How to Make $5000 of Passive Income Every Month in WordPress

Why Digital Downloads Are a Great Way to Make Passive Income

You’ve heard the expression, ‘No pain, no gain.’ This means that achieving something worthwhile normally requires sacrifice and hard work.

But what if I told you that you can make money with your WordPress website while you sleep?

That’s passive income.

Passive income is money that you earn with little to no ongoing effort. Think of it like a musician who records a song once. They put in the creative work upfront, but they can earn royalties from that single recording for years to come.

Or selling digital downloads.

Compared with selling physical products, digital downloads are a breeze. There’s no need to keep track of inventory, no running out of stock, no need to hire storage space or workers to manage it, and no shipping and handling.

Like everything, it requires a little setup. You’ll have to create or obtain the files you want to sell. And you’ll need to set up a WordPress website and install an eCommerce plugin.

Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) is one example of a plugin designed specifically for digital downloads. It lets you get started for free, and you can purchase extensions to add the features you need as you grow.

Once your online store is set up, you can continue to sell your digital product over and over again. So, the money you make will require very little ongoing effort.

You can even use automation to save time and effort and make the income truly passive.

How Much Passive Income Can You Earn With Digital Downloads?

The amount of money you can make by selling digital downloads varies a lot, depending on your skills, experience, and the type of digital products you are selling.

When starting out, it’s typical for beginners to make just a few hundred dollars a month in initial sales.

That being said, in time, it’s not uncommon for established sellers with a loyal audience to achieve $5,000 or more per month.

For example, Emily McDermott started by selling business document templates and made an impressive $700 in her very first month.

While results vary greatly, by focusing on her product and audience, she grew that income to over $7,000 per month in just three months, all while working only a few hours a week on her store.

The potential doesn’t stop there. Top earners make tens of thousands of dollars each month. But this is rare and will take more effort.

This extra work may take it out of the ‘passive’ income category. But with that sort of revenue, you’ll probably want to spend more time working on your online store anyway.

Many successful sellers have achieved this. For example, Set Sail Studios. using Easy Digital Downloads, has made $236,000+ selling fonts, and Escape Room Geeks has made $390,000+ selling printable escape room kits.

Are you interested in making this kind of passive income? Your first step is to decide on a digital product to sell.

The Best Types of Digital Products for Passive Income

The best digital products are ones that your customers find incredibly useful and are willing to pay for, but that you don’t have to constantly update.

They should generate a profit and line up with your business niche. Potential customers will only buy your digital download if it solves a problem or meets a need.

A unique product in a specific niche will help you stand out and attract an engaged audience. Here’s a comparison of some of the most popular types of digital products that don’t require ongoing effort:

The types of digital products that can generate passive income are endless. For inspiration, you can read about the pros and cons of many categories in this post on the the most popular digital products to sell on the EDD blog.