If you’re anything like me, then you dream of traveling the world long-term. And, even more than that, making a living from your laptop. That’s why people like you and I need the best sources of passive income out there!

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase any of the services from the links below, I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. I only recommend services I love!

1 // Own a Website

Websites are a great way to eventually make passive income. In fact, without owning a domain, you cannot access monetization on a blog. This is a vital first step to accessing lucrative streams of revenue such as affiliate income and advertising!

If you’re interested in owning a website, I recommend to purchase a domain through GoDaddy and host with Siteground. Their security and customer service are top-notch, and they make the integration processes so much easier for you. This was key for a newbie like me, with no JavaScript or HTML experience!

2 // Affiliate Income

This is the Big Guy. Affiliate income has become a very popular, very lucrative means of monetization for bloggers and website owners. The key is to write about products and services you’ve tried, tested, and love, and share them with your website’s visitors.

Then, if that product interests the reader, and they click on your link to purchase, then you are eligible to make a commission from it.

3 // Ad Revenue

I’m personally not crazy about ads, but I wouldn’t necessarily rule them out. It does take quite a bit of web traffic for ad revenue to be worth your time, but can become a reliable source of passive income for travelers with blogs and YouTube channels!

4 // Social Media Marketing

In order to market yourself, your blog, website, affiliate links, or online business, social media marketing is a must in today’s economy.

One of the best tips I’ve gained from other bloggers is to link a pin on Pinterest to an affiliate link (as long as it’s allowed within that specific affiliate program). This allows for many people to see an eye-catching graphic with the affiliate link attached to it, and voilà!

You’ve made a sale, and you deserve it for connecting a consumer with a need to a producer that can sell them what they’re looking for.

5 // Create an Online Course

Online courses take a lot of work to create and promote, but they can be worth it when you see sales roll in months after you first published it. Personally, it took me a few months to warm up to the idea of learning from online courses by bloggers, YouTubers, and entrepreneurs.

But, I recently took a Pinterest course that helped me see my own account and its worth so differently. It was more than worth the investment I put into it!

6 // Write on Medium

Medium is an online platform where you can self-publish your writing. As a member of the Medium Partner Program, I am eligible to make money from the number of paying Medium members that read my posts.

If Medium curators think the wider audience would be interested in your article, they will promote it under the topics relevant to the article. For example, I have articles distributed in race, equality, beauty, and TV. I’ve also had plenty of articles not selected for distribution, but I’ve still made money from them.

I still have so much to learn about the platform, but I recommend interested writers to give it a try!

7 // Write a Book or E-book

Along with writing on Medium, many travelers eventually write a book or ebook about their lives on the road. Maybe it’s fiction, or maybe it’s more of a self-help angle.

Either way, travelers can make some of the best authors! The lifestyle in itself causes you to feel so much at once, and inspires so many. Why not share it, work to get it published, and make some passive income in royalties along the way?

8 // Earn Rewards Points through Everyday Spending

Not all income has to be tangible cash. Rewards points offset the costs of how much you would have spent on travel. Many programs, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, allow you to earn those points through everyday purchases on travel rewards credit cards!

One caveat is this: if you carry a balance on a travel credit card, the amount you’ll pay in interest is higher than any benefits you’ll receive.

9 // Invest

If you have a little savings you can spare, look into investing that money to make dividends and interest payments. I currently have an Investor Brokerage Account with Charles Schwab, and plan to open more investment accounts in the near future.

Another option is to invest in real estate, because there are ways to do so without owning and renting out a house. You can access a real estate investment trust (REIT) in order to invest in real estate without the hassle of owning, maintaining, and renting out a house.

10 // Use Wikibuy and Honey while Shopping Online

For any online shopping you do, you must use services like Wikibuy and Honey! They automatically scan the web for prices to ensure that you’ll get the best one, and will notify you if you can gain a percentage of your purchase back.

Earlier this year, when I booked a hotel on Expedia in Puerto Rico, Wikibuy popped up in my browser to let me know I could gain 4% back. Just from doing that time and again, I’ve gained enough in my Wikibuy portal to earn a Sephora gift card that was enough for me to buy my favorite moisturizer!

11 // Start an e-Commerce Store

E-commerce is a great way to share your passion and expertise with the world, and earn a living online. I love designing cute posters, so I used to sell them on my website.

Etsy is another good platform for an e-commerce store, but you do have to pay per listing when you upload them to their website. Depending on your product, whether or not you can dropship it, and if it’s a digital only product, this venture can be 100% location-independent.

12 // Build an App

Everyone uses apps now. They help us plan travel, meditate, sleep, invest, bank, interact with one another on social media, and serve about a million other purposes I can’t think of right now.

If you have a business idea that would work well as an app, why not work with a developer or build it yourself? The opportunities in this field are endless, as we become more dependent on technology around the world.

13 // Use Referral Links

Referral links serve a similar purpose to affiliate links, but provide an even greater kickback, IMO. Why? Because the person who joins the program or purchases the service usually receives money off their purchase, and you also get paid for referring them.

I’d recommend checking out your favorite services and products for referral links you can share with friends, family, and your online community via links, social media, and email. Airbnb’s program is a great example! (See what I did there?)

Now, that’s a win-win!

. . .

There they are, folks! The lucky 13. These are just a few of the many ways you can make passive income while traveling, as long as you’re willing to work hard, work smarter, and be innovative with your income sources!

Which of these are you going to try? What income sources do you love to have while traveling that weren’t mentioned here?

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