Remote working and travel are more popular than ever. More and more people are discovering the freedom of a life not tied to one place. But to experience that freedom, you do need an earning model that travels with you. Whether you want to start a new career, set up a sidehustle from abroad or just check if your current job is remote proof: earning money online makes it possible.
As a workation expert for many years, I have seen all kinds of professions and earning models come by. From digital nomads who freelance full-time to employees who set up smart remote jobs and smart online earning models. In this article, I share the 20 best ways to make money online.
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Freelancing in your field
One of the most accessible ways to make money online is freelancing. Think copywriting, graphic design, web development, marketing or translation. Through platforms like Upwork, Fiverr or simply your own network, you can find clients worldwide. The advantage: you decide your own hours, rates and workplace.
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Remote employment with your current employer
More and more employers are open to full or partial remote working. Here are the Top 20 Employers Embracing Remote Working. If you already have a job, it’s smart to investigate whether it’s remote proof. Consider positions in marketing, IT, administration or customer service. Tip: Make a concrete plan for your employer showing how you’ll stay productive and accessible. Here are 10 ways to convince your boss to work remotely.
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Scoring a new remote job
Can’t (for whatever reason) work remotely at your current job? Then start looking for another remote job where you can work from abroad. On the Working Remotely website, you can find job openings from Dutch companies that embrace remote working. Some allow you to work remotely for a few weeks a year, others are completely remote-first. Check to see if there’s something for you.
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Sidehustles start with an online revenue model
Want to start small and slowly build your income? A sidehustle may be the perfect step. Think affiliate marketing, e-commerce or offering small online services. You don’t have to figure everything out yourself, I personally have the Sidehustle Toolkit from I Am Jan Modaal (Sandra) and can definitely recommend it. You get a lot of practical tips and learn new ways in the online course that suit you. It teaches you step by step all the skills to create an online revenue model. Ideal to start next to your current job and grow slowly.
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Content creation: blogging or vlogging
Do you have a passion or niche knowledge? Start a blog, YouTube channel or podcast. With ads, collaborations and affiliate links, you can build an income from it. Important: This is a long-term strategy. Successful content creators often invested years before their platform became profitable. The same is true for my own business. Only after 8 months did I score my first paid blog collaboration. By now, this is an earning model of Working Remotely.
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Online course development
We all want to learn more and more online, and an online course is perfect for this. Are you an expert in a particular field? Then you can translate your knowledge into an online course. Think photography, language, marketing or personal development. With platforms like Soofos, Huddle and Teachable, you can quickly have your course online. Keep in mind, however, that the online platform and payment software do incur some costs and you will need to put in considerable time to create and market the course.
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Take online course: Remote Ready from Working Remotely
Just want to learn how to work remotely yourself first? In the Remote Ready course Working Remotely will teach you step by step what is involved in working from abroad. From practical issues like insurance and taxes to productivity and finding remote jobs, you’ll get all the tools you need to get started right away.
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Becoming a Virtual Assistant (VA)
Many entrepreneurs and businesses need help with administration, email management, social media or customer service. As a Virtual Assistant, also known as a VA, you can perform these tasks remotely. It’s a fast-growing market and you can often get started without extensive technical knowledge. Wondering how to get started? In this guest blog, a VA explains how you can do this.
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Social media management
Companies often don’t have the time or knowledge to properly manage their social media channels. As a social media manager, you create content, schedule posts and analyze the results. Especially for smaller companies, this is in high demand.
Don’t already have experience with social media and/or the principles of marketing? Then don’t underestimate the knowledge you need for this role. In recent years, I have seen a proliferation of coaches who claim to convert you into a social media manager in no time, but few really know what they are doing. It’s a profession that takes time to learn. You don’t fix clients within 3 months where you rake in 10K a month.
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Affiliate marketing building
With affiliate marketing, you earn commission by recommending products or services through your website, social media or newsletter. Think travel products, books or software. It requires a substantial audience before you can really make good money with it, but once set up, it can provide a nice passive income stream. You can keep building this up and eventually earn an online income with it.
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E-commerce: running your own webshop
E-commerce is selling products through your own online store. Think of clothing, accessories, books or digital products. The advantage of e-commerce is that you control everything: from product selection to branding and marketing. You can choose to ship your products yourself or outsource fulfillment to a logistics company.
The downside is that setting up a successful Web shop requires time and investment. You have to factor in inventory management, customer service and returns. On the other hand, once it is up and running, a Web shop can become a stable and scalable source of income.
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Dropshipping: selling products without stock
Dropshipping is a form of e-commerce where you don’t have to keep stock yourself. You build a webshop, but as soon as a customer orders something, you forward that order to a supplier who ships the product directly to the customer. Successful dropshippers distinguish themselves through a strong niche, smart marketing and good customer communication. The big advantage: low entry costs because you don’t have to buy any products. The downside: margins are often smaller and you have less control over delivery times and product quality.
Personally, I don’t really like this. I know many stories of people who have only lost money with this. Some big influencers confidently claimed that it is THE way, but it has since turned out to be a shady business. So do very good research before you start this.
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Selling digital products
In addition to courses, you can also offer smaller digital products, such as e-books, templates, stock photos or printables. These require a one-time investment in time and then often provide long-term passive income. Because they are low amounts, this will not generate a full online income immediately, but if you know how to find your target audience well you can be successful with them. Or use the low-end products in your funnel to sell larger and more expensive products to your customers.
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Online coaching
Coaching has been popular for a long time and can be done well remotely via Zoom or Teams. There are an awful lot of coaches who work wonderfully from Spain or Portugal, in the sun, and go surfing after their working day. Think of business coaching, health coaching or life coaching. There is now a coach for every subject. The important thing is to choose a niche and show your expertise in it.
I myself also recently became an online coach. I am an expert on remote working and love to help others get started. Sometimes people don’t see all the possibilities, or they don’t know where to start. Through my 8 years of experience as a digital nomad and with my own remote company, I can help others well. I offer group coaching as well as 1-on-1 coaching sessions, to help people get started with remote working. If you would like my help with this as well, please let me know. Check out the website for all the information, or email [email protected] if you have questions or want to discuss if this suits you.
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Copywriting and SEO texts
Companies constantly need new copy: for websites, blogs, newsletters and social media. This is the work you do as a copywriter. A very popular job that can be done perfectly remotely, in my remote network I know a lot of them too. If you are good at writing and know how to process keywords (SEO), there is a promising market here. A copywriter nowadays also uses AI in their work, so make sure you are up to date with the technical developments and use this to your advantage as well.
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Translation: using language skills for extra income
If you speak multiple languages, translation work makes it easy to earn money online from abroad. Companies and individuals constantly need translations of websites, manuals, blogs or legal documents. Often you work per word or per project, and this can add up to an interesting hourly rate.
Platforms such as ProZ, Upwork and Fiverr offer access to international clients. Important: Make sure you not only master the language, but also understand the cultural context. Good translators are distinguished by accuracy and consistency, which helps them quickly build a steady client base.
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Transcribing: converting audio to text
Transcribing means converting audio or video files to text. This can range from interviews and podcasts to business meetings and legal proceedings. There are special platforms, such as Rev or GoTranscript, where you can find assignments directly.
The advantage is that you don’t need specific training and can start relatively quickly. However, it does require a lot of concentration and a good ear for accents or poor sound quality. The faster and more accurate you work, the more you can earn. For those who are patient and detail-oriented, transcribing can be a steady sidehustle.
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Remote customer service
Many international companies seek employees for online customer service. This can be via chat, phone or email. Often flexible working hours are possible, so you can combine this well with traveling. It is one of the most commonly offered jobs if you want to work from abroad. You can also choose to go to 1 fixed place in another country, and work in the call center there.
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Programming and web development
One of the most popular remote jobs is: developer. As a developer, you can work anywhere in the world. These professionals have been doing this for years and are a large group of digital nomads. Even well before covid changed our field of work, these people were often working remotely. The demand for good programmers is huge and often the rates are high. Useful if you are technically savvy or willing to learn this.
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Online marketing and advertising
From Google Ads to Meta ads, companies want to outsource their marketing to experts. They often don’t have the capacity in the team for this themselves or don’t have team members with the right skills. If you have experience with online campaigns, you can turn this into a valuable freelance business. Just make sure you know what you are talking about and that your work is of a high standard if you want to work for clients.
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Teaching online
From English to math, online teaching can be done through platforms like Preply, Italki or Superprof, and there is an online job for every subject. It is work that is perfect to do remotely and earn money online. Whether you do it as a full time job, side job or tutor someone for example. You often decide your own rate and times. Language tutoring in particular is in demand worldwide. Keep in mind time zones though, if you are tutoring someone in another country.
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Stock photography and videos
Are you handy with a camera? Then you can make money online with it. You can sell your photos and videos through platforms like Shutterstock or Adobe Stock. Or of course through your own platform, if you want to build one and have the right skills to do so. Don’t expect big income right away, but in the long run this can be a nice passive stream. It’s the perfect way to turn your passion into your job, and do it from abroad as well.
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Investing and investing:making your money work for you
Investing and investing are ways to grow your wealth online, without directly trading time for money. Consider investing in stocks, bonds or index funds (ETFs). Online brokers make it easy to get started, often with just a small amount. The advantage of investing is that it can be scalable and relatively passive. You don’t have to constantly seek new clients, as with freelancing or e-commerce. At the same time, investing involves risk: the value of your investments can rise, but also fall. Successful investing therefore requires patience, knowledge and often a long-term vision.
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Real estate through crowdfunding
A popular form of online investing is real estate crowdfunding. Here you invest small amounts in real estate projects along with other investors. You receive interest or profit distributions depending on the agreements. This makes real estate investing more accessible to people who don’t have hundreds of thousands of dollars immediately available.
The advantage: relatively low entry level. The disadvantage: risks are often higher than with traditional investments, and your money is tied up for a long time.
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Crypto: digital currency as a revenue model
In addition to traditional investments, cryptocurrency is another way to make money online. You can invest in well-known coins like Bitcoin or Ethereum, or trade in smaller altcoins. This can be done through trading platforms such as Binance or Coinbase. Some nomads even combine travel with “staking” (locking in crypto for interest) or NFT trading.
Important to know: crypto is volatile and risky. Prices can rise dramatically in a short period of time, but can also fall hard. Therefore, it is essential that you invest only with money you can spare and that you learn about the market well. For those willing to learn and take risks, crypto can be a lucrative but uncertain source of income.
Your route to online income
As you can see, there are countless ways to make money online while traveling or enjoying a beautiful place abroad. Whether you choose to freelance, start your own business or remote your current job, there is always a route that suits you. Want to get started with your own sidehustle right away? Then the Sidehustle Toolkit a practical starting point. Or would you rather learn how to remote-proof your work and life? With the online Remote Ready course will give you all the tools you need to work from abroad. The most important thing: start! Don’t wait for the right moment, it may never come. Choose a method that suits you, test, learn and build your own remote lifestyle step by step. This is how it went for myself, and now I have been running my fully remote business for 3 years.
More inspiration on working from abroad
Overwinteren in het buitenland: zo werk je op afstand én verdien je online
