Can't live with them, can't live without them. We all know we need to market online, but few know how to do so effectively. Instead, too many times, companies and agencies sink big bucks into a slick home page, only to find out they've traded hundreds of thousands of dollars for a URL that might as well be in the loneliest, rockiest and coldest mountaintop outpost in east Afghanistan.

There is a solution. It may surprise you. The #1 fix for many websites, arguably the most modern form of communication, is actually the most ancient.  What modern websites lack most is the human touch. They need soul. Yes, I said, SOUL.

Now, what does “soul” have to do with a dot com, “com” as in “commercial” and “communication?” Aren’t we talking about digital bytes accessed by a server and transmitted to computers, mobile devices, etc.  Isn’t that really about machines to machines? Isn’t that just electronics?

Nope. Today, with all the digital clutter and rivalries, soul matters more than ever. If you want to be noticed, have people join your mission and buy your product, there’s really only one thing that sets you apart and that is soul. Soul doesn’t mean you have to be touchy feely, or preachy. It does mean, in some way, your website must appear to care about its viewers and their needs.

A lot of those expensive websites that people bypass in seconds; lack warmth. They don’t indicate what the company culture is like. They are doomed by “committee-speak,” and bureaucratese.  Sometimes this is in a misguided effort not to offend anyone. Sometimes people aren’t clear on their message. Or they have relied on “one-size-fits-all” press releases.

Whatever reason for this kiss of death, if it your website lacks personality, a point of view and appears untouched by human hands—visitors will bounce. Even decent graphics won’t make up for the emptiness.

Sole to Soul

Be it filming a movie or chiseling hieroglyphs on stone or tweeting, the medium isn’t the issue. Human nature is.  And psychologically we haven’t changed much. What attracts people most are other PEOPLE. We want to see websites which reflect their owners’ individual and unique values and characteristics.

Yes, you’re online. And your purpose is to make money. (Or raise money, if you’re a charity.)

But without photos; a company story; sincere, direct style in plain English, and most of all, a clear, distinct, point of view, all that money you’ve spent isn’t going to get you to Internet heaven.

Let’s hear it for our websites’ immortal souls.

Amen.