Blogs are a phenomenon. Although many "A-list" bloggers have been publishing for years and have built up strong audiences, it's only in the past couple of years that blogs have become mainstream.

Let's get definitions out of the way. What's a blog? A blog is just a Web site in which the site's pages are (usually) published in chronological order. Blogs are based on templates, and have a simple navigational structure, based on chronology, and on categories.

The major benefit of a blog is that it's instant. If I want to post a message to a blog, I can do it in seconds. Contrast the "instant" nature of a blog with publishing in a newspaper or a magazine. The other major benefit of a blog is that it can be free.

How to Get a Blog Job

Top blogs are usually written by a group, rather than by a single individual, because high-traffic blogs are updated several times a day. This means that many, many blog jobs are available. All you have to do is look for them.

However, before you start looking, create your own small blog first. Anyone who hires you will want to know that you understand the nature of blogging.

Your blog should be in an area in which you want to be hired to blog. For example, if you have experience in health topics, then create a blog on a health topic. Or perhaps you enjoy celebrity gossip. This is a very popular topic in blogging, as it is in magazines, so create a celebrity gossip blog.

With your own small blog created, it's time to find blog jobs. Yes, that's plural. Most professional bloggers blog for a stable of blogs. Several colleagues blog for ten to 20 blogs. One friend blogs for many businesses. At last count, he was blogging for 30 blogs, and making an extraordinary income.

There are many ways you can find blogs jobs. The most common way is to approach a business which as a Web site, but which doesn't have a blog, and to propose a blog to them. If you're new to blogging, you may find this approach a little intimidating, so let's look at other ways suitable for new bloggers.

Here are three ways:

1. Use the out-sourcing sites

There are dozens of out-sourcing sites, and you'll find blog jobs advertised there. Bid on projects, but don't under-price your services. All writing takes time, and if you under-bid, you'll be too busy blogging to look for better paying blog jobs. So bid a sensible amount. Genuine buyers will hire you.

2. Approach other bloggers

Another easy way to get blog jobs is to approach other bloggers. This is simple and it works, but although I've been blogging since 2001, I'm rarely approached. Maybe such a simple solution doesn't occur to people.

Since businesses who want to hire bloggers do approach me, I'm happy to make introductions, as are all bloggers.

So politely approach bloggers, and ask that they keep you in mind to recommend for blog jobs.

3. Advertise your availability on your own site

Please remember to advertise your availability on your own site. Again, this method is so simple that it's often overlooked. I've lost count of the numbers of blogs I've seen of people I know are looking for blog jobs - but there's no mention of this on their own blogs.

So go and get some blog jobs - they're widely available, they're fun, and they're profitable too.