With life becoming increasingly complicated and people craving freedom and flexibility, it’s no surprise that digital nomadism is on the rise.
Nomads – people who travel full-time – have been around forever, but nomads of the digital variety have only been around since the 1980s. The nomadic lifestyle saw a massive boost in popularity between 2019 and 2020 when the global pandemic forced people to consider what was most important to them and how they wished to spend their time.
A life off the beaten path certainly has its perks, but money is one of the things that holds people back from taking the plunge into nomadism. Technology has come pretty far, but there are still many jobs that need to be done in person – we still haven’t figured out a way for electricians or doctors to work remotely!
Unless you already work in a field where you can work from anywhere, the jump to a nomadic life usually means a career change. Some choose not to work, living on savings. Others switch to jobs that offer flexibility, such as selling artwork or blogging. Now the question is: What could you possibly blog about?
Travel Blogging
Combining your adventures with a source of income is a great idea. You’ll probably already be documenting your journey, and publishing it on a blog is a convenient way to make an income.
Starting a blog means a lot of commitment and dedication at first. You have to build an audience, which can take some time. But once you’ve established a following, the blog will be relatively self-sufficient. If your blog is somewhat successful, you may be able to live off the residual income that comes from blogging.
So, how do you make money from blogging? It takes a bit of hard work and a bit of strategy. One way is through affiliate marketing. All you have to do is promote someone else’s product on your blog for a commission. You’ll need to sign up for an affiliate program, and of course, you’ll need an audience to click on your affiliate links.
Another way to make passive income from a blog is through premium link building. This means you’ll be attracting links to your blog from other websites. You’ll need to be creating unique and good-quality content and build your backlink profile, but once you’ve improved your search engine rankings and built an audience, the hard work will pay off. There are a number of ways to attract good-quality inbound links. If you’re new to this, it’s best to contact a premium link-building service to give you a hand.
Another common way to make an income from travel blogging is through ads. These can come in the form of ads that appear on your website or in paid promotions. Ads that simply appear on your blog are a more passive form of making money- simply sign up with an ad agency and they will display ads on your website. You’ll get money when people visit your blog. A less passive but still common way of earning money is to accept paid promotions. If you have an established audience and decent analytics, a company may pay you to positively promote one of their products in a blog post or social media post.
Online success won’t fall into your lap, but blogging can be a passive source of income in the sense that you put in a lot of work upfront and then take a step back once you’ve built an audience and an email list. You can’t stop working completely- you’ve got to maintain your blog by creating consistent and engaging content.
Create a digital product
Another way to make an income while travelling is to create a digital product. A digital product rather than a physical one means that you won’t need to carry the extra weight of physical products, won’t have to package them and send them, and won’t have to continue to invest money into creating products. Digital products can be made once and sold automatically from your blog or website, creating a passive form of income.
Your digital product will depend on your skills and interests. You could sell planners, stock photographs, travel guides, digital artwork, or an E-book.
Create a Podcast
A podcast is another thing that can be done from anywhere, but it does mean carrying some extra equipment, such as microphones. A travel podcast is ideal for those who are better at speaking than at writing. You can do it alone or with special guests and friends, and your travels mean you already have plenty to talk about!
Create an E-course
If you have a special set of knowledge to share, you might consider starting an E-course. It could be about travel, DIY, home renovation, parenting, cooking, or just about anything else- the options are endless!
Starting a paid course may require establishing an audience first since people generally prefer to know that they’re getting value for their money. Social media makes it easier than ever to get a following. Starting a blog is a great gateway path to other moneymaking options. A blog gives you a way to establish an audience and a place to promote your courses, products, podcasts and online store, as well as your social media accounts. The more followers you have, the more money you’ll make.
Consulting
Similar to starting a course, you can offer your knowledge on a more individualised basis. If you’re an expert on a topic- preferably the one your blog is about- you’ll have valuable knowledge to offer to someone. Offering one-on-one consulting services or group consults is a way to help others whilst making some money.
Dropshipping
Selling physical products doesn’t usually go hand-in-hand with the nomadic lifestyle- you need space to store your products, regular access to postal services, plus a lot of money straight up to buy products. Dropshipping is the solution to all of these problems.
Dropshipping is basically advertising someone else’s product, usually in an online store curated by you. Then, you purchase the product and have it shipped directly to your buyer- while charging a little more than you paid for it.
Freelance Work
Freelance work can mean almost anything. Picking up work wherever you go is a pretty classic way for nomads to make money, and though it isn’t as common these days, it’s ideal for someone who likes to engage with the community.
Images: Supplied.
This is a sponsored article produced in partnership with Web Oracle.