By skyforbes 
(so you don’t have too…..)
It started like every bad idea does — with me scrolling TikTok at 1:32 a.m., eating cereal out of a mug.
My For You Page? All passive income ideas.
“Make $10,000 a month selling digital planners!”
“Earn money in your sleep with zero effort!”
“Start this today and FIRE your boss next week!”
I was skeptical. But also curious. And broke.
So I did what any chaotic side hustler would do:
I tried a bunch of them.
So you don’t have to.
Here’s how it went down.
Idea #1: Sell Digital Planners on Etsy
The TikTok Pitch:
“Design a cute planner in Canva, upload to Etsy, and boom — passive income.”
What I Did:
Made a pastel “Daily Gratitude Journal” with quotes like “you’re doing amazing, sweaty.” Uploaded it to Etsy. Priced it at $3.50.
The Reality:
Got 2 views in 5 days. One was me. The other was probably my mom.
Made $0.00. Felt humbled.
Learned Etsy is more like a slow burn than an overnight money faucet.
Passive Rating: 6/10
Profit Rating: 0/10 (but the vibes were cute)
Idea #2: Create an Amazon KDP Book
The TikTok Pitch:
“Upload a low-content book (like a notebook or puzzle book) to Amazon and let Jeff Bezos send you checks.”
What I Did:
Used Canva to design a “Cat Lovers Coloring Book” (just black-and-white clipart of cats looking mildly annoyed). Uploaded to KDP.
The Reality:
Publishing process was surprisingly easy.
Got 1 sale after posting about it on Reddit. Made $2.11.
Still waiting on that Bezos check, but technically… I’m an author now?
Passive Rating: 8/10
Profit Rating: 2.11/10
Felt Like a Boss Rating: 10/10
Idea #3: Use Print-On-Demand for Merch
The TikTok Pitch:
“Upload funny quotes on t-shirts, mugs, and hoodies. Print-on-demand handles everything!”
What I Did:
Designed a tote bag that said “Social Battery: 1%” and a hoodie with “Mentally I’m on Mars.”
Uploaded to Redbubble and TeeSpring.
The Reality:
Took 3 hours to design and upload 5 items.
Zero traffic. Zero sales. But hey — I made myself laugh.
I may or may not have bought my own tote bag.
Passive Rating: 7/10
Profit Rating: -$18 (oops)
Would I Try Again? Maybe… with better SEO.
Idea #4: Create a Gumroad Digital Product
The TikTok Pitch:
“Make a Notion template and sell it on Gumroad for $10 a pop.”
What I Did:
Built a Notion “Content Planner for Chaos Creators” and made it look clean, minimal, and fake-productive.
Shared it on TikTok with a 12-second “aesthetic life” video.
The Reality:
Got 300 views, 3 clicks, and 1 sale.
Made $9.32 (after Gumroad fees).
Honestly? I was shocked. I even high-fived myself.
Passive Rating: 9/10
Profit Rating: 9.32/10
Hope Level: REIGNITED
Idea #5: Affiliate Links in a Blog or Medium Post
The TikTok Pitch:
“Write blog posts with affiliate links. Get paid when people click and buy.”
What I Did:
Wrote a Medium article called “5 Tools That Saved My Freelance Life” and dropped 3 affiliate links.
The Reality:
The post actually got views.
9 clicks, 2 conversions, and I made $4.67 in commissions.
Feels like the closest thing to real passive income so far.
Passive Rating: 10/10
Profit Rating: 4.67/10
Writer Ego Boost: 100%
Final Verdict: Is TikTok Lying to Us?
Kind of. But also… kind of not?
The truth about passive income is this:
It’s not passive at first.
It’s a grind up front. You build the thing. You post the thing. You maybe cry a little when it doesn’t sell.
Then, if you’re patient and tweak your strategy, it can snowball.
Would I recommend trying these?
Yes — but treat them like tiny experiments, not instant jackpots.
What Actually Worked Best?
Notion template on Gumroad – Super low effort, decent reward
Affiliate blog post – Ongoing trickle of $$
KDP book – Took time but felt promising
Etsy + Print-on-demand – Need better marketing or SEO
What’s Next?
I’m still testing stuff — maybe passive income from digital courses, newsletter referrals, or even AI-generated storybooks (I’ve seen those TikToks too).
But for now, I’m keeping it real:
Making money in your sleep starts with doing stuff when you’re awake.