Blogging
You Must Blog
Whether you are a non-profit, artist, entrepreneur, employee, you must blog. We live in an idea economy. Any type of career success depends on our ability to earn the trust of an audience, establish our expertise and convince others to believe in our ideas. It’s scary to put your ideas out in the world, but it’s absolutely critical. The only way you are going to gain the skills and improve is to start.
The reason I am living a travel lifestyle now is largely do to the public declaration I made in a blog post to leave Japan and find a new career. Blogging really is life changing. The process of articulating our thinking in words is the most effective way to learn and understand critical ideas. In addition, this JetSetCitizen blog has helped me connect with hundreds of travellers and other like minded people. As a means to network, learn new skills, promote your skills and talents and market your services, blogging is the critical skill of the 21st Century. The best part is that it is essentially free to get started.
Domain Name
You can get your own website URL (name of your website) for about $10 per year from a site like GoDaddy.com. If you’re from Canada or the US, you can usually type “GoDaddy” in a google search and get a link for $.99 for the first year. Failing that, there are always promotional discounts available. Search “Godaddy promo code” and you’ll find a list of sites. Not all will work, so you’ll have to try several.
GoDaddy has a good interface for managing multiple domain names and are a reputable company to deal with. I have been using them for many years. GoDaddy also offers inexpensive hosting but I have only used them for domain names.
At the very least, reserve your name and your children’s name if they are still available. Try to get YourName.com, if that’s not available try a .net, .org. I don’t own johnbardos.com, but I did manage to register johnbardos.net.
Website Hosting
Once you have a domain name (URL) you’ll need a place to put your website. That is called website hosting. Getting your own website host for unlimited domain names and email addresses can cost as little as $5.00 per month. I have been using HostGator for years and am very happy with their service. You can install WordPress blogs and many other scripts with just one click. It takes as little as 5 minutes to set up a new website. Their customer support is responsive and the control panel to manage everything is easy to understand.
Some of the advantages are that you can have unlimited email addresses on websites you own. Using the email addresses provided by your internet service provider is not a good idea, because they don’t look professional and you’ll like change internet companies in the future. You own your own website so you can use it forever.
Sign up for hosting at HostGator.com
Start a Blog that Matters
Here is a great 13 week course by the online marketing superstar Corbett Barr of ThinkTraffic.net. Start a Blog that Matters walks you through all the steps of creating a blog and building an audience right from choosing the best name to making your first dollar.
Find out more information here.
Digital Nomad Academy
Learn how to create a location independent business and join a community of digital nomads located all over the world. My friend Cody McKibben has a great online community with regular interviews, resources and a great community to get you started on your path to becoming a digital nomad.
Find our more information on the Digital Nomad Academy here.
Travel Blogging
One of the world’s premier travel bloggers, Nomadic Matt, teaches “How to Build a Travel Blog“. This inexpensive ebook walks you through the basics of building a blog.
After you build your blog, Nomadic Matt teaches, “How To Make Money With Your Travel Blog.”The ebook walks you through all the steps to creating successful and profitable blogs right from the very beginning. This is a great start for novices and offers some more detailed information for those with more Internet experience. You can see the review I did of the ebook here, How to Make Money with your Travel Blog, eBook Review
Teach English Abroad
Teaching English Abroad is one of the fastest ways to start working and living in a foreign country. I started by teaching English in Japan and highly recommend the experience. “How to Teach English Overseas” is a another popular book by Nomadic Matt, offering an overview of what to expect teaching in various countries all over the world.
Travel Hacking
“The Ultimate Guide to Travel Hacking” is another popular guide by Matt Kepnes or Nomadic Matt. Learn the ins and outs of using air mileage programs to get cheap or free flights. My wife and I get a free international flight almost every year.
Hotel Reservations
The best site with the lowest prices to book hotels in Asia is Agoda.com. I find Agoda to be consistently 5% to 10% cheaper than other sites when booking in S.E. Asia.
Get Paid to Travel
WanderingEarl has a comprehensive ebook covering the ins and outs of the cruise ship industry. Traveling to exotic destinations aboard a ship can actually be a great way to save a lot of money. Click Here to read more.