I know you’re a programmer but what if I tell you about passive income for programmers. Will you read this article to know them?
I know, YES is your answer. So let’s dive in then!
Wouldn’t it be beautiful to get paid to do something that you really love? Better yet, what if that same thing could passively generate you a hefty chunk of money yearly? Well, I know you’re one of the lucky souls that found love for programming then there’s good news for you. There are a lot of ways for developers like you to make passive income just programming. While additionally reaping a lot other benefits for their career as well.
In this article, we divided it into 5 groups of programmers or developers. To enable us discuss the passive income for programmers for each group intensively. There’s need to understand that the words programmers and developers were used interchangeably in this article.
5 passive income ideas for Java developers
2 passive income ideas for app developers
4 passive income ideas for crypto developers
8 passive income ideas for web developers
2 passive income ideas for software developers
2 passive income ideas for game developers
5 passive income ideas for Java developers
Sell your software
Creating software might be a long process, but the ROI you will provide might bolster your passive income. After you must have put in the hard work, your software might be sold repeatedly to companies or individuals looking for what you have just created. Instead of you focusing on marketing to people, you will need to find those need before you build the software. If you find a niche, or an audience, make sure that you thoroughly understand their biggest pains to be able to solve them with your software.
Create and Sell after effects plugins
Is your biggest passion motion graphics? You may monetize this passion by creating stunning motion graphic plugins that will be used with after effects. Trust me, many companies are looking for improved functionality to go along with their videos. You may market your plugins to companies, sell them online, and get a lot of promotional space to grow your own business. Companies are looking for safe, well-tested plugins that will provide functionality to wow their customers. There are a lot of resources on the internet to learn how to create after effects plugins.
Create bots
Do you enjoy creating bots that can do different tasks? Bots creation is an in-demand skill for companies and customers, especially those in the retail industry. More than chatbots, some of these bots might take orders, place the same orders in the company’s databases, and also schedule shipping. Depending on the level of your skill, creating these bots might be a significant time investment, but as you gain skills, making them will become much easier.
Help a niche you’re passionate about
Do you have the desire to support people working in the field you are excited about? Then offer your services in order to create passive income for yourself. Not only will you be able to grow your passive income, but you may also help a cause that will mean a lot to you. This passion might help you stay motivated as you will be puit in hours needed to create a high-quality result. To be able to develop this passive income, you may pitch to people or companies directly to offer your services. It is one way to sell online.
Create and sell 3D-printing patterns
Trust me on this, 3D-printing has seriously hit the scene and skyrocketed. Business owners and companies are looking for templates to use for their 3D printers. Creating 3D printing patterns might take some special skills and software, but these skills are not too difficult to learn. In order to increase your passive income, you might buy different software licenses and outsource the work. As well as offer more variations of the same pattern, and also provide customization options.
2 passive income ideas for app developers
Create a game app
Game apps are so popular, there are a lot incredible opportunities in this niche, especially if you can move ahead of the crowd. Try to creatively think outside the box with game apps in niches such as 360 and VR. Classic Android and iOS apps are known and a little saturated now. But why don’t you create apps for companies like Windows phones instead. Creating mobile games is a big niche that has only gotten much more bigger as phones have become bigger. Believe me on this they won’t be going away anytime soon. After you have created your game(s) and tested it and/or them extensively, some features that might increase your passive income include the following:
- Downloadable content
- Access to behind-the-scenes videos
- Monthly subscriptions that will offer bundle apps, features, or assets
- Pro subscriptions which will help to remove ads and in-app purchases
Create an app that will compile data from pros
Professionals in different domains like fitness, health and personal development have so much knowledge and resources they would love to transform into an interactive app. However, they are lacking the technical development skills to create an app. This is the point you step in. If you can be able to partner with a well known professional to build an app that will answer their market needs. Rather than getting paid upfront, request a percentage of sales for more, ongoing revenue.
4 passive income ideas for crypto developers
Masternodes
Masternodes are a full node that will hold a full copy of the blockchain, they are similar to Bitcoin’s full nodes. These nodes are always running because they help to keep the blockchain in real-time. Masternodes will perform special tasks for particular cryptocurrencies, and owners of masternode are paid so others might access these tasks. Upfront costs are needed to create a passive income with masternodes and will include buying the required amount of coins for each crypto. Getting a VPS or server so you might host the wallet 24/7. As well as owning a dedicated IP address, reserve storage space so you will be able to save the blockchain. When working with masternodes, it is important to know what you are doing to avoid scammers. With a much work, masternodes might provide a lucrative passive income stream for you.
Trading bots
Hiring employees for 24/7 work is very expensive, and most companies are trying to cut their costs, especially during this pandemic. Trust me, this fact is excellent news for you because it means these companies could make use of trading bots. Crypto trading bots are majorly created to discover and report back differences in exchange prices. Like the other elements of cryptocurrency, they have a significant upfront investment, but for some people, they may be profitable. When you create, sell, or use trading bots, be very careful of scamming developers and flash crashes. To earn a passive income from trading bots, you will need to work hard and be very open to high-risk investments.
Lending crypto
If you have already amassed a lot of Bitcoin, Ether, or some other crypto, then you might join the centuries-old process of lending. As Bitcoin will allow you to be your ‘own bank’, you may decided to lend Bitcoin or other crypto with little or no interference from your bank. Many companies might also help you successfully lend your crypto. There are excellent lending platforms to earn passive income such as:
- Celsius Network
- INLOCK
- BlockFi
Mining crypto
Are you asking yourself how you can make passive income from cryptocurrency? The upfront costs, the time, the energy might be enormous for crypt mining, but they might be worth it. Mining the blockchain, Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero, or Ethereum will require you getting equipment like ASICs and GPU rigs. These will allow you to mine quickly, which ensures you make a profit. Other costs are also tied to cooling your equipment, which may increase your electricity bill. As there are a lot of upfront costs for crypto mining, the field is not saturated. With dedication and a willingness to take invest in your future, you might become a highly-paid crypto miner. This might be a perfect way to make passive income as a developer.
8 passive income ideas for web developers
Create and sell WordPress plugins
Millions of people are using WordPress to promote their products and services. Creating WordPress plugins is an excellent way to earn passive income for yourself. Why? Because a lot of people are looking for many ways to expand the features of their WordPress website. When creating a plugin, there’s a need to focus on a real-world need. You may find what people want in WordPress forums, blogs, and even YouTube channels. There, you will find a lot of users expressing their frustrations, which is an excellent way to get information on what they need. On these forums, you might be able to market yourself as a developer who is dedicated to fix these issues.
Resell web hosting
Companies need space to host their files and other elements of their sites. They will need web hosting. With some patience and diligence on your part, you may offer this service to them. When you resell web hosting it is important to make sure you buy from reputable companies. When buying web hosting in bulk, it is helpful you look for providers that will allow you to add your own logo to your customer’s control panel. This method increases both your branding and promotional efforts.
Build and sell web applications
If you are looking to earn money without spending your weeks creating new content, you might buy and sell web apps. Many companies aren’t sure what software would be the best for them. You might be able to determine the best features and add-ons needed for these businesses and earn your passive income while doing so. Businesses need web applications that will cater to boosting their productivity, improving their project management. As well as improve skills and money management.
Flipping niche websites
One way to earn passive income online as a web developer is by flipping niche websites. There is a big market for niche websites and it’s become very easy to buy, improve and resell them.
eCommerce & dropshipping
eCommerce is an excellent opportunity for you as a web developer to earn passive income online. However, your choice of platform is important. WooCommerce will require a lot of maintenance and might crash a WordPress site. Shopify is very expensive ongoing. And just forget creating any custom solution. Many dropshipping companies will handle the production of your products, package them, ship them, and also handle returns. This will make things very passive!
Sell animations / effects / functions
In the past you have created animations, special effects, or functions that they might be useful to others. You might offer them on a lot of platforms like the GameDev Market, the Unity Asset Store, or the Unreal Engine marketplace. When creating your animations or effects, it is recommended that they are original or better still improve on someone else’s designs. If you happen to find designs that are out of date, it’s a great opportunity to improve them, sell them, and make passive income. This will be a perfect way to build wealth.
Create and sell web themes
This is a classic passive income for programmers especially for web devs. With a combination of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and plugins. You will be able to create a variety of professional site templates that might pull in impressive passive income. The competition is very fierce, so it’s crucial to stand out from the crowd. Niching down is one way to be able to provide templates for a target market that is underserved. The best thing is to look for a niche you are passionate about. That has a great target audience looking for templates and also does not have much selection. This will be a perfect place for you to start. There are many templates you might be able to create.
Leasing dedicated servers
Dedicated servers are in high demand as they may be used by businesses that have much traffic or need personal servers. They may be used on the company’s premises, and are well known to lower router, security system. As well as network administration, and internet connection costs.
2 passive income ideas for software developers
Sell software
Instead of creating your own software, you will sell other developer’s software for a commission. This will free up much of your time as the work is outsourced. When selling software, you need to ensure it is thoroughly tested, matches the needs of business owners. As well as integrate very well with the company’s existing software.
Automate Quality Assurance (QA)
Many software companies need automated testing services, so your skills in scripting might be a great asset to them. It doesn’t matter the business niche you are interested in, automated testing will check code and functionality more faster than teams of testers. Providing fully functional code is a perfect source of passive income. Cold-pitching to companies or even joining freelancing boards may help you find your first assignments. Turning this into a passive source of income is creating your QA processes for free and then charge for recurring fees.
2 passive income ideas for game developers
Assets
If you have already created a some games, you might have noticed you have more assets that are just lying around unused. You may sell functions, source code, and also game designs to create more passive income. Assets for mobile games might worth $40-$80, while models, 2D images, or 3D images are worth much more. Assets might be created with different tools, such as Blender, Maya, Unreal Engine, Unity, or Visual Studio. There are a lot of online sources available for you to package your assets and offer them to other developers, so they might modify them as they see fit.
Tools
Do you love making 2D, or 3D games? Are you looking for some extra cash to fund your games or have a lot of income to spend more time creating them? One way you can increase your passive income is for you to sell your tools. Game development is, for many developers, a long and rough road. You can earn money by making this process much easier for starters or experienced game developers who want to create their games faster.
And finally
There you have it. Differents ways to earn passive income with programming that will make you money. Trust me as a developer, you are blessed with a high barrier to entry that will make it difficult for a non-technical person to be able to make money within this niche. Giving you perfect odds of earning an income without worrying about stiff competition.
Believe me, I am not saying these methods will be easy. Because people often confuse passive income with easy income. However, nothing worth doing is ever easy? We do know that programming isn’t. I hope I have been to show the different passive income for programmers. It’s left for you to take action by working on passive income ideas that relates to your area in programming world.