How to Create Passive Income Opportunities
At the NAMS Workshop a few weeks ago, I had a conversation with Glennette of Premium Web Design about affiliate marketing, and specifically how to incorporate it seamlessly into a service-based business to create passive income opportunities.
I started out online with a service-based business myself, and did well with Affiliate Marketing on the backend of that service model.
I ultimately stopped offering my web dev services and became a full-time Super Affiliate. I did that for personal reasons – mainly because my life demanded more of my time for a spell, and a source of passive income became necessary.
Those of you who run a service-based business online can benefit from my previous model, as you can dramatically increase your profit potential and make your clients even happier with your services at the same time!
How to Create Passive Income Opportunities In A Service-Based Biz (Without Pissing Off Your Clients)
You’re already charging premium rates for your services, or you should be. Does the idea of selling your clients even more products & services make you cringe? For most home-based service providers, it does. In fact, most have a hard time just charging competitive rates much less premium.
Keep in mind that you aren’t necessarily getting paid for what you do. You’re getting paid for what you know. And if you’re good at what you do, you’re saving your clients from getting ripped off by less experienced or less professional fly-by-night providers.
Don’t undercut yourself. It’s much easier to lower rates than it is to raise them. 
While we’re on the topic, I’ll throw in another pricing tip for you that will be invaluable in your service-based business: include a fuss fee. Obviously you don’t reveal this on an invoice, you simply pad it into your rates. It allows you to work with high maintenance clients with a smile – and without hard feelings. To go the extra mile for all of your clients. And it also gives you room to offer discounts and create special offers.
Working Affiliate Recommendations Into Your Model
Affiliate Marketing is one of the easiest ways to create passive income in a service-based business model. While you may think of it as “selling”, you’re actually doing your clients a favor by making recommendations. It’s a simple shift in mindset – from selling to serving your market.
Your clients come to you because you’re the expert at what you do. They trust you, and they depend on you to handle things they cannot or do not want to do themselves. In order to truly serve your market, and each individual client, you want to go that extra mile to meet their (other) immediate and long-term needs.
You’re actually doing them a disservice if you don’t offer your recommendations!
Your first step is take a few minutes to get into the shoes of your ideal client. Who are they, and what are they working on? What products and services are they going to need (aside from yours) to reach their goals?
Make a list of everything they may need, and consider your top recommendations. Also think back over your past conversations with clients to the most frequently asked questions. Do you find yourself recommending certain products/services on a regular basis?
Create a resource sheet listing each of your recommendations, and why you recommend them over other options. You can save this as a swipe file to refer to during client communications, use it to create an optimized FAQ page on your website, and you can also convert it to a PDF file to include in follow-up email correspondence with your clients.
Each recommendation in your list should include an affiliate or referral link if one is available. But go the extra mile – include every resource you feel your clients will need, affiliate link or not.
Your clients will appreciate you for this additional service. Most of your clients are probably struggling with all of the decisions they are faced with to complete their project. Not only will your recommendations earn you additional income, they will create happy clients that refer even more paying clients to you!
To give you a tangible example, I was in the web development business myself. I did corporate web design jobs, as well as marketing plans & ecommerce consulting. When I sat down with a new client I would asses their overall online marketing needs. I followed up with a customized quote for my services, along with a list of other services they would need. This might include a hosting account, mailing list manager, payment processor, custom script written, etc.
I was either an affiliate for, or partnered with, preferred service providers. Having my clients work with the people or companies I recommended made MY job easier, as I was experienced with them already and had to work it into my designs and/or follow-up training.
I also offered my services in setting up any of those recommendations. I would set up the hosting account and mailing list manager for them, for example. So in addition to earning commissions, I also earned on the additional tasks.
This was one of the most appreciated services that I offered to my clients. Over and over I was thanked for “doing the thinking for them” and handling all of the associated tasks that went with the project.
You might earn $100 on the extra work (which is easy enough and probably something you can do in your sleep), but you also earn $125 for the hosting referral and a recurring commission on the monthly fee for their mailing list manager. Just as one example.
To make your affiliate income even more passive, you can work recommendations into both your set-up process and your follow-up strategy. You are following up with your clients, right? 
It could be as simple as a personalized note 10 days after you complete services for your client. For example:
I wanted to check in with you to see how your new ___ is working out for you. I thought you may have questions by now, and wanted to let you know I’m only an email away if there’s anything I can help you with. I also have a list of the most frequently asked questions on my website at -link- that you may find helpful.
The best thing you can do is consider what your clients most need, and incorporate that into your business plan. How can you better serve your market, and in turn increase your bottom line per client?
Tip: Look for affiliate programs that pay recurring commission. You’ll earn a continuous passive income on your work long after the actual work has been completed.
Other Passive Income Opportunities To Consider
What else can you offer your clients? Ideas might include:
- ongoing training/tutorials that you can create upfront and then offer in a drip-style system
- ongoing service, where the service work is outsourced
- private networking community for your target market
- paid directory for your clients, or their vendors
The ideas can get endless, depending on your target market. Get creative and brainstorm how to create passive income opportunities in your business model!
Best,
p.s. At some point I am going to (yes, finally!) release my Passive Income Guide. I have not yet decided how, when or in what format… but you’d be smart to get on the list and be the first to find out!
Interested in learning more about Affiliate Marketing as a business model?
See my Affiliate Marketing Tips
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This post was mentioned on Twitter by portgrowth29: How to Create Passive Income Opportunities: At the NAMS Workshop a few weeks ago, I had a conversation with Glenne… http://bit.ly/bzKbty...
I love it. It amazes me that this isn’t just common practice. So long as you keep your recommendations honest (and why wouldn’t you, with a paying client on the line?), there’s nothing wrong with earning to recommend a company that your client needs anyhow.
And I love the fuss fee! I’ve done the occasional bit of website design for others, and some clients certainly cost more to take care of.
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I agree. If you use and love a product then why wouldn’t you recommend it! As You say Lynn, you are actually doing them a disservice if you don’t.
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Say what? Passive Income Guide? Think I signed up for notification on that in 2005. I see you still have the same signup page.
Do I need to sign up again?
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No, you don’t need to sign up again. And yes, I am going to eventually release that guide! With a new page design, even
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Awesome advise Lynn!
Thank You
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Thanks for writing the article Lynn. As a web designer I mostly receive passive income from monthly website maintenance, hosting and SEO services but am working on creating a series of reports to supplement my income. Your article inspired new ideas.
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Hi Lynn,
As Always Great information and direction. To understand that you’re getting paid for “what you know” rather than “what you do” is a wise perspective that partners well with the “fuss fee” – which by the way is brilliant. Thanks!
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I got so many ideas from this post… I had to save a hard copy to make sure I implement some of the direction you give! Keep the great articles coming, you are an inspiration!
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Hey Lynn! I’m honored to be mentioned in one of your blog posts. Meeting you at NAMS was one of the highlights of the conference. You’d be proud of me. I have started letting my clients know about other resources that could be of use to them. I created a PDF file of Resources that I recommend and made it available to download at http://www.premiumwebdesign.com/whmcs/downloads.php – Elite membership is one of the resources. I also included a couple of branded reports from you in the downloads area. That’s just the beginning of what I plan to add to what I already give my clients!
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As someone that offers services I have to say this is brilliant advice. By nature we recommend things all the time, often without an affiliate link, so why not get organized about it and add some income?
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I create and sell sites, and one of my revenue streams from that is including hosting as part of the package deal.
Another is content. But one thing I REALLY REALLY want to get into for passive income is 1. ebooks 2. reports 2. wordpress themes
Am working on it, and can’t wait to launch all of the above.
Thanxs, Lynn.
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Great, helpful post Lynn. It does amaze me how many people have never really considered passive income. Affiliate marketing is certainly a fantastic way to do this.
The school system teaches us to simply swap time for money. Realizing that there are additional income streams available is the first step.
Great post Terry! I, too, believe it providing a one-stop shop resource for clients outside of just designing a website. Simple add-ons such as hosting, video or paid training guides, detailed research guides, installation services, etc can help you increase your overall sales — and many of these items can indeed be put on “autopilot” which frees up your time truly focus on the task at hand.
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Lynn, So glad I get your blog post digest on Monday Mornings! Reading this helps me brainstorm ways I could do just this type of thing in our service-based family business. It will take some creativity to apply in the industry we’re in and match what our customers want, and that’s what I enjoy the most about being in business. Thanks.
Best,
Mary
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I love this concept. I have bookmarked this page so I can start refer to it and begin to put it into action. Thank you Lynn!
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[...] How to Create Passive Income Opportunities In A Service-Based Biz (Without Pissing Off Your Clients) [...]
I own three virtual assistant associations (Canadian Virtual Assistant Network (CVAN), Coaches, Authors, Speakers Professional Assistants Association (CASPAA), and REVA Institute), and have long been speaking about the virtues of including passive income in service businesses.
The idea is so well articulated in your post Lynn, that I’ll be referring all my VAs to this as part of my teachings. Especially the fact that many service based businesses are doing their clients a disservice if they aren’t recommending related, helpful services and products. That’s hard for many to wrap their heads around.
You never cease to educate or inspire me.
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[...] Here’s this excellent article on Lynn’s blog… [...]
[...] 6. FAQs from clients and website visitors – What questions do you commonly hear from others? These make for awesome blog posts. Here’s an example of a post Lynn Terry created after a conversation with me. Read it and learn “How To Create Passive Income Opportunities”. [...]
[...] matter what your business model, look for ways to set up Passive Income sources. I did this in my service-based business many years ago, and continue to incorporate it [...]
Lynn, Any ETA of your Passive Income guide?
Glad you had a great and refreshing vacation
Judy
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Lynn, Any ETA of your Passive Income guide?
Glad you had a great and refreshing vacation.
Judy
Retyped to check off notify me of followup comments via email
Follow me @JudithMShapiro on Twitter.