I know I’ve mentioned passive incomes before, but today, I would like to differentiate what I would call my “side hustles” from those tasks I normally do on a regular basis (to earn a more or less stable income). The general work I do for my main busy-ness include blogging, arranging and coordinating events, and of course, being a mom, wife, and homemaker. For me, a passive income is something that I work on once in a while, and money comes in without me having to keep working in it - or “hustling” as the kids would say.
As for my downtime, that’s normally when I find myself in-between real tasks, or when the kids are still in school and my husband is at work, and just generally when I find myself with free time but don’t want to take a nap or stare idly at the wall or the TV screen. These moments of inactivity, however, doesn’t mean I can’t earn extra money. I’m proud to report that I’ve actually found ways to do exactly this on my downtime.
Taking smartphone pics and selling them
I know there are many more legit and rewarding ways to make money using a camera, whether it’s the one attached to your smartphone or a fully-decked out professional one. However, being a casual photographer has its financial perks too, as I’ve discovered. Below are some platforms I like using to upload my original snapshots, which can earn me some money as soon as people download or purchase them.
- Foap - this one is a favorite, because of how easy it is to use, plus you earn $5 (possibly multiple times, depending on how many people purchase) per snapshot that gets sold via Foap! And because it’s an app, I can easily upload the pics I’ve taken with my smartphone to it, then just sit back, relax, and wait for people to buy what I’m selling.
- Adobe Stock - encouraging you to “sell content to the world’s largest creative community”, Adobe Stock makes it easy to upload your original pictures in a hassle-free way while giving you the kind of exposure that can easily reach millions of viewers (and potential buyers!).
- Clashot - calling itself “the simplest mobile tool to monetize your photos”, Clashot gives simple steps to make some passive income off your smartphone’s cameras: just snap some pictures, upload them via the Clashot app, have buyers see them, and then get a percentage for every image of yours sold. You can earn anywhere between $0.50 to $80 for your original photos (depending on demand, quality, subject, etc.)!
- CanStockPhoto - though submissions and payout requirements are much more stringent on this particular platform, I still find myself taking a risk by submitting to CanStock because they have a great referral system - another good passive income generator! - I can earn $5 easily when a photographer I’ve referred has sold 50 photos on it.
As a WAHM with unlimited resources on parenting, juggling being a career woman and a mom/wife and generally being a busy person trying to keep sane in the day-to-day hustle, I guess I can regard myself as an invaluable resource to other WAHMs? I sure would like to think so! That being said, my favorite places to guest post and submit articles to are:
- Woman’s World magazine (reviewed here) - they are always looking for original stories! And who has two thumbs and hundreds of stories on being a mom? THIS WAHM! From trying out new diets to testing recipes in my kitchen, through to giving advice about rearing kids and cats, I always feel like my stories are welcome (and happily compensated) in this mag!
- Parents magazine - I love the articles on parents so much because they are so original, helpful, and just filled with personality. It’s a good place as any to contribute original, thoughtful, and useful articles as a parent!
- Family Fun magazine - as one of the more generously compensating parent and family-oriented magazines, there was no way I would pass up the chance to get paid $1.25 per word for every accepted article!
My eldest daughter has an artistic streak, and she has recently mentioned that she wants to make a passive income from selling her designs - just so she can augment the allowance we give her. I know it’s a passive-aggressive dig at me and her dad to up her pocket money, but not one to waste an opportunity to impress upon her the value of hard work and perseverance, I promised to introduce her to platforms where she can sell her original designs. So whenever both of us have downtime, we work on how she can make her drawings and paintings sellable, and we like using these sites for them:
- RedBubble - on this platform, I can also choose to submit the pictures I’ve taken on my spare time. But it’s what I use primarily for selling my daughter’s artwork to be used for their wide product range. I love how they emphasize that the artist retains ownership, control, and rights to her original work - it’s just so empowering!
- Zazzle - the really great thing about Zazzle is that we can just upload the designs, and the site takes care of order fulfillment, customer service, and shipping! There are so many kinds of merchandise for her design that the possibilities are almost endless because they look good on anything. My daughter and I can just sit back and wait for our royalties to come in for each sale made!
These platforms I’ve listed might sound like a lot of work, but to be honest, it only takes a couple of minutes to upload our original stuff, and then wait for it to grow money! Granted, there may be some considerable time before we can actually see our profits, but doing nothing during our free time is infinitely worse than the wait.
Your turn!
What do you do in your free time, besides relax and unwind? Have you considered a side hustle like any of the stuff I mentioned above? Share your experiences with us!
