Click, clack. Click, clack. My foot distractedly hit the loose metal filing cabinet knob up and down as I directed the parishioner's call. Once I was off the phone, I looked at it. "Someone should really fix that," I mused as I moved onto my next task. Each week at my shift as the night secretary for the parish office, I'd inevitably hit the loose drawer handle with my foot and think, "That's really annoying." Or pull out the drawer to put a file in and roll my eyes that no one had fixed it...
about 13 hours ago • 2 min read
It was the SECOND paper trimmer I'd bought in a week. And it somehow still wasn't working. I sat on the floor of our apartment sobbing. My husband (perhaps just a teensy bit scared at what he'd signed up for marrying me) pulled out a pair of scissors, and we got to work, meticulously trimming the 150 wedding programs I'd designed for a client. How did I end up here? Because I didn't have a marketing plan. I was accidentally working on a new business idea at my wedding. Now before you call me...
2 days ago • 5 min read
Facebook has been buzzing lately about...well, Facebook. In case you missed it, business pages are now (or soon going to) only be allowed two links per month unless you upgrade (aka pay them) for more. If I was in charge of your parish's social media, here's how I would change our strategy as a result: Step One: First, I would scream into the void. (But seriously...it's not just you. Everything is harder to promote now than it was years ago. And upgrading to get more links is...not cheap....
8 days ago • 2 min read
I never wanted to be a teacher. But when I showed up at college orientation, I was quickly told that I wouldn't get a job as "just" an English major. "You should really add education to it so you can be a teacher," I was told repeatedly. So I did. And I was an education major for three whole weeks before I realized something: I had ZERO desire to be a teacher. None. Zip. Nada. So I dropped it, before I even took a single education class. And it was one of the best decisions I ever made,...
8 days ago • 3 min read
Well folks, here we are: Q4 has arrived. It kind of feels like what we've been working towards all year, doesn't it? And with that can come the added pressure of needing to get this busy season "right" in terms of marketing, because it's when it matters the most. So if I were you, here's are 5 things I would be prepping for Black Friday / Cyber Monday / Giving Tuesday / Christmas Shopping / "Whatever You Want to Call the Busy Sales Season" promotions: 1. Review your marketing plan. First, I...
15 days ago • 6 min read
One of my favorite underutilized social media strategies is asking "icebreaker" questions. Because if you're like most churches, your goals with social media probably are: Help parishioners know what's going on Spread the word about your parish to those not already involved Grow relationships among your parishioners And asking questions on social media that get people to comment and share will help you do all three! Because when someone responds to a question: It's a big sign to the algorithm...
15 days ago • 1 min read
"This shouldn't be so hard!" I thought to myself as I plopped my head into my hands in front of my computer. "I literally do this for a living." "I TEACH other people how to do this for a living," I continued berating myself. So why wasn't I able to do it for myself?? The source of my existential crisis was creating a landing page for a recent offering for Gloriam. I'd done all of the things I teach you to do: I knew my audience really well. I knew their problems. I knew how what I offered...
22 days ago • 4 min read
I scooched over into the pile of shoes on the floor, trying to take up as little room as possible as yet another customer came through the sliding glass door. The owner of the store was bouncing from customer to customer, involved in three conversations at once and somehow not getting frazzled by it. He circled back to me, and I expected him to apologize - not because he needed to, but because that's just what we do to overcompensate as small business owners, right? Instead, he simply smiled...
29 days ago • 3 min read
If you're like most parishes, September is the month of ALL THE EVENTS. Every group is starting back up (and competing for your parishioners' limited calendar space). And of course, everyone wants to be promoted in the bulletin, on the website, in the email newsletter, etc. But after a while, all of these promotions start to blend together...which means they're probably only being skimmed (at best!) by parishioners. There are a bunch of strategies you could try to help these groups promote...
29 days ago • 2 min read