Page 8 - GBCJournal_April2021

8
Your Church Marketing Made Simple
MARKETING continued from page 1
How do we stand out in a sea of confusion and cacophony? How do we effectively promote our church so that the unchurched will interact with us?
In his book “Marketing Made Simple,” Donald Miller outlines five steps for creating a marketing funnel. While this book is written for businesses, the principles can be applied to the local church.
Wireframe a landing page.
Once visitors get curious about how you
can solve their problem, they may look for more information. This is why you need a great website.
Most organizations are getting this wrong. They use too much insider language, have weak call-to-action buttons, and they use slideshows that frustrate the user. In a nutshell, they make their site too complicated.
Visitors to your website decide within the first 10 seconds whether to stay or leave. Make a great first impression by being clear and concise. Answer these three questions: 1) What do we offer? 2) How will it make the visitor’s life better? 3) What does the visitor need to do to participate? Always remember to provide a strong call to action, such as “Plan your Visit,” “New Here?” or “Join Us.”
Write an email nurture campaign.
Now that you have email addresses, create a
nurture campaign. Sometimes this is called a drip campaign. Nurture emails allow you to drip information to visitors about how you can solve their problems and offer them value. These emails should accomplish the following: solve a problem, offer value, remind them you have a solution and send potential visitors back to your website. Typically, a nurture campaign consists of five to seven emails. The goal is to build trust and make someone feel safe and confident about visiting your church service for the first time. Here are some examples:
• How to study the Bible tips
• Connect groups for singles
• What to expect when visiting our church
Conclusion
Jesus is enough. He always has been, and He always will be. Marketing is not meant to take the place of the Holy Spirit’s work. This five-step funnel is not intended to usurp the power of God. Rather, we want to use all that God has created, so that all creation may be reconciled with Christ. God has created humans to behave in certain predictable ways, and He also created the science behind why human behave in these certain predictable ways. May we be like the Apostle Paul and share the gospel by all means.
Create a one-liner.
Words matter. Words gain attention. Words create interest. God brought all creation into existence through words. A one-liner is not a mission or vision statement. A one-liner is a concise statement you can use to clearly explain what you have to offer. The audience of your one- liner is the unchurched, not your members. It is composed of three parts – the problem, the solution and the result. Here’s an example
of how this could work:
• •
•
The Problem – Most people struggle with the meaning of life.
The Solution – At First Baptist, we help you connect with the creator of life, Jesus Christ.
The Result – You can live the life God created you for.
Create lead generators.
A lead generator is a great excuse to exchange contact information without being awkward. It is a free asset you offer potential visitors as a way of building authority and trust. A lead generator can be a PDF, a short video series, a free sample, or a live
event.
Think about your social media presence for a moment.
Is your strategy attracting visitors, or is it mainly appealing to your members? And if you are attracting non-members, are you collecting contact information so that you can follow up?
The purpose of the lead generator is to create curiosity and build relationships with nonmembers. You provide meaningful content in exchange for an email address. Here are some examples:
• • •
“Five Ways to be an Intentional Parent” PDF “How to forgive and forget” webinar
“Back to School” checklist
gn.
Write an email next-step campai
Now that you have nurtured the new contacts, it’s time to make the ask. The sole purpose of the marketing funnel is to attract visitors to your service. The more visitors you have each week, the more opportunities you have to share the gospel and
minister to people in need of a savior and church family. You must give potential visitors something to accept or reject. Here’s where you invite them to church. Here’s where you ask them to schedule their first visit. Here’s where you ease their mind about trying something new. Here are some
email examples:
• A member’s testimony
• Why your first visit will not be awkward
• Simply ask them to attend this Sunday
Take the Next Step
Go to gabaptist.org/marketing and fill out a short survey to share how your church practices marketing.
GEORGIA BAPTIST MISSION BOARD JULY 2021