There are two ways to be able to afford traveling. Either you save money or you make more money. Saving money before leaving isn’t that hard. But if you plan on traveling indefinitely, like we are, it’s hard to rely only on your savings. After six months, you don’t want to have to go home. So to make sure that we can travel as long as we want to, we decided to make money online while traveling. And there’s no better time to do it than now! You can get Wi-Fi almost anywhere and laptops are more affordable than ever. With those two things, you’ll be unstoppable. The only other thing you need is some patience.
If you intend to make money online, you have to keep in mind that you’ll be your own boss. You won’t see any results if you don’t spend any time on it. If you’re motivated and keep a good schedule, you can definitely make enough to support world travel. If you just cross your fingers and hope it will all work out in the end, then you’re going to be disappointed.
Whatever you do, it will take you a few months before you get any results and probably more than a year before you get a steady income so keep that in mind. These aren’t going to replace your regular paycheck instantly so you’re going to want to start long before you leave.
But if you’re ready to try, here are some things you can do online:
1) Write EBooks
Those who think you can only publish a book with a big publishing house are wrong. Self-publishing is big and it’s only getting bigger. Of course, you need to be a bit more of an entrepreneur to make sure your book sells, but if you’re willing to spend some time promoting it, there’s nothing stopping you. Research your market first and make sure you write something people want to read. It’s all about finding the right niche to write in. You’re going to have to hire an editor, someone to do your cover and maybe format your book, but in the end, you’ll end up with great passive income. As an author, you’re no longer on an hourly wage because the time you spent writing your book will be paying you back for the rest of your life! Amazon is the biggest place for self publishers, but don’t forget about websites like Smashwords, Google Play, Kobo, or Barnes & Noble.
To know more about this option, visit How to self publish an ebook.
2) Create Apps
If you know what people need and you’re good at coding, you can make a lot of money selling apps. There are infinitely many problems that people need solutions for or numerous different ways to entertain them. If you go looking around Reddit, you can find tons of ideas in a few hours. Once you’re done building it, make it available on Google Play and the App store. Writing apps is a lot like writing books, you’re probably not going to hit it big right away but once you get a few under your belt you’ll start to figure out what works and what doesn’t. Ten small apps bringing in a few bucks every week adds up pretty quickly.
Read this post on how to make money with apps to help understanding the market.
3) Niche ecommerce business
This is your chance to take your hobby to the next level. You’re into sewing? Start a website where you sell custom fabric. You’re into fishing? Start a website where you sell fishing rods. Find something you’re into and develop a business around it. You have to make sure your website has the information that is going to make your customers come back. All you need is amazing customer service, a lot of SEO research and a decent drop shipper.
If you’re interested in learning more about this topic, we found Profitable e-commerce to be well worth the price (it’s free :P).
4) Freelancing
If you’re good at something, whether it’s coding, writing, or designing, you can find lots of opportunities on the internet. Odesk and Elance are good places to start looking. You won’t get a passive income from your work, but at least you’ll be making some money while you travel! This is a tough market though, since there are a lot of people who are probably going to offer a similar job for a much lower price. It’s your job to show that you’re worth more.
5) Translation
If you’re lucky enough to know two languages or more, then doing some translation online can help you make some money. I worked for a while on Gengo. You don’t need any degree or certification, but you do have to pass their tests. If you’re willing to spend the time, this is another great way to make some money quickly.
6) Blogging
Probably one of the hardest ways to make money online is by blogging. You need to spend a lot of time promoting and writing on your blog before you see any money. If you work hard enough though, it can happen. Ways to monetize your blog are affiliate links, advertisement and/or sponsored posts. There are definitely more options, but these are the most popular ones. Just like any business, you have to be willing to invest some money before you can see any come back at you. Start with a self-hosted WordPress site, decide the niche you want to talk about, and start writing!
For information on how to start a successful blog.
7) Affiliate Marketing
Instead of selling a product itself, you can use affiliate links to someone else’s and get paid if they buy. If you want people to trust you and buy the products you recommend, you need to be honest with them and establish yourself as an authority in that niche. Find items or services in an area that is relevant to your interests and promote them in a transparent way. If you want to become an affiliate marketer you’re going to have to be prepared to do a lot of SEO and constant learning.
Shop around for affiliate programs, there are plenty out there like Amazon Affiliate and ClickBank. If you want to know how it works, take a loot at Tips & Trick‘s post.
Now that you know what you can do, it’s time to choose one and tackle it. Believe me, it’s better to concentrate on only one business and invest a lot of time into it instead of spreading yourself. It will make you more likely to succeed.
Good luck!