Five ways to earn money for bread and butter digital nomad

I wrote an article on Medium ( translation on the Megamind is available here - note of the translator ) about my lifestyle of a digital nomad and why I will never live according to the “from 9 to 5” template. Within 2 weeks, she gained more than 150 thousand views. Dozens of people contacted me hoping to get advice on how to make money while traveling, so I decided to write the second part of the article.

The crucial factor here is the ability to make money working online. This means that you need to work with something that does not set the temporal and spatial framework for you. Here are five ideas you might need:

1. Freelance

Relatively easy, freelancers can become people who have skills in areas such as design, copywriting, programming, and marketing (search, social media, advertising).
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You can start with platforms such as UpWork and ask your customers to advise you to their friends. At the beginning it may not be easy to find customers, but here are some good tips on this.

In the end, you can start hiring other freelancers and build your profitable online business, but remember:

The most important thing is that the payment should be based on the result, and not on time (when it is possible).

For example, you provide social media promotion services, and you need one project manager and one content manager for each client. Tell your employees that you will pay them a certain amount for each successful project, and not for the time spent on work. In this case, each of your customers will bring you a profit, and your employees will be able to determine for themselves how many clients they are willing to work with.

That's how I became a nomad myself - I used this model for my agency, which deals with marketing in social networks, and we started to get profit on the very first day. After a few months, I worked 3-5 hours a week and earned enough to travel wherever I wanted.

2. Teach Online Languages

After graduation from universities, many people go to teach in East Asia (mainly South Korea, Japan and China). This allows them to earn relatively good money, meet other cultures and travel.
It seems to me that this is great, although this cannot be called digital nomadism, because you are still attached to the place.

However, you can teach languages ​​online on various platforms aimed at learning foreign languages. My favorite service with which I myself learn languages ​​is called Italki .
To get inspired, read this interview with an online tutor who travels around the world.

3. Work not tied to a specific place

If your current job is to solve various problems online, then you may be able to become a digital nomad, even without quitting. Just tell your employer that you will do everything you have to, will be available on demand and save him money by providing a minus one workplace in the office.

If this is not enough, offer to cut your salary by 20-30%.

Since you are likely to travel in less expensive areas than you are now, you will be able to afford more even with a lower salary.

4. Start an online business

It will not be easy! However, if you have already chosen this path, then my advice to you is: start something simple and reliable that does not require a large start-up capital and will make a profit from the first day of work. More detailed thoughts about this can be found here .

Personally, I had several online businesses: from popular websites and online agencies to the rapidly developing online coupons site ChameleonJohn.com . And I do not even think to stop investing their efforts in them. But this is definitely not the easiest way to make money online.

5. Blog / video blog

Blogging - writing articles on your personal website. Video blogging - posting videos on the Internet (usually on YouTube).
Making money on creating online content is not easy for two reasons:

1) Competition . The sheer amount of good free content available makes competition tough. You will not stand out if you simply provide good content. You will need to either actively promote it, or hope that you are very lucky.

2) Monetization . Most content creators profit from advertising. The problem is that advertising revenue is very low. In the case of video, you can expect a profit of 0.5-2 dollars per 1000 views, but if you talk about articles in the blog - even less.

Content must be good, and advertising must be perfect.

Although it is not easy to earn money for living this way, it is still possible. My advice: create niche content, build your own database with the email addresses of your users (this is more valuable than all your followers in social media combined) and find new ways to monetize. For example, it may be the sale of its own services (consultations, webinars, online courses) and the promotion of related products.

If you want to escape from the “9 to 5” lifestyle, then one of these ideas can help you with this. Try them, fail, learn, adapt and repeat it as many times as necessary.

And always remember:

The main thing is what you do, and not what you dream about, say or plan.

More about the author can be found on his official website .

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