5 Passive Income Ideas for Teachers That Actually Work (and How to Start)
- Global Self-Publishing
- May 16
- 4 min read
As a former school teacher turned online course creator and self-publishing coach, I know firsthand how powerful passive income can be, not just as a financial boost, but as a pathway to greater flexibility, freedom, and fulfillment.
Teachers are incredibly well-positioned to thrive in the world of passive income. You already have the core skills: communication, curriculum design, problem-solving, and the ability to teach concepts clearly. With just a few digital tools and a bit of upfront work, you can start building assets that pay you long after the lesson ends.
In this post, I’ll walk you through 5 of the best passive income ideas for teachers and exactly how to get started. Whether you're looking for a side hustle or want to eventually transition out of the classroom, this guide will give you actionable steps, recommended platforms, and helpful resources.
Why Teachers Should Explore Passive Income
Before diving in, let’s talk about the “why.”
Passive income means earning money even when you're not actively working. This could be from royalties, course sales, affiliate commissions, or monetized content. As teachers, we often work incredibly hard for a fixed salary. Passive income streams allow you to decouple your time from your income, and that’s a game changer.
With rising living costs, burnout and the desire for more control over our time, passive income is no longer a luxury, it’s a smart strategy.
Let’s dive into five streams that work beautifully for educators.
1. Create an Online Course
Platforms I Recommend and Use: Thinkific, Udemy, Skillshare
Teachers are born to teach, so why not get paid to do it online?
Creating an online course is one of the most rewarding and scalable passive income streams for educators. Whether you teach math, art, writing, or time management, there are thousands of learners worldwide who need your expertise.
Platforms like Thinkific give you full control over your pricing, branding, and student relationships, while marketplaces like Udemy and Skillshare offer built-in audiences to get started quickly.
I’ve personally taught over 40,000 students through my online courses. My journey began with just a few videos, a webcam, and a willingness to try.
If you’re unsure where to start, I recommend checking out my free guide:
Want to hear how I made the leap? Watch this video:From School Teacher to 40,000 Students Online
2. Publish Books on Amazon KDP or IngramSpark
Best Platforms: Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and IngramSpark
If you’ve ever created your own worksheets, lesson plans or educational stories, you’re halfway to being a published author.
Self-Publishing platforms like Amazon KDP and IngramSpark allow you to publish print books, eBooks and even workbooks with zero or very minimal upfront costs. Once published, your book can sell for years on autopilot, generating monthly royalties.
Teachers often do incredibly well in niches like:
Educational activity books
Lesson planning resources
Guided journals
Children’s books
Professional development guides
The beauty? You don’t need to be a “writer” in the traditional sense, just someone with something valuable to share. I’ve published hundreds of books across both platforms and teach the full process in my Self-Publishing courses.
Want to see how Self-Publishing works? Visit:https://www.globalselfpublishing.com/
3. Start a YouTube Channel
Great for: Explainers, tutorials, lesson content, educational stories, teacher lifestyle tips
YouTube is an incredible platform to grow both your income and your personal brand. Once your channel is monetized (1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watch hours), you can start earning passive monthly revenue. But that’s just the beginning. Many YouTubers also promote their courses and affiliate links through their videos.
YouTube rewards quality content that helps others. As a teacher, you're already skilled at explaining and engaging—which is exactly what YouTube viewers want.
4. Become an Affiliate Marketer
Best for: Teachers with blogs, YouTube channels, newsletters or social media
Affiliate marketing allows you to earn commissions by recommending products or tools you already use and love.
Here’s how it works: You share a unique affiliate link to a tool, software program or item and when someone signs up or buys through your link, you earn a percentage of the sale, without any extra cost to the buyer.
I’ve earned thousands in affiliate revenue by recommending tools I personally use to create and sell courses, publish books and grow my business.
If you already have an audience (even a small one), affiliate marketing is one of the fastest ways to start earning passive income.
How Affiliate Income Works: YouTube Video Recommendation
5. Teach or Mentor Online
Platform to Check-Out: Outschool.com
This one sits somewhere between active and passive income. By teaching live sessions online (e.g. once a week), you can build a loyal following of students or parents. From there, you can repurpose those sessions into recorded courses, upsell coaching packages, or offer paid group memberships.
Outschool is particularly popular with K–12 teachers and allows you to create your own classes on everything from creative writing to algebra to Minecraft-themed math lessons.
You could also mentor new teachers, aspiring course creators, or even student teachers online using your own website.
The trick here is to structure your time smartly—and use live sessions to seed future passive income assets.
How to Get Started (Even If You're Short on Time)
You don’t need to do everything at once. In fact, I recommend starting with one stream, whichever feels easiest or most exciting for you.
My Quick-Start Action Plan:
Pick one stream from above (online courses, publishing, YouTube, affiliate links, or mentoring).
Download my free guide to help you map out your content and get started:
Watch my journey to see how I made the leap from teaching to content creation:
Explore my Thinkific courses for deeper training and support:
You have everything you need - teaching skills, experience and stories. Now it’s just about shifting the delivery method and letting your content work for you.
Passive income isn’t about overnight success, it’s about creating something once and letting it grow over time.
As teachers, we’re already creators. We just need to think bigger than the classroom walls.
If you’re ready to get started, download the free Teachers Online Content Creation Guide, feel free to subscribe to my YouTube Channel and explore how your knowledge can fuel a flexible, freedom-based future.
All the best,
Romney
Romney Nelson – CEO & Founder - Global Self-Publishing