Blogging is a fast-growing field that offers plenty of freelance opportunities. However, beware of what type of blogging you're doing and how much the client is paying you. Many new freelance bloggers find themselves putting in full-time hours for part-time pay.

Even if you're just starting out, don't accept less than $7-$10 per post. Just because you haven't blogged before doesn't mean you lack valuable, sought-after skills.

If you do have experience, or if you're blogging for a financially-stable company, feel free to charge more. Top bloggers can earn $30-$50 per post and sometimes a share in the company's profits.

What exactly do bloggers do?

On the surface, it's just article writing. The purposes behind blogging are much more elaborate. Companies use blogs with excellent headlines/keywords to drive traffic to their websites. More web traffic means:

1. More customers to buy their products or services.

2. More people to click on their advertising.

It may seem basic, but these two goals mean you need to create posts that aim and appeal to your clients' target markets. The best bloggers are writers who can write newsworthy content that generates a loyal readership and seamlessly (and sneakily!) promotes the company in question.

Who offers freelance blogging jobs?

A few years ago it was difficult to find people to pay you to blog. These days you can find dozens of new ads for bloggers posted each day. Realtors, auto mechanics, health food stores, doctors, door-to-door salesmen… sometimes it can seem like everyone wants a blog of their own.

Freelance blogging jobs are plentiful, no matter the time of year. Check out WritingBids, Online-Writing-Jobs, Elance, Guru, and IFreelance (or just search for "freelance blogging jobs") to find thousands of blogging jobs available to you.

The bad news is that you'll have to sift through the blogging jobs to find quality jobs. Don't accept jobs that pay $1 per post. Don't accept jobs that expect you to write 10 blogs every day, either -- somehow these people want to pay you next to nothing because of the volume of work (why would you get paid less to do more?). They also comment in their ad that they only want "serious, professional writers." Bidding on blogging jobs like these only sends the message that you are neither serious nor professional because if you were, there's no way you'd consider a job like that.

Do I need experience to be a blogger?

If you want clients to pay you as a legitimate blogger, then yes, you need experience. Luckily, it's not hard to get. You can rack up a few of the lower-paying jobs quickly or consider starting your own blog.

If you do start your own blog, make it full of posts that would impress a prospective client (i.e. no posts for your friends about how killer that last party was). If you post boring content with grammar mistakes, no one will want to hire you. Do your best to create content that drives traffic to your site; this way, you can show clients how good you are at writing what people want to read.

What's the best way to respond to an ad?

Let's say you come across an ad that says this:

I am a successful travel agent looking for a blog writer. I need someone with experience to write interesting posts that pertain to my business -- you can choose specific topics yourself. I need one post a day.

To craft the best response possible, follow these 4 steps:

1. Briefly introduce yourself as experienced and interested.

2. Explain how your posts will drive traffic to their site.

3. Suggest a couple of topics to show you're in sync with the client.

4. Include links to your best blog posts.

Using the ad above as an example, you'd want to:

1. Introduce yourself and express interest in the project and the travel industry in general.

2. Say something like: "I will tailor my posts with specific keywords to make you more visible to potential customers."

3. Suggest topics such as "What to pack for Alaska" or "3 Unique Things To Do In Barbados."

4. Include links to your best existing posts, especially any posts related to travel.

You'll have your first (well-paying) client before you know it. Happy blogging!