Blogging to the bank

I am not talking about building, promoting or making money from a successful blog. I'll let you know if and when I do that. I'm listing here, and of course blogging about, a few pay per blog post markets, where you can log in everyday, find new topics to blog about, and which pay you anywhere between $2 to $10 per post.

But before I list the markets, and you get all hyped up, a few points you might want to think about if you're considering paid or as it's better known, pro blogging.

1. Google CEO Eric Schmidt, talking about blog readership, says that, as on date, an average of 1 person reads a blog. Just confirms my suspicion that I'm talking to myself, and my visitors are extra-terrrestrials who access google from space.
2. If you look at the financial viability of even the biggest of blogs, it's pretty clear that blogging, as a career, is not the smartest way to put yourself, or your kid, through college or take out a mortgage for that dream house you wanted. At least not the way it is today.
3. And there's a catch. Monetizing your blog or posting comments on a blog which you get paid for is fine. So long as you don't cross the line and post about goods or services which might be misleading or against your own beliefs. And this is where the catch comes in - If you strictly apply this rule, that cuts out nearly 70% of advertisers.

On to the markets:

Get paid to post:

Know More Media - Seriously good gig. Believe me. The guy who manages it is a pro and he knows what he's doing. If you can land yourself a paid blogging position with them, it might keep you busy at least in the near future.
eefoof.com - Based on your content's traffic, you will earn a percentage of eefoof.com's ad revenue! Why am I listing this? Because unlike other adsense monetized networks, this one does not require you to have a topic based blog. You just post hip and cool videos and pics and watch the cents roll in. You won't get rich doing this, but it all adds up.
Craigslist.org - Probably the best way you can find a short term blogging gig. Has blog posters wanted ads almost every week and there's a good chance you'll get at least one of the jobs.
Creative Reporter - Again, you can select a wide variety of blogs, and submit links, articles, or write about anything you want. You won't get money, but you might get traffic to your own blog.

Here's a list of blog networks. How is this list going to help? You go to each network, check if they have any ongoing social welfare program to feed hungry bloggers, and if they're not, then you send them an email asking if they're willing to feed a hungry blogger.

Finding advertisers for your own blog:

ReviewMe.com - Get paid to review services and Web sites that are of interest to your readers, and reap the benefits of conversation with advertisers.
Performancing.com - Performancing Partners offers publishers a new, smart way to get paid for blogging.
PayperPost.com - Get paid for blogging. Write about web sites, products, services, and companies and earn cash for providing your opinion and valuable feedback to advertisers.

And that's besides Google's adsense or the new Yahoo publisher network beta program.

To wrap it up, you can indeed make money blogging. How much and how depends on what you know, what kind of a person you are and how much time you are willing to devote. Blogging is more dependant on your personality than other online businesses or jobs, so this might be a good time to take in some personality development tips.