Top 14 Freelance Jobs You Can Do While Traveling

Freelance Jobs In Demand

Working online, away from the stagnant office spaces is quickly becoming the norm and that’s great but being your own boss is even better. I’ve been self-employed for about 10 years now and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Calling the shots, creating your own hours, choosing those in which you choose to work with and best of all being able to work while traveling is one of the biggest benefits to not only working online but working for yourself.

I’ve done a variety of self-employed jobs throughout the years, my longest was creating, designing and selling my own accessory line, scarfs, head wraps, turbans, hats, jewelry and even some clothing. I sold them at different outdoor markets in LA, online and I also sold products wholesale to different shops throughout CA and all over the world. I didn’t really start to dive into the world of online work until I started traveling, starting with drop-shipping, Mturk (Amazon Mechanical Turk), YouTube, blogging and eventually I starting working as a freelancer, which one of the top online jobs people find themselves doing as digital Nomads.

Unlike drop shipping, blogging or affiliate marketing you do have to please clients to get paid, it’s a bit more like being an independent contractor, but you also have the freedom to not work with anyone that you feel may be difficult to work with or just isn't a good match for you.

Freelance jobs give you the ability to travel the world and still be able to earn a living, all you need is decent Wi-Fi, some type of device, smartphone, tablet or laptop, some skills and the motivation to get the job done and you're ready to get your freelance career up and running. In this article, I’m going to be going over the top freelance jobs that pay's well and are in demand.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual Assistant is exactly what it sounds like, you assist someone via a computer, tablet or even smartphone, all you need is one of those devices, good Wi-Fi, and some dedication. A virtual assistants job can consist of a number of things such as booking appointments, calling clients, arranging meetings, sending off or ordering products, sending flowers for a loved one or even buying flight tickets, to arranging travel trips or holidays; answering emails or just keeping someone on schedule, reminding them about their doctor’s appointments, dinner dates or parent-teacher conferences.

The job of a virtual assistant can also very much be niched down, one specific niche that is fast growing in the virtual assistant world is a virtual bridesmaid. All the things that a bridesmaid would normally do, you could do via the internet, finding a wedding or reception venue, planning the bridal shower, lunches, to picking out flowers, or decoration and the list could potentially go on and on.

A Bit of Advice: When trying to market yourself as an expert in whatever field you choose to work in, it's a good idea to find a niche in something that you're already passionate about, have knowledge of or really interested in, that way your job will actually be enjoyable and not just another mundane thing you have to do to pay the bills.

For example, lets say your really into photography, you have an amazing eye or your great at editing, then market yourself in that field, or you love to write, you have a way with words and you know know how to capture an audience attention, then assist a writer or author, or your a mom, you have a few kids, you love children or maybe you even have an educational background in childcare and you know exactly how to assist someone who may be new to motherhood, then niche yourself as baby or child rearing expert, again the list is potentially endless

You can take what you're already an expert in or where your talents lie and use that to your advantage when it comes to marketing yourself or searching for the perfect clients to assist, just use your imagination, we’re all good at something.

Social Media Manager/Marketer

As vapid as Social media might seem it's becoming a major tool used when it comes to companies advertising their product or services or marketing their brands and it's not as simple has posting a bunch of selfies. Promoting yourself, company or brand on social media can be a lot of hard work and takes up a lot of time because to build an audience on any social media platform you have to be persistent and that's where a Social media manager would come in.

Whether you already have a talent when it comes to the social media world, maybe you already have a large following and you could use that to your advantage. Having an already successful influence on social media can act as a portfolio of sorts. By already having an influence on social media your showing potential clients that you know how to catch the attention of strangers and keep their attention, you know what that key audience wants to see, what's their interest, you know how to sell yourself and your brand; you know how to gain the trust of an audience or loyal fans and you know how to take that following and turn into a profit and showing that you have all that ability, shows you may be able to replicate that success for somebody else.

However, you don’t have to be infamous to be a successful social media manager, you could just have experience in sells, marketing or branding or if your good at following and predicting trends and keeping your clients relevant, if you're organized, passionate and dedicated then social media management could still be a possible freelance career for you.

Freelance writer/Editing

I already broke down all the different types of freelance writing gigs that are available in a different article, click here but writing and editing freelance jobs are varied and is simply someone paying you to write for them or edit something they or someone else has already previously written and the pay is usually pay per word. The freelance writing world is pretty competitive especially if you're just starting off, so starting out, your price per word may be a bit low but if you stick to it, build up your portfolio and reputation then freelance writing can definitely pay the bills.

And again this type of work is more enjoying if you're already writing about something you're either passionate in, intrigued by or already have knowledge of, so again when marketing yourself find your niche.

Video Editing

Video Editing are one of the ways I make money while traveling, I specialize in travel videos being that is already something I do on my YouTube channel and something I'm already passionate about but I have edited other types videos as well. Just like writing, there are a number of different types of videos you could edit from personal home videos to more professional training videos or advertisements and even music videos. You could just edit all types of videos in general or niche down as I did and edit what you know.

Graphic Design

Graphic Design seems to be one of the most popular freelance gigs beside writing and editing. It seems like every other person I've come across whilst traveling has either been a freelance writer or graphic designer. Again just like writing or video editing, graphic design can fall under a number of categories. I actually saw a video about a young lady who made millions by selling fonts that she designed and created, so again use your imagination.

A Bit of Advice: come up with creative ideas that will set you apart from an already over saturated freelance marketplace; you don't have reinvented the wheel, just take what works already and put your own spin on it. Know the practical techniques needed but don't completely lose your personality; a potential client will choose you because you will bring something new and different to the table. Be inspired by those who have already made it but only inspired, don't just be a copycat and this goes for anything whether it creating your own stand-alone business or diving into the freelance world; marketing yourself is part of the game and you have to know what will set you apart from everybody else.

Web design

So ok web design is probably the third most popular freelance job out there, where you create and design a website for companies, brands or individuals. Some people again will market themselves by specializing on certain web hosting platforms as a way to niche down, platform sites like WordPress. I love WordPress, it's one of my most favorite platforms to create and design a website on and it's used by a lot of big businesses such Sony, Facebook, BBC America and MTV News, however, it can be a bit advanced for a beginner and it can take up a lot of time and that's where a freelance web designer would step in.

The money earned as a web designer can vary based on one's experience, their portfolio, reputation and the complexity of the design of the website itself, so if you have skills and the motivation and drive then this can be a very lucrative career for you and one you can do on the go.

Illustrator

Illustrators are the ones who make the images in books, graphic novels, comics, logos, etc, so if someone was developing a line of children books and was more of a writer less of an artist then they could hire a freelance illustrator to illustrate their books for them but again use your imagination, if drawing or painting is a skill that you have there are many avenues you could go down to use your talent to pay the bills.

Translator

Translating can be a very lucrative career, of course the pay varies but if you're someone who can speak more than one, two, three or even four languages then you could potentially use this underestimated skill to fund your travels, especially if you speak one or more of the high in demand languages especially in the business world, languages such as Mandarin, Arabic, Spanish, German, Portuguese, French, Japanese and Hindi.

Whether you grew up in a bilingual household or took up a language class in high school or college you can very well use this much-underused talent to your benefit. you could translate administrative paperwork for big or small business, you could translate video or audio, legal documents, literature and as usual, the list could be potential go on and on.

Honorable mentions:

• Freelance Photographer
• Data entry
• SEO specialist (Search engine optimization)
• Coding
• App design
• Business and legal Consultant
• Online teaching and tutoring

Remember these are not get rich quick schemes, a lot of freelance, work at home or online jobs take time and effort to build up an income or steady income. Success online won't happen over night but with a lot of time, effort and a bit of patience it can all pay off. You have to see this has a long term thing, think of the long game and not just something that happens on a whim.

When your figuring out what niche to put yourself in or how to market yourself or the type of work you want to do, think about where you want all this to go, where do you see yourself at in the next year or so; for instance, do you still want to be gaining potential clients on a freelance site like Upwork or do you want to build up a good enough repertoire where clients are coming directly to you.

Again this all takes time and you might not get right the first time, or how you want your freelance or online career to be may evolve but don’t give up or get discouraged. Keep putting yourself out there, let others know you have a skill and you will work hard for your pay. Learn how to work well with clients, learn how to communicate properly, learn how to market and sell yourself, your skill and your brand.

Working online is growing fast and the competition is getting stiffer every day, so again use your imagination, don’t limit yourself to just whatever body else seems to be doing and put the effort in. If being independent is your dream, if traveling is your passion then you have to put in the work to make that happen.

A Bit of Advice: Something I suggest to people who are just starting out their freelance careers, before you start your travels it's a good idea to start building up your work portfolio and good reputation now, so you have a bit of a head start in your quest to finding potential freelance clients and a better chance of using that to fund your travels.

Talk to the people you already know, your friends and family, to let people know that you're building up your freelance portfolio and your willing to do some work for them using whatever skills you want to market at a low to no cost, just so you can start building up your portfolio.

If you know someone who's about to have a wedding, party or some sort of celebration then offer to edit their video or film. If you have a friend who wants to start a blog, offer to be their ghost writer, web designer, or social media manager and marketer again to build up your portfolio so you have something to show before reaching out to potential clients or so you have something to show when marketing or branding yourself as an expert in whatever field you’re going into.

Illustrate a friend’s book, write a classmate's essay, write an article for your college's newspaper; the more you can show off your body of work and what you have to offer the better. Your family and friends could also help by spreading the word of your services and skills, word of mouth can be a great way to brand yourself and to build up a good reputation.

A bit of Advice: Speaking of good reputation, DO GOOD WORK, you should never do a half ass a job, EVER but especially when you’re first starting out. You don’t want end up giving a bad impression of yourself, your skills or your experience and the first impression is the most important one we can give, so always put your best foot forward and be professional, don't be sloppy.

Even if you have to fake it till you make it, make sure your dot your I's and cross your T's when going over business or work deals, what they want, how they want it and when, be thorough.

When I first start doing freelance video editing work I always went above and beyond, I would do color corrections or convert their video into HD even if they didn't pay the extra bit for it, not that I'm saying sell yourself short but at the start of you freelance career putting in a little extra can go a long way when it comes to good recommendations, good reviews and repeat customers.

A Bit of advice: Again If your planning to travel try to gain clients beforehand, so you know you’ll have some income coming in before you take off, even if its just short term but even better if you could get some sort of contract with an individual or company, even if it's something as simply as editing someone else's YouTube videos. Having a long term contract work isn't for everyone, some just want the freedom to break off a client, freelancer relationship whenever they wish to do so but for others having the stability of contract work is just what they need to feel secure enough to start their journey around the world.

There are plenty of sites to find freelance work or sites where you can market and promote our skills but the top freelance site is:

• Upwork
• Freelance.com
• Fiverr
• 99 Designs
• Peopleperhour
• SimplyHired
• Freelance Writing Gigs
• Toptal

I'm a big believer that everyone has a talent but if you're struggling to find yours or you just want to strengthen the skills you have and you don't want to necessarily go back o school there are platform sites like Skillwork work where you can hone in on talents you already have or learn a new skill altogether from experienced professional and the best part is, is that you can learn and travel all at the same time, so there's nothing stopping you from taking that next step and starting your freelance career or even starting your own business online.

So that’s it guys my top picks for freelance jobs you can do while traveling or just simply working from home. I hope that helped and if you think anyone could gain anything from this article please share

If you have any of your own top freelance jobs that you do whilst traveling the world, please share it with us and comment and the comment section below.

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