Ask HN: How to start earning $500/month in passive income in next 12-18 months?
I run Built With Bootstrap (<a href="http://builtwithbootstrap.com" rel="nofollow">http://builtwithbootstrap.com</a>) that brings close to $2,000 on average each month in "mostly passive" income.<p>How? Here are a few things that have helped:<p>1) I got lucky - I jumped on something early and got picked up quickly and rode on the back of a giant gorilla as it kept getting higher and higher - right place, right time<p>2) I keep costs low - I use Tumblr (free) and cheap, pluggable services like Campaign Monitor, Wufoo, Buffer, and IFTTT to automate a lot of the process.<p>3) Don't be afraid to ask for money - I started doing this very early on, but even that wasn't soon enough! People will pay if there's a benefit, so don't be afraid to ask.<p>4) Keep it simple - I write brief emails, I don't respond to everything and I only spend a few hours each week on the site - updating content, checking stats, emailing etc.<p>5) Get multiple sources of revenue - I use a number of affiliates as well as offering traditional advertising.<p>6) Be social - Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinterest, Google+ - BWB is on all of these. I try to engage with people and respond to things<p>7) Start a mailing list - this is not to be overlooked!<p>I hope this gives you some helpful ideas :) don't be afraid to ask any questions.