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Marketing and Advertising - As the pastor of a fairly young congregation, I’d like to know what practical, proven methods are effective in growing a church. Should we invest in advertising and marketing, and if so what type of marketing is the most effective? What pros and cons have other pastors experienced in this area? Is there a ball-park figure (percentage) of our church budget that we should designate for advertising?
Responses:
Pastor Mark Garver – Madison, AL
I think advertising your church is a must. I do believe every location is unique and might require different strategy. I can tell you things that have worked for us and then things that did not seem to produce the desired results.
For us, the yellow page advertising has been a great help. We started out with a small ad and have increased the size of the ad every time the budget would allow. When the church first started, we advertised in the newspaper in our area, but it did not seem to produce much, if any results. In our area there are a LOT of churches and they put all the church ads on one page and it is very difficult to distinguish one church from another. I also consider good signage to be good advertising. At the beginning of a church it is sometimes difficult to spend a lot of money on advertising, but if no one knows you are there then you are hurting yourself. So I do believe you must set aside a good amount, if possible, for advertising.
I have saved what I think works the best for last. It is very easy and cost effective to advertise on local cable television. I always though it was out of reach cost-wise, but I believe almost anyone can do it. Some cable networks even offer free community channels. Most local cable systems even have some kind of production capability and could produce a commercial at a very reasonable cost. We tried pre-made commercials that you just put your name in. They were costly and for us, produced virtually no results. However, when we produced our own commercials it made a big impact. I do not know if seeing our face, hearing our voice and seeing our building did it, but it seemed to make a huge difference. We are currently spending about 3 to 5% of our budget on advertising, which includes TV commercials, yellow pages, and a few minor things as they come up. I will also say that everything we do with advertising we try to direct people to our website, which is a must in the society that we are now living in. So, that is the dollar and cents part of it, but there is always an element that only your congregation can do and that is word of mouth.
Your church members are still your best advertisement. Excitement is contagious. About 5 years ago we did a survey of 350 random people in our community. We surveyed them in car lines, at grocery stores, at worksites and in their homes. One answer astounded me. This survey said, in our area over 90% of people attend or visit a church based on a friend or family member inviting them. What we have found in our meet and greet room after our Sunday morning services and from our guest cards that first-time visitors fill out is that some people have come because of TV, internet, and yellow pages, but most come because someone invited them. Our best advertisement is a group of well cared for, excited members who are like the woman at the well that Jesus ministered to. She went back to her village and said come and meet someone…. Our people need to do the same thing; come to a place where my life has been changed. I think when we have the people excited and that natural advertisement in place I believe the Lord will add to your church.
Pastor Dave Williams – Lansing, MI
In Mark 1:1-8 we find John the Baptist “advertising” the coming of Messiah. The ancient prophets all “advertised” coming events, including the arrival of the awaited Messiah. Jesus Himself said, “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house (Matthew 5:15).
Psalm 19:1; 50:6; 97:6 all say, “The heavens declare … His righteousness … His glory.” You might say, “the heavens advertise for God.”
No matter how good your product is, you have to let others know about it, whether it’s a church service, a missions’ event, special event, a banquet, or whatever!
Suppose we decided to have a church conference and then not let anybody know about it because we didn’t want to use Madison Avenue techniques? I used to hear that from older ministers when I was just a young pastor. “Oh, I’d never use those Madison Avenue techniques!”
Well, I happen to believe that God created the concept of advertising. Madison Avenue stole the techniques from God; God didn’t steal them from Madison Avenue. God creates / Satan perverts. The words “publish,” “proclaim,” “preach,” and “prophesy” all have their roots in the same word as “advertising.”
Marketing and advertising are not the same. A good marketing plan is all-inclusive, involving everyone on the team. It is designed to create a desirable image or concept of your church in the minds of the community. Advertising is narrower and spotlights specific events.
One summer we offered a free small book to everyone on our mailing list. Our investment: $1800. Our return: An increase in weekly offerings by $2332 per week; $10,000 per month.
One October we declared October and November as “Harvest Time.” We strategically made 30-second radio spots and advertised in local shopping guides using personal testimonies. Our investment: $3000. Our return: Attendance went up by an average of 103 per week, and the offerings went up by an additional $4000 per week. That was about a $32,000 increase over the two-month Harvest period.
One time we advertised a week-long healing school. We did not advertise on the religious pages of the newspaper, only the local, inexpensive shopping guides. 150 people attended (half were not from our church or any charismatic church, and perhaps forty or so were un-churched or not yet born again). A local television news program found out and featured us on their “Health Beat” program at no cost to us. The results: A famous well-known businessman in town was healed of multiply sclerosis, several were saved and healed, and seven families joined the church as a result of that week long (2 hours a day) school. Our advertising investment was $400 and offering went up by over $100 a week.
We found that the best advertising is to provide your members with brochures and literature to hand out to their friends. 80% will come because a friend or family member invited them.
The next best method is direct mail marketing and web marketing. We still need to do both. We have the internet generation and the print generation to reach.
Pros and cons, you ask? Simply put: the more you advertise a good product, the more it works in your favor. The more you advertise a bad product, the more damages you incur. In other words, if you advertise a friendly church … you better be super friendly or the advertising will damage you more than help you. That’s why everyone needs to be onboard for the marketing/advertising campaign.
Three books I’d recommend:
- Church Marketing 101 by Richard L. Reising
- Purple Cow by Seth Godin
- Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout
If Jesus had a forerunner, you need one too. That forerunner is called advertising.
Now, get ready for the shock. I believe a church marketing budget (which includes advertising and communication) should be between 10 – 12% of the entire budget. Marketing involves branding – being consistent in your look, church signage, brochures, web design and upkeep, print media, radio and television.
Here in Lansing, I have a daily “Pastor’s Minute” radio broadcast on a few of the secular radio stations. I give a one-minute, upbeat message every day. I enjoy over 150,000 listeners. This is soft advertising, designed to make our church a household name. When un-churched people think of a church, when they face a crisis, they think of only one church – Mount Hope Church. Day after day, they feel they have a relationship with me because I come to them every day with another bite-sized, upbeat, encouraging word from the Lord.
You can have a great thing going, but, if you don’t tell anyone about it, your success can only be minimal. On the other hand …Don’t light a light … and then hide it under a basket. Let the light shine for Jesus!
