Will takes in the views over the Spanish countryside
The top problem for most aspiring long-term travellers is how to earn enough income on the road. Travelling off of savings is great way to start, but what happens when you run out of money. If your travel bug is going to turn into a location independent lifestyle, you will need to start working on the road.
More often than not, that means doing some type of freelancing work. Many also try their hand at travel writing, for their own blogs or other sites. Will Peach does all of the above. In this interview, Will shares his experiences working for sites like Gap Daemon and Vagabundo Magazine, as well as SEO article writing and consulting. He shows that you don’t need to earn much money on abroad if you can keep your costs low.
Please tell us about your travel background?
Hi guys! First off let me envelop you all in a nice warm “Will Peach” hug and wish you all the best for the year ahead. Right, now that the sexual tension is out the way, let’s continue onward.
I started travelling as a wee nipper making my first trip abroad a few short years after having sprung from the womb. Growing up under the heavy influence of my travel-curious dad, I had the fortune of going on vacation to quite a few destinations during my childhood. Stand out trips include a month long tour of Australia at the age of 12, holidaying in Kenya at 14 and a tour of California in my awkward teenage years. I hardly saw much of my native England!
Needless to say this taste of travel spilled over into my adulthood. At university I was lucky enough to do a year abroad at the University of Miami and after graduating I upped sticks and went to live in Vietnam for a year and a half. I’m still not done yet!
Where are you now?
The past few months I’ve been living in a little city called Cáceres in Extremadura, Spain (quite close to the Portuguese border). I came to live in Spain primarily because I had the crazy ambition of becoming the first person in my family to become fluent in a language other than English (and, if I choose to believe my grandmother, Irish). Since moving here however I’ve found that Spain really floats my boat. Right now I’m back in London for the holidays but, depending on when you read this, I’ll be back out in Spain in a new location working on my goal. If you’re interested in reading about my experiences and checking out my progress check out my site My Spanish Adventure.
Will enjoying Caceres' old quarter
What are you living expenses in Spain?
A lot cheaper than when I was living in London! In Cáceres I was paying just 100 Euros a month in rent (for a room in a shared apartment). For food I was probably paying around another 180 Euros a month (eating out maybe a couple of times a week) and for entertainment (which there wasn’t a great deal of maybe 200 Euros). I spent most of my “entertainment” money on travelling around the area getting to see cool places like Seville and Mérida.
How do you earn an income now?
Ah this is the bit where I give away all my secrets isn’t it? Well the bulk of my money I earn from my role as an editor at Gap Daemon (that accounts for maybe 50% of my monthly income). Then I work with a few different clients in the SEO world and provide writing for them on a freelance basis. My earnings per month vary wildly (depending on how much freelance stuff gets sent my way) but have always been enough to cover my outgoings.
Recently I’ve been working on other projects designed to bring in some income further down the line. I’m trying to push my SEO writing work more into consultancy (willpeach.com is my base for this) and also running a few different travel sites in the hope of monetisation in the coming months. I’ve also taken an editorial role at Vagabundo Magazine, which I hope will help prop me up too.
My earnings are still very much a work in progress and I’ll be the first to admit I’m no expert in this area. Still I love being the master of my own fate and this way of living is certainly the one for me.
Please tell us more about Gap Daemon and Vagabundo
Gap Daemon is a gap year website for backpackers and young travellers that provides people with a network to help record and prepare their travels as well as meet other people while out on the road. I actually got involved with them over a year ago when I worked in a full time capacity as a site editor in their London offices. Deciding to go travelling myself I was fortunate enough to have them support me. Right now I’m helping to add to their ever-increasing information resource by writing articles and recording podcasts with travellers around the world. It’s pretty cool work!
Vagabundo Magazine is an online travel magazine run by Brendan Van Son, a pretty well known Canadian photographer and travel writer. I got involved with them after writing a few articles for the digital magazine and asking Brendan if there was anything more I could help out with. Right now Brendan and I are working together to bring Vagabundo Magazine to the masses by expanding our activity on social media (particularly Twitter) and continuing to provide great travel stories and inside destination guides from around the world. Be sure to check it out!
How did you find those job opportunities?
I found the opportunity at Gap Daemon after working in the trade press here in London for a while (I had a big portfolio of travel writing and blogs from my time in Vietnam to help support my application). Back then they were just starting out so I had the good fortune of joining them after only a few months of operation.
Vagabundo Magazine came off the back of me writing for it and contacting Brendan. If I had to give any advice to people looking for similar opportunities I’d say networking with bloggers or writers in the field (simply by shooting them emails and telling them you’re fans of their work) is definitely the way to go.
In one of the frustrating moments of learning Spanish abroad!
Is this work 100% remote?
The work is 100% remote with the only stipulation that I check-in via emails regularly and take the occasional Skype call.
Are there good opportunities for travel writers at companies like Gap Daemon and Vagabundo?
Both these publications have great opportunities for travel writers looking to make a break in the field. Unlike other sites of a similar nature, Vagabundo Magazine and Gap Daemon both pay for good content from decent travel writers. Granted you won’t make anything near as much as you would writing for national papers or magazines but it’s still a great way to start.
If you’re interested in writing for the Gap Daemon blog I’d suggest thinking carefully about what you can offer and then pitching to chief editor Nadia. You can get in contact with her via Twitter.
The process is similar with Vagabundo. Check out the site, familiarise yourself with the content then have a read of the contributors guidelines.
Why do you work for other companies rather than focusing on your own sites?
That’s a really good question but one that’s easily answered by saying that I’m still very much a beginner and new to this world. Working with people like Gap Daemon and Vagabundo gives me a very solid start (not to mention great contacts) and also two solid online brands behind that of my own name.
Working with these sites also reinforces just how great it is to be part of a team. That’s a feeling I often miss running my own independent project!
Please tell us about your search engine optimization services
SEO is new to me but something that I’m growing increasingly passionate about. I learned a lot from my time at Gap Daemon but have explored it more over the past few months, thanks largely to communities like Sean Ogle’s Location Rebel.
Right now I work primarily as a SEO writer, freelancing with SEO companies who outsource this type of work. For these firms I generally write on a whole host of topics, which can range from anything like telecommunications, to business agents to real estate dealings. Finding work in this field can be tricky (given the competition) but there are plenty of opportunities for people on sites like Elance.
I find most of my work based on referrals from previous clients or networking. More recently I’ve expressed an interest in moving away from the writing and more into consultancy.
SEO writing: Will's usual expression
Are there good opportunities to do SEO work for small businesses?
I’d say there’s a healthy amount. It’s all about taking action, contacting the types of business you want to work with and telling them what you can do for them. Chances are, if you’ve studied the subject, you’ll know more than most small business owners. The next thing you need to do is to convince them to pay you for it, even if that means doing some unpaid work first!
Can you give some advice for travellers looking to do SEO freelance work?
The first thing you want to do is find other people who are doing it and ask them about it – unfortunately I can’t relay all the details in an interview or it would go on forever! Ask those people if they wouldn’t mind Skyping or something and then take it from there.
I’d suggest starting out by simply reading about the subject and getting a feel for what it’s all about (the learning curve isn’t all that big!). From there I’d find SEO companies, web design firms or small businesses that you like the look or sound of and just start pitching to them.
It needn’t be too hard!
Do you have any advice for aspiring long-term travellers?
The only advice I’d feel qualified to give is make sure it’s your dream and don’t let anything hold you back. You don’t need massive savings, you don’t need specific skills and you don’t need to be that well prepared. All you need to be is a capable person and willing to take a few risks.
Oh and remember to give back by doing interviews such as these!
About Will Peach
Will is one of the site editors over at Gap Daemon, the gap year travel website for backpackers and young travellers. He also works as a freelance SEO writer as well as tackling the subject of what to see in Spain over on his travel site My Spanish Adventure. Follow will on Twitter.
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Ana 
Good stuff. It’s nice to see Will is able to accomplish his dream, while making money on the road.
Having a few projects like this going at once is smart, it mitigates risk and gives you more opportunities for passive income streams.