Passive Income in Cyber Security — Part 2
More ways to start side-hustles in cybersecurity
My previous article on Passive income in cybersecurity turned out to be a bit of a hit and by far the most popular piece I have written on Medium to date.
I had no idea that so many cyber-security professionals are interested in side hustles!
Since I wrote it months back, I have experimented with a few more income streams and so I wanted to write a continuation of that + share an update on how the previous ones are doing
I hope this helps out any IT or cyber-security pros who are thinking about making the jump into the awesome world of passive income.
Let's get started and remember the disclaimer I gave in my previous article
There is no such thing as truly passive income as you will always need to put in the initial effort but once the hard work is done and the passive income stream is created then you can continue to earn money while you sleep.
Update on my previous income streams
The incomes streams I mentioned in my previous post for cybersecurity pros to generate some income were as follows :
Create an online course
Write a cyber-security book
Create a cyber-security blog
Start a YouTube channel around cyber-security
So how are the streams doing so far?
ℹ️ Online Course
My courses on Udemy and SkillShare have been doing well with August and September being a particularly good month. I hope to learn more about the algorithm works and to drive more sales to it
Check out the Udemy sales below. Skillshare paid me a bit less but it fluctuates less than Udemy and the income is a bit more consistent.
Takeaway: Creating online courses is definitely something you should try and monetize if you have the knowledge
ℹ️ ️Cyber-security book
My book on AI governance and Cybersecurity has consistently given me some income month after month as you can see below. To date, I have earned over 260 GBP which is pretty awesome considering I did not expect to make a dime !
Takeaway: Creating a book is worth it in the long run as it not only establishes you as an expert but also can generate some good passive income on the side. There are also other income streams you can generate from this book as we will discuss shortly
ℹ️ Cyber-security blog
My blog has been doing just ok as honestly the process of driving traffic to it wears me out over time. I have gradually moved my blog and writing over to Medium and which has generated better income than Google Adsense over time ( more on that shortly). All in all a blog is a good way to earn money but be ready to put in a lot of work to drive traffic toward it
Takeaway: Creating a blog is a good way to create your brand but the effort of driving traffic might be too hard for some. I think it might be better to move your article towards Medium which has a built-in user base and high traffic
ℹ️ ️Youtube channel
My Youtube channel stood at around 276 subs when I wrote my first article and now has reached to 623 subscribers. I have yet to get it monetized but the blame lies on me as I have been creating only one video per week. I plan to try and get it monetized by the end of this year so let's see what happens.
However, even without monetization, the channel has been awesome in sending traffic toward my courses and website so I definitely recommend creating one if you want to spread your knowledge and create some passive income in the long run. Just remember not to expect a quick return!
Takeaway: Yet to earn directly from Youtube however indirectly it has really helped send traffic to my books and courses so I cannot complain! Still highly recommended to do.
NEW Ideas for passive income in cyber security
Ok. that covers my previous income streams.
Since writing that article, below are a few new streams I have experimented on with varying degrees of success. I have put in the effort that was needed.
🎧 Audiobooks on ACX ( EASY )
Audiobooks are HUGE in the U.S. + UK and ACX is the platform where you can publish them. As I already had a physical book, I decided to convert it into an audiobook and see how it does.
This one was quite easy to create as an income stream. All I had to do was to find someone to create audio recordings of my existing book which can be easily done on Fiverr or ACX. Since being published I have already made a few sales as you can see below! The earnings report has not come in yet but will share in the coming months.
📚 IngramSpark ( EASY )
IngramSpark is a similar platform to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) where I published my book but it helps to spread the distribution of your book to more channels.
IngramSpark’s global distribution network gives you access to over 40,000+ retailers and libraries which is pretty awesome. My book has gone live there in August and made a few sales. This is what I was referring to when I meant that writing one book can help you to create multiple income streams on multiple platforms.
I will update you when I get the earnings report
✍️ Writing on Medium ( EASY )
I started taking Medium seriously these last couple of months and so far the experience has been fantastic. The best thing about Medium is that it already has a built-in user base and high traffic so I do not need to worry about those things.
On Medium, the only thing that matters is the quality of the writing
I got enrolled in the Medium partner program in July and since then I have seen some nice income come along. You can see the earnings from just my previous Passive Income in Cyber security article below
If you are interested in learning how I made money from MEDIUM then check out my tips in this course. Get it for TWO dollars if you want to just rent it for 30 days
🇬 Gumroad ( EASY )
Gumroad defines itself as a “self-publishing digital marketplace platform to sell digital services such as books, memberships, courses, and other digital services”. It is pretty easy to use and you can create Ebooks, Digital Courses, Membership programs, etc.
One great feature is its ability to RENT out products so you can rent out courses for 30 days at really cheap prices. A lot of customers prefer this instead of outright buying the course
I started using it recently and have already put my courses HERE on rental and made some sales. I will be studying Gumroad more and will be sharing my learnings after a few months.
👨💻 Fiverr freelancing ( HARD )
I created some gigs on Fiverr which you can view here to study this platform and its potential for generating passive income.
Before you jump on and scream that Fiverr is NOT passive income .. you are absolutely correct. My goal is more long-term here which is to cultivate a loyal client base through my gigs on ghostwriting and ebooks and then see if I can create a business out of this with a team where I do not have to be actively involved.
I still recommend Fiverr however as people are making some great money there but do not think of it as immediate passive income as it takes some time to create your name there.