As a professional blogger, the question I get the most (after “Oh, that's an actual job?”) is how to become one. Well, gather around, because I'm about to tell you all about a glamorous world of sore shoulders and arms, hatred of unread Google Reader items and moderating comments.

The dream everyone has is to write a personal blog or a blog about something you love and “monetize” it, or make the blog profitable. The likelihood of this happening is very, very slim. Don't believe the hundreds of blogs that tell you that you're going to make millions off Google Adsense and affiliate marketing. You're not, and most of you will give up before you get close to making that first $100 payout. Even extremely successful blogs with large followings may actually be making a very small amount of money that just goes back into the blog: paying for designers, paying hosting or paying contributers.

The reason is despite all the hype about how we sit in our pajamas and go to Whole Foods in the middle of the day, this is a job that requires constant hustling and most people don't have it in them. Even succesfully monetized personal blogs like Dooce, Gala Darling's Icing, or Darren Rowse's Pro Blogger require constant up keep to keep the visitors coming and the income flowing.

And not only do you have to have a huge audience with compelling content to make money, you also have to be a business person and understand how to negotiate advertising on your blog. Or have the money to hire someone to do this for you. Before you decide you want to take the world by storm with your personal blog, ask yourself: are you ready to be an entrepeneur?

The other side of the coin and the most common style of professional blogging is to write for someone else's blog (for example, TechCrunch, Mashable) or for a blog network (Shiny Media, Gawker, Weblogs, Inc., or b5media where I write) .

The biggest advantage to blogging for these sites is not having to worry about negotiating advertising, hiring a designer, or keeping the back end of the website running. Even more importantly, bloggers have the support of editors and it is much easier to get PR contacts and industry contacts when you are writing for a big network versus your own small blog.

Now, the money. Obviously if you are looking to monetize your own blog, the pay will vary by what kind of advertising you are using. When you write for others, there are essentially three models: per post (can be as low as $1, but standard is about $15-$20), per thousand pageviews (generally $2-4, although I've also seen as low as .1 cent) or with a monthly base pay with bonuses.

There are instances of bloggers with normal salaried pay (the Sugar network is one), but those are rare (as far as I've seen). It's no surprise most bloggers supplement their income by writing for multiple blogs, other freelance writing or getting a part time job.

So, the question is, why do this? I can only answer for myself and I can say that I love working as a blogger because I love this medium and it's a way for me to write constantly. I spent years in jobs I hated, in industries that were not right for me, and this is where I am happiest. I can't imagine how hard it would have been to have gotten a job as a writer if blogs didn't exist.

The tiny amount of money I make a month always gives me a thrill because I'm doing what I've wanted to do for as long as I can remember – be a writer. If writing has chosen you, this isn't a bad option. But, go into it with your eyes wide open and be ready to work hard. If you don't love this, it is not for you.

Image via ICanHasCheezburger