Passive Income Ideas For Nlp Engineers [2024]

Updated: November 29th, 2024

Interested in earning passive income as a NLP engineer in 2024?

We put together a few of the best passive income ideas you can start as a NLP engineer today. These will help you increase your quality of life by bringing in more income for yourself or your business.

For each income idea, we’ll show you real-world examples, revenue expectations for each idea, plus some things you might need to know before you start your passive income journey as a NLP engineer.

Here's the full list:

1. Make passive income with an AI writing tool ($255K/month)

As an NLP engineer, launching an AI writing tool could present a fantastic opportunity to leverage your expertise in language processing. By developing a digital tool powered by artificial intelligence, you could facilitate content creation for a variety of audiences, including businesses, bloggers, and students. This tool, capable of generating accurate, error-free, and engaging content, could significantly improve the efficiency and productivity of writing tasks.

The demand for constant, high-quality content is growing, and an AI writing tool could meet this need by automating much of the writing process. By capitalizing on your skills and the rapid advancements in technology, you could create a solution that not only eases the workload of writers but also sets you apart in your career. This venture could be your gateway to making a mark in the digital world and earning passive income.

How much you can make: $4,000 — $1,000,000/month

How long does it take to build: 52 days (?)

I Built A Simple AI Writing Tool That Makes $60K/Year

Rytr, a new AI writing assistant developed by a startup platform and business incubator, has become a market leader, serving over 300,000 customers across the world and doing seven figures in ARR.

Read by 6,768 founders

2. Make passive income with an ai based business solution ($55.8K/month)

If you're an NLP engineer looking to supplement your income, starting an AI-based business solution could be a promising option. By leveraging your existing skills in natural language processing, you could help businesses optimize their operations in areas like customer service, data analysis, and marketing through AI. For example, you could develop AI tools that automate repetitive tasks or provide valuable customer insights.

Given the growing demand for AI solutions, this venture could offer a significant competitive edge to businesses willing to invest in technology. The good news is that even those with limited tech backgrounds can participate, thanks to user-friendly platforms and robust support systems available in the market. By focusing on high-impact areas and crafting a solid implementation plan, you could tap into this expanding market, making it a strategic move for boosting business performance and earning passive income.

How much you can make: $4,000 — $120,000/month

How long does it take to build: 125 days (?)

How We Launched A $120K/Month Audiobook Publishing Course

Mikkelsen Twins grew an online education company from scratch with over 800 students, making over 6-figures in profit every month thanks to their successful program, Audiobook Income Academy 2.0.

Read by 21,998 founders

3. Make passive income with an email marketing tool ($992K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could leverage your expertise in natural language processing to create a highly effective email marketing tool. This would involve developing algorithms that can personalize and optimize email content, helping businesses better engage with their audiences. Since email marketing is a powerful channel for generating leads and increasing sales, your tool could be highly valuable to entrepreneurs and companies looking to improve their marketing efforts.

Developing an email marketing tool doesn't just stop at the initial setup. With your skills, you could also incorporate features like sentiment analysis and predictive text, making your tool stand out in a competitive market. This could open up opportunities for passive income, as businesses and startups may subscribe to your tool for its advanced capabilities. Plus, the email marketing industry is projected to keep growing, making this a promising venture for supplementary income.

How much you can make: $120 — $20,833,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $1,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

I Built A SEO Tool That's Completely Free For Users [From Lebanon]

H-supertools founder Hasan developed a set of free SEO and digital marketing tools generating $2k per month in profit using Google Adsense, affiliate marketing, selling ad spaces, and email, plans to launch a membership option, and has attained over 80k registered users and 300k monthly visits in less than two years.

Read by 14,151 founders

4. Make passive income with a social media automation business ($139K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could leverage your expertise in natural language processing to start a social media automation business. By developing tools that schedule posts, automate responses, and analyze user interactions, you could help businesses and influencers manage their social media efficiently. Your skills would allow you to create intelligent systems that understand and engage with audiences more effectively than generic automation tools.

Consider the growing demand for consistent social media engagement; there's a significant market for automation services. Your technical background equips you to build or integrate sophisticated software solutions, keeping you ahead of the curve. Plus, staying updated on social media trends and maintaining client relationships would enhance your service offerings, making this a potentially lucrative venture.

How much you can make: $4,000 — $400,000/month

How long does it take to build: 50 days (?)

How I Bootstrapped A Social Media Automation Tool To $2MM/Year

MeetEdgar, a bootstrapped social media automation tool founded in 2014 by Laura Roeder, has grown to $4 million in annual recurring revenue and more than 5,000 customers, with a team size of two dozen, achieved through content marketing, social media marketing, and organic search.

Read by 15,250 founders

5. Make passive income with a lead generation tool ($108K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could create a lead generation tool to help businesses find potential clients more efficiently. This involves building software that automates the process of gathering contact information and interests from websites, social media, and other digital platforms. By doing so, businesses can spend less time searching for customers and more time converting leads into sales.

Given your skills in natural language processing, you could enhance the tool to analyze and predict the interests and needs of these potential customers. This capability would make your tool even more valuable by providing businesses with high-quality leads. Since there’s a growing demand for streamlined marketing solutions, this could be a lucrative opportunity for you to generate passive income.

How much you can make: $1,000 — $400,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $600 (?)

How long does it take to build: 90 days (?)

How I Created A $5M/Year LinkedIn Marketing Automation Tool

Dux-Soup is a LinkedIn automation tool that helps business owners and sales & marketing professionals generate more leads, increase efficiency, and save time; with over 70,000 users and revenue of nearly $5 million, it offers automated top-of-the-funnel LinkedIn outreach activities, targeted LinkedIn campaigns and multi-touch & personalized LinkedIn drip campaigns for lead generation.

Read by 8,923 founders

6. Make passive income with a mobile app ($70.3K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could leverage your skills to create a mobile app that effectively uses natural language processing to solve common problems or improve user experiences. Mobile apps relying on advanced language models, chatbots, or sentiment analysis tools could be particularly successful and in-demand. For instance, you might develop a language learning app that adapts to the user's progress, or create a mental health app that provides real-time emotional support through AI-driven conversations.

Developing a mobile app requires planning the user experience, designing interfaces, and extensive testing. If coding isn't your strong suit, you could team up with a skilled developer to bring your idea to life. Marketing your app is also key; effective strategies will help attract users and drive downloads, turning your innovative concept into a viable passive income stream.

Taking the leap into mobile app development could open up new financial opportunities. It just requires a clear vision, dedication, and a willingness to engage with the entrepreneurial side of tech. With the right approach, your app could not only supplement your current income but potentially turn into a primary revenue source.

How much you can make: $1 — $500,000/month

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

We Started A $6M/Year Bachelorette Party App

BACH, an app that plans and books bachelorette parties, has grown from $0 to >$1M net revenue run rate in less than 6 months, gained over 100,000 users in their first 60 days, and has over 40,000 parties using the app this month.

Read by 11,017 founders

7. Make passive income with a niche blog ($31.5K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could start a niche blog focused on machine learning, data science, or natural language processing itself. Sharing your expertise through how-to guides, news updates in AI, and deep dives into specific algorithms or data sets could attract a passionate community and establish you as an authority in your field. You might also provide commentary on the latest trends and developments, making your blog a go-to resource for both beginners and professionals.

To monetize your blog, you could include affiliate links to relevant courses, books, or software in your posts. Additionally, you could collaborate with tech brands for sponsored content and review cutting-edge tools. Over time, this not only supplements your income but also opens up opportunities to speak at industry events and grow a connected YouTube channel.

Starting a blog could be a great way to turn your professional insights into a stream of passive income. By consistently providing valuable and engaging content, you could build an active and loyal following interested in the latest developments in NLP.

How much you can make: $100 — $650,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $650 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

How I Turned A Crappy Idea Into A $3M/Year Business

Starter Story grew to 1.4 million monthly visitors and millions in annual revenue by sharing the stories of entrepreneurs. Pat breaks down the early days and how he grew the business into something that changed his life.

Read by 78,275 founders

8. Make passive income with a YouTube channel ($72.1K/month)

As an NLP engineer, starting a YouTube channel could be an excellent way to supplement your income and share your specialized knowledge. You could create tutorials on NLP techniques, showcase coding projects, or discuss the latest trends and advancements in the field. By sharing your expertise, you could attract a dedicated audience, boost your profile within the tech community, and potentially generate revenue through ads, sponsorships, and merchandise.

Consistently producing high-quality content is vital for success on YouTube. You would need to invest time in planning your videos, shooting, and editing them, and engaging with your audience. While it requires effort and dedication, the financial and professional rewards could make this side hustle a valuable addition to your career.

How much you can make: $2,000 — $333,333/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,250 (?)

How long does it take to build: 30 days (?)

How A Young Entrepreneur From Nigeria Started A Profitable Blog

This case study follows the journey of a young entrepreneur from Nigeria who started a profitable blog generating a monthly revenue of $1,500+ through sales of advertising space, sponsored posts, and information products, and shares his strategies for success including a Twitter growth challenge and guest post pitches.

Read by 12,324 founders

9. Make passive income with an online course sales business ($85K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could supplement your income by starting an online course sales business, leveraging your specialized knowledge in natural language processing. Imagine creating a course that teaches beginners the basics of NLP, or advanced practitioners how to implement specific algorithms and techniques. With the booming demand for e-learning, you could share your passion for NLP and turn it into passive income.

By identifying a target audience, whether it's students, hobbyists, or professionals wanting to upskill, you could create and upload your course to popular e-learning platforms. With the e-learning market projected to be worth over $645 billion in the next few years, there's a huge opportunity to make extra money while helping others learn and grow in their careers.

How much you can make: $100 — $300,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $2,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

I Make $120K/Year With My Print On Demand T-Shirt Side Hustle

A multipreneur shares how she built a successful print on demand side hustle, generating $120,000 per year through multiple brands spread over various platforms.

Read by 12,038 founders

10. Make passive income with an online survey tool ($304K/month)

As an NLP engineer, starting an online survey tool could be a lucrative way to earn passive income. With your skills in natural language processing, you could develop advanced features like sentiment analysis or automatic summarization, making your tool stand out in a crowded market. This added value could attract businesses looking for deeper insights from their customer feedback.

Running an online survey tool also leverages your technical expertise, allowing you to continue working within your domain while exploring entrepreneurial avenues. You could set up automated data collection systems and advanced reporting tools, simplifying the process for your clients. With the growing popularity of online survey tools, there's a substantial opportunity to build a steady stream of passive income while helping businesses make smarter decisions.

How much you can make: $40 — $1,600,000/month

How long does it take to build: 180 days (?)

On Starting A $160K/Month CRM & Automations Company After A US Air Force Career

GreenRope, a self-funded CRM and marketing automation platform with over 1,000 customers in 20 countries, was built organically and focused on creating a positive, customer-centric culture without outside investment, with an all-in-one interface solving challenges in managing sales, marketing, customer service, and operations.

Read by 12,019 founders

11. Make passive income with a niche website ($107K/month)

As an NLP engineer, starting a niche website could be an excellent way to supplement your income and tap into your technical expertise. You could create a site focused on topics that intersect with natural language processing, such as AI-driven language tools, sentiment analysis, or tutorials for NLP beginners. Your content could be highly specialized, drawing on your professional experience to provide in-depth knowledge and practical advice.

Once you have a steady stream of traffic, you could monetize the website in several ways, such as affiliate marketing for NLP tools, ad placements, or even selling your own digital products like eBooks or online courses. Building a niche website may require an initial time investment in creating high-quality content and implementing basic SEO strategies, but over time, it could evolve into a reliable source of passive income. Given your background, this project could not only be financially rewarding but also professionally enriching.

How much you can make: $400 — $250,000/month

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

How I Leveraged My LinkedIn Network To Create A $1.8M/Year Procurement Conference

DPW (Digital Procurement World) is a fast-growing conference and community in procurement that has more than tripled in revenue since launching in 2019, capping out the year at €1.8 million, with 95% of their growth coming from inbound traffic leveraging LinkedIn and applying social selling techniques.

Read by 3,620 founders

12. Make passive income with a wordpress plugin business ($33.4K/month)

As an NLP engineer, starting a WordPress plugin business could be a great way to generate passive income by leveraging your problem-solving skills and technical expertise. Given your background, you could identify common issues or inefficiencies that website owners face, particularly those related to language processing or data analysis, and develop plugins that address these issues.

By creating and selling plugins, you could offer specific solutions that help WordPress websites run more effectively, such as advanced search capabilities, language translation, or text analysis features. You could sell these plugins on platforms like CodeCanyon, or even build your own website to showcase and distribute your products.

How much you can make: $120 — $120,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $5,000 (?)

How long does it take to build: 120 days (?)

Time commitment per week: Min. 5 hours/week

How I Coded A Website Plugin Making $600 Per Month

Wheely Sales CEO Josh created a lucky wheel popup that has grown revenue from $0 to $600/month in just 4 months since getting started and has attracted over 1.1 million users to his customers’ websites, all while proving that when it comes to creating a product, competition is validation.

Read by 18,985 founders

13. Make passive income with a cold email service business ($170K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could leverage your skills to start a cold email service business. This involves helping companies reach new clients directly by crafting and sending targeted email campaigns. Your background in analyzing data and understanding language can help you write compelling emails that engage potential clients.

You could use email marketing tools to track metrics like open rates and conversions, optimizing your campaigns for better performance. By starting with small businesses needing lead generation, you could build a portfolio of success stories that attract larger clients. This business combines your marketing knowhow with technical expertise, creating a sustainable source of passive income.

How much you can make: $4,000 — $450,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $200 (?)

How long does it take to build: 35 days (?)

How I Launched A $200K/Month Gmail Mail Merge Tool

GMass, an email marketing platform that allows users to send cold emails and email marketing campaigns with Gmail, has attracted over 500,000 user signups, including major tech companies like Uber, LinkedIn, and Google, and now generates over $200K in monthly recurring revenue through a successful content marketing strategy and focused ad spend.

Read by 13,716 founders

14. Make passive income with an affiliate marketing business ($77.5K/month)

As an NLP engineer, you could take advantage of affiliate marketing to earn passive income by promoting products and services relevant to your expertise. For instance, you might partner with companies that sell software tools, educational courses, or AI-driven applications. By sharing your experiences and recommendations on your website, blog, or social media, you could earn commissions for each sale made through your referrals.

Because you already have a strong understanding of the tech landscape, identifying high-quality and valuable products to promote would be easier. Additionally, you could use your technical skills to create compelling content that resonates with your audience, such as tutorials, reviews, and case studies. This targeted approach could help drive traffic and conversions, thereby increasing your passive income over time.

How much you can make: $500 — $773,000/month

How much does it cost to start: $700 (?)

How long does it take to build: 60 days (?)

My Affiliate Marketing Business Earns $500K/Year Profit [No Employees]

This case study explores how Spencer Mecham founded Buildapreneur, an affiliate marketing business, and has made over half a million dollars in profit with no employees, relying solely on content marketing through platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

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meet the author
Pat Walls

I'm Pat Walls and I created Starter Story - a website dedicated to helping people start businesses. We interview entrepreneurs from around the world about how they started and grew their businesses.