What's the BEST way to earn passive income? (ebooks vs courses vs membership sites)

[@kerrygoring1009]

I was one of the first 300 subscribers, and I am still learning and growing. Gillian is the real deal!

[@keithnorris8982]

Gillian, I am so impressed as to how brutrlaly honest you are. Wow, is that impressive. You just don't find this kind of content on KZbin like you present. At 76, a fellow has to remember/understand he must keep an open mind and know he can learn from a young whipper snapper like you. :-) Seriously, you and yours do a great job. Keep up the good work. Sincerely (an old marketing guy,) Keith Norris

[@DimitrasDishes]

I found you while writing my first cookbook! So glad you made that video!! Now, I’m a member of your startup Society. Keep up the good work, Gillian. Xoxo

[@TaraWagner]

Love how honest you are. I hear so many ppl talk about “passive” income and hype it up or don’t explain how it’s really rarely PASSIVE at all. 😂 The only truly passive income is residual income.

[@zombieguitar]

I disagree. Passive income simply means that the income earned is not directly related to your time. I woke up today having made 4 sales in my sleep. That's pretty passive if you ask me. However, come Monday morning you can guarantee I will be back at "work". If I feel like taking off, I can do that too. This is not the same as direct time for money income.

[@user-lr5cx1ni4r]

And most people don’t have the means to buy property to rent or sell.

[@apope06]

She says she doesnt focus on her book promotion but I've watched several videos on youtube where she talks about it. But this is a helpful video. Great job.

[@AJFFilms8]

When it comes to making money, this seems to be one of the best youtube channels. Quality content that's informative without wasting peoples time.

[@MarleyJaxx]

I love how real you are with sharing your knowledge. Nothing comes without hard work!

[@FootlessJo]

Fabulous video! Helped my husband and I think through some things! I really appreciate this 😀

[@Dreamiversity]

I've been following you a while on my other account and we met at VidCon last year. I plan to write a few short ebooks based on topics I know well. I took a course about short reads and think I'll focus on making several shorter books instead of one long book. The theory taught was that the more books you have, the more momentum you will build with book sales. Based on some book marketing podcasts I listen to, this seems to be true since once someone buys one of your books, they are more likely to buy more of yours. Even if the margins aren't amazing, I think books are a great low-cost introduction to you as a personal brand and can get people to be interested in your other products as well as your channel or podcast! Love your videos as usual and thanks for your transparency. Always appreciated!

[@gomentor]

Michelle - how are the short ebooks going? I'm interested in this idea as well.

[@peterfallon4018]

Then after you’re book’s quality, increases sales is established, your subsequent works will be noticed as quality all the way through. Then onto the next, etc. If you’re only going to write one book, it’s for your enjoyment-you will NOT make any (significant) money. Not trying to dash people’s dreams, but the figures are easily accessible.

[@horsepanther]

I was directed to this video by KZbin after watching some others on the same topic. The others seemed like a lot of flash designed to rack up views, not to help the viewers learn something--honestly almost felt like scammers. I really appreciate how open and authentic you are, while also being professional and providing actual, valuable content--which prompted me to immediately subscribe and start watching your other vids. Thanks!

[@danielschwegler5220]

Who cares

[@kalamity333]

Congrats on the growth of your platform!!

[@BexMarie]

My ideal strategy is my online course. It's already created and I have some students. I teach handmade sellers and Etsy shop owners how to DIY their own ecommerce website. I often wonder if I should break it up into 2 smaller courses (i wonder if the $399 pricepoint is too high) or if I should keep it as is.... In the past I had a rental property. That whole experience wasn't good for me. Maybe I would try it again in the future (far future) but for now I'm really trying to put my focus on my course and possibly adding additional mini-courses

[@jessicanelsen1649]

what software would you recommend for creating a course?

[@BexMarie]

@@jessicanelsen1649 I've been using Teachable and I'm happy with it!! I've also heard really good things about Kartra and Kajabi... and thinkific also

[@ThrivingAnywayTV]

Hey Gillian!! I love how you’re changing it up these days in your presentation!! And I also just want to say how much I appreciate you always bringing value to us through your videos every week!! They are always chock-full of information and helps us viewers to consider everything you present and make better informed choices about the dreams that are in our hearts!! Blessings to you!!! 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@rebootresetrevolution7904]

Great real life tips. I’ve owned multiple rental properties at the same time and it was overwhelming. I was single the time and didn’t have a partner to help shoulder the responsibilities of being a landlord. I’d not suggest it to anyone who doesn’t have time, lots of patience and the tolerance to put up with people (unruly kids can destroy your house). On the other hand, I’ve a friend who owns several properties with her hubby and it works well. He’s great with repairing things and she’s super organized on the business side.

[@andreamallard7311]

Enjoyed the video. I have owned rental / commercial properties for years but was looking into Ebook to create another passive income avenue. I'm a computer teacher for high school after watching your video I might need to change to membership program. Thanks

[@HistoryandNostalgiaChannel]

Really helpful content Gillian for aspiring business owners. Lots of excellent ideas about starting your own business.

[@dansmith1743]

It doesn’t matter what product or service you offer. It’s what you are the most, comfortable starting with is what I understood from the video. And from each product or service offered, you analyzed what works and what doesn’t for you. Don’t be afraid to fail because your results didn’t match Your plan. That you made changes and sought help when needed. Bottom line is that you are receiving revenue from different streams. Question is are the total,revenue covering the business expenses. If not then the loss can be deducted for tax purposes, and eventually over time , as long as you add more revenue you have a net profit.

[@BusinessAuthorAcademy]

I'm there, waiting for my audience to get big enough for the membership. My last books have only made a little after launch, paying for the costs of the covers and proofs! But my learning always helps others too. So that's why I created an academy.

[@Los_Wolves]

I'm a native Spanish speaker, I want to create a KZbin channel to teach Spanish to start my business and sell online courses once I grow my brand. Good video Gillian

[@stepbystepscience]

Great video, thanks for all the tips

[@RachelSLee]

My main source of income is affiliate marketing plus I have an online business. Passive income is fairly easy to do as long as you have patience, determination, and focus. These are also great ideas to earn passive income. Thanks for sharing this, Gillian!

[@asaphgmwangi7804]

Creating ebooks, courses and membership program looks really good.

[@peterfallon4018]

As a 1st self-pub author, best advice is to get legit designer & COPY EDITOR!! They are worth their weight in gold. Any decent one who works for a top-tier NYC/LA pub house will cause 1st-timer to ‘lose’ money, but gain far more in the long-term by making your work on par w/ the most successful writers, minus the name

[@abmrose]

Hi Gillian! I almost always click on your videos, and they always hold my attention till the end, because you deliver consistently useful and pertinent information without any fluff. This video was giving me a serious Mr. Rogers vibe... mixed with 90s scripted sales pitch. Two times I wanted to click away: in the intro and the outro. They were very distracting. Your usual style has served you (and us viewers! 😊) well because you get right to the juicy content. It’s also much less awkward/forced and felt natural, like we were talking face to face. I hope you’ll return to the old style and not fix what isn’t broken! Best to you, and thanks for the informative content.

[@Shinobi1Kenobi]

Niche books have less competition, but lower demand. You can get a highly RATED and RANKED book (within a subject category) without making much in royalties. Maybe more like $200-500/year. BUT what you talked about in terms of referent power you can use as a spring board for OTHER commercial activity is a very real thing in these niches; especially the more technical and/or academic the subject matter you treat well in a book. So authoring books can be a great tactical tool in the strategy of start-up entrepreneurs, but it is more akin to planting an orchard than owning the fruit stand. The smart money is on doing BOTH.

[@fredbradley597]

Courses of course!! They're more work but they can be very rewarding financially!! I chose to pass on your course, but it's good to hear that a fairly large number of subs took advantage of the opportunity!

[@rehannadsamara7342]

What kind of courses? I mean what can we make courses about?

[@kayleighmoliver]

I think the book was still a good investment. If you’re trying to build a brand, then as you said it creates credibility. I don’t think selling as a physical book was as useful as selling digitally though. But this was still great information to have. I think physical books are considered more valuable than digital counterparts. So if I was considering a physical book, I’d probably wait and see if the ebook sales are high enough to justify me going down that route.

[@abmrose]

Kayleigh Oliver Such a great point about the book. The monetary return is more of a secondary benefit to the “expert” cred that she mentioned. I like the idea of an ebook for that reason!

[@Dreamiversity]

Hey Keyleigh. I HIGHLY recommend you listen to a podcast called The Creative Penn. Joanna Penn also has a corresponding blog. She talks about how her physical books surprisingly made her a good amount of money so she made it part of her normal publication process now. If you went through all the trouble of writing the book, then a physical version is not that much more work and increases potential reach because some people still prefer to only read on paper).

[@kayleighmoliver]

@@Dreamiversity thanks for the tip

[@julieannegilleland2833]

I wouldn't pick one over the other I think the path you took is the right one and I am so happy to have found you. I was debating between and ebook and membership, but my motivation is usability. I want to give an interactive experience to my readers and as a website designer I feel that is easier with a site than an ebook. I don't really have a fan base tho so I think I will follow you with ebook, print on demand and then memberships perhaps. My next challenge is do I put all my content in my book or save some for future mini-books and then the site! Yikes so many ideas now

[@sabrinapack2135]

I normally don't subscribe to channels but you are so genuine...😍😍😍

[@pinkroses912]

eCourses sound best to me! I'm a teacher, so I naturally gravitate towards that one!

[@Pithiny]

Dang girl! I’m glued to another video! Great info!

[@MrsStevenBrown]

Lol, I got your book but than came here, I’m glad you get the 5$ of my 10$ 😎👍🏻

[@stephanieburiel3470]

This is my first time watching a video on your channel. This is very helpful as I have been thinking about passive income and ways I can create it. Helpful and informative!

[@GinaLay]

I just love watching your videos! I learn so much. 👍👏

[@poojabhardwaj2460]

Dear Gillian, I am thinking to write and sell ebooks as I am young communication & self development trainer by profession and I think having even an ebook under my name would leverage my brand both online and offline. Now I am a complete newbie to the online business and content creation world and dont wish to go all in with videos and blog posts because knowing myself I might just runaway by how overwhelming it feels. I find writing and selling ebooks more comfy for me. But like I said I am a complete newbie so I dont have an online audience and infact I plan to build my first set of audience through selling my first introductory ebook for wither free or 0.99 cents. Now I want to grow my online brand and business in future but mostly I want to make a full time business out my ebooks as I have recently moved to Europe and want to do something that consistently gives me a monthly pay of at least 1500 euros. I wanted to ask you whether I should sell my first and all other ebooks on my own website (which I have to still make) or should I do it on kdp for profit, brand and long term business diversification reasons?

[@gillianzperkins]

I'd recommend selling your books on Amazon to increase your authority and position yourself as an expert :)

[@poojabhardwaj2460]

@@gillianzperkins Thank you so much Gillian. 😀

[@The5DFeminine]

I'm just building my course and I love this video of all of the choices. Thanks

[@leelanou7309]

Great video - thank you for sharing your experience and wisdom! I think that with the Membership Program, it’s really not “Passive”. The point of passive income is not to have to continue to create content, right? Glad the $ is good, but I think it’ll feel more like a job. A passive income stream that I use is Print on Demand. With my Etsy shop, I design a product (mug, shirt, bag, jewelry, art print, etc.), link it to a production company like Printify or Printful, then link it to my Etsy shop. Of course, I need to market it, but that will always be true for passive income. This has done well for me. Feels much more passive. Haven’t been able to quit my day job yet, but that’s my goal! Best of luck to all of you out there in your pursuit of truly passive income! And thank you, Gillian for your guidance!

[@cupcake888]

I have 3 hard copies and 3 ebooks on Amazon. I have a course on techable but haven't launched until I created more content. And I'm looking to invest on my first property to rent pretty soon. You're an inspiration Gillian. Thanks for all the wonderful videos!

[@DoctorTK]

I have written a hard copy and e-book, I have created online courses; but I really want a stable membership site, specifically for mental health therapist. Thank you so much!

[@MayNg]

I made an e-book few years ago and it didn't make a dime 😅 But i think out of the 7 ways , membership will be the most lucrative one. I'm glad i found your channel! You're so inspiring! Looking forward to more content from you ❤️

[@SLOLiferealestate]

I am a total newbie to the KZbin world, but I've become a serious fan. The opportunities for learning are fantastic! I'd like to use my lifetime of experience to teach others, and I'd like to develop a passive income stream that will enable me to live a comfortable life and enjoy the pleasures of travel. To answer your question, I see myself as a book creator (30 years in publishing) rather than a course creator. That just feels like a niche I could happily and competently fill and make money at. I agree that rental property is a tremendous investment for many reasons. Maybe at some point I'll have the money to get back into it. Thank you SO MUCH for your intelligent and engaging presentations!

[@gillianzperkins]

I'm sure your experience in the publishing industry would give you a big advantage! Thank you for sharing

[@dominiquegordon8813]

I liked the online course and rental income. I'll write a book to go with my course for creditbility. Thank you

[@AssassinoGioco]

You're awesome, I love your advice. I just finished my first book and I'm working on the formatting now. It deals with theology and social psychology, those are my passions, and I am integrating them. I'm also working on my doctorate, so the book is a nice way to summarize my educational takeaways at this point. Thanks for your content, it's priceless!

[@jeanmichelsarr6040]

Thank you for sharing. This was very valuable.

[@alonzoburris9436]

Membership site and online courses seems like the best option for me

[@jas6728]

Super helpful! Really enjoyed this!🥰 IF ANY OTHER SMALL KZbinRS READ THIS, INTRODUCE YOURSELF!🥰 I want to get to know and support more people in the community!

[@ll-sz9fl]

A blog is another way, but you need to be patient or to go all-in, and sometimes both.

[@ThisSingleMom]

Great ideas! Now a video about how to build an online audience?

[@michaellinda6549]

You can earn over $20,000 monthly, work on your own time No experience needed required

[@salome10011]

Wow. A value packed honest conversation. I appreciate you making this video. You’re a fantastic explainer, and a beautiful human being inside and out. 🥰

[@kathythut9220]

Which link is specifically about the rental property income? That’s something I’d like to learn more about.

[@rendezvouswithben9187]

Hi Gillian. Good to see you. I'll finish this video of yours later, I got it saved in the "save to watch later", your videos are just rich with information and insight. Thank you!

[@welovelibraries4556]

How much do you make off of ebooks from your site vs Amazon both in copies & profit

[@stulora3172]

Hi, thank you for this! What do you mean by courses? Preproduced videos plus material? Or one on one online coaching? Or on-site courses where you are in front of a "real" audience? Thanks again!

[@CraftingMyBestLifewithLisa]

Thank you for your transparency. I have an idea about creating a devotional book and using my channel to market it. I am not sure when I will do that since I don’t have as many subscribers as I would like yet. Thanks for the great information.

[@alton10001]

I like your content. Thanks for all the information.

[@richardbottslotsandmore5696]

Awesome information...Great videos..I never miss a notification..THANK YOU!!

[@MegaMarquette]

Hi Gillian, I love your videos/content. I was wondering if there is any way I can become an affiliate of some of your courses?

[@contentwithkirsty1258]

Really interesting video! Love how Transparent on passive income you are 😊

[@foxruneec]

What platform are you using for your online courses? And maybe a video going into the process and tools you use? Thanks!

[@gomenos54]

Excellent advice. You have obviously worked hard and you deserve all the success you can get.

[@betzyri]

Great info! Thanks so much for being so transparent about numbers!

[@marinaramarcato7615]

Hi Gillian, thanks for the great video. I was wondering if you used Wordpress to build your membership site and online course? If yes, do you know the plugging that were used? What do you like using the platform? Thanks

[@gpgib]

Your experience is similar to my own. I am now working to create interest and drive members to the new membership site. Hoping to build. Your videos have confirmed my thinking and progress so far.

[@katenolte4840]

I just scrolled through the description and info on this and see that your PO Box is in Salem. I'm also an Oregonian, southern Oregon, but still! You are really inspiring me to get off my duff and do videos! I FINALLY have a focus which is about Travel and helping people plan their trips, how to pack for different locations and climates along with other things. Having said that, I feel that there is a lot of competition and I'm wanting to stand out. Which, I think it would help me if I defined my "perfect" customer or viewer, this is a struggle and I feel like I over think this, instead of keeping it simple. Because then I think that maybe by defining that person then I'm limiting myself. Anyway, lots rattling around in my head. Thank you for all of your great advice!!

[@Livingformondays]

Great video, Gillian! I believe that membership sites are the best way to earn money. They take time to develop and even more to maintain but then, you have a steady stream of income you can count on - more or less at least.

[@c.allenhansencpapc4129]

Love your Vlogs. It was one of your old videos that motivated me to write an eBook. While it’s not crushing it in sales, it is a nice little extra income stream.

[@michaellinda6549]

You can earn over $20,000 monthly, work on your own time No experience needed required

[@RodneyDodson]

I want to do all of it. Membership, Ebooks and courses. Im looking at Active Campaign, Kajabi and beaver builder... Do i even need all of them or is there something better?

[@allthecommonsense]

Kajabi

[@ST-sd4wb]

I rarely comment. This is a really great video👍👍. In fact I am loving all your videos.

[@OlgaPogozheva]

Hey Gillian! Love your videos. How exactly did you grow your audience? Through YT first or other social media platforms?

[@PositiveMindset633]

All the methods you mentioned to make passive income can work for anyone but it's important to focus on only one or two methods first.

[@dewiistiyan]

gillian, do run all tis magic stuff just by yourself? or u have an assintant or what? please, let me know. i need your help. oh, and do you have school background about blogging, writing etc? something that makes you expert? or you just learn the whole thing by an experience?

[@TheFreedomStrategy]

Yet another very helpful video! Great job and really good info. I have followed a similar path (although I haven't gotten to the subscription website yet), and for me my physical book has actually made the most money. But my course less than 2 months old, so I'm hoping that will take over! Thanks again for the great content!

[@geektoolkit]

Wow, another awesome video...I'm going to look into the course idea...I have a tech channel and was contemplating creating a programming course..but I had no idea the income potential for a course!! I love that you're not scared to discuss your numbers...that helps us understand on a much deeper level how differnet approaches relate. Again, thanks for being generous with your content and sharing to help us out

[@ktestable]

is that 2 copies of the 4 Hour Work Week at the bottom left you bookshelf?

[@ArticlesofGrace]

Thanks Gillian. This is very helpful.

[@gremics-gallery]

Gillian timestamp 10.20 you mention spending your time and energy building the audience. Does this mean simply creating videos on regular basis on KZbin or did you have other methods to build the audience? Thanks

[@allthecommonsense]

Pick any social media platform and make valuable posts, whether using hashtags, in groups, on your main feed, wherever... and make sure your profile prominently features the Url that you want to drive traffic to, usually via a free lead magnet.

[@lizziemccann2921]

Thanks for the video! Question to clarify - did you say that the paper book sells about 5-10 copies/month and the ebook sells 50-100 copies/month?

[@gillianzperkins]

Yes, that's right :)

[@lizziemccann2921]

@@gillianzperkins Thank you!

[@LifeinGlow]

Thanks for the video Gillian! What about affiliate marketing which many KZbinrs mention?

[@soniakudalsky6214]

Loved the video...my first choice personally would be writing an ebook.

[@allthecommonsense]

So you'd sacrifice revenue for ease & comfort.

[@authorpreneursecrets]

This was short and extremely useful. Thank you. Instant subscriber

[@imagehoppers]

great insights, and VERY well presented. Tasteful and not too much of any "ingredient" there -- but juuust right. Fantastic job. (And all that success you already have, you deserve it, as in *earned* it! Onward and upward.)

[@DaveDaily42]

Great video. Watched the whole thing. As to your question, I'd say all of the above. Just start creating assets and then they all grow together under the same brand. A book can point to your course which can point to your membership site, which can lead to having money to invest in real estate and other assets. The key is to just start building and buying assets.

[@bartlemy]

Thank you... honest and thorough and inspiring

[@T1buron]

I love the last part of you video Thanks

[@DesktopMakes]

Excellent Gillian! Very valuable stuff. Thanks!

[@haleyieltsguide5595]

Thank you so much for your tips :) I’m thinking of making a membership site for my students. I’ve got one question as for membership sites. Which platform are you currently using?

[@damilarearah]

What Camera do you use?

[@gillianzperkins]

// FILMING GEAR Canon T6i: amzn.to/2FwKW7j 18-55mm lens: amzn.to/2FyFroK Rhode Video Micro Mic: amzn.to/2EVrjEZ Neewer Ring Light: amzn.to/2CJu5LJ Light stand: amzn.to/2EWo0NN Sunpak PlatinumPlus Ultra 6000PG Tripod: amzn.to/2CMjJKU Adobe Premiere Pro CC bit.ly/2mpIFoP

[@PootsandYayaArtTime]

Great content. I love how you break everything down

[@BrooklynnAlexx]

I LOVE your honesty and am so happy for all your success. Keep grinding girl! 🙌🏻♥️

[@drcathyklein]

This has been super helpful Gillian. Thank you for your work!

[@sandramelanija]

I started my drawing channel two weeks ago! I'm still not sure if I ever will able to earn passive income with this form of a channel! 😂 Thanks for sharing the insights

[@vernicethompson4825]

I have had books published on Kindle Direct for four years and have not made any money because they haven't sold at all.

[@digitalfreedomhousecom]

I truly believe you have done the hard way and respect for that. Also believe that an average person who does not have enough time should not try any of these, instead hop on the affiliate way. That requires some investment into marketing but way less than a course creation or buying property. Actually someone has already done that hard work for you and you are monetizing it. All you of course is very lucrative products or services to promote which are scalable so do not think about 30$ worth of ebooks...Keep up the great work and content!

[@maxoverdriv]

Thank you for the awesome tips. My writing focus is in fiction. I'm aspiring to write a novel someday, but currently only write short stories. Do you have any additional tips or advice for me on this subject?

[@erintannehill]

What resources did you find most valuable for creating your course funnels? I’m creating a course in the next few months and need to learn more about effective funnels.

[@OldHag73]

when you talk about courses what is your thoughts about places like Skillshare or Teachable???

[@OliveraK]

Thanks, Gillian, your videos are always eye-opening.

[@Thatssotrue]

Great information. I wrote a book about 10 years ago, and have the dream of publishing it, but after watching this video, I may decide to go straight to an e-book. I am just not sure how to hire someone to help me with the editing, art and publishing into an e-book. Do you have a video on those steps? 😍

[@dougpierson994]

Great video. First time to write you. I launched an ebook and audio book(same title) called Cages and Kitchen Tables last May. I narrated the story along with adding special effects. Of course, anytime you narrate something like that countless hours are spent editing and so on. So I said "Hey, why don't I do this for pay" until I found out not many ACX narraters were making anything at all. And like you, my book sales were laughable. It was a labor of love and that's ok. At least I didn't put it off and I actually did. So I'm still looking for that special something that will drive me back into my studio to try and wow someone. I am a ham at heart. (I'm a leo) Thanks so much---Lee