It's a question that I hear a lot.  Or rather, I hear 'How do you make money blogging?' as a response from friends and acquaintances when I tell them what I do for a living.  The question generally follows on from a conversation where I explain that being a writer doesn't mean that I am a best-selling author.  They always seem to look disappointed after the next explanation ofcopywriting, slightly more impressed at my magazine clips, and then the 'blogging' bit baffles them again.

Complete confusion, however, is a better state of mind than total delusion, which unfortunately many new writers suffer from when it comes to the idea of blogging for money.  It is from these newbie writers that I hear 'How do I earn money blogging?'

So let me try to demystify the concept of a professional blogger and put some common myths to bed.

Being a professional blogger is not the same as making money from your own blog, although many writers run their own independent blog side-projects for extra exposure and income. 

As a professional blogger-for-hire, a client pays you to write short articles (known as posts, for the totally uninitiated) for their blog.  In the best case scenario you earn a set fee per word or per article; in less optimal conditions you might be offered a share of advertising revenue based on the popularity of the article.  Bloggers may write one off articles, a series or be given a regular column.  Writers who contribute on a regular basis are often known as staff bloggers, as they perform an important function for a company without actually being hired as an employee. 

With almost every company with an online presence now running a blog there are many opportunities for paid blogging work.  Online stores want to tell customers about their latest products; travel sites want reviews; corporate blogs want informative pieces and media companies need up to date stories about a range of lifestyle and entertainment topics.  Throw in all of the independent start up blogs who have a thirst for fresh content to fill their site and you can see why this market continues to grow.

The second option is to make money from running your own blog.  This, however, requires more than just writing skill.  In order to make real money from your blog you will need to do some extensive research, have a good grasp of issues such asSEO and even have a basic understanding of technical elements such as HTML, PHP and MYSQL.  Marketing savvy and an knack for PR won't hurt either and a solid business plan is a must if you want to do things right.  You will need to put in long hours tweaking your template, creating valuable content, building keyword lists, securing link exchanges and discovering which money making techniques will work best for your site.  And you will need patience.  Buckets and buckets of patience. 

You won't become the next John Cow or Darren Rowse overnight, but if you enjoy writing short articles and researching a variety of new subjects, then maybe blogging is for you.  (Check back soon for my series on the six top ways to monetize your blog, or follow me on Twitter for updates.)

I know the next question that you are dying to ask is 'How much can I earn blogging?'  That one, my friends, I am not going to touch.  There are pages and pages of debates across theinternet discussing how much writers should be paid, but at the end of the day only you can decide what you want to earn, and what your time and talents are worth.