Right now Jasmine is in Tobago and says her blog nets her $1,000 a month

I’m sitting in a hotel room on the stunning island of Tobago. I pull back the curtains, and sunlight floods my room—it’s a perfect day. From my window, the ocean’s blue competes with the immaculately manicured gardens for my attention. I’ll spend my day taking a glass bottom boat tour over Buccoo Reef and splashing around in the Nylon Pool, a shallow slice of water just a couple of feet deep in the middle of the ocean. Later, I’ll eat a late lunch on my beach chair, work on my tan, and watch the sun set on the perfectly calm waters. Just a typical day at the “office.”

It’s hard to believe, but the travel blog I first started in 2007 as a way to keep my family, friends and co-workers updated now nets me at least $1,000 a month, allowing me to travel and spend time in amazing places all over the world. Just in the last year, I’ve been to Colombia, Ecuador, Trinidad and Tobago, and my next stop may be Mexico or Argentina… I haven’t decided yet.

I first started blogging four years ago. At first, I treated my blog as a diary, uploading the occasional photo and writing about my day-to-day life in New Zealand. After eight months there, I went to Australia. Money was tight and when my domain and hosting plan came up for renewal at a cost of $70, I let the blog go. But after travelling around Southeast Asia and taking a quick trip to Italy, I decided to start up a blog again. With a couple of years of travel under my belt, I felt I had a lot to offer the world. So I started documenting my travels at JasmineWanders.com.

I never really considered monetizing my blog until the first advertiser contacted me. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. I knew nothing about blog advertising and accepted a sucker’s rate that’s four times less than what I charge now. I’ve realized over time just how lucrative blogging can be. By putting in the time and effort it can more than pay for my travels. Here are some tips to getting started.

Research: I won’t deny it—blogging is easiest for a web-savvy writer. However, if you have your computer-challenged heart set on making your mark (and money) in cyberspace, it is possible. Start by spending several hours familiarizing yourself with “Google” vocabulary and strategy. You’ll want to find out about SEO (search engine optimization), link-building techniques, WordPress, and PR (that stands for page rank). Arguably the best overall resource for new bloggers is Problogger.net. And Copyblogger.com is also extremely helpful.

Find a Niche: The travel-blogging community is saturated. However, all of us offer a little something special and cater to a certain audience. Are you travelling with a family? Are you a retired couple living off of social security or a pension? Maybe you enjoy hiking, local cuisine, or birding? Whatever your interests or travel style may be, there’s a niche for that. Choosing a smaller niche will improve your chances of attracting a dedicated audience and advertisers, as well as establishing your voice on the Internet.

Write Solid, Evergreen Content: When you sit down to write articles (called posts) for your blog, ask yourself, “Why would someone (other than my mom) want to read this?” Providing value is one of the best ways to attract attention to your blog. Do you know the best place to get Chinese food in Panama? Are you an expert on dodging tourist scams? Can you recommend the best off-the-beaten path places to surf? This kind of knowledge is useful and visitors will appreciate it. You’ll soon start to establish yourself as a trustworthy, knowledgeable source, which will keep readers loyal and bring more to your site.

Headlines can Make or Break your Article: Which article would you click on: Shopping in Guadalajara or 5 Secret Spots to Buy Cheap Souvenirs in Guadalajara? Even if you’re an amazing writer and produce extremely helpful content, no one will read it if the headline doesn’t grab their attention. Most Internet users spend mere seconds on each website they visit, so there is little time to make a good impression.

Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon, Oh My! The vast majority of popular bloggers in every field also dominate in social media. They have thousands of Twitter followers, an active Facebook fan page, use StumbleUpon religiously, and will conquer Google +1 before anyone else. It’s a good idea to pick a few social networking sites to focus on and read best-practice articles and case studies before you get started. Mashable.com is an excellent source.

Help Others to Help Yourself: The great thing about the blogosphere is that there is room for everyone. One of the most important parts of blogging is getting to know people in your industry, both veterans and new bloggers alike. The easiest way to do this is to connect with them on Twitter. Though it may sound counterintuitive, promoting others in your field via social media is a great way to have your own work promoted as well. Connecting with others in your industry is a wise idea as you build a network you can rely on for advice.

Show me the Money: There are tons of ways to monetize your blog, some of which are more kosher than others. Google Adsense is a system in which website visitors click on ads placed on your site, and you receive a set fee for each click. You can also take the affiliate route, where you write a review of a product or place banners on your site and receive a percentage of each sale that is made after a customer clicks on your link. There are also advertisers who pay to place some form of advertising on your site for a set or a monthly fee.

Getting advertisers on your site in the beginning is a bit tricky. You’ll likely be contacted first, though you could try to get in touch with specific companies you’d be interested in featuring or get contacts from a blogging buddy. Before accepting paid advertisement, you should review Google’s Webmaster Guidelines on the subject to ensure you won’t be violating any rules. One of the leading resources for blog monetizing is Pat from SmartPassiveIncome.com. And Viperchill.com is a useful source, too.

See here for more on making money writing for the web.

Editor’s Note: This article was taken from a past issue of International Living’s monthly magazine. To get full access to all past and future articles and to receive the magazine in the mail or online each month, you can subscribe here.

Read more articles from our sample issue here.