Knowledge

Which Creates The Most Passive Income: Apps, YouTube Videos, Blogs or Websites?

I used to make apps for both the Apple App Store and the Android App Store. I also used to make YouTube Videos, I used to own a website and now I just own a blogging website.

What I haven’t tried yet in terms of creating digital online content is in the field of image and sound content like Instagram and Podcasting. Who knows? I might just try these two other mediums later.

This article is primarily for those who are just starting to foray into online digital content. Of course the reason why so many are interested now in a career towards creating online digital content is the perceived forever passive income that they would get out of it.

Simply put, many perceive that passive income is the process of creating online digital content once and then just waiting for this online digital content to start making you money for your entire lifetime.

I began my foray into online content creation by making a couple of YouTube videos. So, far I’ve got no complaints. Though I’ve not managed to make any money off it, I’ve read about a couple who do.

It’s really a source of true passive income. All you have to do is create a video and upload it in YouTube. You would just have to wait until your ad revenues from your video are sent to you by Google.

But let’s be clear, passive income and living income are not the same. Living income means having enough income to provide for yourself and your family’s daily need like food, lodging and all other necessities.

Though there are a lot of YouTubers who are making passive income in YouTube, a vast majority of them are not making a living income. Just like any business or career, finding financial success in YouTube depends a lot on hardwork and luck.

This is the reason why many YouTubers don’t rely on their passive income from YouTube. Many YouTubers actively use affiliate marketing, teach courses, and sell their own physical products to have more income. So many YouTubers work continuously to make more income.

Blogging is also a true source of passive income. All you have to do is to write a blog on your website or on one of the many free blogging online platforms like Blogger or Medium and wait as Google sends you your ad income.

However, just like YouTube, your passive income from your blogging ad revenues might not be enough for you to make a living income. So just like many YouTubers, many bloggers actively use affiliate marketing, teach courses and sell their physical products too.

If you’re wondering if it’s possible to earn a living income based on your ad revenues alone, then I suggest that you watch this video from Income School titled: 74 Successful Niche Site Ideas.

The video would give you specific examples of different blogs with varying subject matters and how much each one of them is earning. It’s a pretty exhaustive list of blogs, 74 blogs to be exact.

Just like creating YouTube videos and blogs, you also earn an income with apps via ads. Both Apple and Android (Google) also give you an additional source of income: via digital products. This is so prevalent in gaming apps.

Many gaming apps now offer reward points, loot items, or game upgrades in exchange for real money. This has become such a big part of a gaming app developer’s income to the detriment of gaming app users that both Apple and Android has been limiting their use.

Is app development really a source of passive income? Though in theory it is, In reality it is not. While software upgrades in YouTube videos are non-existent and in blogs so rare that you barely notice them, software upgrades in apps are often and can often be very difficult.

Just exactly what are software upgrades in apps? Both Apple and Android periodically upgrade their software and they require app developers to also upgrade their apps to make them compatible with these upgrades.

Even professional app developers often find it hard to implement these upgrades to their existing apps and imagine if you own 100 apps and have to upgrader each one of them several times a year. No, app development is not really a source of passive income.

If your website is just being used to host your blogs, then it is truly just a blog with the passive income of a blog just like what I have mentioned before. But if your blog is an e-commerce facility, then its not really passive at all.

This is because you have to maintain your e-commerce store on a regular basis which could be daily. You have to check daily if you have orders and then ship them away. You have to also check if the payments for the orders have come through.

It may not be passive but the income potential of a website that does e-commerce is huge. I’ve recently made an article about Ramon Van Meer titled: Ramon Van Meer: A Millionaire by Flipping Websites And Pet Products.

He has an e-commerce site and earns millions off it. He doesn’t manufacture his own products but merely markets them online. He uses Dropshipping for his business. I suggest you study him and research him online.

But we don’t have to look far. There’s Jeff Bezos and his gigantic Amazon e-commerce site. His e-commerce site has made him one of the richest billionaires in the world although its not a source of passive income.

Whether you have a blog, website, YouTube video or app, once you put or there is a comments section on it, your site automatically doesn’t become a true source of passive income. This is because you now have a responsibility to check and often reply to the comments and replies.

Not doing so could be harmful for you online digital content business. So you have to decide if you would put a comments or reply section to your online content. As anyone heavily involved in social media can attest, interacting with virtual contacts can become overwhelming at times.

One famous online content creator that has no comments or reply section in his blog/website is famous marketing guru Seth Godin. He even famously stated that he has no time for comments or replies to his many blog posts.

I tried to check if he has a YouTube Channel but found none. The interesting part is that there are many YouTube videos about him being interviewed in other YouTube channels were he not only gives us his insight of marketing but promotes his brand as well.

If you have affiliate links in your online content then it is not passive income as well. This is because you have to maintain your affiliate links and see to it that they are up to date and have not expired yet.

For example, Amazon affiliate links do expire and so do the affiliate links of the other affiliate marketing companies. When they do, anyone clicking on the affiliate link might have problems with their transactions.

A product advertised in an affiliate marketing link might also get banned for some reason or another. Just Google for example: “affiliate products that are banned” and you would see how problematic affiliate marketing can be.

If your site also has external links to another blog, website, YouTube video, podcast and some other online content, then you don’t really have a passive income online product. This is because links can get broken.

For example, a blog or website or other online content may have been taken down by its content creator and no longer exists. Anyone clicking on the link would have a bad experience which could result to lost viewers or readers for you.

An online content might also become banned for some reason or another by Google and some other online content platform. Your link might become affected and even penalized as well by Google and the other content platforms.

For example, Google can simply not index your blog or website. This is not an all too uncommon experience by some online content creators. This is the reason why you should regularly check Google Search Console or Google Play Console.

In effect, there is no such thing as a passive income when it comes to online digital content income. Your online content needs maintenance from time to time and if you don’t maintain it, your online content might not be ”indexed” anymore.

“Indexed” just means that an online content platform has approved your online content and is making it available online for monetization.

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