Oct 11, 2021

Looking For Digital Nomad Jobs? Here Are Some Top Tips

Written by Dan Hughes

In an age where we can connect, share information, and remain productive from anywhere in the world, the possibilities are almost limitless.

Remote working has seen a rise in a new breed of freelancing professional: the digital nomad.

The digital nomad, typically a creative or digital marketing professional, logs on and delivers dynamic content, ad assets, analytical insights, and entire promotional campaigns while enjoying the freedom to roam.

Most marketing-based digital nomads report making $40,000 and $99 per year while setting their own schedule, taking on a mix of rewarding projects, and exploring the globe when they feel like it. In addition, 40.5% of digital nomads are currently in their second to fourth year as globe-trotting freelance professionals.

The life of a digital nomad is lucrative, rewarding, and sustainable. If you’re reading this and thinking, “this is the life for me”, here are some tips on how to land yourself a steady flow of digital nomad jobs.

Let’s dive in.

Set your goals

Before you break away and become a globe-trotting freelancer, it’s important to set your goals. By creating a rough timeline of when you want to achieve certain milestones (including setting up your website and social media channels and landing your first job), you’ll gain urgency and direction.

As well as laying out a timeline of when you want to reach specific milestones, you should also set the minimum annual income you want to achieve in your first year—this will help you outline your rates accurately.

Work with the right tools

As a digital nomad, it’s important that you can manage your prospective jobs and projects effectively. Fortunately, we live in a digital age with tools available that are easy to use, will help you manage your time, and help you remain focused. Here are some of the best for digital nomads:

RescueTime: This simple application offers a mix of insightful data based on your daily activity, efficiency, and habits. Perfect for helping you to manage your time wisely and balance sourcing new digital nomad jobs with business development, admin, and of course, travel.
Flowstate: This platform is particularly great if you're a content-based digital marketer as it will start to delete your words if you get too distracted and stop typing for a set time. Being thrust into your discomfort zone can be a powerful way of getting things done while remaining motivated when you most need to.
Headspace: Meditation is known to boost productivity. That said, Headspace is an app that you can use anywhere you see fit, guiding you through 10 peaceful minutes of meditation each day, and will refresh your mind, helping you to maintain a level of focus that will not only help you snag those rewarding digital nomad jobs, but keep them coming.
Buffer: An easy to use social media content scheduling tool, Buffer gives you the tools to pre-schedule posts or visuals on a variety of platforms to keep your promotional activities rolling while you’re out there gazing at temples, scuba diving, whizzing down a mountain or napping on the beach.

What kinds of jobs do digital nomads do?

With around 59 million active freelancers in the US alone, applying for every vaguely relevant digital nomad job you come across won't guarantee success.

In addition to setting your goals and marking out professional milestones, you should also take the time to understand which types of jobs (or niches) to explore—especially if you want to break into the digital marketing industry.

Establishing a digital marketing niche will empower you to hone your skills, gain specialist experience, and set yourself apart from the digital nomad pack (you’re also likely to make more money).

To help you decide which path to roam, here are the branches of digital marketing (or types of jobs) that are in-demand right now:

Search engine optimization (SEO) & search engine marketing (SEM)
Content marketing (including podcast production & video creation)
Data visualization & analytics
User experience (UX) design
PPC, paid advertising & performance marketing
Mobile marketing & optimization

Once you’ve established your niche, you can set about gaining the right skills and experience: a good start would be to do short internships or work for free for friend or family businesses. You should also make sure you’ve got the attributes to succeed as a digital nomad.

Our guide to the nine essential soft skills for digital marketers will help you sharpen up your personal abilities and attributes.

Create your assets & bring your brand to life

As a jet-setting, freelancing digital nomad, getting into the right mindset is essential. Don’t just see yourself as a hired gun, view yourself as a personal brand.

Being a digital nomad requires a certain level of business savvy, which means you should establish your personal brand across all relevant channels and touchpoints. That said, before you start applying for digital nomad jobs, you need to set up all of your assets, including a website, a portfolio, visual branding items (your logo, imagery, and color scheme), and social media channels.

Here are two resources that will help you create your assets and transform you into a personal brand:

Once you’ve created your assets and brought your personal brand to life (remember, maintaining your assets and personal branding is an ongoing process), you’ll have all the tools you need to start applying for jobs.

Join the right communities

Armed with the skills and assets you need to succeed, you’ll be ready to start going for the digital nomad jobs available in your niche.

When you’re getting started, knowing where to start can seem like an impossible mission, but by joining the right communities and looking in the right places, you’ll not only gain the ongoing support or advice you need to land the projects you want, but you’ll also know where to find them.

Here are some good freelance job sites and digital communities for budding digital nomads:

Upwork: A good place to gain experience, cement client relationships, and build your portfolio
FlexJobs: A remote working job and project space with a reasonable membership fee and access to around 100 different specialisms or career niches.
The Muse: A popular freelance guidance platform with access to community forums and tips on landing digital nomad jobs. You can also search and apply for jobs through the Muse.
Remote.co: While this platform is more aimed at showcasing the value of hiring freelancers or digital nomads, it’s worth checking in with, as you’re sure to connect with insights, intelligence, and tips that will help further your career.
Working Nomads: A community-based freelance job platform aimed specifically at digital nomads, signing up for Working Nomads is highly-advisable.
Freelancing AU: A freelancer working-based portal dedicated to helping Australians and New Zealanders land quality jobs across a range of sites or platforms.

What skills do I need to become a digital nomad?

Once you’re up and running, the most important thing you can do as a digital nomad is embark on the exciting adventure of lifelong learning.

By taking the time to develop and update your existing skills as well as acquire new ones, you will remain relevant in an ever-changing professional landscape while gaining an all-important edge on the competition.

So, what skills do you need to become a digital nomad? Well, here are the core competencies you should prioritize to ensure success:

Content marketing and copywriting
Social media marketing
Search engine optimization (SEO) knowledge
Email marketing experience
Video and image editing skills
A solid grasp of data analytics
Organizational & interpersonal abilities

If you invest in a certified digital marketing course, you can hone your skills and gain confidence from anywhere in the world, at a pace that suits you. You will also get ahead of the game, and stay there.

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