Ready to get off of Meta? Me too. Click to watch a summary with extended FAQs! This past week, I had a meeting with a representative from the ad agency that holds all of Bible Gateway's ad placements. You know Bible Gateway, right? The Bible reading website & app that, like, everyone uses? They have banner ads that flash around the page. You can buy those placements for a relatively low price. I, of course, thought this was intriguing. But why advertise to people who are already Christians?...
11 days ago • 1 min read
A few people have mentioned this to me, so I simply had to investigate... Have you gotten ads for Church Candy? Church Candy was started by a man who built an ad agency in a different field. He pivoted and decided to use his skills within the church. He promises that he can get new visitors into your church using online ads. How does he do this? His team will run ads for you on Facebook & Instagram with the primary goal of gathering leads. What's a lead? A lead is someone who sees your ad and...
18 days ago • 2 min read
I've been designing a lot of postcards lately. I let people know about a $1.5k matching grant a few weeks ago through Outreach.com. I also work with a lot of churches that are having their launch services soon. Because of this, I've been working on lots of postcard designs and here is the general idea behind the template I use (that makes web traffic do this): 1) Ditch the paragraph and write for the eye. Take the paragraph of descriptive information that you'd like to put on your postcard...
25 days ago • 1 min read
ShowIt is my favorite website platform for clients. Why? It's affordable, easy to use, and completely customizable. If you want to give it a try (and you have that do-it-yourself spirit), I made a very simple, one-page, "blank canvas" church website that I'd like to gift to you. Check it out! Go to demo website Here's your quick-start guide: 1) Create an account on ShowIt and subscribe. Use my code graceungemach for a free month (you can cancel before you get charged, if you'd like). 2) Use...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Here are a few of my go-to signage distributors: I go through one of these two distributors almost every time I need to order signage for clients. Are you in the market for new signage? Check these products out! 1) Piece of Sign A few of my favorite products include their... ...A-frame sidewalk sign. Get a couple plates and switch them out as needed. ...Round frame sidewalk sign. We put our connect card QR code on this and place it in our entrance. ...L-POP sign. Place on the edge of a table...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
A couple easy posts to add to the rotation: Social media gets a lot easier (and a lot less time-consuming) when you have a posting routine. (Ex: "I always post the sermon on Monday, a devotion on Wednesday, and a Sunday preview on Friday.") Check out these post ideas and pick out a few to try. Remember that our primary goal when it comes to social media is to create posts people want to share. It's not about post frequency, it's about post quality. Example from Cornerstone Centerton Idea One:...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
25 New Visitor Gifts Under $25 If you're going to spend money on a new visitor gift, give someone one nice thing that they'll be excited to take home and actually use. These would also make great gifts for new families that come into your school. Not all of these will be right for everyone. That's ok! Find one that speaks to your community. Some of their prices depend on quantity ordered — I just assumed you'd order at least 100. A cloth-bound journal like this one from MOO I get 20% off with...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Nerd mode activate! Today I'm teaching you how to make an online volunteer signup page that... ...automatically adds an event to your Google Calendar AND the volunteer's calendar ...automatically sends a reminder to the volunteer in advance ...can be shared in an email, on your website, via a QR code, etc. ...is completely free forever to set up & use Watch my tutorial on YouTube below: (Yes, it's a little longer than my usual tutorials — but it will be worth every second. Think of the time...
2 months ago • 1 min read
It can feel yucky to set quantitative goals when your primary goal is to simply love people... I get that! The last thing we want to feel like is a used car salesman, just hustling to hit his quota. A SMART goal is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Setting SMART goals and remaining true to your mission are not mutually exclusive. For example: Instead of telling your congregation members to invite their friends to Christmas Eve, set a SMART goal along the lines of,...
3 months ago • 3 min read
I was writing a presentation recently and realized something huge... You're not ready for this 👀 As a business account, your follower reach is between 1.5% and 3%. Translation: If your business has 1000 social media followers, 22 of them will see your post. As a personal account, your reach is between 20% and 50%. Think about times when you've posted an Instagram story and scrolled through the number of people who viewed it... Translation: If you have 1000 social media followers, 350 of them...
3 months ago • 1 min read