Looking for ways to earn passive income in 2025? If so, you’re not alone. More people are exploring options to generate money without actively trading their time. Fortunately, the rise of digital platforms and various business models has made it easier than ever to create a sustainable income stream with minimal effort. In this article, we’ll break down five easy investment ideas that can help you make $100 a week, and perhaps even more, in 2025.
Digital Products
Creating digital products has emerged as one of the best ways to earn passive income, particularly for those with a creative streak. The beauty of this business model is that once you create a product—whether it’s an eBook, an online course, or even digital art—you can sell it repeatedly with little to no extra effort.
You don’t need expensive equipment or a large team to start. You can create your product with just a computer, creativity, and a few tools like Canva, WordPress, or Teachable. Once your product is ready, you can sell it on platforms like Etsy, Gumroad, or Udemy.
However, creating something that sells requires more than just an idea. Your product has to stand out in a very competitive space. To make your product worth buying, it needs to be:
- First: If your product is unique and has no competition, you get the first-mover advantage.
- Different: If it’s not entirely new, adding your personal touch or extra features could make it stand out.
- Better: If you can improve upon an existing product, offering more value, you’re likely to attract customers.
Challenges and Success Tips
While creating the product is the first step, the key to making $100 a week lies in making it genuinely good. To succeed, you must market your digital product effectively, especially if you don’t already have an audience.
Once you’re past the creation phase, selling digital products can be a truly passive source of income. You might need to update your product or answer occasional customer queries, but in general, the maintenance is minimal.
Difficulty Rating: 3.5/5 – It’s not easy to create something truly valuable, but once you have a great product, hitting $100 a week is very achievable.
Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is another fantastic way to earn passive income. By promoting other people’s products, you can earn a commission on each sale made through your referral link. The good news is that you don’t have to create anything yourself—you just need to promote what already exists.
The challenge of affiliate marketing comes with making enough sales to hit your $100 target. Your success depends on two factors: the type of products you promote and the size of your audience. For example, tech gadgets or high-ticket items typically offer higher commissions than lower-cost products.
Additionally, some affiliate programs—especially those tied to products you genuinely use or are passionate about—are easier to sell because of the trust factor with your audience. Once your affiliate links are in place, you’ll continue to earn money from them with minimal ongoing effort.
Difficulty Rating: 2/5 – It’s easy to get started, but making significant income requires a good strategy and a solid audience.
Start a YouTube Channel
Starting a YouTube channel is a great way to build a passive income stream over time. While creating videos may not be inherently passive, once the content is published, it continues to generate ad revenue as long as it gets views.
Starting a YouTube channel is free and incredibly easy. You just need a phone, a camera, and a computer. The hard part, of course, is creating content that people want to watch. However, once you publish your videos, they can continue generating income long after you’ve uploaded them. If your videos are monetized, you can earn ad revenue from views, and even sponsorships or affiliate commissions if your channel grows large enough.
To start earning money from YouTube, you must first reach 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 watch hours. Once you’re eligible for the YouTube Partner Program, you can start earning ad revenue. The average revenue per 1,000 views (RPM) is around $2, so to make $100 per week, you would need 50,000 views in one week.
That might sound like a lot, but with good content that attracts viewers, especially in profitable niches like personal finance or lifestyle, you could make more per 1,000 views (as much as $8-$10). Achieving $100 a week may take time, but once you reach the monetization phase, it’s much easier to scale up.
Difficulty Rating: 4.5/5 – It’s easy to start, but reaching 1,000 subscribers and generating consistent views takes dedication.
Print on Demand Bussines
Print-on-demand (POD) services allow you to create and sell custom-designed products such as t-shirts, mugs, and phone cases without worrying about inventory or fulfillment. When someone buys your product, the POD service handles the printing, packing, and shipping.
Platforms like Printful, Teespring, and Redbubble allow you to create your own designs and list them for sale on their marketplace. You simply upload your artwork, choose which products to sell, and set your prices. Once your product is live, you don’t need to worry about anything else. When someone makes a purchase, the platform handles everything.
While the barrier to entry is low, the challenge lies in creating designs that sell. You need to have an eye for what people want, whether it’s witty quotes, unique artwork, or something that resonates with a niche audience. If your designs are popular, you could see steady sales and reach your $100 target relatively quickly.
Difficulty Rating: 3/5 – It’s easy to start, but designing products that sell requires creativity and an understanding of what your audience is looking for.
Investing in Real Estate with REITs
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) offer a way to invest in real estate without actually owning property. These trusts allow you to pool your money with other investors to buy and manage real estate properties, and you earn a share of the rental income or appreciation.
To get started with REITs, you don’t need large amounts of capital. Many REITs allow you to invest with as little as $500. You can invest in publicly traded REITs through a brokerage account or participate in private REITs through crowdfunding platforms like Fundrise or RealtyMogul.
REITs typically offer dividends, which can be a great source of passive income. While the returns are not as high as other investment options, over time, the value of your investment can grow, and you can receive regular payouts. To make $100 per week, you’ll need a sufficient investment in a REIT that offers solid dividends.
Difficulty Rating: 3/5 – It’s easy to get started, but to consistently earn $100 a week, you’ll need a significant investment or a well-performing REIT.
Conclusion
The key to building a balanced and secure financial future in 2025 is diversifying your income streams. Whether it’s creating digital products, affiliate marketing, YouTube videos, print-on-demand products, or investing in REITs, each of these investment ideas offers a way to make money with minimal ongoing effort once you’ve set them up.
By focusing on passive income ideas that align with your skills and interests, you can create a sustainable source of revenue without constantly trading your time for money. So, which of these five investment ideas will you pursue in 2025? The time to start building your passive income portfolio is now.
Rehman Zia