In our first ever SHRINK the church podcast episode we collaborate with the guys from Spinalcast and talk about brodozers, testamints, Pastor math, Chuck Liddell’s mohawk, Christian apparel, iTunes’ Ping social media service, college football, Glenn Beck, psychics, the Chilean mine cave in, social media in churches and so much more!

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Fellow SHRINKERS,

It’s that time again – a chance to write an article for SHRINK the church, spread the message and win some of the latest swag from Apple!  But, this time we are opening the contest to EVERYONE.  So, if you’ve been itching to write for Stc (and win something cool) this is your chance!

Prizes

• 1st Place will win TWO (count ‘em 2) 2nd generation Apple TV’s
• 2nd Place will win the brand new 8GB iPod Touch
• 3rd Place will win the brand new 8GB iPod Nano
• All writers who’s article we publish will win a $15 iTunes Gift Card

Contest Rules

• We will publish 10 articles total for the contest, but, writers may submit multiple articles
• Contest is open to everyone
• All content must be original (i.e. no plagiarism)
• Articles will be at least 600 words in length
• Published articles will align with the Stc mission statement
• Winners will be determined by the amount of unique user comments/responses added to their article on Stc
• Submit additional questions to brian@shrinkthechurch.com
• Deadline to submit articles is 11:59 pm on Friday, September 17th

How to Submit

To be considered for our contest simply fill out the information below. Submit as many articles as you’d like!

The Buggles 1980 hit, Video Killed the Radio Star debuted at 0:01 on August 1, 1981 and a more appropriately titled song could not have been selected. Given the technology of the day, everyone knew it was only a matter of time before the much more appealing world of television would permanently transform the music world. In the same way, the megachurch era with all its flashy, consumer-driven production is inadvertently changing youth ministry in America.

A recent study by the Barna Group received a lot of attention from the national media this month. The headlines read ‘Forget Pizza Parties,’ Teens Tell Churches and so on. According to Barna, teen participation in youth group is down across the board. I spent almost a decade working in youth ministry in the local church and this statistic does not surprise me and frankly, it does not bother me either. At its face value, it is easy to blame the recent decline (over 20% in some areas) on lack of deep, spiritual teaching by youth pastors as some have suggested. But to be honest, over-programmed youth groups and shallow teaching have been happening since before I was even in high school. For decades, youth pastors have been paid to entertain teens by trying to see how many marshmallows they can fit in their mouths, asking them to make emotional decisions at camp, and holding iPod giveaways. Granted, some really good spiritual lessons have been taught and every youth pastor can point to dozens of lives changed. But as a whole, youth ministry has not changed from the awkward mixture of fun and discipleship that has been its trademark for generations. So why the decline lately?

I blame the megachurch.

Without getting too much into philosophy of ministry, the youth group exists in a church to offer a fun, hip and exciting alternative to regular church for teenagers. The irony is that most youth group gatherings have the same basic elements as the “adult service” (which can be a horrifying term to the unchurched, btw): music, teaching, announcements. The announcements have little to no spiritual value, the teaching has always been deeper in the main gathering, and the music has always been more vanilla for the adults. Take the Southern Baptist church I attended when I was in high school for example. In my parents’ worship service, they sang a strange mix of hymns and “contemporary” songs (have decided what that means yet?) and the sermon was always expositional and relatively serious. On other side of campus, I was worshiping with guitars and drums and listening to a topical message about taming the tongue.

Over the last two decades, the megachurch movement has dominated the church world.  Music has gotten hipper, sermons have become more watered down (ahem, “relevant”), and overall the “show” has become fine tuned to maximize the Church Attractional Quotient (CQA – I just made that up). Things have changed so much in so many churches that many main services resemble large versions of really hip youth groups from the mid 1990s.

Youth ministry has not changed, the rest of the church has.

The one thing that has not changed is that churches still give the youth budget the Heisman and youth pastors have to piece together a hip worship gathering with few resources. Meanwhile, the church is pumping more money into paying musicians with skinny jeans, state of the art projectors and cool lighting.

Today’s American Christian teenager is left to choose between a hand-me-down hip worship gathering in the youth group or a state of the art worship gathering in the main service. The song selection is the same and the teaching requires the same level of cognitive ability. Even if all things were equal, teens always want to feel and be perceived as older than they are. What better way to accomplish this than to forgo the silly immaturity of the youth group by attending “big church”? Perhaps the most interesting stat is that the smallest change was students attendance in church. A small dip followed by a subtle rise seems to support the idea that teens are choosing church over youth group when compared to other stats.

I do not deny the stats. As a youth pastor, I embrace them and realize that youth ministry needs to adapt and change. The youth pastor of today needs to come up with a new ministry model that includes encouraging students to attend church with their parents and then get something else from the youth ministry. As a person who spends a lot of time in the church communication world, I am indifferent about these stats. If there is truth to my assessment, it means that churches are rolling back the level of maturity that they are calling their crowd to but it also means that they are trying to attract noobs, which is a good thing. I am still uneasy with the consumer-driven approach to church, but have yet to hear or come up with another way in our culture.

The most discouraging thing about the Barna study as far as I can tell is how sharp of  decline there is on the chart asking teens about how often they share the Gospel… 21% decline over the last 2 years. This is the a huge part of the Christian life, but somewhere between youth group and main service we stopped teaching our students that.

Social media tools like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn for many church leaders have become a necessary evil, something they do because the latest church leadership conference or magazine tells them they should. Unfortunately this attitude is the beginning of a bad relationship between the social media tool and its user. The truth is, a Twitter account and a Facebook page aren’t going to do anything for you if you just “have” them. As with many things in life, it is how you use them that counts.

In this post, we have gone to the trouble of detailing several common mistakes churches and nonprofits make with their social media accounts. Hopefully you can learn from these, identify your own errors and correct them.

1. They Know Not What They Have

As stated in the opening paragraph of this post, often times a Twitter account or fan page is birthed from a knee-jerk reaction and then soon forgotten about. While the existence of social media profiles is good in terms of web presence, they can also hurt you if they are left dormant. The “no social media is better than bad social media” theorem sometimes applies here. When a visitor checks out your profile and sees that there hasn’t been a post in 3 months, it communicates that there is little going on worth talking about at your church.

The best way to avoid this mistake is to make sure a staff person or committed volunteer is in charge of managing the social media. It does not hurt to set guidelines and standards either, for example, require at least one posting a day or whatever works for your organization. Most of the time, an overall efficient communication strategy should fix this.

2. Doris Has a Nephew Who Knows How to Use Twitter

If you have worked in the local church for a while, you probably know that when there is a job that needs to get done but church leaders don’t want to do it, they delegate it to a teenager or kid in the youth group. This works great for babysitting, pulling weeds on the campus or stacking chairs, but not for social media. Doris’ nephew should never be given the keys to one of the biggest potential voices of your church. The person who is put in charge of the social media needs to be competent and someone who understands the vision and values of the church or organization. Ideally, this person would be on staff but that is not always possible, especially if you are overstaffed.

When thinking about the person or team who will own your organization’s social media, it should be a person who you would actually hire if a position existed. They should fit well with the leadership team, understand the values as stated before and show experience in using social media.

3. Money Can’t Buy Me Social Media Love

There are plenty of businesses out there selling Twitter followers and social standing. Just yesterday I was tempted to pay $19.99 for 2,000 followers (guaranteed) but then snapped out of it and splashed cold water on my face. This practice, while it does work in getting a bigger number next to your profile name, does not equal a better social media presence. As a matter of fact, it is everything that is wrong with America, it is a quick and cheap way to look cool. Often times these sorts of deals just mean more spam Tweets in your timeline and lots of annoying direct messages selling you stuff. This just confuses and dilutes your ability to communicate with your true followers.

Keep your social media goal in mind, is it about looking popular or is it about fostering relationships and communicating with people? If your goal is to look famous, than buy as many followers as you can afford. Oh and by the way, I didn’t vote for you for Homecoming royalty.

4. Integration of Information Indoctrination

If your are thinking about social media, I am going to assume you have a website already. One of the biggest mistakes businesses and churches make with social media is to never integrate it with their website. Integration of social media is more than just including a link with a Facebook icon. A website that is fully integrated with social media embeds Twitter feeds, allows users to comment with their Facebook profile and makes social media sharing of web content easy.

Take time to look at the Facebook API forum and see all the ways Facebook can be integrated with your site. Ask your web guy to offer some solutions to integrate social media in a prominent way on your site.

5. It’s All About Me

If you missed the introduction of Twitter 3 years ago, chances are you missed what it was all about too. Twitter was never designed to be a marketing tool, neither was Facebook. Lifecoaches, realtors and corporations have turned it into that. At its core, social media tools are meant for developing relationships and starting discussions. If all you do with your social media profiles is send out news updates, then you are ignoring your followers and missing the grassroots benefits that they have to offer you. It is good idea to directly respond to your followers and fans once in a while. As them question, retweet their answers, reward people for responding to you

There are several management tools that help you identify people talking to you and about you, for Twitter check out CoTweet and SocialOomph or Tweetdeck for cross-tool management. Like most of these mistakes, a sound strategy that values people and communication best practices will consider this mistake and have built in policies to avoid it. Think of social media like a digital small group: talk WITH your people, not AT them.

I know there are plenty more mistakes to be made, these are the most common. What social media mistakes have you made and how have you learned from them? We will take both personal and organizational feedback.

***If you are wondering why the image of former Vice President of the USA, Al Gore is being used for this post about the Internet, click here.***

Unlike the 1990s, the Internet is here and here to stay. At Stc, we believe that this modern marvel is the printing press of the 21st century, revolutionizing the way the Church does church and spreads the Good News. Obviously there are more than 64 uses of the Internet, help us expand the list by commenting below and we will update it. If you disagree or need clarification, just say something and we will clear it up. If we are lucky, we can make this list expand into something bigger with new sections and subtitles. This is just a start.

Internal Communication

1. provide effective internal database of attenders
2. send text message updates
3. provide children’s check-in
4. hold new family registration (TheCity, FellowshipOne, etc)
5. make online giving available
6. schedule appointments
7. book weddings, funerals and special events
8. hold remote meetings (GoToMeeting, Skype, etc)
9. host project management (Basecamp, etc)
10. manage resources and rooms (EventU)
11. distribute employee work schedules
12. take guest experience surveys
13. connect small groups online
14. host custom email signatures
15. manage finances
16. hold focus groups
17. host digital art show (Flickr)
18. provide event registration/sign up
19. host online community groups
20. share large files (Dropbox)
21. publish ministry specific blogs
22. get user submitted photos and videos
23. schedule and manage volunteers
24. follow up with guests
25. hold fundraising auction

External Communication

26. maintain an effective web strategy
27. spread the Good News
28. host a series-specific microsite
29. post viral videos (YouTube, Vimeo, etc)
30. upload sermons
31. create Facebook community
32. advertise on Facebook
33. market the church traditionally
34. create a community blog
35. open a discussion/Q&A
36. host community classifieds
37. receive and share testimonies
38. poll the audience via text
39. create a prayer request form
40. dialogue with church on Twitter
41. seek new employees for hiring
42. offer an email newsletter (MailChimp, etc)
43. promote ministries and programs
44. have get to know the staff page
45. provide a form for reporting needs
46. offer a digital “invite a friend” card
47. set up a CoTweet for the staff
48. develop an app (iPhone, iPad, Droid)

Production

49. store video/images on media server
50. provide public Wifi access for guests
51. allow private WiFi for staff
52. host staff training videos and discussion
53. share resources with other churches
54. hold worship/drama auditions via YouTube/Vimeo
55. stream services and events live
56. plan and coordinate services (Planning Center)
57. distribute material and music for the band
58. share files locally over WiFi
59. offer live blogging/Tweeting services
60. pipe in a live feed from other campuses
61. create a tech booth/behind the scenes blog
62. sell/buy equipment on Craigslist/eBay
63. convert video and files on the cheap
64. collaborate with other production teams online

I get it. You are a leader who cares a lot about his business, ministry or organization. You know that this web stuff is an absolute necessity for your vision to succeed, but you do not exactly know what that means. This frustrates you so you do what you know best and surround yourself with people who do know this stuff. But these people are from a different generation and they speak a different language then you. You are left frustrated even more.

Have no fear, this post is created just for you. The following paragraphs are written with the goal of giving you a basic understanding of web design and strategy. I will be giving you a brief tutorial on what looks good, what best practices are out there, and how to evaluate your own website so you can communicate with your designer.

Let the crash course begin.

Usability

First things first, the website has to work. If your site looks cool but does not do what it is meant to, then it has failed you. The best way to evaluate this by looking at your site from the perspective of a new user. Ask the following questions to figure out who your site users are:

• Who is the target audience?
• What kind of response do we want from site users?
• Do we want daily/recurring visits from users or one-time info?

The answers to these questions will help you figure out what the function of your site should be. From there, you can determine if it is working. When it comes to site usability, there are three checks a site must pass to get a good grade:

It must be obvious and self-explanatory
Visitors to your site should not have to look around for a long time trying to figure     out what to do next. The navigation and next steps should be clearly defined.

It must not require info from the user
Visitors are not willing to give up their email or any information that requires using     the keyboard right away. Your site has to earn that right, not demand.

It must focus users attention not waste it
Flashy intros, auto-loading videos, and animation only distract first time visitors.     They may look cool to you, but they do more damage than good.

Design

Design trends are always changing and a web strategy that tries to keep up with these changes will be an expensive one. You should resist the urge to compare your website with other similar organizations websites, this will only taint your own creativity and cloud your focus. Instead, look at your site using these basic principles of design:

Simple is good – simplicity in design goes a long way in making your visitors feel comfortable. A site that loads with a lot of text and things going on will confuse a visitor. Your sites design should present very little information in a visual way in the top half of the site. As users scroll down, they expect to find more content, but the top portion of the front page is basically the cover of the book.

White space is also good – White space is basically space that is not occupied by text or artwork, it does not have to be white, just blank. This sort of space helps limit the cognitive load on visitors, the less they see, the less they have to think about.

Different for difference sake is bad – As a leader, you are naturally creative, that is great. But in terms of web design, there are certain elements and conventions (ways of doing things) that users expect and are used to. Resist your urge to demand a completely unique navigation system from your designer. Cliches such as “there is nothing new under the sun” and “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” apply here.

Content

Believe it or not, people actually do read websites. In truth, they scour them for information. Many times, this information is sought on the fly in quick situations with smartphones or impromptu browser sessions. Because of this it is important that the content published on your site needs to be short and to the point. I understand that you are passionate about your vision but no visitor on to your website wants to read 9 paragraphs about it. When visuals and graphics will not work, write words.

It is always a good idea to have multiple people who are unaffiliated with the design and development of your site test it. You and your design team do not have fresh eyes and will need some new perspective. I recommend buying a group of your friends lunch and letting them poke around a bit, these types of testing sessions will always be productive.

Web design is not rocket science. Hopefully you have a better understanding of what to look for when evaluating your site and what to avoid when creating a new one. If you need more direction or would like a professional take on your web project, check out one of our Stc sponsors Tipping Media or Synergema.

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Disclaimer: The image used here is from “Faces of Meth” (Copyright 2005) and it got your attention, right? This is the same woman but 2.5 years later on the right. Believe it or not this is how many staff experiencing burnout feel on their way out – beat up, worthless, confused, insecure, frail, defeated, ugly, used, dejected, on and on and on.  That’s why I chose this image.

While working at a church have you ever thought to yourself, “This wouldn’t fly in the corporate world.”? Oftentimes churches have their own set of rules when it comes to organization, processes, administration, etc.  Seminaries do a great job of corn-feeding the best theology and education to pastors and church leaders, but, they tend to skip the part about the business of running a church.  Combine that with the ADD + OCD + Type A pastors that typically go along with a quickly-growing mega church setting and you’ve got yourself the perfect storm for staff burnout. So, let’s explore together the top 5 ways to burnout church staff – guaranteed!

#5: Espouse “Family First” but Expect “Church First”

How many times have you heard, “We really encourage you to make your family first…” followed by, “Hey, I realize this is last minute (or maybe they don’t), and you’ve got to get home but can you…”?  There is unnecessary pressure applied to staff because, in my opinion, church leaders continuously fail to plan, create unrealistic expectations, and ultimately are poor at time-management.  At the end of the day, a “family-first” church feels more like a “family-later” when staff suddenly have a new task, the pressure of a deadline, and a fear in the back of their minds that they either get this done or they lose their job.

Or, perhaps they don’t fear losing their job, but, the leader requesting the task has grossly overestimated the critical nature of the task to the point where the staff member feels that if they don’t get it done then people won’t know Jesus…and that’s on them.  Try choosing to go home an hour early to play Legos with little Susie and Johnny with that kind of stress.

#4: Job Creep, Pay Fixed

Have you ever heard of  ”scope creep”? It’s when you agree to a set of expectations only to have those expectations slowly grow outside the original scope.  Eventually, you look back and wonder where the project you signed up for went.  Because of the unique nature of a church staff often wear several “hats” to the point of being comical.  Try asking someone that has worked for the church for more than a year what they do and you’ll usually get a little chuckle followed by a list of roles that would never fit neatly on a business card.

There is nothing really wrong with wearing several “hats”.  Giving/tithing at churches is so pathetic that church leadership must constantly walk a tight rope between payroll and the responsibility that comes with managing a growing church.  As a result staff feel the pressure of getting things done that are well outside the scope of what they signed up for.

Here are the steps to burnout in the above scenario:

1. Hours/Responsibilities increase
2. Staff become mediocre at their job because they can’t do any one thing really well
3. Sense of value decreases
4. Stress-level increases
5. Spouse/children start noticing
6. Pay stays the same
7. Appreciation decreases (because everyone else is stressed and too busy)
8. Hours/Responsibilities increase again
9. Burnout

#3: Poorly Cast Vision

This one is simple. Choose any or all of these:

• Don’t remind staff why they are there
• Completely avoid talking about where the church is headed
• Never discuss the reason your staff is a critical part of moving forward
• Offer no reasons for why you do things or make decisions.  In fact don’t filter any decision thru any vision – that way your staff are kept guessing
• BONUS: Start to openly compare your church to the bigger, shinier, rockstar church down the street

That should do it.

#2: Don’t Empower Your Staff

There is nothing more rewarding for a staff member than to feel unable to make decisions. Whoops! Of course that’s not right. If the staff is engaged in the church’s vision it is likely that they are there (giving up a higher salary) to continue moving forward in that vision.  They were hired because, ideally, they add tremendous value. They stay because they feel empowered to use their abilities and passions to continue to add value. They feel that they matter.

If you want staff to burn out simply give them expectations to get things done with no empowerment to get them done. And for giggles add some red tape (more typical in older churches) they have to get thru. Then, start questioning and/or overriding every decision they make and they’ll soon be on their way out the door – head hanging, knots in the stomach and neck and completely frustrated.

#1: Lead Pastor: Micromanage

Boom! Yeah, I said it.  Here’s the thing – large, fast-growing churches typically have a lead pastor personality-type that compliments that pace of growth – Type A, OCD.  This isn’t necessarily a negative, until, the lead pastor is up in ee’rybody’s business about every detail.

You’ve got to give the lead pastor grace.  Here’s the deal, the church wasn’t always big. You’ve probably got a story where the church started with 10 couples in a living room, clubhouse or gymnasium – that’s the nature of church growth.  The lead pastor, like a small business owner, was the CEO AND the guy that cleaned the toilets.  He did everything, managed every detail, and made sure things got done.  If a ball was dropped it was his fault.  Fast forward to today – he feels the same pressures & responsibilities. But, now everything is bigger, there’s more people involved and much more to do.  It’s in your lead pastor’s nature to want to control and hold onto everything.  Back in the day this is partly how the church moved forward.

So, what was once necessary to move forward is now completely annoying, frustrating and sometimes hurtful.  To a staff member micromanagement equates to distrust.  Staff think, “Why did he hire me if he questions everything I do?”  For men this is emasculating and for women it creates insecurities, frustrations and resentment.  He/She feels less valued, less empowered, and even begins to question her core identity.

Conclusion

Pastors & leaders: let go and breathe.  Your church will continue to grow, your people will continue to grow.  Newcomers will get connected if they really want to (they aren’t cattle, but that’s another post).  Your staff are capable…trust them.  Continue to cast vision, continue to teach, continue to connect with your church – that’s what you love to do anyway.

If you must, hire an executive pastor to bridge the gap and run the day-to-day.  If you’ve already got an exec, ask yourself if you are burning them out – take them out to lunch, get a feel for where they are at, and then (if necessary) ask for forgiveness.  And while you’re at it, do the same with your staff.  Help them recharge their batteries, create a healthy, dynamic, creative, empowering work environment and watch your staff take on new tasks with excitement!

The word creativity fosters two images in my mind;  Da Vinci painting the Mona Lisa and grilling rib-eye steaks.  Da Vinci was the archetype man of the Renaissance, the poster child for creativity and way out of my league.  No one is putting my doodles on the front of a medical book or artistic journal anytime soon.  The second image hits closer to home:  hear the sizzle,  smell the char,  taste the tender, medium-rare rib-eye dance upon your tongue.

Welcome to creativity.

In its most raw form, creativity includes two parts: thinking and doing.  John Steinbeck wrote East of Eden, but before he unfolded the classic American novel there was the idea behind the story.  Alexander Bell invented the telephone,  but first came his idea.  Before Bob Ross painted a single happy tree he saw it in his mind’s eye.  MTV’s Behind the Music grabs people’s attention because they want to know what was the idea or experience that fed the making of their favorite chart toppers.

Up to this point, you are in the same league as Da Vinci, Steinbeck and Bob Ross.  You have ideas.  Where the paths diverge is in the second half of the creative process:  after you think it you have to do it.

This single fact is the bane of empty steno pads, crying sketch books, every unsolved problem, and uncooked steak.  People get ideas but never do anything about it.  The people you label creative put pen to paper and shoulder to wheel.  However, do not distinguish between “creative” from “non-creative”.  One person has an idea and acts on it, one person has an idea and sits on it.  This is not about the quality of the craft but your willingness to give an idea life.  The more you rise to your challenge the easier it becomes.

I am a pastor of creative arts and I shepherd the artist in everyone at my church, ZION.  God said, “Let us make man in Our image”.  (see God think)   God took the dust of the earth and formed man.  (see God do)   The kicker, God created people in His image, creative.    Nothing cripples a person’s raw potential more than thinking they aren’t musical, artistic, or able.  The self-titled non-musical person can become the concert artist once they decide to do something about it.  Yes, some people carry a greater proficiency for the arts than others but this does not mean each person does not have potential.  Let me give you an example.

A dear friend of mine is a contractor.  He builds houses and might be one of the most creative people I know.  He enters into people’s chaos and looks at broken banisters, thinks how to fix them and then does it.  People ask for a new deck, he thinks it out and builds the clients a summer haven for bar-b-que and evening conversation.  My friend is an active creative.  This is why when I think of creativity I can say grilling rib-eye steaks.  I think it and I do it.  The empty plate becomes filled with hot-off-the-grill joy.  Creativity.  What does this mean for you?  How can you foster personal creativity?  If you want to see creativity raised in your organization put these three things on a tacky poster with clipart.

1. Creativity is about thinking and doing.  It does not stem from being or not being an artist.   Help yourself and others by re-seeing creativity not as art on a wall but the process of bringing something to life from nothing.
2. Fill the well.  Writers are readers.  Musicians are listeners.  Painters take in the landscapes around them.  Before anything can come out of you things need put in you.  Give your mind things to chew on.  If you lead teams of artists or want to raise more artists take them to places where creativity is on display.
3. Make a habit of unnecessary creating.   Sit down and just write.  Just draw.  Just sing.  Get an idea and run with it and give yourself permission to fail miserably.  The more you can laugh at yourself and your handy work the more freedom you will have to realize the unimaginable when the need arises.

You are the only thing standing between your idea and seeing that idea dance.  What are some current ideas you keep playing around with but are afraid to see come to life?

We haven’t celebrated a Funny Friday appropriately around here for a while, but it is about time. For our latest installment, we present the Worst Christian Album Covers Ever (in no particular order), with captions. Please provide your own captions also, the funniest/wittiest submission will win mad props from Stc (big deal right?).

Without any further ado, here we go:

This one also wins the award for “Worst Hair Style Worn by Mom on an Album Cover. “

After her music career faded, Joyce later found show biz success as “Screech” on Saved By the Bell.

“Um, Martha? Did you not get the memo about the maroon sweater vests and aqua turtlenecks!?”

If Satan is SO real, then why can’t you find a better picture of him?

Please don’t make me come up with a caption for this… I defer to Daniel Tosh.

He raps AND he’s a PhD? He’s qualified to be the next lead singer of Rage Against the Machine.

Once again, I’m going to leave all the disability jokes to Daniel Tosh. I have a reputation.

Actually, I’m pretty sure God’s power could break more than 6 bricks. Poser.

Nothing says “Buy This Record!” like a positive message on the cover.

I can’t help but wonder if this guy and another famous McManus preacher are related.

No.

Darn it, Minister Quartet! Didn’t I tell you no?

Thus proving that you can put “…for Jesus” after anything and make it Christian.

A talking doll that has its own radio program. Totally believeable.

Unless Jerry is the guy in the red leisure suit, I don’t think he is too exciting at all.

This album cover was lame when it debuted, but they actually look pretty awesome for 2010.

Ok, that is all for now. Lets hear your captions.

]]> http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/2010/07/30/the-worst-christian-album-covers-ever/feed/ 7 http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/2010/07/29/mailer-series-the-dirty-details/ http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/2010/07/29/mailer-series-the-dirty-details/#comments Thu, 29 Jul 2010 21:23:46 +0000 Nick Asolas http://www.shrinkthechurch.com/?p=588

This post is part of our series ‘Direct Mail and Church, A Love Story’.

The design is done, now you just need to figure out who gets this awesome mailer you just created. There are several administrative tasks to accomplish before you are ready to mail. Think of them as a check list. The only thing more boring than this part of the process is reading an article about it, so I will keep it brief.

Addresses

Earlier in the process, you decided who this mail piece was directed at or who your target audience is. This can be as specific as “young families with children under 12″ if you like. Once you have decided on you target demographic, you have to buy the mail list. Typically, the mail house you use can also label and drop the individual pieces at the post office for you. The more specific you get with your target, the more expensive the mail list will be. Depending on how many ZIP codes you buy and the population density of those areas, do not be alarmed at the cost. The mail list can be one of the most expensive parts of the mailer process.

Indicia and Other Details

Most of the time, the mail house will take care of these details for you, but when things go wrong with direct mail, they most likely are because the return address or the indicia. The indicia is the little square where the stamp would normally go, it contains the permit info and tells the post office who to charge for the bulk mail fees. If your return address does not match exactly with what the post office has on file for the permit number in the indicia, they will not mail your piece. Not only that, most of the time they will not tell you there is a problem. It probably is no surprise, but post offices can be very difficult to work with. Double check the indicia and return address, make sure the font and formatting are exactly as they should be. Keep the space for addresses clear of everything but white space.

Drop Date

Picking a drop date is an art form. The drop date is the day you plan to drop your individual mailers to the post office for delivery. Unless you can afford first class postage, you have little control over when the mailers get put in the mailbox. Typically, the post office will do it when they feel like it, but roughly speaking, you can expect the mailers to hit homes 3-5 days after you drop. The tricky part is figuring out when you want the mailers to get to the homes and then counting backwards.

Weekends are a bad day to get mail, the best target day is Wednesday or Thursday for mail to arrive. If you want people to respond by coming to church on a weekend, it would be a good idea to drop the mailers at the post office on the Friday of the prior week. The best thing to remember when going through the detail part of a direct mail campaign is to pay close attention. There is no need (or room) for creativity, so just get the checklist done on time.

So, just to review:

• Addresses: Look at a map and pick out the closest ZIP codes to your location
• Indicia: Do EXACTLY what the post office says
• Return Address: If you have moved or changed names, this needs to be updated with the post office internally
• Drop Date: Unless you can afford first class mail, you will have to guess when your mailer will hit