One of the very first things that caught my imagination when I first began to explore the world of internet marketing was the concept of Passive Income. The idea that money could come flowing into my bank account whilst I was enjoying a meal out with the family, even whilst I was asleep really fired my imagination. Although, in reality, it isn’t quite as amazing as it first appears, but being paid many times for work that you have done just the once is obviously very appealing. Some projects which create a passive income stream can go on for many years, even a lifetime.
As I have mentioned before in my articles, my background is in the world of music. As an oboist, if I get booked for a concert I receive the going rate for that performance. I am paid just the once for my time and expertise. As a composer, it’s a different matter. Back in 1980 I was commissioned to write a book of easy pieces for young oboists by a major publisher. This I was happy to do. When completed the book was taken up by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and put into their exam syllabus. The book, happily, became widely used and for 30 years remained on their exam list.
A couple of years ago, in a resetting of the syllabus, it was finally removed in favour of other music. Shortly after that I did a rough calculation. Despite selling for just a few pounds a copy, over those 30 years it brought me in a grand total of about £10,000. THAT, DEAR FRIENDS, IS PASSIVE INCOME! A book that took me about 3 or 4 weeks to compose back in 1980 earned me all that money over many years. The book is still available but no longer sells in quite the same quantity since coming off the exam list. I have other books and other compositions out there producing income but that particular book was far and away the most successful.
There are a variety of ways in the realm of online business which can be used to create passive income. Rather than just selling individual items on the internet we can provide courses, monthly information in one form or another or a series of related products on a particular topic. Given that the vast majority of products retailed on the internet are informational, it is fairly obvious that information is an open-ended resource. When a customer buys some information, there will inevitably be more follow-up information which would be of interest to that person; – one e-book, even one 6 part course, is not the end of the story by any means.
I remember being a subscriber to “World Books” in my youth. Each month they sent out a card on which was a recommended book with a list of alternatives. Most months I bought something. That correspondence would have gone out to every one of their subscribers every month so it isn’t difficult to see how they remained so successful for so long. Some years later I was a subscriber to “Britannia Music”. Initially they used exactly the same system as World books. Later they changed it to a system whereby they sent out the “Recording of the Month” as a matter of course. If you didn’t want it you had to send it back. I lost interest at that stage. That approach was too hard a sell for me and I could imagine it must have caused some people a great deal of hassle.
Incorporating an aspect of passive income into your marketing is not a difficult thing to do. It was something that appealed to me when I first encountered it; – and it still does!
The idea of generating recurring income for work done just the once is very attractive to most people. If you wish to know more about this fascinating topic discover how you too could cash in by visiting http://www.passiveincomestrategy.co.uk.