As a travel blogger, I'm always asked about money, and how I finance a lifestyle of travelling - and it's definitely a topic that lots of people want to know about. And whilst I have my own tried and tested ways (which I'll mentioned below) there are lots of other ways I know have worked for other bloggers and other travellers too.
Here I'm going to try and condense all these ways into one big list.
Here are the money-making methods that have worked for me...
Writing and blogging
The great thing about writing is - you can do it any place - so long as you have a computer. Which obviously, makes it a fantastic money-making-method for travellers.
Believe it or not - brands are always looking for people to write and blog for them - because blogging and content are becoming very powerful tools for marketing. If writing is something you're skilled at - I'd suggesting learning a little about content marketing (what the industry is, what brands are looking for...) and then contacting brands speculatively asking if they require anyone like you. Better still, attending networking events in the industry you'd like to write about - would work great, it's always great to chat to people face to face.
Keep an eye on the brands you'd like to write for too - and don't be afraid to confront them about work. Being cheeky often works - if you don't ask, you don't get! So if you think a brand isn't writing great blog post, drop them an email and ask if they'd give you a shot!
Social media management
As someone who has spent their entire career in social media, it's something I've gotten pretty good at - and is now a skill I can sell. I manage the social media pages for small brands and big brands - and even though I'm permanently based in London now - that wasn't always the case.
When I was travelling a couple of years ago - social media management was a brilliant ways of making money on the move. As with writing - it's something you can do anywhere - so long as you've got a computer and a half decent internet connection. Don't take this kind of work lightly though as it comes with a lot of hard work, round the clock monitoring - and responsibility.
If it's something you want to pursue, then you'll need to get experience first. Setting up your own social accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest are all good places to start) is a good idea too - so you can practise your skills, find out what works, what doesn't, etc. You'll also need to stay on top of industry updates (as this is an industry that changes almost weekly).
What has worked for other people?
Hospitality work in bars, restaurants and cafes
This is one of the obvious choices - as it can be as casual as you'd like it to be. It's fantastic for travellers too - because it's the perfect way to meet new people and get to know the area. My one piece of advice here though - is to get-smart about job hunting. Remember how many people will also be looking for this kind of work - and suddenly just randomly handing out CVs doesn't cut it.
There are job sites out there which specifically cater (haha pun intended!) to hospitality jobs only (Leisure jobs is one I've used for hospitality jobs whilst travelling in Europe). These kinds of website, really are the best places to start looking - because you can rest assured your CV is going through the right channels, to the right people - who actually have jobs available!
House-sitting
This is one I've never actually tried - but always wanted to. The idea is simple - you get paid to look after someones house, whilst staying in and looking after the property. So basically - you get paid to stay in a nice house, in some amazing far flung destination.
Seems like a pretty incredible concept if I'm honest.
If you're interested in this route of travelling and money-making, then I'd recommend checking out The Globe Trotter Girls, who are two bloggers based in the US, and also self proclaimed experts on house-sitting. Their blog has a load more information on it than I could ever fit in here, so just go take a look.
Photography
If you're a dab hand with a camera, you can sell photos no matter where in the world you happen to be. And the best thing is, there are quite a few options you could take.
Companies like Flytographer hire freelancers in specific cities all over the world for one-off projects - so that's pretty cool. But if that's not up your alley - you can always go down the tried and tested route of selling stock images. I wrote a post on my blog the other day about the best places to sell images online - so take a read of that for some ideas.
As you'd expect, travel images always sell really well on stock photo websites - so if you do this right - you'll be onto a winner.