One of my favorite lines in the whole Bible is the very last line of the Gospel of John:

"But there are also many other things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written." (John 21:25)

It gives us a glimpse at the mystery of the Word made flesh Who cannot be expressed by words alone.

But it also shows us: What we see in the Gospels is just a portion of Jesus' public ministry.

It implies there were not only other things He said and did, but also down time.

Time when He wasn't doing miraculous healings or dropping truth bomb teachings.

Lulls.

Maybe you're in a season of "down time" too.

No big launches.

No upcoming campaigns.

The "Ordinary Time" of marketing, if you will.

So what do you do for marketing in the down time? How do you keep people engaged for the future when you don't have anything to promote right now?

Well, here's six things I imagine Jesus did in those "down times" that you can do too.

(We'll look at two per week for the next three weeks!)

Still engage:

Let's start with what He wouldn't do: Ghost people.

(Unless it's with the Holy Ghost. 🔥 I'll see myself out now.)

I know it's tempting to just peace out until your next offer before talking to your people again.

You might even do it in the name of "not adding to the noise."

But as Catholic business owners and ministry leaders, you've been called not just to promotion, but also to lead souls closer to Christ through what you do.

Which means accompanying them during every season, not just when we have something we need from them.

Taking a short break after the busy season or to respect what's needed in your primary vocation? Totally okay.

(Coming from the person who just took a few months off postpartum.)

But marketing becomes ministry when we see it not just as promotion when we need people to take action, but as a way of accompanying people closer to Christ all the time, no matter the "sales season."

So to start, relook at your marketing time and decide how much time you can consistently devote to marketing.

Then, commit to it, even if you don't have something direct to promote.

Because God has entrusted you with this audience, and mindful, ministerial marketing regardless of "getting" something from it is a way you can love them like Jesus taught.

Build your case for the future:

Jesus didn't just talk about the present — He also connected the dots of the past that led to Himself and told the disciples what was coming in the future.

Likewise, this is a great time to focus on the past and future — aka the why — of your work.

You can share

• The inspiration of how it got started (especially if it was one of those relatable stories of, you needed this and it didn't exist so you created it)
• What you hope your work accomplishes in the big picture
• The bigger needs you solve
• How people feel before encountering what you do (reflecting their story back to them)
• How it changes people's lives
• Even highlighting specific features or details of what you offer and their purpose or meaning

You might not see a lot happen directly from those communications in terms of people taking action and that's okay.

What we're doing here is building the case for the future: connecting those dots from what came before and how this can impact their "after."

Then, when you're in a more "direct ask" time, you've already built the foundation. Instead of having to do all of that convincing work then, they're already primed and ready to take action.

Next week, we'll look at two more things Jesus probably did to keep evangelizing/marketing during down times.

But in the meantime, spend 5-10 minutes this week jotting down everything you can think of with your "why."

Then see if you can put together at least 1-2 pieces of marketing that focus solely on your why. No big ask, just sharing your heart and hopes for how your audience's lives can be changed by what you do.

For His greater glory,

Emily

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How (not) to market like a Lenten devotional It's the time of year for snow, and every Catholic ministry ever promoting their Lenten devotional/series. Offering a Lenten product this year? You'll want to read this. Read article

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