I'm interested if anyone that has found ways of making passive income that funds their travels.
I'm sure a lot of travelers have read the "4 Hour Work Week" that supposedly tells how to create automated businesses that help fund travel or whatever they want to do instead of working. I've tried to create an online business and haven't had much success. I've heard of people that work as architects for one year and then sail for four years and just repeat. I've heard of graphic artists working on the beach using Elance.com. I'm interested in the different ways that people have found to fund their travels that don't involve just saving.
Reply to this blog your travel experiences and put some adwords in it.
Reply to this i'm an architect, but work for a year then sail for 4... I WISH!
Reply to this I live in Costa Rica, do some freelance graphic arts, website design, and also article writing here & there. This can generate a little $$$ but there are a lot of freelance writers in the world, it's a competitive market. For me these things are hobbies but you could very conceivably make a living.
Helps to find a good niche to write about. In my own case articles about Costa Rica and some other travels have made some money. Typically articles are 500 - 750 words in length and payment amount depends on many different things. There are a few freelance websites you can become a part of and peddle your skills. Browse through them to get an idea what people are paying freelancers for different jobs of all kinds.
If you are lucky in the beginning and find someone willing to pay you $10 - 15 an article, and can do 5 or so 500 word articles in a day without breaking a sweat, than you can do it. For me I can write a decent 500 word article in about 30 minutes if its something I know about or have an opinion on, 45 minutes for a great article :-)
If writing is something that you are interested in, start now, write about subjects that interest you but are not necessarily time sensitive. Save all your articles for later publication. You never know when it will come in handy.
I have about 50 articles now that I could use in the future that have never been published and I will offer them up when the time presents itself. Point being the works already done and if you enjoy writing its not really work.
I published an article recently about Costa Ricas Green season. This was an article I had written 2 years ago and it came in handy now. It was not time sensitive (green season is green season) so the "when" doesn't really matter so long as the information is pertinent. Again, save articles for future use. Also if at all possible hold on to the right to republish an article. ALWAYS best when you can make more $ from the same piece of written material. If you can sell the same article 4 or 5 times all the better.
The internet is an information hungry animal and always looking for good content. Any subject you can think of is in need of content. Feed the net!
Good Luck
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Reply to this Check out the WWOOF program (Willing Workers On Organic Farms.) www.wwoof.org
You'll be contracted in week-long increments to work on various projects of your choice in exchange for free housing and food. No actual income, but it's a fantastic way to get into the culture of the country you're in and get a real feel for the land. Definitely worth a shot!
Reply to this Although this thread is a bit old, I thought some further ideas might be helpful for folks who find it in the future.
A few passive income "while traveling" ideas:
- Write articles for an online article site, where you make money through Google's addsense, affiliate links, etc. For a number of reasons
InfoBarrel seems to be the best all around writing-revenue site around. Great for both newbies and seasoned pros. Articles could be written anywhere and then uploaded whenever you've got an internet connection - perfect for traveling. Better yet, write articles on your travels after doing a little bit of keyword research.
- Start a website/blog to eventually make passive-income through advertising, affiliate links, and perhaps other ways. I've started the site
ESL Georgia to help upcoming ESL teachers in the Republic of Georgia prepare for their adventure. It's a work in progress, but the model could be replicated by most anyone with the time and patience to develop a site.
- Become a guest blogger. Some site will pay folks to write blog entries for their site. Particular travels lead to some specific niches that could be quite marketable. It never hurts to check.
Reply to this My Aunt who was in theatre managed to get some contracts with different newspapers and magazines to follow cricket and some other sports such as olympics etc around the world and send in articles. She does human interest stories rather than sporty so you dont have to be a sport fantatic...but it pays her way around the world and she has been doing it for years and years.
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