Year

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.

Read by 6,647 founders

12. Make passive income with an online survey tool ($304K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $40 — $1,600,000/month

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

On Starting A $160K/Month CRM & Automations Company After A US Air Force Career

GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.

Read by 11,998 founders

13. Make passive income with a lead generation tool ($108K/month)

Here's the full list:

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 (?)

How I Created A $5M/Year LinkedIn Marketing Automation Tool

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.

Read by 8,888 founders

14. Make passive income with a health and wellness app ($108K/month)

Here's the full list:

How much you can make: $600 — $300,000/month

How long does it take to build: 200 days (?)

I Created A $2.7M/Year Software That Extends People's Lives By Analyzing Their DNA

Founder and CEO of SelfDecode, Joe Cohen, explains how his company helps people discover personalized diet, supplement, and lifestyle recommendations based on DNA and lab tests; generating about $2.7 million in revenue over the past year and raising $8 million in a crowdfunding campaign, SelfDecode provides personalized health recommendations prioritized on unique genetic variants, marking the future of healthcare.

Read by 8,472 founders

meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.