Monthly Archive for July, 2008

“The Power of Back to School As A New Marketing Event”

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 28, 2008
in Uncategorized
. 0 Comments

The Power of Back to School As A New Marketing Event

Everyone knows that Easter and Christmas are considered the two most strategic times of year to attract people to your church.

Most Churches don’t realize that there is yet one more key time of the year for bringing new people into their congregation.

When is this special season? It’s “Back to School”. And if you’re not marketing to your community at this time of year, you are missing out on potential guests you could reach at this critical time.

What makes this such a great time to market your church?

1. People move more in the summer months.
More people move during the summer months than in any other time of year. After a move, people are looking for places to shop, eat, go to the doctor and oftentimes they are looking for a church. They want to get to know people in their community. A church can provide a great way to meet new neighbors and assimilate into a new community

2. People who come to church in the Fall are more likely to “stick.”
Every year pastors are frustrated by the masses of people who show up for Easter and Christmas only to continue their previous habit of non-attendance. People have been conditioned to go to church during these times. During ‘back to school” people are prompted to attend church as a lifestyle choice more than as a one time event. Since the people are not focused on a one-time event they are more likely to return than those who only attend during those other times of year.

3. Fall has become the 2nd New Year Season
Summer months are filled with different activities, vacations and changes in family schedules. Once Fall comes around, people return to a more consistent program. Many people take this time to refocus their lives and oftentimes – that includes finding a church home.

4. People often re-evaluate their Church commitments
While you no doubt want to be a church who cultivates new members from the unchurched crowd, there is an opportunity to attract new visitors that may have become less interested with their previous church after being out of church all summer.

After being away from church all summer, some people will be in the market to try out a new church when the fall season rolls around. This can be a great opportunity to attract them to your church with a “life applicable” sermon series.

Call us - and take advantage of the season now .

If you want to take advantage of this once a year event, you must seize this time now. Plan a new sermon series to begin with the start of school. Focus on topics relating to parenting, family, and new beginnings. These tie in well with this time of year and are hot topics for reaching new people. Create new small groups to enhance the connection of new people. If people can connect with others in your church they are much more likely to stay involved.

We would love to help you with your individual needs. Our web site contains many resources to assist you with your marketing program including samples and demographic counts. Call us if you would like to talk to someone about your marketing needs.

 

“At nation’s churches, guys are few in the pews”

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 25, 2008
in Church Growth
. 0 Comments
By Cathy Lynn Grossman, USA TODAY
Churches nationwide are fretting and sweating to reel men into their sanctuaries on Sundays.

Women outnumber men in attendance in every major Christian denomination, and they are 20% to 25% more likely to attend worship at least weekly.

Although every soul matters, many pastors say they need to power up on reaching men if the next generation of believers, the children, will find the way to faith. So hundreds of churches are going for a “guy church” vibe, programming for a stereotypical man’s man.

“I hear about it everywhere I go,” says Brandon O’Brien, who detailed the evolution of the chest-thumping evangelism trend this spring in Christianity Today.

Read More……………………………………

Link to Full Article by USA Today

“Church Advertising 101″

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 24, 2008
in Church Advertising, Church Growth, Pastor Testimonials and Uncategorized
. 1 Comment

Church Advertising 101

By John Squiric
Church Marketing Expert

There really are only 4 reasons why people don’t buy a particular product or service.

No Need
No Money
No Time
No Trust - They don’t believe it will do what they say it will.

Savvy marketing, advertising, and sales people will address these up front in the 4 steps of the marketing process.

Translated into relevance for your church, they change slightly, but the overall ideas are the same

No Need - They don’t see a need for Church. They don’t see how the Church can help them, their families, children, marriage, etc.

No Money - Most people often times feel the church is going to ask them for money, or they feel guilty when the offering plate is passed around. When we use marketing to reach people, we are dealing mostly with non-believers. They don’t understand the benefits of tithing, and they feel they just don’t have the extra money to give to the Church.

No Time - Most non-believers would rather do just about anything else on Sunday then get out of bed, gather up the children and come to church on a Sunday morning.

No Trust - They either flat out don’t believe in the Gospel, or they feel that there may be an underlying reason for a Church inviting them to attend on a given Sunday.

When we use the  marketing process correctly we  address these issue in a systematic 4 step process.

The first job of marketing is to CAPTURE your ATTENTION: In order to offer, explain, help, or solve a problem you must gain the attention of your audience. If you don’t do this first step you fail the process.  A common misconception in our society is that “Sex Sells”. Actually sex, gets peoples attention.  Have you ever wondered why you keep seeing commercials pushing the limits of censorship with risqué and often times even violent images? It is because as a society we have become de-sensitized to the point that advertisers and marketers must continue to up the shock value to get our attention.  From the perspective of the Church, we can’t use sex and violence but we can use appropriate graphics, and strong headlines to capture peoples attention.  See the example on the next page of an attention getting headline.

The second job of marketing is to ENGAGE its audience: Engaging the audience just means keeping the attention of the audience long enough to educate them on what a particular product or service has to offer them. We do this with an appropriate action step, sub-headline: See the example below of an appropriate engaging sub-headline.

The third job of marketing is to EDUCATE its audience: This is where they tell you all the benefits of how their product is guaranteed to make your life better. They establish “the need”. You might not of thought you needed the product 60 seconds ago, but now that they had the chance to educate you, how can you live without it. If they didn’t get your attention and keep your attention, they weren’t able to establish a need. In order to do this with your church we need to list the great things you offer, your music, kids programs, your special classes or groups you offer,  etc. Also we need to list out the sermon series topics if we are running a series. Show them just how your church will make their marriages better, their kids better behaved, how you can get them out of debt, etc.

The fourth job of marketing is to MAKE you an OFFER: This is when they tell you what to do. “Buy Now”, “Call Today”,  by this point they got you. If they captured your attention and  engaged you correctly, they had the  chance to educate you and create a need for their product. If you listened to all the great things their product will do for you than you’re ready to bite. If the price is right chances are you will buy. With the Church, don’t neglect the opportunity to use a personal invitation from the pastor to invite them to church on Sunday.

Below is a recent highly successful church mailer designed, printed and mailed by Truth Advertising, that effectively uses  the 4 steps of the marketing process.

Step #1: Capture The Audience Attention.
Strong Headline: Make Your New Year’s Resolution a Reality This Year - Also an attention getting graphic

Step #2: Engage the Reader
Action Sub-Headline: 6 Strategies for Overcoming Temptation in 2006

Step #3: Educate the Reader.
Here is what we offer. Here is what we believe. Here is how we are going to help you.

Step #4: Make them an offer, tell them what to do.
I am Pastor Ryan Heller and I would like to personally invite you to join us this Sunday…

Marketing for Churches should not be a guessing game. You should use the science of well thought out steps that when implemented correctly
produce the desired results.

 

“10 Secrets of Church Marketing”

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 24, 2008
in Church Marketing
. 0 Comments

About Church Advertising
10 Advertising Secrets Every Church Needs

Written By: Bill Squiric, successful advertising executive and church advertising expert.

Make your advertising work harder and bring more people to your church.

That’s what you want, right? I can help you. Even if you never entrust me with your advertising needs, I want to share with you 10 advertising secrets you can use to get better advertising results for your church from your next ad.

Secret #1
People get saved only for selfish reasons.

I realize this sounds a little cynical but really… who do you know who ever got saved because of an altruistic motive? Okay, times up.

If then people only get saved because they have a need, a want, some problem, or some fear, then you should show them, right in your ad, how you and your church can help them get what they want.

I’m not talking about the prosperity gospel here. I am talking about better marriages, stronger kids, closer relationships, fellowship with God, a sense of meaning and purpose – things like that! Your Church most likely does that for people all the time. Let the people who are reading your ads know this and more people will respond to your message.

God will turn them into altruistic thinkers after they come and get saved!

Secret #2
Determine who you are trying to reach before you write a word of advertising copy.

The pastorate is littered with examples of failed outreach attempts primarily due to the fact that the “outreacher” didn’t understand, couldn’t relate to, and wasn’t anything like, the “outreachee”.

Being able to understand and communicate, on their level, with the people who will be reading your ads is vital to your success.

Age, education, income level, family status, religious background - all are important variables you must take into account when writing your ad copy. You must speak your reader’s language if you expect them to read what it is you have to say and then respond to it.

Also important is understanding the “Buyer’s Box” principle which simply states that at any given time in a large group of people, a certain number of those people will be ready to make a buying decision for whatever product it is you wish to sell.

For instance, if I’m selling mattresses, I can count on the fact that at any given time there is a group of people out there who are looking to purchase a mattress and will respond to the next ad I send them. They may have seen my ad tons of times before but because they were not interested in buying a mattress at that time, they really took little notice. But now that their back is sore and their wife is complaining of lost sleep, they are ready to get with the program and will devour any mattress ad they run across.

In our context, God and The Holy Spirit are continually at work softening people up and making them receptive to His calling - oftentimes by painful experience.

That’s why savvy churches continually promote various “felt needs” message series with great success. They know there always is going to be a certain number of people in a “spiritual buyers box” looking for help with their marriage or their kids or their careers. And these churches realize that group is continually changing so they can go back to those successful boxes, season after season.

Capture those lost souls for Christ by speaking to them and their needs.

Secret #3
Every ad you write must have a strong headline
that captures the interest of your target audience.

“The wickedest of all sins is to run an advertisement without a headline”. That’s a direct quote from David Olgilvy, often considered the father of modern day advertising, and I couldn’t agree with him more.

Yes, in light of the big eternal picture that may be overstating things a bit. But, when it comes to the world of advertising, truer words have never been spoken.

Never, ever place an ad in any medium unless the headline used has the potential to stop a reader in their tracks and cause them to say “Yes, that’s for me.” “I can see a benefit in what you’re trying to speak to me about and I know this ad is for me”.

The headline is the gateway into your ad. Without its power to draw people deeper into your ad, people won’t waste their time trying to figure out if there’s something of value in there for them. They’re too busy and have too many other things clamoring for their attention.
Please, don’t spend your church’s hard-earned money on any ad and allow the graphic designers to neglect this non-negotiable rule.

Secret #4
The more you tell, the more you will sell. Ad copy sells. Use more words.

Inexperienced advertisers tend to shy away from using lots of words in their ads. They think people won’t read it.

Big mistake. Don’t be afraid to use lots of advertising copy in your next ad - if it’s written from a WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) perspective.

Think about this with me. We are trying to reach the unchurched. Obviously, for some reason they have not previously been motivated to come and visit yours or probably any other church lately.

Now, imagine if you were speaking to an unchurched person, one on one. What would you say to try to convince them to change their habits and decide to visit your church? Do you think one or two simple sentences would do the trick? Would you speak to them for only for a minute or so?

If they gave you the freedom to do so, wouldn’t you much rather go into compelling detail after detail about your church and what it has to offer them? How much more convincing could you be then?

Listen, people like to read. Just walk bye any newsstand or visit any library or book store. Reading is a multi-billion dollar industry for a reason.

The problem is that most church ads I see are very boring and self-serving. The church drones on about this program and that ministry. “We have this, we have that”. Who cares? Certainly most readers don’t and that’s why there’s a major disconnect and your ad does not work.

Instead, write your ad and describe your church from the reader’s perspective. Write to their interests, appeal to their emotions and tell them how what you have to offer can help them get what they want.

Lots of ad copy will help you accomplish that.

Secret #5
Don’t over-estimate the importance of slick graphics and artwork. Copy is King!

Yes, it’s nice to have a pretty logo and photos can help paint a picture in the reader’s mind about what it is you’re trying to convey. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that great art can be a substitute for applying these secrets.

It can’t.

Words will sell your story better than pictures 9 times out of 10. The goal should not be to simply create an image and just let the community know you are there. Leave that for McDonalds and all the slick Madison Ave. agency types out there whose existence does not depend on writing an ad that must get people to respond.

Your ad must work- don’t settle!

If it does not draw people into the door of your church, it was a failure. Don’t give up, but don’t make the same mistakes again and think somehow you’ll get a different response this time.

The goal of all your advertising must be to get the unchurched to change their normal Sunday habits and decide to come visit your church. Great artwork, in my opinion, won’t be enough to do that.

You’re going to have to have some words of persuasion behind it.

Secret #6
Use the type of words direct response advertisers use.

Direct response is the advertising discipline that focuses on getting people to take immediate action.

This is where the money is made. These are the guys that make the phone ring for businesses. They know what they are doing because everything they do is continually measured and tested in order to see what works best. They may simply change out a headline in a long running ad and see a 50% increase or a 50% decrease in sales but the important thing is they track it to learn what works best. To them, advertising is a science.

And in their study of this science, they’ve uncovered a few dozen key words and phrases that when used, will simply cause an ad to work better. Words like, You, New, Proven, Breakthrough, Special, Guaranteed, Discover, Introducing, Miracle, Forever, How To, Easy, At Last, Free, Secrets. This may sound a little unbelievable, how just re-phrasing something can change a response rate, but its true. I’ve seen it myself in our church marketing.

The words you choose are vital to the success of your ad. Discover how to introduce these special, proven, easy to use, miracle, words in your next advertising copy and you’ll experience breakthrough results – guaranteed.

Secret #7
Use real life testimonials from people in your church in your next ad to lend credibility.

If someone is not attending church, chances are they don’t think church can do much for them. Maybe they’re skeptical. More than likely, they just have no idea.

Help draw them in and alleviate skepticism by using testimonials from people in your church who have successfully been helped by a particular message series, small group, or ministry of the church.

Your claims and messages will be more believable if you can help the reader identify with someone who was in the same boat as them – and successfully overcame their challenge.

A few short lines will do. In essence, you want the testimonial to say “Yeah, I am just like you are, but this church, message, program saved my marriage, helped get my son off drugs, gave me more purpose. I know it can help you too”.

Allow the testimonial to be as specific as possible and try to keep the focus on only one item, aspect or program per testimonial. In other words, don’t let them comment both on how the recent marriage series saved their crumbling relationship and how their 10 year old son recently commented that “Sunday is the best day of their life”. That would require 2 separate testimonials to be more effective.

Secret #8
Use a pastor invitation and call the reader to action.

In business, they call this the close. It’s critically important.

Once you build your case and outline how a person can benefit from visiting your church, you must seal the deal and call them to action.

Very deliberately invite them to come and take advantage of all that you have there for them.

Even more powerful, have the pastor invite them in a brief message. They must know you want them there and you want them there this week!

More people will respond if they are invited. And if you have a specific program or message series you can invite them to - well, that’s even better and will yield your best response.

Secret #9
Use your web site in conjunction with your direct mail.

Have you heard this quote, “you can either love or hate the Internet but one thing you cannot afford to do is to ignore it”?

It’s true in business and it may be even truer for churches.

The Internet has tremendous potential for evangelism, which I personally have not yet even begun to grasp. However, one thing I have come to understand is that for the unchurched, the Internet represents a very non-threatening way for them to “check you out”.

By nature the Internet is a directive medium. This means that like the yellow pages, unless they have a specific reason to search you out, they are not likely to just wander across your site.

But, if used in conjunction with your advertising message, you can draw readers to your site and give them even more compelling information and reasons to come visit your church.

I have not proved this out yet, but my hunch is the unchurched person considering attending your church as a result of an ad, will also visit your web site to glean as much additional information as they can.

Don’t disappoint. Use it as an opportunity to apply all the above principles and fill your site with as much compelling WIIFM copy, testimonials, and visitor friendly information as you can.

Secret #10
The more your ad costs to produce and mail, the less people you can reach.

You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand this principle but hang with me a few more seconds and hear me out.

This is the reason Truth Advertising exists.

We want to multiply your church’s advertising budget and allow you to reach 15,000 people instead of 10,000 or 25,000 instead of 20,000 - all without sacrificing quality and with improving your likelihood of success.

We can do this because we do it in the “secular” business field everyday. God has blessed us, we have the resources, and we simply want to be faithful stewards and help you advance The Kingdom.

“Non-Profit Postage for Churches”

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 23, 2008
in Mailing and US Postage
. 0 Comments

The United States Postal Service has a special rate for non-profit organizations.

The current bulk mail saturation price for non-profit organizations is 6.6 cents per piece.

If you do not already have authorization or a current active non-profit bulk mail permit, you must get authorized by the US Postal System to mail at Non Profit rates.

Download USPS form 3624 (THIS FORM DOES NOT REQUIRE A PERMIT APPLICTION FEE) from the link below. Follow the instructions and take to the nearest Post Office. It usually takes about two - four weeks to get your authorization number back in the mail.

(Click to download USPS form 3624 here)

After receiving your authorization paperwork in the mail, you can go to your local post office and get a non-profit permit for about $360.

Or you can save the $360 and have Truth Advertising handle your mail for you under “Ghost Permit” status. We can still get you non-profit postage rates, mail from the same post office you would normally use, at no additional charge.

(Click to learn more about “ghost permitting”)

“Should Churches Do Direct Mail”

Published
by
jsquiric
on July 22, 2008
in Pastor Testimonials
. 0 Comments
 A recent letter sent from one pastor to another and forwarded to Truth Advertising.
The glbc office notified me that you are looking to do some advertising for your church. While I used to think “advertising” was not something churches should do, I’ve come full circle to wondering why we don’t do more!  I’ve learned to love it and have seen fruit from it. 
We do lots of different things and are pretty creative (at least I think).  I know you were looking to do a newspaper add, but what I wanted to encourage you to consider is a direct mailer.  We actually just sent out over 11,000 this week!  While direct mail hasn’t been a popular alternative in the last couple years its making a big come back.  And I want to point you to an amazing company that is by far the cheapest, AND best! www.truthadvertising.org.  Geoff Burrows email is attached and it would be worth giving him a call to maybe plan something for fall.  you can do online quotes!
Here is what sets them apart.
1.  You can use predesigned ideas.  And I’ve found theirs much better than leading competitors.
2.  You don’t need to purchase your own bulk mail permit!  They will send it under theirs.  (You still apply for a permit at USPS but don’t need to pay.)
3.  They will customize your card if you want to change the text or pictures to fit your target community.
4.  Non-profit postage is like $.06 per piece. 
5.  They work hard to get you exactly what you want and they do ALL the work.  You never touch those things.  They do all the sorting, name purchasing, ect.
6.  They will let you pick the “carrier routes.”  There may be some areas of town you don’t want to send to or other areas you want to focus on.  They let you pick that!
I have attached our last mailer.  Remember that we are a church of 20-30 somethings so our style is a bit dramatic. 
  

danny parmelee

 

 

 

 

“The 7 Laws of New Visitor Assimilation”

Published
by
admin
on July 10, 2008
in Church Growth
. 2 Comments

 

By this time Easter has been forgotten and summer is quickly vanishing.  For most Pastors these weeks represent a combination of trying to recover from the summer vacation that was supposed to provide a much needed rest and trying to strategize for the coming fall.  By the time fall rolls around, most of the growth has seemed to wane and you begin to wonder if your efforts have paid off at all. 

Outreach must always be balanced with effective assimilation.  Too often hard work gets undermined by lack of adequate follow up. 

While no church can or will assimilate all of their visitors, there are some laws that will help you retain a greater percentage than the norm.

 

Law #1 – Visitors Represent 100% of Your Church’s Growth Potential

While this seems so basic, it is important to remember that you cannot grow without new people coming in.  Outside of new births, you must bring in new people to grow.

 

Law #2 – Visitor Retention is Far More Significant than Visitor Volume

While you cannot grow without reaching new people, you will not grow without adequately retaining visitors.  Many people will visit and move on, never to return.  This is normal and expected.  However, the negative impact of a visitor can have compounded affects on other potential new people.  If you invest time and money in attracting new people to the church you should also invest time and money in getting those visitors to return.  Even in highly populated areas, visitors are not infinite.

 

Law #3 – It Takes People to Reach People

It has been said: “The greatest form of advertising is word of mouth.” New visitors assimilated into your church will become members and in turn invite others.

 

Law #4 – Set Expectations and Meet Them

Let your guests know your intentions with them and the information they give you.  Whether you are aggressive in your follow up, like coming to their house the next day, or more passive, like a phone call, communicate that to them up front.

 

Law #5 – Be Proactive to Connect People

Churches tend to grow inward over time.  Lay people especially see the church more for who is there than for whom to reach and assimilate.  Make sure your leadership and programs emphasize new visitor assimilation among your ministries and lay leaders.

 

Law #6 – It Takes Time to Win People

If you can get a person to visit three times or more, you have a much greater opportunity to involve them in the life of your church for the long term.  Don’t stop with their first visit, continue your follow up until the person is thoroughly assimilated.

 

Law #7 – Listen to Your Visitors

We forget what it feels like to come into a church for the first time, especially our own.  What we may feel is warm and comfortable, the first time guest may feel is cold and unfriendly.  Listen to what they have to say about their experience and how you can improve your first impressions and visitor follow up. 

 

From “7 Laws of  Assimilation” by  Allen Ratta - 2004

 

The Truth Advertising Blog’s goal is to educate and equip pastors, by sharing information and ideas.

What assimilation strategies have you used that work well? 

What principles can you share that have helped you be more effective in following up with visitors and assimilating them into the life of your church?

 

Please share your comments with others by posting a comment to this blog.

CLICK HERE TO READ AND POST COMMENTS