Why church marketing fails (a guide for finding a fix)
Church marketing is really bad. It’s so bad, a site was created in the early 2000s called “Church Marketing Sucks” and they were right. The initial goal of the site was to help with the overall design of marketing pieces churches create. But the problem is deeper than bad design.
Church marketing is really just an evite
Most church marketing is focused on getting people to leave their house and come to a physical location where there is a promise of inspiration or community or something else. This approach to church has been called “attraction” where churches keep trying to attract people to their campus/programs. This kind of marketing could be called attraction marketing and it is proving as successful in the modern age as the attraction model of ministry. When you could replace most of the content released by an organization with an elite you can be sure they are missing the point.
In the modern age, marketing is a mix of giving away valuable content that people can use with invitations to attend, buy, participate, etc. That looks like releasing content that helps parents know how to respond when their teen says “I’m Bored.” It looks like having books or pre-packaged craft bags you hand out at the local farmers market rather than a flyer with service times on it. Giving away helpful tools that are on-brand for your congregation shows people who you are. That’s effective marketing.
Ok, it really is ugly too
Let’s be clear. It has to be packaged well. Churches would do well with letting go of their organist and using that money to pay a graphic designer or video producer. It doesn’t matter how great your content is, if it looks dates, has poor quality audio, or is just plain ugly, people won’t take it, keep it, or use it. Churches absolutely have to prioritize well-designed everything, starting with those things that are meant for public consumption.
So where do we start?
Do a media review. Look at everything released on social and in email. How does it looks? What was its purpose? Did it add value to someone’s life without them having to come to something?
Pick the first new thing. Find something you can create and release into the world to make it a better place. Maybe it’s a devotional, maybe its a book of artwork, maybe its a recording of the famous flautist that comes to your church. Picksomething. Do it well. Give it away.
Pick the first revision. We all know you need a better website, but that is too big. Pick something public you can redesign quickly and do it. Don’t wait for a committee to decide on a new logo. Start making things look better. If you don’t have money for a designer, grab a young adult who knows how to use Canva.
