Archive for March, 2007
On Closing Comments at CCP
Posted by: | CommentsOne of CCP readers emailed me today to ask why I had decided to close comments on posts here. Since July 2006, when I started this blog, I’ve found that only a handful of people actually comment on posts here … and I want to say to you all that you do … THANK YOU! I’ve thoroughly enjoyed those comments.
But here are the two simple reasons I’ve closed comments for now:
1. Time – I was spending more time than I wanted on SPAM in comments and other random, out of the blue comments that only frustrated and distracted me. And frankly, I’d rather focus what time I have on creating good, relevant posts that will help churches and pastors.
2. Self-promoting people — I spend a lot of time on this blog and every now and thenI get a shameless self-promoter, who, rather than start their own blog and invest the countless hours into generating readers on their own, wanted to use this blog as a quick shortcut.
Bonus reason …
I pay for the hosting and domain name. I’m not trying to be mean when I say this, but I’m just restating the obvious, which some people mistakenly think is not a valid enough reason for me, strangely, thinking that I can do whatever I want here.
NOW … saying all this … this is NOT a death sentence for comments. James and I will open comments up every now and then when we think a post dictates it.
OK … now for some good news ….
What has been opened up, though, is pings and trackbacks.
Meaning, if you post about a post here on your own blog, we are allowing those to be posted. Of course, they will be approved at our discretion, but it’s still open, while in the past I’ve shut those off.
By the way … I love and cherish helping churches and pastors and believers and those who fly the banner of Christ … please know that.
OK, see ya … sorry for not announcing this sooner.
On Handling the Church Announcements on Sundays
Posted by: | CommentsOne CCP reader asked me this question and I’d like to answer it for the benefit of all:
We’re struggling with the announcement wars. How do you deliver announcements without destroying the worship? Our worship leaders are protective of the worship experience–not wanting to break it up–and we’re grateful and respectful of that. At the same time, ministry leaders are desperate to promote their programs and events, and to recruit workers and participants. Not at all a worship thing.
Do other churches feel this tension? Are there creative ways to communicate that we haven’t considered? (We beat the bulletin to death; the Web has limited effectiveness in a congregation where many folks don’t access the Internet.)
I’m not a worship pastor or a minister of music … but I’ve been involved in this debate for a while now. It’s a hard one.
The first thing I’d say is … what I do, or we as communications people, is SUPPLEMENTAL to what your Sunday School small groups, ministers, leadership do in person. Read More→
Using Blog Feeds to Communicate With Your Church
Posted by: | CommentsCody over at Church Marketing Sucks has a good post on how churches could use blog feeds to communicate with their church … in brief, he says, churches could use them to:
- Announce Events
- Announce Prayer Requests
- Send Out Devotions
- Weekly News Updates
- Series Announcements
- Encouraging Messages
I’ve been working on porting our church website over to WordPress to take advantage of not only feed options like this … but also local search engine visibility.
What Should Your Church Marketing Budget Be?
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many church planters and pastors who are now catching on that branding and marketing their church can be a good thing if it’s done with excellence and focus (the only time a church shouldn’t move forward is if they can’t do it well) and it’s very exciting to see churches begin to invest in great stuff! It really makes a difference in many ways.
One of the questions I encounter when working with churches is what is the cost for a great brand identity or marketing campaign. This is always difficult to address because there are so many scenarios and options. Every church is different and there’s not a one-size-fits-all approach. My reply question is usually “What is your budget?”, but many people don’t know what to budget or sometimes believe that it is going to be cheap. Before I tell you an estimated amount, I am going to share a few “truths” with you.
Truth #1: Think of your marketing budget as a mission investment and not an expense. Read More→
Welcome New Contributing Editor James Dalman to CCP
Posted by: | CommentsOver the past month, I’ve gotten increasingly busier with my custom WordPress theme business and haven’t had as much time to put into CCP as I’ve wanted. (Hey, this blog is still my baby!)
But today, I’d like to introduce a new contributing editor to Church Communications Pro …. James Dalman of the Branding Shed.
James has graciously offered to share his branding, marketing and design experience here and I’m just thrilled. He’s a fellow Okie. In fact, we met through this blog when he realized I live in Oklahoma City. We share a passion for helping the church use marketing practices for the glory of God.
He’s in the middle of planting a church too … so he’ll likely be sharing a ton of experience as it relates to church planting.
I’ve written about him before … because I admire his work.
Go check out his design portfolio here and consider using him! You’ll be seeing his posts soon here.
… so please welcome James Dalman!!!
