Text around a globe

Okay, so I’ve made a graphic of a spinning Earth. I want some text to spin around the equator of it, with the letters facing the camera. I’ve found several methods, such as converting to a mesh and then using the warp tool or a curve modifier, but these aren’t all that flexible, given that the text has to be converted. Oh, and the TextOnCurve thing doesn’t seem to be able to curve the text in the way I want.

I would like to know of any methods to curve the text as I have described, and would appreciate any help. Thanks.