You have entered the electronic age! You send out your newsletter as e-news using Constant Contact or Mail Chimp or some other service and it looks great. But does it tell your story? Has it become just a page of bulletin announcements about when the next meetings will be held and who is serving on Sunday?
The key to having your e- newsletter tell your story, as well as updating your members on schedules, is your website. Your church’s website is your public face to the world, your invitation to worship and service, and your repository for all of the things your members need to know. Ideally, all your announcements, features, photos and schedules should be posted on your website first, and then your e-newsletter should drive people to your website.
When someone visits your website will they see how you are God’s hands in the world? For example, say you have e-newsletter articles with the presiding bishop’s latest pastoral letter, the coming youth mission trip, your group that cooks for Family Promise, the photos from taking shawls to the cancer center, and much more. Post all of that on your website, then in your e-newsletter have headlines, pictures and brief teasers with “Read more” links back to that content on your website.
Of course, you have calendar items that need to be brought to the attention of your members. Use the calendar on the website by making the newsletter say “Coming this week: Vestry, Choir, Youth Mission Planning… go to the calendar for details” and then link them to the website calendar.
It won’t take long before your members will automatically check the website to see what is coming up. Your e-newsletter will become something that will notify your subscribers that there is new content on the website – and that they can then forward to their friends to invite them to see that church isn’t just for Sunday and committees. Oh, and make sure to add that “Share on Facebook” link to the e-newsletter for easy sharing!
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