I teach Catholic churches, businesses, and ministries how to market like Jesus. Every Monday, I send out the latest musings on Catholic marketing from my position as a Catholic marketing professional, former parish employee, and regular old Catholic mom trying not to lose my mind while raising saints. Subscribe if you want to learn how to apply the strategies Jesus and the apostles used to grow the Early Church to your own marketing work today!
I gave them my email SO FAST
|
I was browsing a homeschool curriculum website the other day when I saw my new favorite freebie offer: Up came a pop-up as I browsed, and I almost clicked out of it until I saw what it said... "Sign up for our emails and get free shipping on your first order." When I tell you I SMASHED the email sign-up button so hard. I've talked about it before, but shipping can be a huge factor in why people choose not to buy something. They are finally convinced enough to buy, but then they go to checkout and it's suddenly $6-15 more than they'd calculated. And yes, I know you're not Amazon, but they've trained us to not think about shipping costs anymore. It's not that people expect small businesses to be able to offer free shipping just because other stores do; it's that people just truly forget to add that cost in until they see it at checkout. So if they were on the edge because of the price and then see shipping on top of that, that sale has sailed. But if you can offer them that convenience, even as a one-time new subscriber discount, you have a much higher likelihood that they'll actually make a purchase. Now, what about offering free shipping at a higher price point? For example, if you spend $75+ you get free shipping? That has the advantage of raising your overall order value, which is great! But what I like about offering one-time free shipping to a new customer with no order minimum is that they feel especially valued, and they can purchase at a smaller dollar amount to "try you out" so to speak before that trust has been established. Then, once they've purchased, you can continue to email them - and repeat customers are much more likely to buy from you again (like, 80%+ more likely). So while you might not get as high an order value from that initial sale, you set yourself up for the potential of a lifelong customer, which will be more valuable over time. Jesus didn't start out asking people to be martyrs. He led them into deeper relationship with Him first - from observers to disciples to apostles to martyrs - and we have to do the same with our people. And sometimes? The invitation might need to take the form of free shipping to get their attention. For His greater glory, Emily |
Market Like Jesus: The Catholic Marketing Newsletter
I teach Catholic churches, businesses, and ministries how to market like Jesus. Every Monday, I send out the latest musings on Catholic marketing from my position as a Catholic marketing professional, former parish employee, and regular old Catholic mom trying not to lose my mind while raising saints. Subscribe if you want to learn how to apply the strategies Jesus and the apostles used to grow the Early Church to your own marketing work today!
It likely started with off-handed anecdotes at deanery meetings: "We have a lot of people for OCIA this year." "Us too!" A parish here, a parish there - until everyone started talking and realized that it wasn't just their parish. Across the United States, and the world, 2025 and 2026 brought a boom in OCIA interest. It was big enough that even the New York Times covered it. First, praise God!! The Holy Spirit is clearly moving. Second - are you ready for Him? Because when you hear all of...
In June, I read 279 church bulletins to prep for a Bulletin Bootcamp I'm running this summer. That number wasn't random. I specifically picked that number ahead of time as my goal. You see, I had already planned a YouTube video in my mind: "I read 279 Catholic church bulletins." Not 280. Not 300. 279. Why? Because using weirdly specific, extravagant, and odd numbers is one of my "oddest" but favorite marketing tricks. Weirdly specific At this point, we're kind of hard wired to be skeptical of...
It's been 128 days since the Easter Vigil. Your 2026 OCIA alumni have been Catholic for just over 4 months. That sweet chrism smell has long since dissipated (and with it, likely some of their "new Catholic" excitement). The security of the routine and community OCIA brought are gone, and they're kind of feeling "on their own" now. And more than likely, the real world has come crashing into their Catholic bubble, making them question everything from big moral doctrines to how to fit prayer...