Digital Nomad Income Streams

Before you try to obtain digital nomad income streams you must first figure out if you are suited to the the role. There are quite a few things to consider and ways you can make your transition that little bit easier.

Once you’re satisfied you are on the right track you can think about ways of generating an income without chaining yourself to a desk. Here are a few ideas to get you started:

Find a Job:

Unexpected I know, but a temporary job or local seasonal employment may be all you need to keep your bank balance healthy while you enjoy your new nomadic lifestyle, hang out more with your family, or fund your new freelance business through its development stage.

Entertain:

Can you play an instrument or do you have any entertainment skills?

There are many jobs available to those who can entertain and make people happy and they are often as free and flexible as the festivals that often host such acts.

As you will work near or with children it is advisable to have a certificate from the Criminal Records Bureau to hand for any potential employers, and even if you won’t be these are great for giving your service a sense of professionalism.

Alternatively you can simply play music or perform acts in town centres and at festivals in a more unofficial capacity. However, you may need to get permission from the land owner or local council to do this otherwise you may be moved on.

Write: 

There are a number of ways you can make a living if writing is your thing. You can:

Become a freelance writer and sell your work as you travel. There are many ways to do this including through People Per Hour, Freelancer and Odesk.

Set up a blog. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but if done properly it can produce a steady income. However, as there are so many elements to making money through a blog and ways it can be done the best thing to do is start from the beginning and invest in a training programme from an expert that can help you on your way quickly.

A course I recommend to those on a lean start-up budget is Rockstar Blogging. It is particularly suited to those who are at the beginning of earning money or wanting to get free stuff through their blog.

It has been put together by Miss Frugal Beautiful, who runs a very successful US website, and is great value for money. The aim of this course is to equip you with the specifics you need to gain some VIP action with your blog and traffic.

It shows you exactly how to pitch companies, grow your social media networks and earn income from reviews, giveaways and corporate sponsorships. This isn’t a get rich quick scheme, but if done properly it can produce a steady stream of free kit and extra income.

I was lucky enough to be involved in the development stage for this training course so I really know how much valuable information it gives you, which makes it your perfect guide to earning your first big score of freebies and income through your blog.

Click here to visit Rockstar Blogging and I have made some other recommendations for digital nomad tools and training here.

Set up a membership site. If you become an expert blogger and grow an engaged audience, you may want to make your blog into a membership site to offers premium content with a monthly fee, or asks for donations to keep the content rolling. There are simple plugins available for WordPress sites to help you do this (more on the WordPress plugins I recommend in a future post).

Produce and sell access to an online magazine about a subject you specialise in through issuu. Some VW Magazines I’ve had experience of that have got it right are AirMonkeys and Aircooled Classics.

Publish and sell an instructional book or fictional story as an eBook. A brilliant independent publishing house for this is Smashwords. It’s free as they only take a small percentage of your sales so there are no up-front fees. If you don’t like the idea of just offering electronic books then you can organise pay on demand paperback books at Lulu.

Give your opinion and Write reviews for places you visit or products you use. These don’t earn much but if you get in the habit they can help pay the bills. You can also be paid for filling out surveys too. Be warned though there are a few rogue sites doing this so be careful and make sure you do your research before handing any personal or payment details over.

Sell Your Photographs:

Are you good at taking pictures? Have you ever thought of selling them? Rather than spreading them for free all over Pinterest, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (who may sell them on your behalf and not give you a percentage), you may want to sell them through a stock agency instead. The most popular are Shutterstock, Fotolia and iStock Photo.

If you’d like a more tips to help you improve your photographs to sell them, take a look at these simple tips from an expert and useful photography and video apps.

Teach:

If you have a knack at getting your point across think about teaching through schemes such as TEFL that allow you to get paid very reasonable fees while keeping your working life flexible.

Build An App:

With the development of mobile devices apps have never been in such high demand. However, don’t be fooled into thinking you need to be a computer programmer to do this. All you actually need is a great idea. Then with investment in an app developer this could help you bring in a very nice regular income. If you’re not scared of a bit of code then you could even do it yourself. Nathan Barry can show you how.

Sell your skills online:

If you have a skill then you can guarantee that someone, somewhere will want to pay you money for you to help them out. It may be graphic design, article writing, web design, office skills, photography, business advice, crafts, gifts, etc. The key is making the connection with the person who wants your skills or needs your expertise. This is where websites such as 99Designs, Odesk, Etsy and PeoplePerHour can help out.

Sell your products online:

If you have a product that can be easily sold while you are on the road, then websites such as eBay and Amazon are perfect for bringing in a regular income. If you make your own products then Etsy is perfect.

Be creative:

If your roadtrip is interesting enough with a lot of positive outcomes, it may be an interesting concept to start a Kickstarter Project. This is where projects can request donations for funding. I interviewed Allie Bombach who successfully achieved funding for her Airstream camping project through Kickstarter.

What do you think? Have I missed out any vital digital nomad income streams. Let me know in the comments box below.

Smiles – Sarah x 

Picture Credits: Inspired Camping and 23 Feet