Passive Income Ideas In South Africa

What is a Passive Income?

Passive income is a type of unearned income that is acquired with minimal labor to earn or maintain. It is often combined with another source of income, such as regular employment or a side job. Passive income, as an acquired income, is taxable.

Passive Income Ideas In South Africa

Best Passive Income Ideas to Make Money:

. Write an e-book

If you are well-informed on a particular topic, you could write/publish an e-book. Even if you don’t want to write it yourself, or lack the writing skills, you could use the services of a ghostwriter. Many writers do that.

Once your e-book is ready, you can publish it on various platforms such as the Amazon Kindle Store, where you will continuously earn money from its sales, without much more involvement on your part.

2. Create an online course

Creating an online course is quite similar to writing an e-book. It involves creating a course on something you’re proficient in, and publishing the lessons online where students can pay to access them.

Your course could be on drawing, singing, playing guitar, coding, physics, cooking, a foreign language, etc. Teachable and Udemy are great platforms to publish on.

Students will be able to access the content you already created, without active involvement from you. It is a great way to earn passive income from home.

3. Car rental

If you have a car that you don’t mind renting out, renting it out can be a fantastic source of passive income. However, it comes with some risks which is why it’s advisable to use a reliable tracking device, in addition to getting commercial insurance.

Alternatively, you could hire a full-time driver and put the car on Uber.

4. Rent out a room in your home on Airbnb

Airbnb is a popular platform used by homeowners and those seeking accommodation for short-term stays.

If you have a spare room in your home, you can take advantage of this awesome platform to earn a good income. Simply furnish the room, publish it, and wait for guests to come knocking.

5. Start a blog

If you happen to be a good writer, one of the best ways you can monetize your skills is by starting a blog. 

The blog can be on literally any topic of your choosing, whether that’s health and fitness, finance, marketing, or even animal care. It doesn’t matter what niche you select (well, as long as it has demand).

Blogs can be monetized in many ways, including ads and affiliate marketing.

6. Sell stock photos

Selling stock photos is a great way to passively earn money from home. You just have to take some good photos and post them on Shutterstock or other stock photo platforms.

You don’t need an expensive camera or studio equipment to get started, a decent smartphone should do the job. You could take photos of different things in your home, your pets, yourself doing different things such as cooking, etc.

Once the photos are uploaded, you don’t have to do much more with them. If people like them, you can keep earning from them for years.

7. Get paid to unlock your phone for ads

There are various money-making apps that you can use to earn some money on your phone. Slidejoy, for instance, pays to show ads on your phone’s lock screen.

8. Dropshipping

Drop shipping is a business model where the seller acts as an intermediary, fulfilling customers’ orders without necessarily keeping the products in stock.

Drop shippers simply advertise the products online, and every time an order is placed, they order the items from a supplier and then ship it directly to the customer.

The prices are marked up by the drop shipper while advertising. Once the product is sold, the drop shipper profits from the difference between what he/she paid the supplier and what the customer paid.

Building an e-commerce store is essential if you want to maximize the benefits of drop shipping. In addition to creating trust and reputability, a powerful e-commerce store is very beneficial in marketing.

9. Sell outsourced services online

Selling outsourced services online is not too different from drop shipping. It also involves acting as an intermediary, advertising services, and then passing the orders on to freelancers who can fulfill them at a cheaper price, leaving you with the difference.

Some examples of services that can easily be outsourced online include graphic designing, web designing, writing, SEO, etc. Fiverr is a great place to find inexpensive freelancers.

10. Get a savings account

This is quite a simple but incredibly passive income idea. You simply need to open a savings account in a reputable bank with great returns and deposit some money.

What are the sources of passive income in South Africa?

Best passive income opportunities in South Africa

  • Real estate investments.
  • Dividend-paying stocks.
  • Peer-to-peer lending.
  • Digital products (e-books, online courses)
  • Affiliate marketing.
  • Royalties from intellectual properties (books, music, patents)
  • Renting out equipment or property (e.g., cameras, drones, parking spaces).