Passive Income Ideas for Artists

I’ve heard the phrase ‘passive income’ so many times, I instinctually want to roll my eyes every time someone brings it up. Why this negative reaction? Because the phrase can easily fool people into making big life decisions that don't pan out. ‘Passive’ implies we can make money from zero work. I think we all know deep down this doesn’t exist, or we’d all be rich. I hate that the phrase continues to ruin lives in the form of pyramid schemes and people being taken advantage of online. I especially hate that a lot of artists fall into this category, giving their work away too quickly, for too little.

That being said, passive income is not a total myth. It’s true you can earn large sums of money doing business online. However, the passive part usually happens after laying A LOT of groundwork. The time to quit your day job is not when you’re first building out a new stream. Sometimes passive income streams can take YEARS to yield high profits. And it’s a good practice to test a stream first before putting too much time into it.

Today, I’m going to share my experience with passive income streams. I’ve tried many at this point, so I have a lot of failures and a few successes under my belt. There are a few I haven’t tried, which I talk about below. Hopefully this post gives you ideas of things you can do to put in the work now to make money from your art in the future.

Affiliate Marketing

This is one of the easiest income streams to set up, and as close to passive as you’re going to get. That’s because you’re already doing the work. As artists, we’re sharing products we love online in the form of art supplies, office equipment and resources. You might as well share an affiliate link while you’re at it. I’m an Amazon affiliate, because they have everything. You can become an Amazon affiliate in a few easy steps here. Disclaimer - it takes a pretty big following to see significant income from affiliate marketing. However, setup requires very little effort, so any money made is probably worth it - even if it only buys you a few meals per month. And it’s best to set up affiliate links sooner rather than later. Affiliate marketing is the perfect supplement to a blog or social media platform. I would advise that you only share products you really use and love, in order to gain the trust of your audience.

Digital Books and Guides

I’ve been capitalizing on this income stream for years now, and it’s worked well for me. I have an ebook, and I also sell smaller downloadable guides on my website. The beauty is that once you create downloads, you can sell them forever. Just make sure to update links and technology references as time passes. If you get the same question from your fans over and over again, this is probably a hint that you could do well selling a digital download on the topic. The best way to build out guides quickly is to follow the same basic design for all of them. Once you have a template in place, they become easier. And your fans will love that everything you release has a consistent look and feel.

Physical Books

This is a space I haven’t yet tapped into, but I plan to. Books are a great way to keep making money, long after you’ve written the content. Physical books can be the kind geared towards other artists or even children’s books. If you don’t like writing, you can partner with a writer to illustrate a book on pretty much anything. Just make sure you request royalties. If you get paid up front, this is income, but I wouldn’t call it passive.

Digital Art

I get so many questions on whether I offer digital downloads of my prints. I used to sell them, but then stopped. I realized how much better my art looks when I print it myself on a special 12-pigment printer. It allows me to use bright, concentrated shades in my work. If people print artwork on their home CMYK printers, it just won’t look that great. That bothers me as an artist. I’ve still been mulling over selling downloadable art in the form of a second Etsy shop, or maybe offering phone and desktop backgrounds. I’m not sure where I’ll end up with this, but I thought the stream was still worth mentioning. Maybe you can find a way to make it work.

Physical Art Prints

This is my primary income source. It’s not exactly passive, because you have to print and package every time someone orders a print. However, it’s probably the most passive thing you can sell online after digital products. Once I create a print, I can sell it for all eternity. That gets me excited. Also, I’m creating a product in a matter of minutes, which not many makers can say. I know a lot of artists do well in this space, so it’s definitely worth checking out, whether you print through an online site, or invest in your own printer.

Minted

I should tell you up front - I’m not a fan of Minted at all. Income made on Minted is 100% passive after you enter your art into challenges and win. That’s the tricky part. You have to win contests in order for your art to be sold on their site. To me, this is a big pain. I don’t have time to sit around making art in hopes that someone chooses it as a winner.

Also, you make very little on each piece of art sold - usually 10%. While some artists do well on this site, I think Minted takes advantage of most artists, because you put a lot of work in and don’t make much. It’s brilliant for them, but not so great for us. I thought Minted was still worth a mention, because you should judge sites based on your own experience. Mine wasn’t great, but maybe yours will be.

Creative Market

I like Creative Market better than Minted, but I’m still not a big fan. They take about half of your profits. In order to succeed on here, you need to spend a lot of time adding products, without knowing if they’re going to sell or not. That’s after you get approved as a seller. Since Creative Market has all digital products, it feels very oversaturated. I tend to think of this site as one that takes advantage of artists too, but your share of the profits is greater than Minted. Again, it’s worth judging for yourself.

Licensing

This is a category I’ve done well in also. The best part is, I don’t need to chase down leads. They appear in my inbox in the form of people asking to put my art on their products. I only say yes if the brand feels like a good fit, and if it will be a great way to promote my work. It’s best to provide exclusive licenses for people to use your art on one type of product only. Therefore, multiple companies can license an art piece at the same time. For example, one might use it on a calendar, and the other in a book. Make sure to include the length of the agreement as well, so the company will know when they need to renew. It can be helpful to determine your formula for calculating pricing beforehand, so you don’t need to stress over every request. Also, I would keep a spreadsheet of licenses you’ve given out, so you can keep track of them and make sure companies are renewing when necessary.

Online Courses

This is a market I’m hoping to tap into. It really doesn’t feel that passive though, which is why I haven’t gotten around to it. Putting classes online has felt like a HUGE undertaking. Between writing the content and filming the videos, it stresses me out. However, once the courses are out there, they’re out there forever. And that’s pretty great. To make things easier on yourself, you could start with a class sharing platform, like Skillshare, to post your first class. It could be a great way to attract new fans as well.

Members-Only Content

I feel like this is trending in the art world right now. If you aren’t familiar with this space, your fans pay a monthly fee to see exclusive content from you. This is usually in the form of videos, articles, and artwork. I think we’ve only seen the tip of what can be accomplished with members only content. Sites like Patreon are blowing up. I even see some artists creating members-only platforms on their sites. I plan to get into this space in the future. However, I’ve struggled with how to make time for yet another piece of content I need to release on a regular basis. I’ve been thinking about it a lot though.

---

As much as I hate the phrase ‘passive income’, I’m always thinking of ways I can make money more passively. My focus is to work smarter and not harder, especially at this stage in my life. Being in my mid-thirties, I’m financially stable enough to take more risks for future outcomes. If I can lay some groundwork now that will yield potential profits later, that’s where I spend my time. I plan to update this post as I come across new streams. That’s the beauty of the internet - there are new ways to make money online every day.

Are there any passive income streams I missed? Let me know in the comments below!