3 Unique Ways To Make Money Based On Where You Are In The World

The gig economy isn't just for boring, run-of-the-mill tasks that make you want to pluck your eyeballs out for five dollars an hour

‘Your Other Passport’ (the section where this post resides) is a set of blueprints filled with bright ideas, actionable advice, and bite-sized tidbits that will teach you how to stop spending money on travel, start earning money on the road, and become widely recognized within your destination of choice, even if the destination is where you currently live.

If you’re a fairly new subscriber, you might not know yet that I’m the head cheerleader for Team Get-A-New-Life. I will always be sitting on the sidelines of your game, cheering you on while you cash in on a one-way ticket to awesome-ville, wherever that happens to be for you.

This week’s newsletter is twofold. First, it highlights three inventive ways that creative people are making money based on where they live. Second, it serves as yet another chapter in the book of how I sustained myself as a destination writer.

You can absolutely turn your favorite pin on the map into the most rewarding job and lifestyle on earth....without begging the tourist board to hire you.

I’m sure most of you have heard of Fiverr.com. It’s a site where you can hire freelancers for pretty much any type of gig you can think of.

Years ago, I paid for three separate gigs on Fiverr and I gotta tell ya, all three were some of the most gratifying goodies I’ve ever laid down cash for. I practically threw money at these people, I enjoyed them so much.

They were not your average “hire me to write your stuff” gigs. It was actually fun and exciting to receive the finished products.

As a destination blogger…

One of the ways I made money was by putting together video tours of vacation properties. I’d go in, take photos, shoot videos, and compile promotional material that the owners could use however they please.

Right from the start, I had an “above and beyond” mentality, knowing it would help my business in the long run.

For one of my first paid opportunities, not only did I shoot the photos and videos, but I hired a Jamaican voice-over artist through Fiverr to make the promo video sound more professional than just a generic reggae soundtrack would.

She was FANTASTIC.

Nothing promotes a vacation villa more authentically than a gorgeous local accent. She sounded sooooo island-ish and poetic. Much better than “Whitey” over here would have sounded.

Below is the original video. Please curb your judgment on the quality…it was done many years ago when I was still a rookie and digital cameras were groundbreaking at 5 megapixels. 😂

The villa owners loved every second of it. In fact, I just checked their website and they’re STILL using some of my original photos. They also rehired me a couple years later for a second property they owned.

When you’re in it for the long haul…

If you blog about a destination as long as I did, by default you go through several relaunches of your site. Technology, ideas, and tastes change over time and you have to roll with it or you become the ghetto blogger with the shitty website.

During my sixth year, I did a major redesign and reload which took a few weeks to complete. While my site was offline for upgrades I thought it would be a hoot to give my readers something to smile about.

So, I hired this guy on Fiverr to greet readers and Googlers when they landed on my maintenance page.

Listen…I’m STILL giggling while I watch this guy. How can you not love him?

(NOTE: I sold my trade name in 2023 and I am no longer affiliated)

He may not be the most well-rehearsed video presenter on the planet but he certainly appears to be excited as hell promoting a website he had nothing to do with.

I LOVED paying money to this man on Fiverr because he was just out there trying to earn an honest buck. As with all the work I did related to Jamaica, I was very conscious of supporting locals as much as possible. After all, I was using their island for my personal gain so giving back was a top priority.

Plus…just look at him. He’s a riot!

The third gig…

Last on the list of unique Fiverr gigs I’ve paid for had nothing to do with my travel blog and everything to do with a dream job I was competing for.

As luck would have it I was in Canada during the competition and had no access to a beach with sand.

Did you know you can hire someone on Fiverr to write any message you want in the sand? If you didn’t know, now you know.

I paid someone to write a promotional message using the job competition hashtag. Unfortunately, I have since lost the photos because they were done in 2014.

Even if you’re not competing for a dream job it’s still a cool gig you can pay for. I’m sure the same thing can be produced using Photoshop or Canva nowadays, however, it’s way more entertaining knowing a complete stranger will go to a beach and write your message.

So there you have it.

Fiverr is full of average, run-of-the-mill gigs you can hire freelancers to carry out but why not browse the site a little more? You might find something you’d be happy to fork out money for.

Or even better, you might find gig ideas that YOU would be excited to perform while earning a fast buck from your favorite destination!

*Insert the big finish applause here because that’s the best I can do to wrap up this post*

Are YOU on Fiverr? If so, what services do you provide?

Did this post spark any quirky ideas for ones you could provide?

What’s the most unique service you’ve ever paid for on Fiverr?

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In case you really want to dig your heels into making a living somewhere else, check out this post: