What Are the Top 10 Freelance Jobs That Allow You to Travel?

Are you itching to have a job that lets you travel and you're not concerned about having a direct employer? Here are 10 freelance jobs that allow you to travel.

1. Rent out your place

No work involved here at all, apart from finding a property manager to cut the grass and mend the leaks while you spend the rent. Apart from hiring out your own place, if you have savings, you could consider investing in more properties to increase your income. You could get big bucks by advertising your pad to travellers on places like Airbnb.

2. Social-media marketing

Maybe you're always on Facebook or Twitter anyway, so why not make a little money while you're at it? For many businesses, keeping their social media accounts up to date is a headache they can do without. For the digital nomad like you, however, it's perfect.

You'll need to get up to speed on your clients' businesses and be able to reproduce the right tone of voice, but knocking out a few Twitter posts or running Facebook ads each day isn't hard.

3. Web design

Web design isn't rocket science. You can pick up the basics of WordPress within a few weeks. Do you need to have talent for design? Not if you use ready-made templates from sites such as wix.com.

Try building a site for yourself first - maybe about travel. You'll get valuable experience and, if it looks good and works well, it'll be a great advert for your services.

4. Trading

If you know what you're doing, self-employed trading can be one of the best travel jobs. You can make plenty of cash dabbling in forex and stocks. You'll need to start with a decent wedge, though, and be aware that the stock markets is where you can also lose plenty of money. Probably best to spread your bets with another money-maker on the side.

5. Copywriting

Got a way with words? There are plenty of businesses that need their websites, blogs and promotional materials written professionally, and you can do freelance copywriting on a beach in Thailand if you can ignore the distractions.

There are plenty of 'wordfarm' sites out there, such as Freelancer.com, where you bid for work, but these can be very poorly paid. A better route could be working from home for a while to establish a base of dependable clients who'll pay you well, then grabbing your laptop and heading for sunnier climes.

6. Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing can be one of the best travel jobs for the self-employed. Essentially, you're making money online by recommending products. That sounds simple but it's vital to get plenty of traffic for your own site first.

That means that you'll need to be an eighth dan in SEO (search-engine optimisation) and pay-per-click advertising. Get it right and you could see the world for just a few hours' work a week. The other side of the coin is that competition is fierce and if Google changes its algorithm, your rankings could slip down the plughole. Tread carefully.

7. Online poker

Not as daft as it seems. The beaches of Thailand and Australia are packed with people making a living from online poker. It goes without saying that you'll need to be good at the game before you head off into the sunset, though. Maybe file this one as a supporting act.

8. E-commerce

Creating an Internet store and selling products online is relatively easy these days. You can even sell products on eBay or Amazon Marketplace. There is one vital thing you'll need, though: products. That and a good knowledge of SEO and PPC.

9. Virtual assistance

Virtual assistance - what's that all about, then? This is all about companies farming out the menial jobs that clog up their day and stop them driving new business. That's stuff like email correspondence, data entry, or answering Skype calls. A surprisingly lucrative way to quit the rat race and join the jet set.

10. Writing a travel blog

Yes, you can make a six-figure sum just from writing about your travels. You'll need to learn WordPress and plug it on social media. Beyond that, it's all SEO and affiliate marketing - plus lots of good-quality writing and photographs from your travels.

How do you test out a travel job?

Don't jump in with both feet. Dip your toe in the shallow end before committing to something radical. Keep your day job and test-drive your travel income in your spare time before making the final decision.

Use the time to start a blog, hone your writing skills, learn WordPress or pick up some poker skills before you have to rely on them for a living. You can also spend the time building a backup fund that you can use for financial support once you're out in the big wide world.

Bon chance and bon voyage.