Top 5 Passive Income Ideas for 2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly impacted our lives. According to CNBC, over 22 million people in advanced economies have lost their jobs due to the outbreak. This is especially relevant for jobs in the tourism and hospitality industries, where they had to rethink their business models. 

With millions of people laid off from their jobs and a faltering economy, building passive income streams has become a go-to for many. ‍

Why is Passive Income Relevant Now?‍

Passive income essentially refers to the idea of receiving money at (almost) regular intervals without the need to put considerable amounts of effort. While starting a passive income stream may require some work, the idea here is that once sufficient time and energy are put into it upfront, not much work is necessarily needed afterwards. 

This is especially relevant in a time where Covid-19 has caused unemployment rates to rise since passive income could get many through until they are able to find new jobs. Moreover, with many laid off from their full-time jobs during the pandemic, building passive income streams online is a great way to earn revenue from home during lockdowns. 

There are many ways to build passive income streams, and the best part? You can have more than one. From investing in real estate to starting a podcast channel, here are five passive income ideas to consider in 2021. ‍

1. Start a Dropshipping Business Online

Dropshipping is a great way to start a side business if you don’t have a large capital to begin with. The idea here is to source for suppliers (you can use Aliexpress as an example), liaise with them, and get them to send the orders directly from their warehouse. This would mean that your supplier will handle everything from manufacturing to packaging and fulfillment. 

However, dropshipping requires a substantial amount of time and effort in the early stages. For one, you would need to source for a supplier and products that customers would actually want to buy. Next, you would need to set up an online store. You can do so through platforms such as Amazon, Shopee, or even create a website of your own. Then, you would need to do some marketing on your end to get customers to visit your e-store. 

Once you’ve got all the fundamentals sorted and your business is picking up speed, you would just need to liaise with your suppliers to ensure the order is fulfilled. ‍

2. High-Yield Crypto Interest-Earning Account

If you’re not much of a creative person and prefer investing your crypto assets, you might want to consider parking them into interest-earning accounts. While buying cryptocurrency itself is a form of investment, depositing them into crypto interest accounts can help you generate more yield through compound interest on your assets. Moreover, this is a great way to help mitigate any negative repercussions posed by market volatility. 

There are a myriad of platforms that offer crypto interest accounts. These platforms work by increasing your overall crypto holdings through interests earned on your deposit. And of course, you don’t even have to actively manage your account. 

One such platform is Hodlnaut. 

Hodlnaut is a Singapore-based platform that offers financial services to individual investors where they are able to earn interest on their crypto assets. Hodlnaut is known to offer some of the best interest rates available for cryptocurrency and stablecoins. The effective annual interest rates can be viewed here.

The signup process is quick to complete and includes a compulsory KYC (Know-Your-Customer) verification. Once done, you can begin depositing your crypto to earn immediately. 

Furthermore, users who have passed the KYC process will be able to join Hodlnaut’s Affiliate Program where they can invite a friend to join Hodlnaut and earn 10% of their friend’s interest, allowing them to further earn passive income. This brings us to our third passive income idea.

3. Affiliate Marketing

Yes, one way to generate passive income is through affiliate marketing. When you engage in affiliate marketing, you are essentially helping a brand promote its product or service through your unique referral link. When your friends or audience use your link, you will receive a commission for each sale. This is one of the easiest methods of earning passive income since all you need to do is promote the brand on your social media or send out your link to your friends.  

You can disseminate your affiliate links through social media platforms, a YouTube channel, and even a blog. However, bear in mind that you should only promote products or services you enjoy using. Being authentic with your promotion is vital to building trust with your audience. 

4. Start a Podcast Channel

If you have a passion for content creation, this might be up your alley. Starting out a podcast might be easy - all you need to do is sign up for an account on platforms like Spotify - but maintaining it and getting enough traction to monetize it may pose a challenge at the start. Think of a specific type of content or a niche that you are interested in talking about. It is important to come up with topics that would entice and benefit your audience so that they are continuously engaged.

Monetizing your podcast channel can be done through advertisements and sponsorships. Thus, you would need to get enough traction to your channel to secure any sponsored deals and content.  

Starting a podcast channel does take some time to build and you would need to be patient and consistent with your content and posting schedule to get enough traction. Once you’ve got the momentum going, it may not be as tumultuous. Plus, when your podcasts are uploaded, these would continuously generate traction - and hopefully, money - in the long run without you having to actively manage it.

5. Invest in Real Estate

While investing in real estate may be one of the priciest options to start with, the returns are generally more significant. There are various ways you can invest in real estate, from purchasing Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) to renting out unused spaces or rooms. 

If you are looking to invest in REITs, there are tons of platforms and brokerages that help you to perform such activities. But if you are new to real estate investing, you may want to opt for robo advisors that can help you invest in real estate. One of such is Syfe. 

Passive income from real estate can also come from short-term rentals if you have a spare room or unused space. All you would need to do is to post your listings on platforms like Airbnb! 

Do note that if you are keen on long-term rentals where you would be a landlord, it may require a large upfront capital investment. 

In Conclusion

The pandemic may have caused many to lose their jobs, but that does not mean there are no ways to generate extra revenue. Building passive income streams amidst a time of uncertainty is a great way to ensure consistent cash flow, and even help you achieve your financial goals. 

As discussed above, there are a slew of options to create passive income from creating an online dropshipping business to investing in real estate. While some may require more time and effort than others, an easy way to do so is by depositing your crypto assets into an interest account. 

Holdnaut is one such platform that allows you to do just that, which offers up to 7.5% APY on BTC, WBTC, and ETH, and 12.7% on stablecoins. Sign up for a free account to start building your passive income online.