For those not familiar with the term, residual income means to earn money without the need for additional work. The royalties that an author receives are an excellent example of residual income. So, how can one earn residual income with web site development? If a developer has the talent, then it is quite easy.
Offer a Web Site Development Membership Program
Developers looking to earn a residual income from their web site designs should seriously consider starting their own membership site. Examples of successful sites include: Premium Themes, Elegant Themes, and Woo Themes. Each of these sites makes a limited number of themes or templates per year that they are then able to cash in on over and over again by offering them via subscription.
By following this model, a developer could plan to produce as few as twelve designs each year from which continuous profits could be earned.
Focus on Web Site Development and Forget the Other Stuff
If starting a subscription site sounds like too much work, then it is possible for a developer to instead focus all of their attention on web site development and leave traffic generation, payment handling, product delivery, and all of the other problems for someone else to handle. This can be done by selling their web site designs at ThemeForest. Each design is reviewed and approved prior to being offered for sale, so only the most talented web developers will have success with this site.
For all of its pluses, ThemeForest does have a couple negatives that should be considered.
- All profits will not go to the developer since ThemeForest does take a commission on the sale of every web site design sold.
- Web developers are not permitted to set the price at which their designs will sell. So, in some instances, they may find that their design is selling for much less than they feel that it is worth.
After the pros and cons have been considered, it is pretty clear that the advantages offered by ThemeForest clearly outweigh the negatives.
Upsell to Earn Residual Income
Another way for a web developer to earn residual income is to continue doing what they have been doing, but with a twist. Offering an upsell along with their web site designs is a perfect way to generate continued profits. Annual hosting and maintenance contracts are both ideal options. If prices are reasonable, then customers will not hesitate to sign up.
Earning Options Abound
When it comes to web site development, the options for earning residual income are numerous. A web developer just needs to evaluate each potential profit stream and decide which is best suited to them. Once implemented, they should soon find that they are able to earn while enjoying the freedom that continuous income affords.