7 Doable Streams of Passive Income for Teachers

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but ‘passive income' is not, well, passive.

Not at first.

That's marketing that makes it sound like you upload something once and money falls from the sky.

That's not real.

You're going to spend time creating, uploading, and sharing.

You're going to tinker with pricing and descriptions. You're going to wonder if anyone will ever buy it.

But, there is some good news.

Once you find your groove, it can keep earning money for you, without you showing up every single day.

That's why I want to talk about passive income for teachers.

TL;DR

Passive income is not passive at first. The upfront work is real.

But once you build it (lesson resources, courses, blog posts, eBooks), it keeps earning without you showing up every day.

The best ideas are:

Selling lesson resources
Creating evergreen courses
Blogging with affiliate links (and/or ads…)
YouTube or podcast
Writing and publishing an eBook
Print-on-demand merchandise
Affiliate marketing for education tools
Claude is AI and can make mistakes. Please double-check responses. Haiku 4.5

Takes a while to see money, so only works if you can wait.

Best as a long-term combo play: do active hustles now to pay bills, build passive stuff on the side for later

This is different from tutoring or test prep where you're trading hours for dollars.

With passive income, you do the work upfront, and then over months and years, it can compound.

You're not stuck with anyone else's schedule.

You're building something that exists without you managing it constantly.

I've done some of the ideas on this list, but not all. But I wanted to share with you some of your options.

Because we all know teachers are underpaid, which is wrong.

But I also know that you have skills, talents, and experience that translates outside of the classroom.

This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase through these links, I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for your support!

Why Teachers Are Great for This

You already make things.

Every single day, you create lesson plans, activities, assessments, and materials.

You know what works. You know what fails.

You know what kids engage with and what makes them check out.

Most teachers don't think about turning that into a business because it feels like work that's already done.

But that's exactly the point.

You've already done the hard part.

You know your subject, you know your students, and you know what lands.

Of course, there is a learning curve for transforming that knowledge into something online.

And other people's students may struggle in ways that yours didn't.

But, you don't need permission from anyone.

You don't need to negotiate with clients or manage families or show up at a specific time.

You work at your own pace, in your own space, on your own schedule.

And if you're neurodivergent, that quiet solo work can feel AH-mazing.

No meetings. No people management. Just you, your materials, and the work.

The Types of Passive Income

Selling lesson resources (A simple starting point)

You know this one if you've been teaching for more than five minutes.

Teachers Pay Teachers lets you create lesson plans, activities, slides, or classroom systems, and sell them.

The upfront work is real. You have to design a cover, write a description, set a price, and upload. And more.

But once it's live, you're not having to do a lot of heavy lifting. You're not teaching the lesson.

It just sits there, earning. Woohoo!

Realistic timeline: it takes months or years to see real money.

But over time, a small library of resources can bring steady income.

Creating evergreen courses (Bigger upfront, bigger later payoff)

You could create a course on almost anything.

Use your expertise and make content around it.

Pick a platform and use it to sell your materials.

(I highly recommend subtrio for this.)

This is a bigger lift than selling a single resource.

You're creating a whole course with videos, modules, pdfs, and whatever you choose.

It takes real time. But once it's done, people can find it and take it without you doing anything.

Realistic timeline: also a long game.

But real money comes from making helpful material and building an audience.

Blogging with ads and affiliate links (Long game, but worth it)

If you've got expertise on something (and you do: you're a teacher after all), you can write about it.

Build an audience, and incorporate affiliates where it makes sense.

Over time, that traffic can help you create passive income.

I'm on this path. The first earnings didn't happen fast, but I know that consistency pays off.

Realistic timeline: if you're starting from zero, expect a few years before you see meaningful income.

But once the posts start ranking, they keep earning.

Learn more about how to do this with the program I'm in, called Passive Income Pathways.

YouTube or podcast (High barrier to entry, high payoff if it works)

You could start a channel about teaching, classroom management, or your subject matter.

This also takes time because you need an audience before you make money.

It's around 1000 followers before they monetize you.

But once you have one, the potential is bigger than a single resource sale.

Realistic timeline: at least a year before you see money.

But if you enjoy sharing stories or experiences, or skills you have, you can do well.

Writing and publishing an eBook (Niche and specific)

You could write a short guide on something specific.

Like, how to manage your first year teaching.

Publish it on Amazon or sell it from your own site.

The nice thing: it's finite. You write the book once, and it exists.

You're not managing ongoing students or courses.

You're not updating it constantly (unless you want to).

Realistic timeline: you could have it live in a few months.

Sales might be slow at first, but if you're in a profitable niche that you are passionate about?

It should pick up eventually.

Print-on-demand merchandise (Minimal upfront)

You design something once (a mug, a t-shirt, a planner, a poster).

A print-on-demand company handles everything else.

The printing, the shipping, the customer service. You get paid a commission.

The barrier to entry is lower.

Meaning, you're not managing inventory and shipping.

You design your product once and let it exist.

Realistic timeline: faster than most, but sales are usually small.

It's not going to replace your income, but it could cover small things.

Affiliate marketing for education tools (Easiest entry, slowest growth)

You probably already use (and recommend) curriculum platforms, tech tools, planners, and classroom supplies.

You could partner with companies as an affiliate and earn commission when people buy through your link.

No product to create, no customer service; just helping others use tools you know first-hand.

Realistic timeline: slowest of all passive options.

You need traffic and an audience first.

But if you already have a blog or email list, this is pretty easy to add.

Just make sure you believe in the product, have used it, and stand behind it.

I learned a lot about this in my blogging course.

The Energy and Timeline Question

The idea of creating passive income only works if you can afford to not see any extra money for a while.

If you need cash this week to cover groceries?

(Because, whoa…those prices.)

A side hustle in the active category (tutoring, test prep, camps) will serve you better.

Passive income is a slow-growing garden.

You plant seeds now, water them a bit, and over months and years, you see growth.

But if you can wait?

If you can build something longterm knowing you might not see real money until later?

Then passive income changes the game.

And you're building it because you're tired of trading hours for dollars.

You want to move toward less live work, even if it takes time.

The Combination Approach

You don't have to pick one category and commit to it forever.

Maybe you do tutoring (active income, pays now) AND start selling resources (passive income, pays later).

You're helping pay some bills with tutoring while the resources slowly build up.

Then over time, as the resources earn more, you can maybe tutor less.

Or maybe you work a realistic side hustle in the summer.

Things like camps or test prep and use the quiet parts of the year to build a course or write a blog post.

You're not doing everything all the time.

You're combining what makes you money now with what could earn you (potentially much more) money later.

This is actually the sweet spot for a lot of people.

You get immediate income from something active;

and you're building toward passive income at the same time.

The Reality Check

Passive income is not magic. And it's not only for the faint of heart.

It's a slow, steady way to turn the work you already do into something that supports you over time.

You're burned-out and looking for ways to save your energy in the long run.

Perfectionism will tell you you're not ready and nothing you can do is ever going to be good enough.

But put that critic on mute, and focus on what you're doing.

You'll be well on your way!

Learn more about the best side hustles for teachers.