TIPS ON CHURCH OUTREACH DONORBOX
Does your church find it hard to know how to reach out to more members of the community? Both online and offline marketing strategies can help your church to raise your profile in the community and increase your congregation.
Website Outreach For Churches
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Having an attractive, functional website that provides information about your church to the community is an important part of outreach
With the growth of the Internet, almost everyone will look to research your church before they visit. If first-time visitors can’t easily find details about your church online, they can discourage them from attending
What to Include On Your Website
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Make your church’s address and worship times highly visible so it’s easy for people to find you. Don’t bury this information in your website footer, for example
You can also have a calendar that offers details of key events and when they’re happening. Keeping this up-to-date is vital since many churches have outdated information on their calendar (and websites in general)
Using Images On Your Church Website
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When using church images, use photos of your church — stock images of churches may look good but they don’t paint a true picture of what makes yours unique
This avoids any potential for new members feeling disappointed or misled if they visit your church.
Using Video On Your Church Website
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Uploading videos of your services can help bring new members on board and deepen your connections to current members
The Apostolic Church of God is an example of a church that does this. Here’s how they promote live streaming on their website and YouTube channel
SEO Tips For Your Church Website
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Regularly uploading engaging and high-quality content to your church website is another smart SEO move. You can do this through a blog, for example.
Google Maps Listings
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Creating a listing on Google Maps can help more people find out about your church. From a local SEO perspective, your church can be more prominent in search results and this can attract more people to your location
Postcard and Flyer Outreach for Churches
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2.1 Targeting Your Poster and Flyer Outreach
Have a goal in mind for what you want to achieve through your outreach efforts. This may involve increasing the attendance at specific services or reaching out to people who have recently moved to the community.
Use an eye-catching design for your postcards and flyers. You can use Canva to design them with a professional look — even if staff or volunteers don’t have design skills. If your budget allows, you can also hire a freelancer on Fiverr (or similar) to design a cost-effective postcard or flyer for your church. 2.2 Designing Your Church Posters and Flyers
Email Outreach for Churches
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Email is a cost-effective way to reach out to members of your church. Decide what you want to achieve through the emails you send to members. Do you want to prioritize bringing new members on board or encourage members to be more actively engaged with your church? Or maybe you’re looking to build stronger links to the community.
3.1 Segmenting Your Church Emails Segmenting your email list helps to target your outreach efforts. You can segment according to the interests or life stage of your members, for example. You can also segment according to whether members attend regular services or are new members.
Collect email addresses from your congregation and people who express an interest in your church. This can include first-time visitors to your church, people who visit your website or blog, and attendees at events. With Donorbox, your church can collect donor details during the donation process. Through your donation forms, you can choose which additional questions to ask donors, which you can then use to target them more effectively in your emails and other church communications. 3.1 Segmenting Your Church Emails
Social Media Outreach for Churches
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Social media is another low-cost outreach activity for your church. It can help you reach a wider range of potential members.
Ideally, your church’s social media efforts will feed into your wider promotion strategy. For example, your blogs and emails can influence your social media posts.
4.1 What to Post On Social Media You can share your church’s story and mission through photos, posts, and videos. This can include photos from services and ministries, details of events, photos from events, and stories from members, for example. Here’s how The Courageous Church is using Facebook
Does your church have a Facebook page? A lot of churches are on Facebook but struggle to get the most from it. You can post motivational and inspirational quotes and content from your services and the Bible in general. 4.2 Using Facebook For Church Outreach
Refer-a-Friend Outreach Strategies
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Some members of the congregation will know at least one person who may be interested in becoming a member. You can send an email to members to encourage them to ask their network.
Seek Regular Devotees Over One-Time Attendees
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Having a committed congregation who turn up regularly is the holy grail for your church. Focusing your outreach efforts on turning first-time visitors into regular attendees should be a big priority
Your church website is an easy way to make a strong first impression and encourage people to visit your church. Using email, social media, and postcards and flyers can help your church reach out to more people and engage them in your work. As your membership grows, Donorbox is the ideal platform to streamline your fundraising and donor communications. We’ll help you secure more donations and keep track of donor details.
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