C.C. Chapman:

Too many people write for the hope of eyeballs. They forget to let their thoughts flow and share a part of their soul. They depend on bulleted lists and eye popping headlines to bring in readers. They write because they feel they have to, rather than actually having something to say. When all else fails they make a list or go to the link baiting pond in the hopes of stirring up attention.

This little gem came up about halfway into C.C.'s post today marking the start of his 11th year of blogging. It really struck a chord with me because I think this is a trap that too many bloggers - especially new ones - fall into.

I know I have.

They want so badly to have someone read what they write, to validate their efforts, that they start to write for people's eyeballs. They want to get as many eyeballs to see their stuff as they can in hopes that it will lead to more eyeballs.

The trouble is, that rarely works. Writing for eyeballs will just make you part of the noise out there on the internet. It will leave your posts in the ditch as people go racing down the "information superhighway" (haven't heard that one in a while!).

If you want to earn readers (and the eyeballs that come with them) that keep coming back, don't write for their eyes, write for their heart. The rest of them will follow.