PART TWO: HOW TO MARKET
YOUR CHURCH
Jake Dell
Office of Communication
May 9, 2012
Some questions to get started
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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?
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Goals for these sessions
• To explain why a parish would want to market itself
• To explain how a parish can market itself
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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
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What I won’t cover:
• Branding and creative development
• How to write ad copy
• How to do social media
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Getting started
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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
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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
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St. Swithin’s: 2012 Key Brand Initiatives
BUSINESS
DEVELOPMENT
Develop name
recognition for St.
Swithin’s among
endemic category and
general populations
CONSTITUENCY
Develop constituency
for each of St. Swithin’s
programs
PARTNERSHIPS
Cultivate partnerships
civic leaders, local
government, business
INNOVATION
Develop new
programming to reach
young people (18-35)
and mothers of young
children
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The 5 elements of your marketing plan
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Paid advertising
Publicity and PR
Thought leadership
Presence opportunities
Awards / Recognition
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Paid advertising: Paying to get your message out via someone else
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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)
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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)
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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)
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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/
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Awards: Taking credit when credit is due
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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
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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
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Execution
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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
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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?
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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/
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