This post may not be what you were expecting from the title, so let me explain right upfront. One of my YouTube viewers asked how to make money on the road and I said, “I can only tell you how I make money on the road.”
What I do for cash when traveling is specialized and unlikely to work for other people. You can see what I mean in the video, where I offer my thoughts on other ways to earn money such as YouTube, Amazon’s Affiliate Program, and working at the National Parks, or a campground. Remember, if you get bored, I warned you. But there IS a cat video if you make it to the end!
After the video (or more likely, after you get bored of the video) come back and read the updates I’ve made, below the video. If you are searching for ways that YOU can make money on the road, you’ll find some useful things there.
How YOU might earn some money while living on the road
I wrote another post after I made this video because I realize that a lot of people who ask the question of “how I make money on the road” are actually asking how THEY can make money on the road. These are real jobs that involve productive work, not blogging or being a celebrity Instagram star. You can check them out here: 11 Ways to Find Nomadic Work in 2024
Other ways to make money as a nomad…maybe.
I’ve been experimenting. I’ve done some corporate marketing in the past, but I’m not an internet marketer…nor do I intend to be. I made this website to show my kids how easily and inexpensively they could travel the country. However, it’s not lost on me that there are a LOT of travel bloggers that make a full-time income off of their blogs (or claim to). They use affiliate links, YouTube, or just plain beg for Patreon sponsorship. I think the majority of them are not making what I would consider a “full-time” income (and I can’t say what that is, without sounding like a tool), but they are making SOMETHING I’m sure. Then there are a few who make a $5,000-$10,000 a month and I DO consider THAT to be a full-time income. So obviously, it’s possible, but I don’t think it’s as easy as some people would lead you to believe. A lot of “internet marketing” is just people that are offering marketing tools and courses to teach YOU how to make money off of a blog, rather than doing it themselves. Like the hard goods dealers in gold rush towns, they are making good incomes without mining the gold. Well, I suppose that’s one way to make money in this space, but I’m thinking that this is not what most people have in mind.
Back to the experiment. I’ve looked into some of the popular methods people cite for earning travel income and have even tried some of them. I’ve decided to write a separate article, on these “make money while traveling” schemes. I call it, “How YOU Can Make Money on the Road” but I actually use some of these techniques to generate a small income that pays for this blog. If you are new to the concept of “making money online” this overview may save you some time. It deals with how other people are making money off their travel blogs. However, if you’ve already explored the topic, it’s quite likely that you’ll know more about it than me! I think some of these methods are feasible, but the 80/20 rule applies. 20% of people will be REALLY good at generating passive income, but the majority of us will struggle. So, as an alternative, may I suggest…
Wait, Maybe You Already Have a Portable Job!
I know, your boss is an asshole and will NEVER go for this–so was mine, but then I convinced him to let me spend the winter in FL! OK, I guess he wasn’t that bad, but he did need some convincing…
(Note that I wrote this post in 2018. Writing this update in 2021, I know that a hell of a lot more people have now experienced “working remotely.”)
Do you primarily work from a desk or phone? Maybe you can convince your boss to let you work from “home”. We don’t need to tell her that your “home” is a van in a national forest (I literally attended a conference call with Ford Motor Company, from the Ottawa National Forest two weeks ago). Here’s a step-by-step plan to convert your job from “on-site”, to “from-home”.
- Ask. Ask if they would mind if you worked from home. They might say YES! But they probably won’t, so….step 2
- Call in sick on a Tuesday. Call in sick, with a plan! I’m sorry if this sounds dishonest, but the ends justify the means here. Let some work stack up the week before and on Monday as well. Nothing critical, just stuff that will be due in a few weeks. On your sick day, you are going to get up at your normal time and start working. Answer emails first, so everyone knows you are working. Important: shoot a question to your boss, 30 min after you call in. Now, work! Work like you have to finish EVERYTHING for vacation! Work until everyone has left for the day.
- Go to work on Wednesday and say you are feeling better. If anyone comments on your working while you were sick, just say, “there were some important things I felt I had to do, but I’m amazed at how much I got done, even while sick.”
- Thursday, go see the boss. He may comment but even if he/she doesn’t, mention that even while sick you were AMAZED at how much you could get done with extra time at the beginning and end of the day. Ask if you can try a couple Fridays from home–just a couple. No? How about just next Friday?
- Repeat your efforts and then ask about Mondays from home.
- At this point, it should be obvious that you get more done from home. Mention that you need to take time off to visit a relative, but MAYBE it would be OK to work from their house…you are now on your way to working your job from the beach, but remember, you still need to WORK even if it’s from a beautiful location. At least until you get some form of passive income going.
Good Luck and Godspeed!
–Darren at Odyssey Camper