Church Marketing Boost
What Existing Churches Can Learn from Church Planters to Get a Marketing Boost
When church planters plan for a large launch, marketing is often a large part of their budget. But what about existing churches? What can pastors learn from church planters about promoting their ministry? If done correctly, existing churches can utilize church planting advertising strategies to add a much-needed boost to their church’s marketing plan. Doing this will lead to more people becoming aware of your ministry and walking through your church’s door to hear the Good News.
Launch Day
Church planters put a lot of time, energy, and money into promoting their first Sunday. This often leads to hundreds of people showing up for their big day. So, why don’t existing churches do the same thing?
Even though advertising can help, promoting your Sunday service at a high level every week does not work. You have to pick a Sunday with an evangelism focus that also lines up with people’s availability to be at church. Typically, people fall into a particular routine of attending church. This is why most church’s start at the beginning of the year and the beginning of the school year. This is when people are looking to get back into their typical routines and return to church.
Open Door Sunday
How does this work for an existing church? Pick a Sunday that will be your Open Door Sunday. Then plan backward from that date. Again, the beginning of the year and the school year is usually the best time for this. You will want to work back from that date with your marketing plan to know when you will promote your Open Door Sunday.
What Will You Talk About
Before you can begin promotion, you need to prepare your team and know what your message series will be. You will want to pick a message series that appeals to outsiders. It is best to choose something that will cover relationships, family, and things that the average person away from church will find helpful. Make it a series so that they have a reason to come back the next week.
Prepare Your Team
Communicate to your staff, leaders, volunteers, and members that your Open Door Sunday is a day to focus on inviting their family, friends, and neighbors. Let them know that you are planning a service just for people who have not been to your church yet or have not been to church in a while. Make sure to communicate what the series is about, so they know, and then print invite cards they can use to hand people they invite.
Promoting Your Open Door Sunday
You will want to invest heavily into online advertising and print promotion so that people can know that you are preparing something special for them. Some pastors cringe at the thought of paying money to promote their church. It is worth it, though. Think of it as paying someone whose sole responsibility is to invite people to church (and they are extremely good at it). An extra benefit of paying for this type of promotion twice a year is that it reminds your community members that are not yet in a church that you are there and ready to serve them whenever they are looking for a place to attend.
Your print promotion can look a lot of different ways, but make sure (this is so crucial) that you have a canvassing strategy. A canvassing strategy goes out to everyone, not just targeted groups like a Facebook ad. This is where print mailers come into play. Sending out mailers is a physical announcement to people that your church is having an Open Door Sunday for them.
Doing an Open Door Sunday is much like re-launching your church. It brings awareness to outsiders that your church is in their community and it re-engages your church in evangelism and an outside perspective.
Do you need help with your church marketing strategy? Deka is here to help. Click here to schedule a complimentary coaching strategy with one of our team members.
