Wheres the $ in blogging?

Have you ever paused in the middle of a post and wondered how you could turn your new hobby into a career? And, even if you could, how much could you really expect to get paid?

I know I have.

To start, how much do the "top tier" bloggers make?

I found some good figures in an article titled How Much Do Top Tier Bloggers and Social Media Consultants Get Paid? We Asked Them! written by Marshall Kirkpatrick on ReadWriteWeb.com that lists the average per post payment as $25.

$25 per post... Kirkpatrick estimates taking on two clients and averaging three posts per day for each client will net you about 40k a year. I know to me, 40k doesn't sound like much for a "top tier" blogger. Now I don't intend to sound greedy, but personally, I think bloggers who are turly capable of generating ROI for their customers deserve more than 40k.

Apparently, the real money for professional bloggers stems from consulting. These consultants reported their average rate from as low as $150 per hour to as high as $300 per hour. Down side..... these professionals have to work their asses off to preserve current clients and pusruit new ones, an especially difficult task during the current (budget slashing) economy.

I was intrigued by the prospect of making $ by blogging, so I started to look around for some information on how to get started in this field. To my surprise, I came across another article on ReadWriteWeb.com titled Participate in Social Media, Get Money for College about a new social network site called collegeNET.

If your in college and trying to hone your social media skills, this is a great place to start. CollegeNET is a unique forum that is completely supported by advertisers and scholorship sponsors. Students who enter the community are able to post their ideas (on any topic) to be voted on by their peers. The catch... students who host the most popular posts for a given month are awarded college scholarships!

If your a student of social media, or even an average Joe who could use some scholarship money you should check out collegeNET and start make those $$benjamins$$ now.