Living as digital nomads: how to earn money while travelling

Our names are Rick and Laura and we have been travelling ever since 2019. We’re doing this as digital nomads, so that we can earn money while travelling. Together, we call ourselves Simply-Nomads and we’ll give you some tips on how to travel sustainably and how to earn money while travelling.

The term digital nomad has become more and more popular in recent years. In 2022 the Dutch government even made it possible for travellers to have an on-the-road postal address, otherwise known as a correspondence address, which makes things a lot easier for digital nomads. Check if your country offers the same! As a digital nomad you’ll mainly be working online, so that’s what we’ll be focussing on in this article. When you travel you’ll experience lots of new experiences and inspiration, that makes your daily life a lot more exciting, even while working. We wholeheartedly recommend working while travelling to get the most out of life while earning your living.

Going on the road with your campervan is one thing, but paying for road taxes, insurance, upkeep and fuel is another. You’ll either have to save a lot of money upfront, or you’ll have to combine work while travelling. The first steps of becoming a digital nomad aren’t that complicated and as a self-employed person, there is plenty of digital work up for grabs. Now that we’ve been living this lifestyle for a while, we’ll give you 5 tips on how to earn your money while travelling with just a laptop in your campervan.

Are you a good writer? This might open up a whole new world for you, because many companies are looking for bloggers. You’ll be writing texts for websites of other companies. You can have all sorts of customers, like electronics companies, food brands or clothing lines. You can write new texts, or sometimes you’ll be writing texts to accompany already existing articles. Another option is to actively search for websites that might fit you and your interests, to see if they need writers. One of the companies you could be writing for is Campspace!

While writing blogs for companies, make sure that you get paid fairly. You shouldn’t do business with companies that have high demands, while paying hardly anything. Know your worth, because otherwise you’re not earning anything, while working many hours.

Are you going on a cool trip and you’d like to inspire others to do the same? You could start writing your own travel blog. This way you’ll quite literally work while travelling, because you’ll be writing about the exact locations you visit yourself. You could highlight subjects that are close to you as well. For example, we’re writing about our lives as digital nomads and campervan travelling ourselves. You might be into skiing and snowboarding and want to write a blog about that, or you might be an expert on visiting a country that you’ve visited many times.

When you have gathered a bit of a readership on your blog, you can get ads to feature on your blog as well. Every time someone clicks the advertisement or every time it gets a view - you’ll get paid for it. Within your blog you can also add affiliate links. These work in a similar way: you get paid every time someone clicks on the link. This is a smart and easy way to make some extra money.

Note that being an influencer isn’t for everyone. As an Instagram, TikTok or Facebook influencer you’ll notice it’s a lot of work, and you’ll also need some luck. There are very many travel influencers nowadays and you need to really stand out to get a large following. When you have finally attracted a big amount of followers, you still need to get companies to partner with you. Searching and reaching out to companies for partnerships takes up a lot of energy and time – and often you’re left without results. For this reason we aren't huge fans of this way of making money.

Are you skilled at building websites and maintaining them, or can you help people to do so themselves? Then why not work as a web designer while on the road? There are many entrepreneurs that are great at doing business, but aren’t so great at web building. You can easily help them and you don’t have to physically be around to do so. While you’re drinking your pina colada on the coast of Greece, you’ll be earning your money. We only see advantages! Of course, this is dependent on having a good deal of pre-existing skills and education.

What’s something you’re really good at? Maybe you’re amazing at making clothes with a sewing machine, or maybe you’ve built your own campervan and can teach others to do the same. Starting your own company with an online course could be your golden ticket. Film videos and classes teaching people about certain topics close to your heart. When you’ve finished developing and creating your course, come up with a simple marketing plan to encourage people to buy it. You’ll find a lot of resources on how to do this online. You might already have your golden ticket in hand, while not seeing or using the potential!

We already mentioned that as a digital nomad you’ll be earning your money online while working from your laptop, but there are many more ways of earning money while on the road. You could work at hostels, or doing odd jobs for businesses you encounter on your travels. There are lots of different ways to earn money while travelling, this is just the tip of the iceberg! We chose a life as digital nomads because we’d already started our own businesses, but all the ways mentioned above can earn you some extra money while enjoying your adventures abroad, sometimes with very little preparation.

Our names are Rick & Laura and we regularly write on our own blog about how to earn money while travelling. That's why we have created a step-by-step plan for those aspiring to become digital nomads. We’re also getting quite busy with our own companies as entrepreneurs. Rick’s outdoor company called Ik Wil Hiken is really taking off and Laura’s online yoga school is going strong. If you have any questions about travelling with a campervan, yoga or hiking trips, don’t hesitate to contact us on our Instagram page @simply.nomads