15 Strategies to Become a Financially Independent Digital Nomad Content Creator

Photography is my passion and this is my paintbrush. I would do it even if nobody was paying me, which is currently the case. Yeah, I don’t know, just took some selfies, a bunch of girls said I was hot, started posting some TikTok dances, and uh, the rest is history. No way I’m getting exposure in exchange for a post now. Luckily, you don’t need to live in your parents’ basement to get by as a content creator, and you definitely don’t need to post TikTok dances.

How do you start this thing? Today, I’m going to show you how to become financially independent as a digital nomad content creator. These are the 15 strategies, tips, and secrets with no BS that will allow you to do this right at the end of this video, and I’ll also take you through an entire month of client shoots as I take you through Saudi Arabia, Dubai, and now Jamaica.

Before we jump into the 15 strategies, I just want to say for those of you that don’t know who I am, my name is Christian, and at the age of 21 years old, I realized I didn’t want to be an accountant. And even though I had no skill as a creator, I was going to find a way to make it work. Through five years of trial and error, this has been the product: Lost LeBlanc, the channel you watch here, as well as building my second seven-figure business, which was my creator academy known as Lost Creator Academy. So if you’re wondering why should you listen to this guy, it’s because I’ve been in your shoes. I’ve been at the very beginning with no one there to help me, and I’ve learned through trial and error how you can do the exact same. So let’s get straight into it after a quick flight.

Niche Down

With every client comes a brand new office. This has to be one of my favorite ones yet, but let’s get right into it. You must niche down. This has never been made more apparent to me than after my last visit to VidSummit just a week ago, where I learned that there are content creators with 2,000 subscribers having $60,000 product launches. You don’t need millions of followers or subscribers to make a great living out of this.

Why Niching Down Works

I think a lot of people fall into the trap of thinking, “I need to go for a big subject. I need to go for all of travel and I need to apply to the entire English-speaking market,” when maybe you would have been better off focusing in on Estonia and speaking in your local language of Estonian. By being a bigger fish in a smaller pond, you may very well have the best chance of standing out from the competition. Certain niches will allow you to be incredibly profitable even with a smaller audience.

Focus on Gear

Now the same can be said for freelancers. Who are you more likely to hire if you’re looking for a wedding videographer? Are you just going to go to the random video house down the street, or are you going to hire the people that do wedding video work well? Odds are pretty good we’re going to trust the specialist. That’s why it’s great for you, whether you’re a freelancer or a content creator, to create your niche and start on that today. Don’t be afraid that you’re going to get stuck there because you’re able to pivot and shift once you build that initial community, but this is the best place to start, especially when in 2021 there are millions of YouTube channels, but there’s only one of you. So make sure you have your niche.

Essential Gear

Now let’s talk about gear. You’re not here watching me right now because this is being recorded on a $5,000 camera setup. I would argue that if I filmed it on this, you’d still be watching. These phones, from Android to iPhone, are coming out with such high-performing cameras. The only downfall of a phone is going to be the audio quality. If you already have a high-quality phone camera, then the next investment is getting yourself a microphone. Pair these two things together and you are ready to start your YouTube channel, your Instagram page, and your TikTok.

There’s almost been an entire 180 of people pushing back from this over-refined content. If there’s one word I can put it to, it’s people want real. In 2018, it was all about the “look at me,” it was all about the fart content. Did you really just say that? I just said that. What does it mean, Chris? Fart content means around, relax, travel. Always good to have an industry expert.

Become a Master in Content

It’s become more important than ever before to not lean in on the high-quality camera and lenses, but rather to ask yourself, what is the story or concept that you’re leaning into? If you’re doing short form, just use your phone. If you’re doing long form, just get yourself that microphone upgrade. The barrier to entry has never ever been so low.

Learning and Improving

Now a lot of us may look to our favorite content creators and think that they just got there by luck. They posted that one video and everything just took off from there. But the truth is, most of us, including myself, had to start here: Hello and welcome to my channel. This is how most of us start, by taking a swing and an absolute miss, and then doing it a hundred more times. And the best part of all of this is that if you go to all of our YouTube channels and search by oldest video, you can actually look at our track record. You can see for yourself, in some regard, our progression mixtape, how we made this journey happen. It’s like a giant tutorial on how to improve as a content creator.

Now fast forward that. If you start watching the newest content from some of your favorite content creators, you should study it. How do they do their call to action? How do they end their video? It might not always seem on the surface like there’s something deep going on behind the scenes, but in reality, a lot of us have formulas. A lot of us have developed systems through trial and error. Don’t get me wrong, you’re going to have to go out there and make your first video like I did, but ultimately you can skip a lot of the learning curve by trying to understand what the people you follow are doing and surrounding yourself with content creators that help you get further ahead faster.

Retrain Your Mind

Now the last thing I want to neatly tie into this is that it’s not just about the technical; it’s also about the creative. When you have content that makes people feel, then they are far more likely to come back to watch your content again, and they’re far more likely to watch through the entire video. A successful content creator has to understand the balance between the science and the creative, and when you bring it all together, it will be you one day that others are studying.

Overcoming Self-Doubt

If I were to ask you to share your daily life, you’d probably say, but why would I do that? I’m not interesting enough. I work a nine-to-five job. My life is mostly inside of these four walls. This is the most common pitfall that a content creator will fall into, that is, believing that their story is not good enough to be shared. And this is where we have to start by unleashing our mind and not asking ourselves, how is our life more interesting than someone else’s, but how are we going to share it in a way that allows for others to connect?

You may think your life is a little too dull right now, but if you’re waiting for the perfect day to make the content, you’re missing the point. The point is to get started today and to relate with people. Be vulnerable. Be honest. You can share the financial struggles you’re dealing with. You can share the fact that you’re trying to escape the nine to five. I bet you that alone has been enough to relate to probably 90 percent of you guys.

This was the early message of Lost LeBlanc, a broke backpacker that didn’t know what he was doing. There was a while where I was documenting my life of quitting my nine to five, working at a Best Buy, setting it up, doing construction-type labor jobs so that I could make a little bit of pocket money to invest in my business. It was incredibly relatable. The difference between you and your favorite content creator likely isn’t actually all that much. The real difference here is that they have been extremely willing to share where you have probably kept your life private. If you’re willing to open up a little bit, make yourself vulnerable for a split moment in time, you will be so grateful that you did it.

By opening up my life, it gave me confidence, it gave me opportunity, and now I get to help others. And that’s honestly the best part of all of this. So my challenge for you is if you decide to cook that meal, make a little video about it. If you’re going on a hike this weekend with your friends, bring a camera and document it. Put it on YouTube. Put it on TikTok and see what happens. 2021 is a time where people want raw and real content, so share it with them.

Stand Out

Okay, so we’re just getting started, but I’ve got to go pack my bags because in about an hour and a half, I’ve got a flight heading to my next client project on our way to Dubai right now. And let’s get into the next point, that is, you need to Stand Out. We already talked about the benefit of niching down, but let’s take it a step further. When I say Stand Out, I mean in all aspects of your business. When I try to partner with world-class airlines to get a business seat, I want to make sure that my collaboration request is standing out from the rest.

Creating a Media Kit

Through trial and error, I’ve created templates that in time have increased my closing rate. One of the things that’s made the biggest difference this year is upping my media kit. Everything that you’d need to know in a short couple of pages, now we actually have it on a website. So instead of linking a PDF, we link our website. The reason I do that is because it’s a little bit more professional, but also it’s far easier for me to update. Now, the thing that I’ve really done to step out from the crowd is by working with other businesses around the world. I’ve had many successes, and so the best way to tell other businesses what I can do for them is for other business owners to say, this is what happened when we worked with Lost LeBlanc. In just a couple of days, I’m going to be updating it again and actually including a testimonial video, which is going to take it even that step further. So if you’ve had businesses or partners that you’ve worked with, make sure you’re including that in your media kit because it really shows the brands what you can do for them.

Monetizable Skill

Thank you. Here is the whip and welcome to Dubai.

So we all dream of quitting our job and getting straight into it, just diving into becoming a content creator, living the life on the road. But the reality is we’re going to need a certain level of stability to be able to make a bit of money. We can’t necessarily just cut out that nine to five altogether. And that’s where it all comes down to having a Monetizable Skill. It’s some sort of service that you can do for somebody else to earn some money while being off abroad building your dream business.

Finding Your Skill

Now, if you’re feeling like, “I can’t do that, I don’t have a Monetizable Skill,” I will challenge you because you may very well have one without even knowing it. There’s actually a ton of different jobs that allow people to work as long as they have an internet connection. For me, one of those key skills has been photography and videography. It’s how I was able to earn some money in my early days, even when my videos very clearly looked like they were edited by an accountant. Those early contracts allowed me to earn sometimes $100, sometimes $500, and as I started to develop my skill, my price went up with it.

Doing these things will take up your most valuable resource, and that is your time. Using our weekends to shoot for other people, working late into the night to get those projects finished. But again, most of us will have to do this at the start because if we don’t put money on the table, then how are we going to keep doing what we love? So to bring it back, learn that Monetizable Skill, help solve somebody else’s problems, and all of this will allow you to gain financial stability during this building process without ever having to set foot in an office.

Diversify Income Streams

Another day, another hotel room, and it’s time to pack my suitcase because I’ve got a flight to Saudi Arabia in four hours for another exciting project. But let’s talk about one of the key foundations of building a strong business. You’ve heard the term “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Well, you definitely don’t want to put all of your expectations of earning money on one revenue source. Statistically, the average millionaire actually has seven revenue sources. So let’s talk about some of those sources that will enable you to be able to not only travel the world but be able to earn a great income doing it.

Income Sources

The first off is building that Monetizable Skill, but we’ve been over that. One of the great Income Sources is YouTube AdSense. For every view, I get 55% of the revenue earned on my channel. The other 45% goes to Google. But all that said, if you have a healthy business, this should not be your primary income source. The amount of money I make on Facebook is nominal, but with YouTube AdSense, I’m currently making about maybe 10% of my monthly income. Some creators will have higher CPMs or amounts that they get paid per view than others. In the travel space, with a very international audience like my own, I’m somewhere in the low to mid-tier CPM, whereas people that are doing, like, let’s say, finance reviews, talking about credit cards, they might be literally earning 10 times the amount that I’m earning on a view.

The next step is sponsorships. And as you guys know, I have two separate businesses. On the Lost LeBlanc front, my YouTube channel, this is by far my primary income source up to 2019. Sponsorships are basically how I kept this channel running and was able to earn a healthy profit. For somebody to take up a 60-second ad slot, or what I call an integration, is going to help pay the bills, the travels, the team, and of course, pocket a little bit of profit. But the thing you need to be careful of is just throwing in any sponsorship. I know what it’s like to be an early creator, and when you get that first brand offer, you might be willing to say yes to a brand you’re not particularly excited about. But I would challenge you, especially if you have that Monetizable Skill, it might be better off not to take those short-term wins. And if the brand is not well aligned with your brand and your audience, then do what’s best for your long-term vision. Say no. Find other ways to make money.

Now, while this has been a great income source, there have been many periods of my business where there have been downturns in sponsorships. And this comes back to why it’s so important, guys, to have diversification. Another great income source has been affiliate income. And for me, my number one affiliate income is by far Epidemic Sound. I have earned well into the six figures by sharing one of my favorite services. They are my go-to place to find music for all of my YouTube videos. I have access to tens of thousands of songs and sound effects, and when I use them in my videos, I will never have to worry if my video will be claimed for copyright infringement. I will be able to earn 100% of the income on those videos. And on top of that, I’m able to use music that actually brings my videos to a new level.

Back in 2017, I was finding all my music by going on SoundCloud and searching the internet for music from small and up-and-coming artists. I would say 85% of my old content is all claimed now by these small artists. Now I earn basically zero passive income on my old videos. I have lost time. I have lost tens of thousands of dollars on using independent creators’ music. But then I came across Epidemic Sound, and my life literally got better. When I get paid to make my audience’s life better, that is literally one of the best ways in the world that I can make money.

Another great one has been Amazon, where I can basically link any of the products that I use: from cameras, camera accessories, and even travel gear like a backpack. By putting it in a description link, if somebody clicks on that link and then goes and buys the product, or if they buy the product and add dog food to their cart, you take about 5 to 10% of the revenue earned on that sale. And yes, I’ve literally made money on someone buying dog food.

Now, another great income source for some channels is going to be subscription communities. Most of us will have freely available content on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or YouTube, but not everything needs to be given away for free. Sometimes you can have a paywall set up in front of some of your content. Maybe you’re giving the behind-the-scenes to your channel, or maybe you’re deep diving into some sort of educational content. Well, for that, the most popular platform is Patreon. And basically, what Patreon allows you to do is set up a subscription model where people can pay a certain amount of money per month to get access to that content. And the benefit of subscription models is you