THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

1. THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH PART two: how to market your church Jake Dell Office of Communication September 15, 2012

2. Some questions to get started • Is outreach a marketing process? • Is hospitality a marketing process? • Is ushering / greeting a marketing process? • Is preaching a marketing process? • Is maintaining the parish website, Facebook page, or twitter account a marketing process? • Is advertising your Sunday schedule a marketing process? • Will marketing your church cost money?

3. Goals for these sessions • To explain why a parish would want to market itself • To explain how a parish can market itself

4. By the end of this session, you should be able to: • Give a simple explanation of why a church should market itself • Identify the five basic elements of a marketing plan and give an example of each

5. What I won’t cover: • Branding and creative development • How to write ad copy • How to do social media

6. Getting started • Parish vision (long-term, length of rectorate) • Parish business objective (annual) • Key parish initiatives (annual) • Key success factors (tied to annual initiatives) • Lead time: 6-8 months

7. St. Swithin’s Episcopal Church Parish Vision • Develop member-supported community programming focused on presenting the teachings of Jesus Christ to community leaders, young people (18-35), mothers of young children and the members of St. Swithin’s so that each of our program offerings become “must-haves” or “must-participate” in their respective categories Parish Business Objective • Achieve a target ASA of 525

8. St. Swithin’s: 2012 Key Brand Initiatives BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CONSTITUENCY PARTNERSHIPS INNOVATION Develop name recognition for St. Swithin’s among endemic category and general populations Develop constituency for each of St. Swithin’s programs Cultivate partnerships civic leaders, local government, business Develop new programming to reach young people (18-35) and mothers of young children

9. The 5 elements of your marketing plan • Paid advertising • Publicity and PR • Thought leadership • Presence opportunities • Awards / Recognition

10. Paid advertising: Paying to get your message out via someone else • Church directory (local paper or online) • Yellow pages (print or online) • Other print advertising • Paid search traffic (Google) • Facebook • Radio, TV, out of home (i.e. billboards) • Sponsorships (booster clubs, scouting troops, concerts, plays, yearbooks, BBBs, CVBs) in exchange for your branding on display • And don’t forget your website! • Goal: to build “brand” awareness, to build your marketing list (names and contact info)

11. Publicity and PR: Getting your message out “organically” • Earned media • Check editorial calendars for local papers, bloggers • Cultivate relationships with local reporters, bloggers • Press Releases • Piggy-back on other people’s fame • Seek mentions, plugs or endorsements from local businesspeople, politicians, celebrities, sports figures (high school QB, homecoming queen, minor league baseball, etc.) • Seek mentions, plugs or endorsements from members of your own congregation! • Special Events: Hold tag sales, car washes, concerts, fairs, etc. • Word-of-mouth (WOM) • Goal: To build “brand” awareness, to build your marketing list (names and contact info)

12. Thought Leadership: Demonstrating the value of what you know • Sermons (re-purposed as tweets, Facebook posts, blog) • How To / Lessons Learned from • Service projects • Mission trips • Youth group planning • HVAC installation, building restoration, accessibility • Distribute via: pamphlets, white papers, blog posts, sermon re-prints, email lists, books • Goal: to develop your church’s “marketing list” (names, contact info)

13. Presence Opportunities: Showing up where your prospects are • Conferences and events • Concerts and festivals (Coachella, Burning Man, SWSX, etc.) • High school homecoming game, car washes, local sports, community theater • Community celebrations (July 4th, Christmas Tree lighting) • Speaking opportunities (local clubs, prayer breakfasts) • Goal: to build “brand” awareness, to build your marketing list (names and contact info) • Tip: Here’s a great calendar site:  http://www.zapaday.com/home/

14. Awards: Taking credit when credit is due • Preaching / sermon competitions • Best service project • Best choir, choral production, etc. • Best youth programming • Fundraising / donation challenges • Creativity awards • Goal: to showcase the quality of your programming, generate publicity, build your brand, build your church’s marketing list • Tip: if you can’t find a competition for one of your programs, start one, and invite other churches or groups to compete

15. Developing your plan • Marketing opportunity calendar • Advertising • Publicity and PR • Thought Leadership • Presence Opportunities • Awards / Recognition • Marketing activation calendar (same 5) • Finalize your plan • Create your budget • Lead time: 3-6 months

16. Execution • Follow your activation calendar • Book event space or guest speakers well in advance • Purchase advertising and sponsorships early • Develop creative briefs for campaigns • Cultivate reporters and bloggers for story placement

17. Talkback • What are the five basic elements of a marketing plan? • Can you give one example for each element that you’d like to try in your own ministry?

18. Contact (The Rev.) Jake Dell Manager, Digital Marketing and Advertising Sales Office of Communication Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church jdell@episcopalchurch.org (212) 716-6264 Twitter: @jakedell73 and @EDNTweets Blog: http://preachingscarf.blogspot.com/