If you’re looking for an easy way to make money online, you’ve probably considered trying your hand at online selling. While there are certainly individuals who are making a living selling things online, the majority of the platforms that are currently growing are used for B2C (Buyers to Consumers) transactions. This means that you’ll mostly be dealing with people who want to buy your products rather than people who want to sell your products to other individuals.

If you’re looking to create a passive income stream, however, you might want to consider exploring the lucrative world of digital marketing. As a digital marketer, you’ll be able to engage consumers and create loyalty between them and your brand. You’ll be able to drive traffic to your website and gain subscribers and customers for your online store.

To get you started, here are some of the best passive income ideas from the past and current year that utilize digital marketing.

5 passive income ideas to help you make extra cash

As we’ve established, the primary purpose of a passive activity is to generate extra money that you can invest or use to purchase assets that generate revenue. You’re looking to build a passive income stream so that you can continue to generate wealth even when you’re not necessarily working. Unfortunately, building a passive income stream can be difficult. There are a limited number of ways to make money online, and most of them require a significant time investment upfront to get going. Once you do, though, you’ll be able to earn enough money to make your life more comfortable and to fund whatever projects or goal you might have in mind.

1. Sell your photos on stock photography websites

While it’s been around for a number of years, the rise of the influencer and the content creator has made this a lucrative industry. Whether you’ve got a talented eye for photography or you’re simply passionate about creating imagery that will engage and inspire others, you can use your talents to make money online via stock photography sites. The key is to build traffic to your website and social media accounts. There are a number of stock photography websites that take a commission from sales, so you’ll want to make sure that you make money from at least one of these platforms. If you do decide to go this route, be sure to take your time learning the ropes and building up your portfolio. Getting involved in the community on these sites will also help you gain experience and establish credibility. If this is a direction that interests you, explore photopedia, ChunkyStock, iStockPhoto and VisualHunt to name but a few.

2. Start an online store

This is the route that most people seem to be going nowadays. You’ll find everything from clothing to bags to accessories on these platforms. Some of the most popular ones include Shopify, Big Cartel and Wanchain. When choosing this route, you’ll need to decide between a P.O.S (Point of Sale) or an A.P.S. (Account Preparation System). The former allows you to process payments and ship items to customers. The latter is used for online stores and helps businesses process orders and manage transactions. Once you’ve set up an account with an A.P.S., the next step is to choose a payment processor. Most of the major financial institutions like PayPal, Stripe and Amazon Payments support A.P.S., so you won’t have trouble finding a solution that works with your existing account. If you decide to go this route, be sure to take your time learning the platform and getting a feel for how things work. You can also find a number of ready-made themes and templates for ecommerce stores within Wix, Shopify and Big Cartel.

3. Start an online tutoring business

If you’re an expert in a particular field or subject matter, why not make money online by providing instruction to those who are looking for help. You’ll need to decide between an e-learning platform like Udemy or Skillshare and a live tutoring platform like Tutor.com or GoTeach. As with most other online businesses, you’ll need to get the word out there about your service. The key is to find a vertical that you’re an expert in and that will allow you to make money online without too much effort. If this interests you, explore online tutoring as a money-making opportunity.

4. Start an online travel agency

If you’ve got an in-depth knowledge of travel and can put together tailor-made itineraries for destinations around the world, why not try and make some extra cash by offering your services as a travel agent. Most travel agencies operate on a commission basis, so you’ll need to work out the details of your compensation with your prospective employer. Depending on the size of your agency, you’ll definitely need to take on some staff to help handle the increased workload. This is where finding a virtual assistant to help with email responses, booking travel arrangements and performing other administrative tasks comes in.

5. Start a blog

Blogs have been around for centuries, and they continue to be one of the most popular and most lucrative ways to make money online. The idea behind a blog is to establish yourself as an expert in your chosen field or niche – be that food, lifestyle or science – and to use your blog to give your expert opinion on various topics. Popular platforms for this include Medium and WordPress. If this is a route that interests you, explore the many different niches that you can cover and how you can use your blog to establish yourself as an expert in your field. Not only will this allow you to make money online, it will also establish you as an authority in your chosen field. If this is a direction that interests you, start a blog now to begin building your portfolio of content.

In some ways, starting an online business is similar to starting a traditional business in that you’ll need to develop a business plan and analyze the financials. The main difference is that with an online business, you never really stop planning. Building a passive income stream isn’t as easy as simply getting up each day and going to work. You’ll still need to put in the legwork to make sure that your business is running effectively and that you’re earning the income that you’re expecting. From learning the ropes to taking care of the accounting, you’ll never be fully ready to be a successful entrepreneur just yet. But with a little bit of patience and a lot of grit, you can absolutely succeed.