Want success for your writing career? Here's the key in one word: blog. Of course, there's more to it than that. With millions of blogs online, and thousands of new ones being created every single day, you'll need to think strategically.

Here are some questions to help you.

1. What Do You Want Your Blog to Do?

This is the first and most important question. Answer it, right now, and write the answer down.

Be specific.

For example, don't write:

"I want my blog to make money."

Instead, write something like:

"My blog will educate and train potential clients for my writing services. My clients will self-select themselves, and by ___________ (a date three months from today) I will get five new clients each week directly from my blog."

2. How Will You Attract the Right Prospects To Your Blog?

Although blogging is easy for writers because blogging is writing, your challenge is that you want your blog to achieve a specific goal -- the goal you outlined in our first question, above.

Just as you did for the first question, I want you to write down how you'll attract the right prospects.

Start by thinking about WHO these people are. Many writers fail to do this, so they create a blog about "writing," but writers aren't their prospects.

So for example, if you wanted small businesses to hire you, you'd make your blog attractive to them by offering information which helps them to run their business.

3. What Sales Process Is Made Easy on a Blog?

If you want to achieve success, you'll need to sell on your blog, and your blog shines in one aspect of selling: training and education.

When you train your prospects, they will buy from you, as long as you remember one essential: you must ask them to buy. Please don't assume that because you're a writer, your blog's audience will join the dots, and will ask you to write for them as soon as they see your name... they mostly won't.

Your blog is a wonderful educational tool, but you still need to ask for the sale.