Ways to Make Money Online While Traveling
Traveling around the world can be done on a budget and does not require any major investments. You can book cheap flight tickets and accommodations, cook your own food, and enjoy free things to do in each destination. However, to create a sustainable travel lifestyle, you need to explore ways to make money on the road and continue travelling for longer.
There are plenty of ways to earn cash while traveling the world. Some of them are easier to begin, while others require specific skillsets and pieces of equipment. Furthermore, your income can be active (selling earrings or doing freelance or contract work) or passive (generating revenue from advertising or affiliate marketing).
Many travelers who earn money on the road prefer to combine both types in order to diversify income sources. The more revenue sources you have, the more opportunities you will have. To begin, make sure to calculate your expenses and determine your desired level of income. Then consider your available time, skills that you can offer, whether you have a good Internet connection, have the necessary equipment, and so on.
Online Ways to Make Money While Traveling
Below are some of the best ideas for how to live on the road and make money in 2023.
1. Freelancing
Offering freelance services is an amazing way to make money on the road. It allows you to work flexible hours from anywhere in the world and earn quickly. Freelancing includes many different earning opportunities, such as writing, photography, design, web development, marketing, and more. To earn well as a freelancer, it is crucial to build a strong portfolio and promote your services to clients.
To increase your outreach and attract more clients, you can market your freelancing services on dedicated platforms:
- Upwork is one of the most popular freelancing platforms, where experts in marketing, web design, translation, content creation, IT, and other industries market their services. Upwork offers secure payments and protects users against fraud. Commissions start from 10% of the project cost and reduce as you grow your portfolio.
- Fiverr offers numerous earning opportunities for digital marketers, web developers, writers, designers, and more. You can register for free and even take online courses to grow your skills. However, Fiverr charges sellers about 20% commission and payment may not be very fast. All in all, it is a great platform to find your first or new clients, grow a portfolio, and ensure secure deals.
- Freelancer is a great platform on which to market services for content creators, translators, web developers, social media marketers, etc. According to customer reviews, you need to be aware of potential spam and fake customers. On the upside, there are many contests that allow freelancers to showcase their work and earn more. Commissions are about 10% of your income.
- Flexjobs is another reliable freelance platform that allows experts from all walks of life to find work opportunities. Make sure to check out Flexjobs, especially if you focus on content creation, writing, transcription, etc. The platform ensures legitimate jobs and verifies all clients. In contrast to other websites, Flexjobs requires you to purchase a subscription to find freelancing jobs. There is also a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Behance allows freelancers to market their skills in photography, web design, animations, and other visual arts to a large audience. Behance is more like a social media network to show off your creativity and network with other experts in the niche. After signing up, you will receive a list of personalized job recommendations.
To start off, you can create an account on one or more of the above freelance platforms. Add your portfolio if available, as doing so will allow you to build a strong profile and help you find more earning opportunities. As you start working, try to gather positive reviews and testimonials from clients.
2. Blogging
Blogging is an amazing way to earn money online, while working at your convenience from anywhere in the world. To make money with your blog, you should focus on creating a solid content marketing strategy with your target audience in mind and choose relevant monetization opportunities.
Content is key when it comes to blogging. It allows you to share valuable information with subscribers, build authority in your niche, network with other experts, drive traffic from search engines, and ultimately earn more money. However, only high-quality content can help build trust with your audience. So, if you want to receive free content for your blog, go for quality over quantity.
Search engine optimization is an important part of content creation and promotion. In order to optimize your content to make it more discoverable for users and search engines, you may want to learn about the best SEO tools to help automate the process.
There are plenty of ways you can monetize a travel blog. The most popular income sources for many travel bloggers are affiliate marketing and advertising. If you want to learn more about how to monetize your travel content, watch this video from Travelpayouts Academy.
3. Affiliate Marketing
If you run a blog, content project, or social media page, you can monetize it with affiliate marketing. This model allows bloggers and webmasters alike to earn commission on sales made through affiliate links that they share on their websites, blogs, and online pages.
For example, if you are spending hours or days on the road, you could share some tips on how to make the best of your trip and recommend a few relevant travel brands, such as the best airlines, hotels, and so on. Today, there are plenty of affiliate programs that allow you to earn good commissions with your travel blog or webpage.
One of the advantages of affiliate marketing is its unlimited earning potential. The more content you create and traffic you drive, the more you could potentially earn. Brands are interested in helping their affiliates grow and often provide creatives and support. You can learn how to make money with affiliate marketing for beginners in our special post.
If you want to join several travel affiliate programs and manage them hassle-free, you can do so with Travelpayouts, the world’s largest travel digital partnership platform. Travelpayouts offers access to over 100 travel brands in various verticals, such as flight tickets, hotels, activities, and so on. There are beautiful and efficient banners, widgets, and more sophisticated tools to help you drive conversions. You can register an account for free and start earning with travel affiliate marketing even if you don’t have a website, as some programs accept various traffic sources.
4. Online Tutoring
If you have a good Internet connection and some skills to share, you could make money online as a tutor. Thanks to the availability of various online platforms, such as Zoom, Skype, Whatsapp, and more, it has never been easier to organize online tutoring. The range of subjects you can teach is wide and depends on your expertise. Some of the most popular classes are languages, music, dancing, singing, yoga, Pilates, and more.
Online tutoring is advantageous in many ways. For example, it is one of the best ways to make money fast, as tutors are normally paid after every lesson. You can set a flexible schedule and work at your convenience from anywhere in the world. It is also possible to set your own rate.
If you want to teach English online, you can create a profile on platforms such as Italki, Preply, Cambly, SkimaTalk, StarKid, Footprints Recruiting, etc. Start by filling in any necessary information about yourself. Sometimes, you may be asked to shoot a small video to showcase your skills. Also, take note that most of the aforementioned platforms charge a commission for their services, so you should set a rate with that commission in mind. In some cases, you may also need teaching qualifications, such as an ESL or TEFL certificate.
5. Selling Digital Products
You can also earn money by selling digital products. This can include selling photos on stock platforms, writing eBooks, creating a video course, and so on. Among various info products, online courses and eBooks are becoming more and more popular. If you have some expertise to share, publishing your own book or online course can be a lucrative source of income.
eBooks are easy for users to download and read on different devices. They are also easy to publish, as there are a variety of marketplaces and platforms on which to share your work. This content format allows you to share your expertise across various niches, from travel itineraries to how-to guides to personal stories and more. To determine which topics are currently trending, you may want to check bestseller lists on Amazon Kindle and other marketplaces.
To share educational content, consider creating an online course. Digital courses are so popular because they present information in a well-structured way, combine theory and practice, and often issue a certificate upon completion. Your course can be a sequence of video lessons or simply text information. You can choose a topic that you are knowledgeable about, from photography to blogging to personal growth and beyond. To market your course, you can share it on platforms like Udemy or SkillShare.
Learn more about how to make money with eBooks and online courses on our blog.
Offline Ways to Make Money on the Road
You may not always have a good Internet connection or you may just dislike online work. In such cases, you may want to explore offline ways to make money on the road. These roles depend on your skills, available time, location, and interests. Offline money-making options can also be a good way to connect with locals and enhance your travel experience.
6. Seasonal Work
For anyone who does not have an online job and/or the funds to sustain a travel lifestyle, finding a seasonal job can be a great opportunity to live and work in the best destinations around the world. Seasonality is usually determined by when a specific location is most crowded. It may be summertime for seaside towns, winter for ski resorts, or harvest time for farms. With a seasonal job, you get a chance to explore the place at the perfect time and earn cash meanwhile.
The hospitality niche offers the most job openings, which include front desk jobs at hotels, housekeeping, sales assistance in local shops, travel guides, sports instructors, and more. Sometimes, such jobs include accommodations in addition to staff discounts on food and drinks.
There are plenty of platforms offering seasonal work opportunities:
7. Part-Time Jobs
Another way to earn your living on the road is by taking on a part-time job. Work opportunities may range from bartending to retail and so on, depending on local demand. Part-time jobs allow you to earn while also enjoying your destination. Furthermore, you can choose whether you prefer to work in the morning, afternoon, or evening, and plan your day accordingly. It is also possible to take on a part-time job in addition to your main job if you want to earn more money.
Make sure your employment is legal and you comply with all requirements. For example, in some cases, you may need a visa to work abroad. Explore the following websites for part-time job opportunities around the world:
Another kind of part-time job is an au pair. You can find work opportunities as a personal assistant, nanny, pet sitter, and more on Great Au Pair and similar platforms.
8. Renting Your Flat or Car
If you spend a lot of time on the road and have property or a vehicle back home, you can rent it out to make some extra cash.
Whether it is a house, small flat, or even a room in a shared flat, you can make use of it by sharing your property with other travelers or locals looking for short-time rentals. Even better, short-term rentals are usually more lucrative because they are harder to find. Some great marketplaces that allow users to make money with their flat or property are Airbnb, Vrbo, Agoda Homes, and more. These platforms ensure safe transactions and protect both parties.
To rent your car, motorcycle, van, or other vehicle type, you can try out platforms like Uber or Turo.
Before you go ahead, make sure you protect your property against potential damages. For instance, you can buy insurance.
9. Arts and Crafts
It is very likely that you will take beautiful pictures or have some stories to share while on the road. Luckily, you can also monetize them by selling your photos and videos on relevant marketplaces. For example, the demand for quality photography is always growing, providing for more opportunities for monetization. You could sell your photos on platforms such as Alamy, 500px, SmugMug, Shutterstock, and many more.
You can also make money by selling videos, from travel guides to educational videos to webinars. Some of the best marketplaces for this type of content are Patreon, Uscreen, Thinkific, and Wistia.
10. House Sitting / Pet Sitting
Another growing niche is house sitting. More and more house owners prefer to hire someone to watch over their place while they are on the road to make sure it remains in good condition. Thus, this can be a great opportunity to find accommodations in new destinations and even make money. As a house sitter, your tasks may include watering plants, taking care of pets, and more, in addition to watching over the property. You can find house sitting opportunities on websites such as TrustedHousesitters and MindMyHouse.
If you like pets and do not mind watching over someone else’s dog or cat while they are away, you can make money by pet sitting. In contrast to house sitting, pet sitters do not necessarily need to move into the owner’s place and, sometimes, can even take care of the pet in their own home. This job is also very flexible, so you can choose if you want to work for a couple of hours, days, or weeks. Check out the following websites for work opportunities: Rover, Wag Walking, Care.com, and more.
Conclusion
Traveling and earning money can go hand in hand if you think your trip through in advance and find earning opportunities. You can work online and/or look for offline jobs to explore the destination and connect with locals. Make sure to check if your job is legal and remember that building a portfolio with positive customer testimonials can help you a lot in the future.
If you want to earn online regardless of your destination, check affiliate marketing opportunities. With Travelpayouts, you can get access to over 100 travel brands and earn by promoting flight tickets, hotel stays, and other travel-related services.