I received this email yesterday asking me the following question:

I would like to start blogging to create passive income. How do you go about doing that?

I think there is a big misconception about passive income and blogging (or creating a websites). There seems to be the assumption that since anything written on the Internet can be accessed and viewed 24/7, that this somehow makes the income passive. While it is very true that when people are able to access whatever you’re selling or to view what you have written (with the possibility of clicking on an ad) that you increase your potential of income. That being said, creating a blog or website is anything from passive income - at lease in the beginning.

If you create a site that becomes so popular, you may find yourself in a position where you have to do very little in order to keep money coming in, but those situations are the rare exceptions to the rule (think lottery winner). The truth is that if you have any type of web presence, you are likely to spend a huge amount of time keeping the information up to date and interesting for those that come and visit.

That is not to say that you can’t earn money doing this type of thing. There are certainly opportunities to do so, especially if you have a true love of the subject that you’re writing about. The key to understand is that it will definitely not be passive income, but income earned from placing a lot of time and effort into the project.