Year: 2020

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Chrome Extensions: Earn Passive Income

Chrome Extensions

What are Chrome Extensions?

Chrome extensions are apps that you can add to your Chrome browser that add functionality for either specific websites or the web in general. You can install extensions from the Chrome Web Store.

Examples

An example of an extension that adds functionality to all websites is Grammarly. This extension helps you improve your writing by analyzing what you type into form fields on the websites you visit. Everything from Facebook to Gmail, Grammarly checks your spelling, punctuation, and phrasing to help you write more eloquently. At the end of each week, it even sends you a report of how much you wrote and where you scored in comparison to all other Grammarly users.

It’s a free extension that offers a base level of features. When you pay for a monthly subscription you unlock additional features. This “Freemium” approach is a very popular pricing model for extensions.

A website specific example extension is Smart Share From eBay. This extension lets you create affiliate links for eBay items as you browse the site (a passive income opportunity itself). It only works on the eBay website.

Building Chrome Extensions

Building an extension requires either knowing how to code the extension yourself or hiring a developer to build an extension for you. In either case, there is a step by step approach to follow during the development process. This is what you must do to build and launch your Chrome Extension.

  • Create a Chrome Developer Account
    • There is a one time, $5 registration fee to become a Chrome Developer.
    • You must be a registered developer to publish extensions to the Chrome Web Store.
  • Build the Chrome Extension
    • This requires knowledge of JavaScript, Google APIs, and web applications
    • Build it yourself or hire a developer skilled with building extensions
  • Publish your Extension
    • Create a package for your extension. You will upload this package to the Chrome Web Store after you’ve set up your extension.
    • Set up your extension in the developer console. You’ll provide a name, description, artwork, and pricing information for your extension.
    • Upload your extension package
    • Publish your Chrome Extension
  • Wait for your Extension to be Approved
    • Google evaluates each extension to make sure it meets their quality and usability criteria.
    • It usually takes approximately 24 hours for a new extension to be approved. It can take longer, sometimes up to several days.

How to Monetize Your Chrome Extension

In the Chrome Web Store, you can make your extension either a free or paid extension. You can also charge for content inside the extension as well. If you are building an extension that allows paying users access to additional features you will need to program the extension to detect users that have paid and unlock the features they have paid for.

You set the price in the developer console and determine which countries you want to sell the extension in.

Step by Step Guide

This post is a brief introduction of what is involved in building a Chrome Extension to add passive income to your revenue portfolio. I am currently writing a step by step guide that covers each step in depth. If you want a hands-on walkthrough of how to build your own Chrome Extension this will give that to you. You can pre-order it now for the pre-launch price of $9.95 (regular price $49.95).

Pre-order the Chrome Extensions For Passive Income Guidebook today!

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What’s the Difference Between Passive Income and a Side Hustle?

Difference between Passive Income and a Side Hustle

What’s the difference between Passive Income and a Side Hustle? Just looking at the names gives you a pretty good hint.  Side hustles are all about activity.  Passive income is about sustained flow with minimal intervention.

Side hustles are in the moment, usually finished quickly.  Passive income is much longer term.

Examples for Comparison

An example of the difference between passive income and a side hustle is the difference between a yard sale and a consignment shop.

A side Hustle example would be having a yard sale.  

There’s the prep of organizing everything you are going to sell: collecting it, cleaning it, pricing it, and arranging it for the day of the sale.  Then there’s the sale itself where you are involved in being present while shoppers browse through your items, haggling over prices, answering questions, and collecting payments for purchases.

Yard sales are hands on all the time until they end; just like side hustles.

Passive income is more like selling in a consignment store.  You find the items, deliver them to the store, and when they sell, you collect your consignment payment.  None of the marketing or hands on administration of the sales process itself.  

Income Flow Comparison

With a side hustle there is a quick income spike and then income drops back to the pre hustle level.  The day the yard sale ends you have a cash box full of money.

For passive income, there is a more consistent level of income over a long period of time.  The consignment shop sells an item every day or so.  You get paid incrementally over time.  By keeping the number of items you have in the consignment shop at a consistent level, you’ll realize a continuous rate of income.

Methods for Expanding Income Compared

How do you increase the amount of income in each example?

With a yard sale you have to have more yard sales.  You have to acquire a large collection of items to sell, organize them, etc., etc.  Eventually you run out of capacity on your own and hit an income ceiling or, you have to start hiring people to help.  When you have to hire you add more work to the process and reduce your profit margins.  

With the consignment shop example you simply increase the number of items you have in the shop.  It is much simpler to build a system to purchase and deliver the items to sell than in the yard sale example.  Once you have the process automated, your involvement shrinks to close to zero.

Compare and Contrast

Here are two books I’ve read on the topics of Side Hustles vs. Passive Income.  Both are excellent guides on their respective topics.  I recommend reading both and seeing which you feel the most connected to.

Side Hustle: From Idea to Income in 27 days

By Chris Guillebeau

The 4-Hour Work Week

By Tim Ferris

NOTE: The links above are affiliate links.  If you click on them and make a purchase I will receive a commission payment.  That said, I only recommend things that I’ve used myself and think will be helpful to you.

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Which Entrepreneur Type are you?

Entrepreneur Type

In the world of entrepreneurship, finding your area of strength goes a long way in easing your journey.  There are many means by which you can become an entrepreneur, but your strengths will lie in one of three types.  You will find that you are either a Creator, a Persuader, or a Promoter.

Creator – Entreprenuer Type

The Creator’s strength lies in the building of products, services, or systems.  They are strongest and happiest when their efforts are focused on molding the solutions to their customers’ problems.  They tend to head down and can suffer from, “If you build it, they will come” thinking.

Strong creators should partner with Persuaders or Promoters to make sure their work reaches the right customers with the right message.  This is the way that Creators can stick with their strengths and make the most of their time.

Persuader – Entrepreneur Type

Persuaders shine when communicating one to one.  They are conversationalists and storytellers, able to communicate the precise benefit that the buyer needs and that the product provides.  A Persuader uses empathy to understand the buyer and what they need.  This, along with their gift to craft their message, allows them to demonstrate to buyers that their solution meets their needs.

Strong Persuaders should strive to maintain close relationships with Creators.  A Persuader can get carried away trying to match a product’s capabilities to a buyer’s needs.  When a Persuader’s understanding of a product does not match the product’s reality, the potential for a disappointed buyer is all too likely.  The Creator can help keep the Persuader’s expectations grounded and buyers happy with the result.

Promoter – Entrepreneur Type

The Promoter imbues the product with charisma.  They are the builders of brands and campaigns that bring attention to the product and place potential buyers in contact with Persuaders.  The Promoter’s strength is exciting the right potential buyers at the right time to take action.

Promoters keep their finger on the pulse of potential buyers.  They know what buyers are asking for and what they will grab for when they see it.  They are the force that motivates buyers to the next step in the buying process and ultimately to a purchase.

They must stay informed of both internal and external realities (production capacity, market trends, etc.) so that their messages remain in harmony.  Their campaigns cannot produce dissatisfaction or their market share will shrink.

Do you know your type?

Is it obvious to you now which type of entrepreneur fits you best?  Do you know where your strengths and weaknesses lie?  If you do, you’re ready for the next step.  If not, how are you going to figure out your type?

Let me know what you’ve discovered.

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Promote Your Product – Three Simple Techniques

Promote Your Product

Promote Your Product – Three Simple Techniques

Now that you’ve created your product on The Exchange it’s time to let the world hear about it. Let’s promote your product.

In Field of Dreams the philosophy, “If you build it, they will come” may have worked. However, in real life, the philosophy is actually, “If you build it, and tell them about it, they will come.”

So, who do you tell and what do you tell them?

Technique One – Start with Low Hanging Fruit

The first technique to promote your product is to start with the people you know that either want your product or know people that do. This technique is a hand to hand combat technique. You’re going to talk to people directly and ask them two simple questions:

  1. Hey Jane! I have a new product X. It helps with [benefit for Jane]. Would you be interested in buying one for yourself?
  2. Thanks, Jane! Do you know anyone that might be interested in buying X that I should talk to?

That’s it. Now, make a list of five people that you will call, email, or text (Social Media DM) those questions today. Repeat that for the next five days and you’ll have reached 25 people that you know. You’ll either have some good sales results, some great leads to follow up on, or some good feedback on how you can improve your product.

Technique Two – Leaving the Shallow End

Once you’ve reached out to your contacts directly it’s time to start expanding your efforts into deeper waters. The strategy here is to remain in familiar territory but do a broader outreach.

On your social media platforms that you are active on (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) post about what you’ve created and how it’s beneficial. Link back to your product on The Exchange to help people that are looking for it find it.

If you are a member of a group that has interests aligned with your product, make sure you post there and reply to any comments or questions that come up. Make sure your posts lay out the benefits your product brings to the table and don’t just rattle off a list of features.

Technique Three – Diving Deeper

This technique gets you out into the open waters where even more potential customers can find your work.

Create a demo video of your product in use and then post it to YouTube. Walkthrough how your product works and what it’s like to actually use it. Include the link to your product in your video description and make sure to describe what your product does in the description as well.

You’ll attract people that are wanting to learn how to build a product like yours and many will decide that buying your product is a better way to go.

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New Product Checklist for Vendors

New Product Checklist

New Product Checklist

This New Product Checklist takes you through the quick and easy steps of setting up your own product on The Exchange. In five easy steps, you will build the perfect product listing for the catalog so that customers can find and purchase your product. Follow along to launch your product for sale today.

Checklist Step One: Getting Started

When you log into The Exchange after you’ve registered as a vendor, you will see this page. This is where you can get started building your catalog of products.

To begin adding a new product click the “New > Product” menu.

Product Checklist Step Two: Create a Product

You will now be on the New Product creation page.

Add a product name and product description. Next proceed to the product information section.

Make sure to check the Downloadable check box. This will display options to allow you to upload your file.

Set your price, add the file download package and set any download limits you want for your product. Everything else should be left at their default settings.

Product Checklist Step Three: New Product Categories

In the right panel, select the categories that your product belongs to.

Product Checklist Step Four: New Product Image

Products with images attract more attention and sell better than products without images. Your image should be a .png or .jpeg file measuring 1200 pixels wide by 628 pixels tall. Click the Set Product Image button to upload your image.

Product Checklist Step Five: Save and Publish your New Product

Once you have entered all of your product information, click the Save Draft link. This will store all of the information you’ve entered but keep it private until you click the Publish button. Clicking the Publish button submits your product for review.

Once it is approved it will be live on the site for purchase.

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PowerShell Scripts for Profit

PowerShell Scripts

Selling Powershell Scripts on The Exchange

If you’re a PowerShell scripts builder, you know the power they provide for systems administration and automation. However, having skilled PowerShell developers on hand isn’t always an option for every organization. For them a reliable source is often their go-to option. You can be that go-to option.

If you have a universal tool or a tool that you can make universal, packaging it up and publishing it to the marketplace is quick and easy. Follow these easy steps to success.

  1. Register as a Vendor on The Exchange – It’s quick and easy. Once it’s done you’ll be all set to start publishing your PowerShell scripts and earning on every sale.
  2. Package your Script – We recommend including clear instructions on using your tool and how your users can ask questions or request support if they need it. This can be a separate “Read Me” document that you bundle in a zip file for download or you can include them in the tool itself. Either way, make sure your customers have the information they need to use your script right away.
  3. Create a Product – Use the product design screen to name and describe your product. Tell potential users what benefits they can expect from your PowerShell scripts in terms that will appeal to them. Explain how their lives will be easier when they use what you have built. Don’t just list the features.
  4. Include a Picture – Use a service like Canva.com to create a quality image to use with your product. This will help draw attention to it and get new customers.
  5. Price to sell & profit – take a look at what similar scripts are selling for in the market. Make sure your price is competitive but don’t be afraid to value it so that there is profit in each sale for you. The Exchange takes a 10% transaction fee on each sale to cover our operational and payment processing expenses. The rest is paid to you.
  6. Tell People about it – Let your connections know that you’ve got PowerShell Scripts for sale. You never know who you know that might be looking for just what you’ve created or knows someone else that is. Share the link to your product on Social Media or in an email or tell people about it in person. Get word of mouth working for you!

That’s all you need to get started. I can’t wait to see what you have to offer!