capture-00000-10-8-2008 Here’s a podcast on the subject of ministry and marketing.  I’m surprised at the low percentage (very, very low) of churches, missionaries, ministers and ministries that don’t take advantage of online marketing to get their message out (and it’s a VERY important message!).

One way people will know you are alive and well is effective and regular communication.  When I receive an email several times a week from ElijahList, a certain church, a ministry or missionary I know they are serious about what they are doing. 

The two most powerful forms of online communication that we all need to implement are:

  • Email
  • Video

The primary goal of sending an email newsletter is to get people to land on your website.  Your website should be designed with professionalism in mind and with a clear goal (or a few goals) for your visitor.  For example, when they land on the website I hope each visitor would:

  1. Read the blog
  2. Donate
  3. Buy books
  4. Book me to minister 

Just four things.  If I do my job well, it will be obvious to the visitor what they have an opportunity to participate in. (Note how I linked those destinations for you! Come on over and buy some books and book me to minister! :) )

Many people are afraid to email often due to the possibility of irritating their recipients.  If you use standard email (sending right from your main email address) then that can be a concern.  However, I very strongly recommend using an email marketing company like www.constantcontact.com, www.icontact.com or my latest experiment, www.feedblitz.com.

That way people can very easily unsubscribe and subscribe based on their desires.  I firmly believe that we must make it easy for people to unsubscribe… we don’t want to SPAM them… that’s why using a service is, in my opinion, non-negotiable as opposed to sending email newsletters directly.

Most people that I communicate with in my ministry comment on how they love receiving the regular updates.  Some, I’m sure, may unsubscribe because they do not.  The big idea here is that you want to feed well those who are ready to receive what you have.  Don’t starve them, and in effect, disappear from their radar just because a few might be tempted to unsubscribe.

We as messengers must be faithful and diligent to get the message out.  Email is an alert, a call to action, a call to prayer.  It’s an invitation to discover God with you. 

Remember, on a recent post I mentioned that to be effective online we must post to the internet twelve times a day.  Add to this an email every day or so and you will find your ability to deliver your message and complete your mission enhanced.

Here are some interesting facts regarding email marketing (note- the secular/sales focus can and will translate into ministry buy in):

  • The majority of email marketers are failing to use email as a relevant marketing tool. His research found relevant messages can lead to almost as many sales as free or discounted shipping offers.
  • 70% of the top retail sites in Google’s paid search listings offered email newsletters.
  • The number one reason that people will return to your site is the quality and frequency of the content you publish.
  • News feeds (RSS feeds) are definitely not for everybody and they are not a replacement for email newsletters.
  • The mere fact that companies send emails to customers, regardless of the fact if they are opened or not leads to brand impact and awareness of the company and its services.
  • A newsletter should be a tool for building a relationship and the strong relationship should result in revenue generation. Newsletter marketing should be a two step sales process; build trust and then based on this trust recommend products or services that meet a need.
  • The short-term objective is to get recipients to visit your website.
  • The medium term objective is to establish you and your site as a trusted authority in your area of expertise.
  • The long term objective is to gain an ongoing revenue stream from each member of your loyal audience.
  • Every page on your website should encourage visitors to sign up for an email newsletter. It is probably the number one way of creating an ongoing relationship with your visitors.

So, pastors, intercessory missionaries (IHOPpers!), itinerate ministers- start sending those emails!

Oh, and yes, I do have a business set up to help ministers and churches and businesses get going online.  You get a special 25% off of my $75/hour rate if you mention this post! Visit www.johnburtondesign.com.

(Do you have any marketing ideas, thoughts, stuff that has or hasn’t worked for you?  leave comments on the blog- www.revolutionexperience.com)

John

share & bookmark:
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • e-mail
  • Pownce
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • TwitThis

Link Summary

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 2:46 pm.
Categories: General.

Viewing 9 Comments

    • ^
    • v
    John, Have you read Barna's Pagan Christianity if so I'd be interested in your thougths.
    • ^
    • v
    Hi!
    No, I haven't... but, I'm a bit suspicious. I'll have to get my hands on a copy. I don't believe in an exodus from God's established authority as some propose. I know this book touches on that and I'd be curious to read it.
    • ^
    • v
    An exodus from God's established authority? Not sure what that means.
    • ^
    • v
    I wrote on this in my book Covens in the Church. There is a temptation in the church to abandon our posts because of any number of issues. There are some who are calling for people to leave institutional church because of failed or blind or abusive leadership.

    We have to be careful about becoming independant and separated from those who God has called us to run the race with.

    I did a podcast on this here: http://r180.com/blog/blog/2008/08/27/mobile-pod...

    But, again... I haven't read the book, so my comment is not based on a study of its material... but, just thought on our relationship with the institutional church.
    • ^
    • v
    Your site looks great. I'm good friends with Steven and Jo Andrews, they were in Intro to IHOP with you earlier this year.

    I've been tracking your site lately and I'm definitely impressed with your marketing edge and the dedication you have to this site.

    I think the big issue that has been stirred up with "Pagan Christianity" is the issue of spiritual authority within the church. Specifically, does Scripture support a top-down, hierarchical structure of human leadership in the church?

    I've read some material that came out of the Shepherding Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. This is where the "spiritual covering" ideology became prevalent in the church today. It seems to have been born out of the good intention to protect new Christians from falling away.

    I've also read some material coming out of the organic Church movement. In "Reimaging Church" (reconstruction to Pagan Christianity's deconstruction), Frank Viola presents a model of authority that is mutually submissive instead of unilaterally submissive. The concept is new to me, but intriguing.

    There is a measure of "spiritual authority" that comes with spiritual maturity. However, Frank Viola presents the concept that each believer should be submissive to one another, recognizing Christ as the supreme source of authority.

    I'm on a journey with all of this. I don't have all the answers. As such, I'd be interested to hear how you would explain the modern-day spiritual authority/covering idea with Paul's exhortations to "submit yourselves one to another."

    Bless you, brother!
    • ^
    • v
    Hi! Tell Steven and Jo hi for me.

    More important than spiritual covering (and I do believe that is important) is mission completion. For me, it's critical that we are in position, responsive and moving in alignment with those God has called us to run the race with.

    We see all throughout scripture God calling a single person and then calling others to serve the vision as it's facilitated through that person.

    Simply, if we abandon our posts because of the inconvenience of the call, woundedness, disagreement, etc., we put the mission greatly at risk.

    Under Moses, the people (except Joshua and Caleb) rebelled and refused to follow the instruction to enter the Promised Land. They died and the mission was aborted.

    Under Joshua we see precision. There was clear rank and order. The call of the leaders was clear and urgent, and the responsiveness of the people was immediate.

    We are called to submit to our authorities. I don't think it's fully biblical to only propose that we submit one to another. God establishes authority and that authority will have a mission to fulfill... and will cast the vision and call the people to a place of action.

    Really, it's a trust issue. As we trust God's process and order, we'll follow along and react accordingly. When we lose trust, we may attempt to take matters into our own hands and forgo due process. Humans are fallible... leaders will fail, hurt us, disappoint, etc. The correct reaction isn't to vacate, but rather to serve, trust and allow God to sort it out. As we do that, God will most certainly respond and we'll look back astonished at how it all ended up. That's not to say it will always be smooth and easy. Often God will call people out of churches, and often people will have to deal with pain, but the key is a submissive heart, serving the mission and having the heart of an intercessor for everybody involved. As we do that, God will take care of everything.

    Hebrews 13:17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.
    • ^
    • v
    I'll tell them hi. They're proud of introducing your family to Settlers of Catan. If you ever find yourself up in Minnesota, we'll need to have a Settlers Saturday.

    I agree that the issue is mission completion. The goal should be the discipling of people in every nation, tribe, and language. As Sid Roth says, "We want everyone to be red hot for the Messiah!" I love that man.

    From my study of the New Testament, I only see one vision that believers everywhere are called to fulfill. It's the Great Commission. When persecution broke out in Jerusalem and believers were spread throughout the region, the goal was spreading the message of Christ. The method was organic and natural. I have a hard time envisioning the fleeing Christians trying to find their spiritual covering along the way before they could launch out and proclaim the gospel.

    We do see a hierarchical structure of leadership in the Old Testament, but we need to determine if those leaders (i.e. Moses, Joshua, David) were (a) examples for new covenant believers or (b) types of Christ, foreshadowing the coming of the perfect leader under whom all believers would freely function.

    Don't get me wrong. I think submission is an important aspect to the Christian life. However, much of the "spiritual covering" teaching I've experienced has stressed "faith" (which sometimes means blind obedience) as a means to control.

    Mutual submission is a costly thing to practice. It means being open to receiving rebuke and correction. It is an accepted practice today for a pastor to rebuke someone below them. However, would most pastors be willing to receive a genuine rebuke (i.e. not coming from bitterness or offense) from someone in their congregation?

    While there are some leaders who would accept it, most pastors would consider that rebellion and presumption.

    Ultimately, a discussion of spiritual authority seeks to answer the question: Is it right for someone to exercise authority over another man? Is everyone equal in the kingdom of God or does God structure His family using a top-down hierarchy?

    Matthew 20:25-26
    Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant..."
    • ^
    • v
    Yep, my kids LOVE Settlers.

    You should check out my book Covens in the Church. I hit this issue head on as I talk about our appropriate response to authority. It's $5.00 to download it instantly.

    I don't believe we all have equal roles... I think that's an idea that might make us feel better about ourselves, but it can be rooted in pride. God always has chosen certain people to lead others. The others are called to be in position and responsive.

    Paul said to "Follow me as I follow Christ". That's a statement that would sound quite arrogant if we heard someone say it today.

    The scripture in Hebrews 13 is so very clear... there are leaders in our lives that we are to be very alert to.

    I believe we are to be obedient not only to Christian leaders, but actually, all leadership has been established by God. We should never gossip about the President of the United States, make it difficult for our boss at work to lead or be AWOL in the military.

    For leaders, it's key to be servant leaders. Lead as Jesus would. serve. Lay down your life for them. However, we as those under authority don't determine the degree of our submission on the degree of our leader's competence.

    The books A Tale of Three Kings and Undercover are excellent resources as well.

    You can get my book at www.praytherevolution.com/resources.htm if you'd like to check it out.
    • ^
    • v
    A Tale of Three Kings is an excellent book. I would recommend it to anyone who is grappling with this issue.

    You don't believe that all Christians have equal roles. If you are referring to varying degrees of responsibility dependent upon spiritual maturity, then I wholeheartedly agree. There is an element to our walk with God that has the potential (not as a rule) to affect the influence we have with others.

    However, Scripture is also clear (Acts 10:34) that God does is not a "respecter of persons" -- meaning, He doesn't play favorites.

    I'll take you up on the offer to read your book.

    I think it's evident we differ greatly in our views of spiritual authority, but that's alright. My goal wasn't to defeat an opposing viewpoint. I just wanted to find out a little more about what you believe.

    Have a great day, brother!
 

Trackbacks

(Trackback URL)

close Reblog this comment
Powered by Disqus · Learn more
blog comments powered by Disqus