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Smart Simple Passive IncomeHow To Add Smart Simple Passive Income Streamsto Your Business Without Adding Hours to YourWorkloadCourse Bookby Kate Bourland
Smart Simple Passive IncomeTable of ContentsIntroduction . 3Module 1 – Why do I need Passive Income? . 6Module 2 - Add Passive Income to Your Sales Funnel . 13Module 3 - Add Passive Income to Your Website or Blog . 22Module 4 - Earn Passive Income from Your Current Customers . 32Module 5 - Plan Your Next-Level Passive Income . 39Module 6 - Create Your Passive Income Plan . 48Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com2
Smart Simple Passive IncomeIntroductionThanks to the Internet, earning extra money via passive income streams iseasier and more accessible than ever.Passive income is commonly described as income received on a regularbasis, with very little effort on your part to maintain that income. TheInternet has opened up many new avenues to earn passive income. Togenerate it, you need to create something that doesn’t involve you simplytrading your time for dollars – something such as a product or service whereyou do the work once, and then earn income by selling over and over.However, the term ‘passive income’ is really a misnomer, because passiveincome is not truly passive or unearned. The widely held belief that you cansimply work two hours a week from the beach and yet earn a fabulousincome, is somewhat misleading.A reliable and significant income from passive sources isn’t going to happenovernight. You need to put in the work (and probably funds) now, planningahead for steady income, and more free time in the future. If you want toearn money this way it should be a properly planned and scheduled part ofyour business plan, and it’ll only be passive income after you’ve probably putin a significant amount of work.You’ll need to set up super-efficient systems and processes that will enableyour passive income streams to run more-or-less on auto-pilot. And you’llneed to know how to create the products and services you want to earn anincome from. To make sales, you need traffic and an engaged audience, soyou’ll need skills in areas such as SEO and copywriting, or you’ll need tooutsource these to someone with these skills.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com3
Smart Simple Passive IncomeIf all of this sounds a little daunting initially, don’t be fazed. Remember thatpassive income can and does bring huge rewards for many. But, as withmost things in life and business, you need to put in some work first in orderto reap those rewards. There’s no doubt that passive income is an effectiveway of getting the most financial gain from your time.In this course we’re going to focus on the three easiest ways to add passiveincome streams to your current business. These might be hidden to younow, but you’ll quickly see how they can significantly impact your overallrevenue.Learning Objectives:By the time you complete this course, you'll be able to: Define the benefits, risks and most common types of passive incomeso that you can start to relate it to your own business and have someclear ideas going forward. Identify simple and easy ways you can add passive income to yoursales funnel. You’ll select which methods you will implement rightaway, so that your sales funnel is optimized to work as efficiently aspossible to create passive income. Identify a few ways you can quickly generate passive income fromyour website or blog. You’ll select which of those methods are mostappropriate for your site, so that you make your website or blog evenmore profitable – even if you’re not currently earning anything from it. Identify how you can make passive income from your currentcustomer base. You’ll select several tactics for earning more from yourcurrent customers, while they’re perfectly positioned in your business.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com4
Smart Simple Passive Income Plan new streams of passive income to start working on that have lowrisk and effort, but will bring great future benefits. Create your Passive Income Plan, choosing which passive incomestream is the right one to implement first, so you can quickly start,and continue, to make your business more profitable. Measure your results so you know how you’re doing and can continueto improve, and you know where to focus on next to add furtherpassive income streams.This course is broken down into 6 major modules to take you step-by-stepthrough implementing passive income in your business.As you go through each module, use your Action Guide to help you completethe Action Steps at the end of each.ExpectationsBefore we start the course, take a minute to think about what you want toget out of it.In the Action Guide, write down three skills you expect to gain.Now that you’re clear about what you want this course to deliver, we can getstarted.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com5
Smart Simple Passive IncomeModule 1 – Why do I need PassiveIncome?In this first module, you’ll discover the benefits passive income can bring toyour business, and the risks to watch out for. Plus, you’ll get an overview ofcommon types of online passive income so you can quickly and easily makeyour business more profitable.The Benefits of Reliable and Consistent Sources ofPassive IncomeEarn ExtraIncomeMoreFlexibilityMore StabilityReach a WiderAudienceGet additionalincome with minimalongoing effortFree up time tospend with yourfamilyPassive incomesources can act asa buffer if somethinghappensProvide value forand reach peoplewith yourknowledgeEarn without limits asyou don’t need tobe presentGet the space towork on other thingsContinue to earnwithout involvementOpportunities forreaching newaudiences areendlessYou’ll have reliablesources of incomecoming inKate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com6
Smart Simple Passive IncomeEarn Extra IncomeYou get additional income with minimal ongoing effort and maintenance, soyou can stop trading hours for dollars. If you’re in that constant cycle oftrading hours for dollars it’s likely you’ll either not earn the income you wantor need, or you’ll end up exhausted and burnt out trying to earn a goodincome for you and your family. Actively working on your passive incomestrategy is an excellent way to overcome this. In theory, you can earn a lotmore – some say there are no limits – because you don’t have be present orconstantly working to earn that money.You’ll feel less anxious about the number of sales you’re making when youknow you have reliable sources of income coming in on auto-pilot. You caneven earn money while you sleep – your business will be earning moneyaround the clock rather than just 9 to 5.More FlexibilityYou gain more flexibility in your work and home life. Having an incomeworking on auto-pilot frees up time you can then spend with your family, orgives you the space to think about and work on other important aspects ofyour business. You could spend more time on things like travel, and you caneven travel and earn at the same time.More StabilityOnce your passive income sources are set up, they can act as a buffer if anemergency or illness occurs in your home life. You can continue to earnmoney from your business with minimal involvement from you. If you’re afreelancer, having a reliable passive income running in the background canhelp during slower months, or between larger contracts.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com7
Smart Simple Passive IncomeReach a Wider AudienceWith passive income sources such as eBooks and evergreen online courses,you can provide value and reach more people with your knowledge. TheInternet is vast, so the opportunities for reaching new audiences areendless.Passive Income RisksThere are some risks associated with passive income that you should keep inmind:IncomeProductsInvestments ofTime, Effortand FinancesYou might not earnenough to rely on itas a source ofincomeIt’s a lot of work tocreate a productthat will attractbuyers andguarantee incomeYou must put thetime and effort innow for futurebenefitsYou can generatemultiple streams ofpassive income toadd upYou might have tooutsource some ofthe workIt doesn’t alwayspay offYou don’t alwayshave control overqualityKate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com8
Smart Simple Passive IncomeIncomeYou might not earn enough to rely on it as a source of income. It’s unlikelythat you’ll find a single passive income source that will generate enoughmoney for you to solely live on, or that will make a significant difference toyour life and work. However, it’s much more likely that if you generatemultiple streams of passive income from your business, they will add up tosomething that does make a difference.ProductsIf you’re selling digital products like eBooks and evergreen courses, it’s a lotof initial hard work to create a product that will attract buyers and guaranteeyou a reliable and decent passive income. If you don’t already have anaudience, it’s a lot of work to build one. As mentioned above, and dependingon your current skill-sets, you might have to outsource some of this work.With some forms of passive income, you don’t have control over the qualityof the product or service. This is especially true if you’re recommendingsomeone else’s content as an affiliate. You need to keep an eye on whatthey’re delivering, in case the quality changes. Otherwise, you risk your ownreputation and losing the trust of your customers.Investments of Time, Effort, and FinancesPassive income doesn’t grow on trees. A significant passive income takestime to develop, and you must be prepared to put in the work now for futurebenefits. You might even find it boring and unchallenging compared to beingmore actively involved in your work.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com9
Smart Simple Passive IncomeYou do need to work to maintain it long-term. How much work you need todo will depend on the passive income source(s) you choose to implement,and the level of income you want to achieve.You might invest a lot of time, effort, and money upfront and it might notpay off. There are risks if you make initial financial investments and yourefforts are unsuccessful.Common Sources of Passive IncomePassive income can come from a variety of different sources. Here are a fewpopular methods that are proven to work:SimpleMembershipSitesAffiliateMarketingAd RevenueOther esKate BourlandSoftware asa Servicehttp://www.KateBourland.com.com10
Smart Simple Passive IncomeeBooksPlatforms such as Amazon Kindle and E-junkie have made it so easy topublish your eBook, and it’s one of the most popular ways to earn moneyfrom your knowledge and expertise.Other Digital Products Video tutorials and podcasts where you teach people a skill or helpthem resolve a problem. Evergreen online courses that don’t involve live training, includingautomated email courses. Like eBooks, evergreen online courses are amuch-used way to earn passive income. Evergreen webinars where you record once, schedule the recordings,and sell over and over.Simple Membership SitesSites with access to exclusive content can bring in reliable recurring income.You automate access to your content or products or services for a monthlyfee which continues until your customer cancels.Affiliate MarketingGet paid to promote products or services relevant to your niche that you arehappy to recommend to your clients. You recommend a product and whensomeone makes a purchase via your link, you receive a commissionpayment. You can also have people sell your products or services asaffiliates.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com11
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAd RevenueFor example, from Google Adsense on your blogs, and ads on your YouTubevideos.PhotographyIf you’re a photographer, you could add your photos to stock photo sites.They take care of the sales process for you and you can reach a wideaudience.SaaS/Software-as-a-ServiceIf you’re a software designer you could offer access to your service on amonthly subscription basis.Action Step:1. Do you earn any passive income currently in your business? If so,write down those sources and estimate how much you earn from eachand how much work you put in to set it up. If you don’t have anypassive income right now, don’t worry since you’ll be leaving thiscourse with a fully-formed plan.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com12
Smart Simple Passive IncomeModule 2 - Add Passive Income toYour Sales FunnelThis module looks at the different ways passive income can be generated insales funnels, so you can identify where and how you will do the same. Thisis the first step in creating your Passive Income Plan.You’ve put a lot of effort into getting potential customers into your salesfunnel, so don’t waste the opportunity to optimize every part of it forrevenue.People already deep in your sales funnel are much easier to sell to.According to Farris, Bendle, Pfeifer, and Reibstein in their book MarketingMetrics, the probability of selling to a new potential customer is between 5and 20%, but the probability of selling to an existing customer is between60 and 70%. So, put your sales funnel to work even more than it is now!By their very nature, sales funnels are part of your passive income revenuebecause they automate your sales process, meaning you sell without beingpresent. Your sales funnel should already be automatically gathering andconverting leads, overcoming objections, and generating sales for your keyproducts or services. You can make it work even harder for you by addingfurther passive income opportunities to its key components.The different parts of your sales funnel, and possible points for passiveincome, may include:Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com13
Smart Simple Passive IncomeLead Magnet FreebieRecommended productFollow-up Email SeriesLatest product in signatureSales PageUpsell ProductThank You PageRelated productDownload/Confirmation PagesRecommended productPost-purchase follow-up emails seriesInstructions for useKate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com14
Smart Simple Passive Income Your lead magnet freebie to gather email addresses or other contactinformation An automated series of follow-up emails that nurtures yourrelationship and then sends customers to a relevant product orservice, according to the lead magnet they signed up for Your sales page Your thank you page And any additional download or confirmation pages An automated series of follow-up emails post-purchase that helpspeople use their product or service, and which continues to nurtureyour relationshipThere are various ways you can generate passive income from all theelements of your funnel. We’ll take a look at some of those now.Easy Places to Add Immediate and Future Incometo Your FunnelKate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com15
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAdd a recommended product to your opt-in thank-you pageAdd a 'latest product' to your email signature on all emailsAdd a recommended product or ‘next level’, higher pricedproduct or service to one of your customer follow-up emailsAdd a recommended product to any download orconfirmation pages during and after purchaseAdd a recommended product to automated emails sent topeople who did NOT buy during the sales funnel Add a recommended product to your opt-in thank-you page. Aftersomeone requests your lead magnet, you can offer something smalland related on the thank-you page. Add a 'latest product' to your email signature on all emails. Adding alink to your eBook or other product or service at the end of youremails is an easy way to add passive income. Keep email signatures tothree or four lines and avoid adding too many links – too many choiceswill result in none being clicked. Email signature generators include:Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com16
Smart Simple Passive IncomeWiseStamp, htmlsig, ZippySig, https://newoldstamp.com/, andsi.gnatu.re. Similarly, you can add a recommended product or ‘next level’, higherpriced product or service to one of your customer follow-up emails. Add a recommended product to any download or confirmation pagesduring and after purchase. Add a recommended product to automated emails sent to people whodid NOT buy during the sales funnel. When people opt-in to your emaillist and download your lead magnet, they don’t always end up buyingsomething. But these people are already interested in your topic, sodon’t forget about them. They might be interested in other productsyou offer, or they might be interested in offers from people you’re anaffiliate for (which we’ll discuss later on).What Should You Offer? Cross-Sells & UpsellsIf you have a very clear idea of who your clients and customers are, andwhat they need or want that will be of great value to them, it will be easy todecide what to offer in the places we mentioned. Typically, you’ll offerproducts or services that are related to each other and to the originalproduct or service they purchased.When you recommend products during your sales process, especially duringthe checkout steps, they’re referred to as cross-sells and upsells. These areboth effective, straightforward ways to add revenue with relatively littleeffort.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com17
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAdd Cross-Sells to Your Sales FunnelCross-selling is recommending a different, but related or complementary,product or service to somebody who is already buying from you, thusincreasing the value of the sale.Very often this is a product your customer may have gone on to buyanyway, but showing them that product or service at the right timeencourages them to buy and increases the chance of a making the additionalsale.It’s also a great way to introduce customers to products or services theymay not know you offer.A common example of cross-selling is the familiar “Would you like fries withthat?” Or, the offer of an extended warranty or insurance on products suchas computers or kitchen appliances. For retailers, a common cross-sellingtactic is the “shop the look” section, where you’re offered items of clothingthat will make a complete outfit with the shoes you’re about to order.If you’re selling online courses, you could offer a complementary minicourse, or even a report or eBook – something that adds value to andexpands on something from the course.You can cross-sell one related product, or bundle two or more, and youcould offer these related items at a discount to increase your customer’sperception of the value of your offer. Amazon is renowned for this tactic.TIP: Only offer related items, and don’t give too many individual choices asthis can be confusing and result in the customer not buying anything at all.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com18
Smart Simple Passive IncomeCross-selling something with a lower price tag than the product they’realready purchasing is more effective than trying to cross-sell something thatcosts a lot more. The general rule is that your cross-sell will be moresuccessful if its cost is below 25% of the original purchase. But if you wantto offer a higher-priced product as your cross-sell, a payment plan could bea good option to consider.Add Upsells to Your Sales FunnelUpselling is when you encourage your customers to buy a related, buthigher-priced, alternative to the one they’re considering purchasing. Youshow them a product or service that offers them more, and may meet theirneeds even better than the product they’re purchasing. Your customer getssomething that’s of greater value to them, and you increase the value ofyour sale.It’s best to offer something that isn’t too much of a leap in price, butsomething that seems like too much of a good deal to ignore. Be sure toexplain clearly the benefits for them of the upgrade.Perhaps the most common example of upselling that many of us haveexperienced is when an airline offers passengers the opportunity to upgradeto from coach to first class. Upsells could be anything from a standard pair ofjeans to a designer pair, or from a basic laptop to one with all the bells andwhistles.A membership site subscription could upsell from the basic membership witha library of useful content, to a subscription with access to even morecontent, plus premium features such as small group masterminds and guestspeaker interviews.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com19
Smart Simple Passive IncomeIf customers have purchased an online course, the upsell could be to amembership site subscription that offers them valuable resources andinformation, and a recurring passive revenue stream for you.Only a small subset of your customers will be willing to pay the extra for anupsell, but those upsells can make a significant difference to your income.TIP: Of course, you want to try to upsell products or services that arerelevant, but also upsell those with the most positive reviews andtestimonials. Your customer will be easier to persuade to buy a moreexpensive product when they can see evidence of the value and benefitsthat product offers.Many shopping cart systems and ecommerce plugins have the facility to addcross-sells and upsells built in. For example: Tools for automating the cross-selling/upselling process such asMarketo, Conductrics Shopping cart systems such as RomanCart and Magento Wordpress ecommerce plugins such as WooCommerce Ecommerce platforms such as Shopify Online platforms for building sales funnels are one of the easiest forcross-sells and upsells. For example, JVZoo, Zaxaa, Click Funnels, andSamCartKate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com20
Smart Simple Passive IncomeMarketing wisdom commonly states that people need to see your productseven times before they buy, but, depending on who you’re listening to,many marketing experts say it’s anywhere between three and twenty times!Regardless, it makes sense that you should give your customers as manychances as possible to be reminded of your products or services. And all ofthose reminders are part of the passive income methods you add to yoursales funnel.Action Steps:1. In your Action Guide, write down the different elements of your salesfunnel.2. Beside each element, and using the suggestions in this module, notedown what you could do to add passive income opportunities.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com21
Smart Simple Passive IncomeModule 3 - Add Passive Income toYour Website or BlogMaintaining a website and creating content can be fun, but it also requiresan investment of time, money, and hard work. And, although you have mostlikely already monetized your site with your products and services, you canmake your efforts pay off even more by adding passive income streams toyour website, blog, or other online platforms you maintain.This module explores different ways you can make your website and blogmore profitable with passive income, so you can implement the mosteffective methods to make your content work even harder for your business.Generate Passive Income with Affiliate LinksIn affiliate marketing, you earn a commission by recommending and sellingother people’s products.Commission rates vary according to the product you’re recommending, andit’s possible to earn a decent income this way. In fact, in recent years it’sbecome a key source of online income for many professional bloggers.Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income regularly discloses his earnings fromaffiliate income, and he earns well over 100,000 each month, sometimes asmuch as 300,000. Now, he’s obviously a unique example, but many peopleare earning a large part of their income from affiliate marketing and it’s arelatively quick and easy way for you to get started on your passive incomeplan.Add Affiliate Links toYour SiteAmazon AffiliateProgramKate nd.com.com22Private AffiliateProgramsOther SitesOffer Your OwnProducts or Services
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAdd Affiliate Links to Your SiteYou can add affiliate links within blog posts and other site content, and you’llearn a commission each time someone decides to click through andpurchase one of your recommendations.You could write a review post specifically for a product you have tested orused regularly, and you know your audience will find useful. You could writea list post of useful online tools (e.g. plugins) and make each link an affiliatelink. Or you can add links as mentions of products or services occur naturallywithin other content. For example, if you’re writing a blog post about writingtips and you mention an online membership site for writers, or paid-forproofreading software.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com23
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAmazon Affiliate ProgramAmazon is one of the world’s largest online retailers, and you can make acommission from anything they sell. You’ll almost certainly find somethingrelevant to your niche among their massive offerings. You can get links,banners, and widgets for your site or blog, and it’s an easy way to monetizethose platforms.Affiliate MarketplacesAffiliate marketplaces or networks are essentially databases or directories ofaffiliate programs in different business niches. These include ClickBank,ShareaASale, Rakuten, C J Affiliate, E-Junkie, and more. Do your research: Check each one out to see how much theircommission rates are, how often they pay out (for example, net 20days, or when your commissions reach 50) and how user-friendlytheir interface is. The larger marketplaces have more potential products to choose from,but their customer support might be lacking because of the sheer scaleof the number of merchants and affiliates they have to deal with. Joining one or two of the big affiliate networks is a good way to getstarted as you have a database of thousands to search to find suitableproducts. They take care of all your commission payments for you andyou can keep track of everything in one place. ClickBank is one of thelargest and most well-known, with a wide range of products, andreportedly good levels of support. Search for what’s profitable and popular in your niche, and accordingto your keywords.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com24
Smart Simple Passive IncomePrivate Affiliate ProgramsYour business network is a potentially good source of affiliate products. Whodo you have a positive relationship with in your network whom you knowsells great products or services that are relevant to your clients orcustomers, and who has an affiliate program? You could sign up for theirprogram and be ready to recommend and promote when they release a newproduct.Or do a search for people in your niche and find out if they have an affiliateprogram you can join. Details will usually be somewhere on their website,but if you can’t see anything, it doesn’t hurt to ask. Some business ownerswill have an approval process for their affiliates so they can be sure ofselecting people to endorse their products or services whose reputation andvalues align with their own. For others, you will be able to simply sign up.Other SitesLook at other sites in your niche and see what products they’re endorsing.Offer Your Own Products or ServicesIf you have your own products you can set up an affiliate program so thatpeople can sell your products.Create a Dedicated Recommended Products Page forAffiliate LinksYou could have a dedicated page where you recommend the tools, productsand resources you use for your business. For example:Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com25
Smart Simple Passive Income Web hosting Blog themes Plugins Software Sales tools (such as CRM or landing page tools) Stock photo sites Recommended books and ebooks Online training programs you’ve taken and can recommendYou’ve probably seen a lot of bloggers and website owners using these –they’re an excellent and simple way to add passive income potential to yoursite. They’re usually created using a static web page rather than a regularblog post.TIP: Make your recommended products page well-organized. Arrange it intocategories (e.g. social media tools, content creation tools, productivity tools)- whatever is relevant to your chosen recommended products.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com26
Smart Simple Passive IncomeAffiliate Tips:Only give honest reviews and recommendationsChoose affiliate partners carefully according to theirreputationAdd a review for each recommendation of a product orservice you makeAlways disclose any affiliate links clearlyUse affiliate tools to help you Only give honest reviews, and recommendations for tools andresources you know well and you’re happy to endorse. If yourecommend something you haven’t tried yourself and it turns out to bea scam or an inferior product that negatively affects your clients, youwill lose their trust and suffer damage to your reputation. Choose affiliate partners carefully according to their reputation, astheir reputation reflects on yours. Make your recommendations extra useful by adding a review for eachproduct or service. Include how long you’ve been using it, why you likeit, the positive benefits it’s had for your business, etc.Kate Bourlandhttp://www.KateBourland.com.com27
Smart Simple Passive Income Always clearly and conspicuously disclose any affiliate links. Theyshould be conspicuous both on a computer screen and on mobiledevices. Your disclosure needs to be close enough to the affiliate linkso that readers can see it before they click to make a purchase. Youneed to consider whether a disclosure in your site footer or sidebar, ora disclosure that requires scrolling to see it, is adequate, as these maynot be
Plan new streams of passive income to start working on that have low risk and effort, but will bring great future benefits. Create your Passive Income Plan, choosing which passive income stream is the right one to implement first, so you can quickly st
