Technologies
Churches should be aggressive in using the latest technologies, both to maximize return on investment and to communicate effectively. Those technologies change constantly, and strategies must evolve just as rapidly.
Also, use of technology must be tailored to different constituencies, as some use social networking tools like Facebook, some text and some read e-mail.
E-mail newsletter is central, at least for now and in most places. The days of the printed and mailed newsletter are over. They cost too much and are read too little, especially among young and middle-aged adults. You can offer a mailed newsletter to those who prefer it, but not many will prefer it (only 2% in churches that asked), and the e-mail version will be the centerpiece going forward.
E-mail tools change constantly and vary widely by ease of use. As the sender, you need to make sure your e-mail can be accessed successfully by older tools like AOL and Earthlink, "middle-aged" tools like MSN and Yahoo, and newer tools like Google mail. Some young adults do all of their e-mailing within Facebook.
Your e-mail will need to satisfy anti-spam rules and should be "opt-in," if possible, meaning that people have verified in advance that they wish to receive your group e-mail. (Most systems will let an individual e-mail through.) Here's a useful link on the CAN-SPAM Act: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/ecommerce/bus61.shtm
Here are some basics on effective e-mails:
- Short pieces, quick read (one page)
- Send frequently (weekly, rather than monthly)
- Graphically engaging
- Use e-mail to drive people to web site (e.g. links to pages with content)
- Lead reader to action (voice an opinion, register for event, request a contact)
- Encourage downloads and other free content
- Encourage "Forward this to a friend"
- Offload data management to user (e.g. change of address)
E-mail marketing uses a comparable e-mailed tool but is designed to sell, not just to inform. Marketing e-mail often targets a specific audience. For example, news about a men's softball team would target men of athletic age. News about a new member class would target persons new to the congregation. To support e-mail marketing, it is important to have membership data that includes fields useful in niche marketing, such as gender, date of birth, home address and workplace address.
E-mail marketing observes the same principles as all e-mail: short, transactional, web-centered. The aim is to stir interest and draw the recipient to your web site, where you can post images, content, background information and testimonials at little cost.
Be sure to include a clickable response, such as registering for an event, giving an opinion or adding a friend.
E-mail notices
Use targeted mailings to send schedules, invitations, updates, change of plans. If you assign people on your list to one or more appropriate groups (e.g. singers, Christmas visitors, knitters), you can easily communicate with all members of a group.
E-mail some personal mail
E-mail is standard for business communications. It is quick, secure and generates a paper trail. E-mail is faster to produce and more timely in delivery.
And it makes response easier (by click to reply).
The one caveat is that e-mail is so easy to forward that you should avoid sensitive or confidential exchanges by e-mail.
