Are you looking for an easy, effective way to reach more people in your community and to better communicate with your church members this Christmas season? Utilizing the power of emails could just be your answer. Email is a great way to reach prospective visitors as well as share information with church members. People are already used to receiving and reading emails on a daily basis. And many of these people, are also open to sharing their email addresses.
People can be inundated with information during the Christmas season. There are tons of ads, commercials, and articles from all over competing for their attention. Even within the church, there are special events to keep up with, holiday services, and opportunities to serve the community. One quick and easy way to share information is through emails. Sharing the information this way allows people to receive the details of everything they need to know in a focused and organized manner.
Here are 9 helpful tips to make sure you are sending emails that reach others in an effective way this Christmas.
The Basics
First and foremost, the most basic thing you need to do is make sure you have emails. If you have plenty of emails – awesome you are good to go.
However, if you feel like you want to expand your reach, don’t be shy about asking for email addresses. Feel free to ask members and guests alike. An awesome way of collecting emails is to have a place on your website where email addresses can be shared. If that is not your thing, you can also request emails through social media, like Facebook or Twitter. Maybe consider offering something free to those who do share their email address (something like a weekly devotional).
People will be more willing to share their emails if there is an incentive for them.
Consistency
Sending emails on a consistent basis is important. Whether it’s a few times a week, once a week, or once a month, just be consistent. This will help your church be on people’s minds. Consistency is key. Like I said earlier, there are so many things that are competing for people’s attention that oftentimes emails can get lost. If you have a regular schedule for when you send your emails out, people will pick up on the patterns. They will be on the lookout for your church emails.
Once you have your scheduled emails planned out, keep up with it. Don’t let it fizzle out.
Tip: To get more engagement, you can even add “see you there” in emails about events, Wednesday night, Sunday morning, or Sunday night services. It doesn’t pressure the person, however, it gives them something to think about and helps encourage them to join.
Images
Images are SO important. This simple thing can make all the difference in your church emails. I mean, we have all heard the phrase: “a picture is worth a thousand words,” right?
People love seeing pictures of themselves and people they know and love. Be sure to add photos from recent events to your emails. When people see photos like this, they want to continue reading. Photos are also a great tool to help break up space in the email.
Another thing people tend to do is scan over emails. So one cool trick that you can use is to create images with information. Consider creating easy-to-understand charts and graphs. This is eye-catching and can make something that may seem dull and turn it into a unique part of the email that adds design and color.
Stay Organized
Emails often times can have too many words or information. You want to make sure that you are sending emails that are succinct and well organized.
As people are combing through your email, they could miss important information and details if the emails were not written or organized correctly. Consider using bullet points, headers, highlighting, and bold text. This is helpful to catch the person’s eye as they are scanning over the email.
Tip: If you are including articles in your email, check to see that the information is up-to-date. You don’t want to send anything that has old and outdated information. Also, make it easy for the reader to locate information – include hyperlinks for easy access.
Make it Mobile-Friendly
Consider your targeted audience. What is their age? Are they younger, or older? If they are on the younger side try to come up with a plan to make your emails mobile-friendly.
Younger people are using their phones to check emails more and more often. Research has indicated that over 60% of emails are being opened on mobile devices. Here are some quick things to consider: watch your subject line length, use a pre-header, use large buttons, and make sure images fit correctly on the small screen.
While you are at it, you might even want to take a few minutes and check out your church’s website on your phone. Check and see if it is visually appealing and easy to locate information.
Subject Lines
The subject line is the first thing people see most often when checking email. Choose something interesting and relevant. Creating a sense of urgency is an efficient way to get people to take action. You can create a similar effect in your subject lines. Including important dates in the subject is a good way to create that sense of urgency.
Another way of creating an exciting subject line is by creating a sense of curiosity. If you can get someone curious about the subject line, they are sure to click through and read the rest of the email. You can use a small thought from your pastor that was said during a service.
Repeat Information
It’s okay to repeat important information. People need to hear these details more than one time. This is especially true for sign-up events, one-time or occasionally held classes. Start mentioning the events and dates two to three months before the event.
Timing
Consider sending your email mid-week. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are perfect days to send your emails. This way people have time to read the email before Sunday, but it’s not so early in the week that it will be forgotten by Sunday.
Remember What’s Important
Add a spiritual thought from your pastor each week. Give people a dose of mid-week encouragement from their pastor. Chances are this will be just what folks need during a busy, hectic week.
Conclusion
We live in a time where there are so many ways to communicate with each other. Email is not only a tried-and-true way of reaching others, but it is effective as well. During the busy Chrsitmas season, reach your community and church members with vital information in a way that is easy for them to receive and easy for you to send. Church members and guests will have information and encouragement right at their fingertips!
Tell us about the most effective way your church uses email. We would love to hear!
