How to Create Passive Income for Your Graphic Design Business

As a graphic designer, you might think your income source is only through your services, however, that is not true! You can have multiple revenue streams through passive income. 

Passive income is income you earn that doesn’t require you to put in active work and will still allow you to make income consistently. We like to say that you are making money in your sleep. Who doesn’t want that?!

In the beginning, it may take more upfront work to set up your passive income and you will still need to market any products you created once they are launched, but this will essentially help you automate extra income and allow you to have multiple revenue streams. 

It’s important to have multiple revenue streams so that you can have more financial freedom and stability, faster business scalability, and your dream life. 

Here are the different types of passive income you can receive from being a graphic designer!

Different types of passive income for Graphic Designers

Graphics and Templates

Whether you host your website or use a marketplace (i.e. Creative Market, Etsy, Shopify), you can sell products such as custom fonts, icons or illustrations, Pinterest or Instagram templates, etc. These are great for people that want a product that is simple, quick to use, and easy to incorporate into their current design scheme.

Premade Designs

You can take the graphics and templates a set further and create premade designs that can be customized for a client’s needs. For example, a premade brand identity or t-shirt graphic. Many business owners have different needs and not everyone can purchase a full custom branding and design package, especially in the beginning stages of starting their business. By selling premade designs as a product on your website, you are making your designs more accessible and affordable to business owners that can’t do a full custom brand design quite yet. 

Online Courses

If you tend to get a lot of frequently ask questions on your designs, then this could be a great opportunity to create online courses that will help clients and aspiring graphic designers. You can create a mini-course or workshop to teach your audience a certain skill or teach the whole process (or create a DIY version of your services) with an expanded course on your offerings. You’re able to help your audience on the topics they are most interested in and share your knowledge with your community. 

Affiliate Income

Another form of passive income is affiliate income, which is earned through affiliate marketing. It’s a method of promoting services, tools, and products and you’ll earn a small commission if your audience makes a purchase. This is a great way to share services, tools, and products that you already love with your audience and make some extra income on the side. 

For example, here’s a blog post about the tools I use to run my creative business. I’m able to help other business owners by recommending some tools that can help their business while also making some income if they click on my affiliate link to try out the tools. A lot of times the affiliate links can offer your audience a discount rate as well, so that helps your audience try out the tool or product at a discounted price or sometimes free! 

Don’t leave money on the table! You can be missing out on your dream life and financial freedom by not having passive income and multiple streams of revenue. Start by trying one type of passive income and add on to that over time. Which type of passive income are you most interested in incorporating into your business first?