25 Skills to Master in Order to Work from Anywhere as a Digital Nomad

2. Web Designer

Do you have a knack for being both creative and technical at the same time? This is the perfect combination to become a web designer. Everyone has a website and chances are, when they upgrade, they’re going to need a web designer to make it look good and function well.

It’s far easier to be a web designer these days with many people running their sites off WordPress. If you decide to go into the WordPress niche, there are unlimited forums that support any questions you have. It takes some time to fumble through this self-taught method so you may want to take a legitimate online course.

3. Graphic Designer

If you always liked doodling as a kid or like creating aesthetically pleasing things, becoming a graphic designer might be your calling. The visual beauty we see online is all thanks to graphic designers. They are in high demand because they create ads, brochures, posters, signs, images for social media and ads.

Slowly learning the design tools is probably the first step. Adobe programs for example are complex but they help designers to create anything. Taking an online course can be helpful in getting down all the aspects of powerful design programs. This is a high demand gig so you’ll always have work coming your way.

4. Blogging

Pretty much everyone has a blog and many make their living through it. The trick with making money with your blog is giving away a lot of free information. If there’s something that makes you really interesting, people will start to flock to your words. Video entries help people become more engaged.

You have to be a great writer that understands social media and knows how to reach into the heart of your target audience. You need the audience to get the money. For example, there are companies that will fund your trips and invite you to their hotels if you’re a travel writer. You have to be a travel writer who has hundreds of thousands of followers however.

When you have so many followers, you’ll make money in a few different ways. Ads on your page, you have a great audience to sell things to etc.

5. Online Advertising

Online advertising is for those with a creative and analytical mind. Through understanding of a company’s target audience, you can help them go through the sales funnel. This is done through Google, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn to name a few.

There are companies who will pay good money if you have proven experience in boosting businesses. If you can offer a company an advertising avenue that works, you’ll be surprised at how much money will be thrown your way. There are plenty of online courses that help you get into the mindset for online advertising.

6. Social Media Marketing

If you love connecting to people online, why not use this to make money? There are plenty of free articles and courses that give you insight on social media marketing.

You can play around and find an analyzing tool which will gauge how effective your marketing efforts are. Businesses are desperate to utilize social media which is why they need someone who has their hand on the pulse. You can help these businesses with their exposure to target audiences.

It takes time, it’s not easy but it’s a labour of love. If you spend a lot of time on social media anyway, you’ll likely enjoy running fan pages and creating content that successfully gains a company interest.

7. Become a Translator

If you can speak more than one language, you can easily become a translator online. This can range from translating copy to doing audio translations.

There are so many businesses that are expanding on an international scale now. The demand for translators has never been greater. Translators are never out of work in this day and age.

It’s probably best to take a translation course so you understand some of the lingo that is used with translation services. There are a few different ways of translating and you may not be able to translate for some companies without proper certification. The good news is, it doesn’t cost much and you make more money with the certification under your belt.

8. VA (Virtual Assistant)

If you’ve been an assistant in an office, you will probably enjoy the transition to being a VA. Doing the same tasks you did before but in your pajamas. That’s a step up if you ask me. You have a world of options as a virtual assistant. Whether your passion is science, art, psychology etc, there are businesses all over the world looking for assistance online.

If you’re just starting out on your freelancing career, you’ll find this is one of the easiest gigs to obtain. You will learn a lot about online business operations this way which could lead you down to a more glamorous position later. You may start out doing data entry or managing social media. As your clients begin to trust your talents, they will likely give you more responsibilities.

9. Become a SEO Expert

SEO experts are important for anyone who wants to be on page one of Google or other search engines. It’s not only extremely interesting to do this kind of work, it’s ever-changing.

Google changes the rules all the time to prevent manipulation from SEO experts. A great SEO expert can get a company found on search engines by knowing what their target audience is searching for.

SEO experts have to know how to get Google’s attention without breaking the rules. Once you’ve upset Google, they can blacklist the website an SEO expert is supposed to help. It’s complex but also highly relevant for a business looking to strike it rich online. That means you’ll be in high demand and you can charge anything you want.

10. Teach English as a Second Language

There are many schools all across the world who incorporate conversational English into their curriculum. So you don’t have to go to Tokyo to have a chat with someone. It can all be done on Skype. You don’t have to be a teacher for these gigs and a school will usually give you all the work you can handle.

They usually have requirements for you to adhere to. They usually ask that you write down notes. For example, if they have problems with the past tense rules or don’t pronounce a letter properly, you’d report that back to the school. At best, you may need to refresh on rules of the English language but very minimally.

11. Become an App Developer

App development takes know how and good technical skills. If you are able to create mobile apps that people respond to, you’re going to be in high demand. It wouldn’t be uncommon to land a very lucrative position where you’re highly respected.

Every business is in the market for building a mobile app. There are some things you’ll require before you start to even attempt to build your own app. You’ll need to learn a database query language like SQL. Also, learn the basics of DevOps so you can set up your development server. This gives you the ability to launch your app.

You’ll need to take a fair amount of tutorials or perhaps a paid course to fast track your way to a mobile app developing career.

12. Email Marketer

An email marketer is responsible for keeping users and fans in the know about things that are happening with the business. The message is usually delivered in a friendly and informative way that doesn’t come off “salesly” or pushy. There’s often a subtle “call to action” with a deadline to take advantage of the excellent deal.

It takes thought to be an email marketer and there are aspects of the sales funnel involved. Knowing the sales funnel fundamentals is important for an email marketer but there is an array of free information online about this.

Within this niche, you can make money for yourself or for another business through email pitches, broadcast messages, sale notifications, and event invitations. If you start off with copy writing, chances are, you’ll go down the avenue of email marketing also.

13. Content Writer

We’ve already covered what it is to be a copywriter so how does content writing differ? The major difference is how it’s written. Copywriting is promotional advertising and marketing. Content writing is for the purpose of entertaining, informing, or enticing readers to stay on a website for longer in order to engage with the brand.

Content writers get hired to write content for business’ website, company blogs, emails and verbiage for social media campaigns. There’s a wide range of things a content writer can do. It is a more creative process with much less analyzing needed. This makes it perfect for someone whose naturally creative and loves to write.

The great thing about becoming a content writer is you get to research new and interesting things all the time. Not only are you getting paid to write but you’re also broadening your horizons. This makes you extra interesting when you’re circled around a campfire on a beach with new people you just met on your travels.

14. Internet Researcher

If you see yourself as a pretty good Googler, you might just be a natural at being an internet researcher. You should be able to work quickly and efficiently to sift through all the information online to find the valuable information you need.

As an internet researcher, you would work for a company collecting and presenting research on whatever topics they ask you to research. You have the potential to work with writers, marketing agencies, law firms, insurance firms, people in the healthcare industry, and publishers.

Everyone needs information no matter what industry they’re in. Market research is an important element to learning about target audiences. This is the fundamentals of marketing. It can be very helpful for businesses who are looking to develop a product or service in the future.

15. Logo Designer

A logo design is a means of letting people know what a company is all about. It tells the story of a business’ identity and their personality. In just one graphic, it encompasses what the business is selling and to who.

Logo design is a fairly simple form of graphic design but everyone needs to have one. As a logo designer, you not only need to know how to design a logo but you should have a background in marketing. Not a vast amount of knowledge, just the fundamentals of what colors say about a company and things like that. If you are working with a financial company, green will likely need to be incorporated for example.

It doesn’t take that long to create logos so you’ll likely have a long line-up of clients at any given time once you build your portfolio up. There are a lot of logo designers on Fiverr that have up to 50 jobs waiting in their queue. Get some design skills under your belt and start to understand a bit about marketing. If companies are just starting a business or are undergoing a redesign, see if they’re willing to let you create some logo designs for them. This is a good way of getting started.

16. Online Customer Service

Most of us have done some form of customer service in the past. Even if it was just a cashier, you have a general idea of how to help someone when they need it. You can use this skill to get yourself an online customer service job. Businesses that want to impress and keep their customers are desperate to find reliable support staff.

You can provide a company’s customers with email support, tech support, or respond to inquiries through social media. There won’t be a lot for you to set up. If there’s a special program for communication, the company will let you know and set you up with it. Many businesses all over the world have live customer service that is available 24/7. So you might be in charge of after hours customer service for a company based out of England.

17. Become an Illustrator

Illustrators are an important part of the digital nomad movement. Anything from fashion to books to marketing material. The internet is a visual world and when something appeals to the eye, it can gain a lot of interest.

Illustrators play a large part in helping people understand complex tech information. It can sell high-end fashion or a new product online. This position is widely sought after for those with the natural talent and the knowledge to use tools like Adobe Illustrator. You can sell your illustrations on the Behance platform.

18. Become a Proofreader

As many writing gigs there are, there are equal amounts of proofreading and editing jobs. Proofreading isn’t that challenging either if you have a scope for how something should read and are naturally a perfectionist.

Various businesses, publishers and writers will need proofreading services. There are a lot of businesses from all over the world that need to have good English copy. It may not be their first language so they just need an English speaker to look through what they’ve written and ensure it makes sense.

There are varying degrees of intensity for proofreading but generally a client will want it to be error-free. You may end up editing books, marketing copy, or website content.

19. Become a Data Analyst

Big data is really important and is the next big thing in the name of market research. What might make this so lucrative is that from this valuable information, companies will learn everything they need to know about their target audience. This collection of data gives very specific information about sales figures, logistics and market research.

We’re talking about knowing how long a person stays in a store, how much they purchased and then determining what kind of message they need to get them to buy more. Grocery stores are collecting data and then offering people specific discounts on items they know the person is interested in. It’s probably the most effective marketing method we’ve seen develop since the inception of well…marketing itself.

So if you love data, get yourself informed quickly. Most data specialists are bringing in six figure incomes and the demand is high. Your data analysis skills can help businesses interpret data to create real world marketing that is highly effective. There are online courses you can take to get in the know.

20. Video Editor

Videos are one of the most compelling ways to reach people online. Compare your Instagram picture posts to videos you’ve posted. There are companies that rely on their videos to produce important messages. They need to look professional and they need to be high quality.

Businesses know the importance of videos to best represent their brand. They are willing to put money towards the development of these videos. If you have the talent, you can help edit videos. It doesn’t need to cost anything either. You just have to understand how to utilize the platforms for video edits. If you’re passionate about videos, this will be a great learning experience.

21. Become an Online Bookkeeper

Are you an accountant or have you done bookkeeping in the past? If yes, you can go ahead and do that online too. There’s plenty of companies that would be happy to outsource this type of work to someone like you.

Generally, people don’t like balancing their books. There are some that really love it though. If you’ve never done bookkeeping or accounting before, you can take a few courses online. You can also utilize free tutorials if you do happen to get stuck on an accounting issue. You’ll also need to be pretty proficient at Excel spreadsheets most likely. You can take a course on that too.

If you want to invest a little time on developing this skill, you’ll always have work and you can be anywhere in the world doing it.

22. Sell a Course

You can create and sell your own course if you have a great idea. If you’ve already started doing some form of online work successfully, you can put that information in a package and sell it. Take pictures of your adventurous life and sell that.

It’s important that you determine whether your idea adds value to people’s lives. Will it make their life easier? Will they gain more time every day? Will they feel healthier and happier? Do you have the secret to getting rich?

If you think you have a product or secret that is unique and people will see value in, try your luck at this huge money-making industry. There are many systems in play to help you reach people and sell them your product. Information products like-books, video series, membership sites and online courses are just some of the ways you can make money with your brand.

You need only choose your profitable niche where you then create products within that. Focus on the audience that is currently most keen to buy. Right now, it might be “how to become a successful digital nomad.” This is a pretty hot item at the moment with plenty of people hungry to work from their own hammock.

You’ll have to put a lot of energy and love into your products or services. A lot of writing and research will have to go into it before you start to see it bear fruit. If you’re passionate about the product or service and process, it will help you through.

23. Become a Programmer

Programming was probably one of the first professions that allowed people to become digital nomads. It was an elite group of people two decades ago that could work coding anywhere in the world. These pioneers paved the way to create a method in which programming could be learned by anyone. Well, anyone with an analytical kind of math mind anyway.

It has and always will reign as the fundamental necessity for any creation in an online or technological capacity. Needless to say, it’s in high demand and isn’t going anywhere soon. There is a high demand for programmers online. You can use it to build your own empire or put your services out there for lucrative contracts.

It does take time to become a programmer. Some have self-taught themselves by learning a few languages like Ruby on Rails or C+. It is well worth any time invested though. Once you’re experienced, you’ll be able to say how much you want to get paid and how long it’s going to take you. You’re never going to have anyone boss you around again. Skillcrush and Codecademy offers you free, valuable coding information. It’s a good place to start.

24. Sell Products Online

Selling products online is a great way to make extra income. It doesn’t take much time and can really be part-time at first. The cool thing, is your little business of selling products can grow while you still work your full-time job. When it becomes apparent that you don’t need ‘said’ old job anymore, you can transition to committing to your online business full-time.

This could lead you to going aboard and supplying your large customer base with products. You can grow your business and products however you choose.This is one of the most common ways people make money online today. There are many platforms to help you market and sell your products. They might take a commission but many of them don’t charge you a monthly fee.There’s very little money for start-up being spent. So just find a product and go with it.

That being said, to truly succeed, you’ll want to study up on the dynamics of online selling. There’s plenty of free material online to get you started. Get yourself an Amazon or eBay account depending on what kind of products you’re selling and test out the market.

Learning about SEO, online ads and content writing will help you represent your products. This can increase your sales. Getting started is uncomplicated – online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay make it very convenient. A basic understanding and knowledge of copy writing, online advertising and SEO also go a long way towards helping you succeed.

25. Become an Online Business Owner

To sum up much of the points in this article, put your focus on becoming an online business owner. Whether you’re freelancing or importing incense from India, you’ll learn a great deal of skills when it comes to running an online business. The beauty of an online business is the start-up costs aren’t so high when compared to brick and mortar businesses.

Your greatest asset will be to think creatively and come up with ideas nobody has thought of. Start on your own and figure out how to market yourself. If this really isn’t your strong suit, you can always outsource. You can even have a whole team of pros on your side to help your business grow exponentially.

There are a thousands of ways to make money online. You have an opportunity to get in on the action too if you’re willing to take the risk on what your assets are.

Big money-making like running any successful online business is a digital nomad skill to be sure. Maybe for you it will be affiliate marketing or you might set up passive income websites. Maybe you’ll develop and sell digital products. Being able to determine the next big thing and capitalizing on it time and time again is a skill that has made people fast millionaires. Many people are living around the world and picking up products while they’re hot only to drop them when something better comes along.

Perhaps one of the largest challenges of being a digital nomad is choosing where in the world you’ll live. Most nomads will fall in love with a country and stay in one spot. Some will travel the world and seek out new experiences. There are many avenues of digital nomad lifestyles now.

Many companies are organizing getaways where you can hand out with other digital nomads while you work. Solutions for problems that we face are being solved by other companies willing to make it an easier lifestyle than it’s ever been.