How to Make Money While Traveling?

When you are traveling as a digital nomad, there are many ways you can make money.

You can find some work locally, but that would stick you to a certain location for a longer period. On top of that, it might not pay you as much as you need.

The other option, which I recommend, is to work online. This will give you such a flexibility and also good returns, that you can pursue your dream of traveling, without the need to stop your journey to make some extra cash.

Just like the normal corporate world, it is full of employers who are willing to rope services offered by providers from different parts of the world.

However, the fact that you have a computing device and a strong internet connection does not mean you will instantly start to garner bucks online.

The hustle is real. Without the right channels, excellent “professional existence” and appropriate niche to invest your efforts in, you may end up on the murky end of this vast ocean.

In this article, I’m going to share with you five realistic ways on how to make both fast and long-term cash online without shedding much sweat.

1. Find work on Upwork

Have you ever heard of Upwork? If yes, then you are trailing on the right path. Upwork.com is an online platform that hires personalities with different freelancing skill sets.

It is the one-stop-shop for all your freelancing needs. And, of course, the platform that brings the bulk of online bucks into your pockets at the comfort of your couch.

You can join Upwork on two different accounts—either as a client or freelancer. Clients post jobs while freelancers submit proposals for the job. A winning proposal carries the day. But, before going deep; which services can you offer on Upwork?

To be precise, you can offer almost everything. You can make money here through:

Writing—creative writing, blog writing, persuasive writing (landing pages, email, product reviews and description) and many more
Editing—proofreading, copy editing, developmental editors, and substantive editing.
Data entry
Transcription—audio and video file transcriptions
Programming—front end and back end
Virtual assistance and customer support representation
Campaign management
Translation and many more

With a freelancer account, you can offer more than two types of services. However, Upwork adores perfection. By investing your skills on one niche, you will easily achieve the required level of expertise for a five-star-rating.

Accounts that feature less than three-star ratings have a poor flow of jobs and low chances of winning potential bids.

Secondly, Upwork accounts are not “take accounts” where you simply click on the job and get it on board. You must be fully armed with cutting-edge skills when it comes to creating proposals.

Upwork awards new users with 24 connect (virtual coins used for sending proposal). Upon depleting your coins, your account remains dormant lest you buy new coins.

Upon making bids, Upwork goes ahead to shortlist the candidates and send a final list to the client seeking help. The client will then browse through every individual’s profile, review their proposals and schedule a chat to determine who fits the contract.

Therefore, a good profile and excellent pitching skills will help you a lot when getting started with this popular platform.

2. Provide Services on Fiverr

Fiverr is another online platform where freelancers make six-figure earnings with their skills. However, unlike Upwork, it works in a rather unique way.

Fiverr do not offer job opportunities. Rather, it works as a marketplace where you post gigs and sell them from $5 to as high as $1000.

There is a lot more to discuss Fiverr. I will narrow the argument to basics that you need to know when starting out with the platform.

To succeed in Fiverr, you must be in a position to create a killer gig. In reality, Fiverr is the dumping place for some projects that clients denied on other freelance platforms.

When you check on the available gigs, you will notice that they are varied and numerous. Niches such as a blog on pets have many gigs—so are with other popular niches.

How to Get Started on Fiverr?

To get started on Fiverr is very easy. Below I explain how to setup your account and get paid on Fiverr.

Sign Up for a seller account

You can only sell your services through a functional seller account. Remember, seller accounts should depict an excellent professional image.

In reality, finding your first buyer can be a little bit daunting. Some even go ahead to tell their friends to buy from them for some good reviews. The shortcut here is to create an excellent account that depicts who you are and what you offer.

Deliver a Superb Gig

Once you have created a seller account and verified it through the validation link sent on your Gmail, access the Fiverr homepage, click selling and then create gigs.

Insert a giggle title and select the category and metatags. Choose your pricing then go ahead and write its description and FAQs. Finally, insert the requirements.

Here are key points to keep into consideration when writing the gig:

The title and description of your gig should be short as possible, precise and on point. Convertible descriptions should come with the right keywords that augur well with your metatags. If there are tags from a successful competitor with almost the same title, do not freak out. Steal the tags.
Choose your pricing consciously. Low prices may not mean that you will easily land your first order. On the other hand, no one gets rich by buying a $100 gig. Price average depending on what you offer. However, once you have made 2-3 orders, you will automatically know how well you should price as an individual.

Get paid

A superb gig will automatically land the first order. However, one thing that is sure with Fiverr is that you can wait for as long as six months to land your first order.

The best way is to start with as many as four gigs. By doing so, you will be increasing your chances of landing your first gig.

Sometimes, a client may reach out to you to bargain for price cut-down. For a first-timer, your goal is not making a flash-money at once. Focus on sustainability – good flow of orders due to good review.

You can offer a custom offer whenever a client messages you for a price cut-down.

3. Create a Travel YouTube Videos

For those who are crazy about vacations, YouTube offers everything you need to turn the passion to profession. Many people make money outside there through travel vlogs and videos on YouTube. Here is how to make it in this platform.

First, let’s answer some basic questions. What exactly do you need to get started? For sure, start-up capital and a good camera are necessary for a smooth journey here. Youtube views are generated depending on the quality of your video.

Poor-quality videos do not attract good views. Therefore, other than capturing better scenes, you need to rope the services of editors to make your scenes coherent and glamorous. Additionally, traveling charges come into play whenever you want to capture attracting scenes. So be ready for slight investments.

How does YouTube generate earnings? As a Vlogger, you can make money either directly or indirectly. Most people make money with Google Adsense. Normally, when you watch videos on

YouTube, you will stumble on the frustrating ads just before the start or in the middle of most videos. Depending on the number of viewers who watch the ads, the system automatically calculates and generates revenue which reflects directly on your accounts.

Secondly, you can integrate affiliate ads on the videos. With this I mean, searching for companies who are looking for brand ambassadors.

Yes, you can be one and get paid monthly. Lastly, you are paid based on CPM. For every one thousand views, your account generates an average of $2 to $3.

This type of payment plays a huge role as your channel gets established.

4. Shoot Stock Photos and Videos

If you are hearing this for the first time, then don’t worry. Stock photography is the art of supplying licensed photographs for a specific use.

If you have come across popular sites such as adobe stock, Shutterstock, Unsplash and Pixabay, then you are in the right path to getting started with this online hustle.

Usually, photos on the net are either royalty-free, free or paid. Sometimes, sites such as Getty image will summon you for using their photos without their approval.

On the other hand, a site such as Death to Stock Photos demands that you pay for the photos before using them for either educational purposes or personal gratification. You can as well offer a paid stock photo as an individual and get your pockets heavy.

But, what kinds of photos can you start with? Generally, you can start out with any photo. So long as it is eye-catching and relevant to the high-paying niches online, they will automatically sell.

Once you have compiled a list of photos, you can go ahead and offer them for sale on sites such as Facebook, Instagram, Alamy, Fotolia and Adobe stock.

Sites such as Fotolia and iStock Photos do not only sell stock photos on behalf of freelance photographers but also offer editorial services.

When you sell with them, they will offer 30% and 45% royalty rates on the total sum. Meaning, with quite some good stock, you can as well make some good income from the comfort of your bed.

5. Become an Instagram Travel Influencer

Oftentimes, you will hear freelancer buying Instagram accounts with more than 10,000 followers and you wonder what they are going to do with it. An Instagram account is a gem. As Instagram travel influencer, you can make money through:

Training and Teaching

If you are a good trainer who at the same time adores the art of traveling, then this gem is for you. You can make money traveling and lecturing different personalities worldwide and air your sessions on Instagram.

When finally you become established, you can start offering workshop training for staff belonging to different companies at an agreed amount of fee.

Conclusion

The online world is small heaven where you can easily consolidate and validate your services, products and ideas to make ends meet.

The more you stay online, the more you will realize that you can devise additional methods on how to make money online.

It starts with changing the mindset. Otherwise, connections are key to survive storms and droughts that define online hustle.