"Wow, look at you on Instagram!" I got a message from a friend a few weeks ago. My reply? "To be honest - don't get used to it!" I'm basically exactly the kind of small business on Instagram that I used to tell people not to be. (Do what I say, not what I do.) At this point in my work, I pretty much only post on my Gloriam Instagram account when I'm leading up to or in the middle of a launch. Otherwise? Crickets. (Don't get me wrong - I still spend way too much time scrolling on Instagram....
4 days ago • 3 min read
It's August 23, 2026. The 21st Sunday in Ordinary Time. It's a normal Sunday...but something seems different. As they're leaving Mass, a few people do a double take by the bulletin rack...and then look closer at the cover, grab one, and bring it home. A group of young adults are huddled together in the parking lot, pointing at something in the middle spread of the bulletin and saying, "Hey, that's you!" Two eager elementary school children are dragging their parents by the hand,...
9 days ago • 4 min read
You spend hours on the bulletin every week, trying to cram everything in. No one takes it. Then they complain they don't know what's going on. Repeat weekly. You know the bulletin design (and the process of how you create it) needs an overhaul — you're just not sure where to start. Here's how I'd fix it in 5 weeks For His greater glory, Emily Emily Ricci, CEO & Founder Connect on LinkedIn
11 days ago • 1 min read
I plopped my head down on the keyboard with an exasperated thunk. I had sneezed or blinked or made some involuntary movement, and now one of the bulletin's text boxes was irrevocably misaligned. I'd tried putting back where it had been for what felt like hours: Arrow right. Arrow left. Undo. Backspace. Copy and paste. No matter what I did, it just wouldn't "pop" back into place. That's because when I first started as a bulletin editor 11 years ago, I was creating the bulletin in Microsoft...
14 days ago • 3 min read
This past weekend, we visited my grandmother and went to Mass at her church. And what was the first thing she did (after I genuflected) as we walked in? Asked me if I wanted a bulletin. Now imagine if I hadn't been visiting, but was actually from the area and decided to go to church for the first time in a while. Or showed up as a guest for a baptism or a wedding. Which do you think has the greater likelihood of happening: Taking a bulletin that's right in front of me, or pulling out my phone...
15 days ago • 3 min read
Last week, my oldest went to VBS at our church for the first time. And when I say I was BLOWN AWAY - I was blown away. It was so, so good. It was all on the liturgical year, and each day they "celebrated" and learned about a different season. Some VBS camps can feel "fluffy" - this was anything but. They really learned so much, but it was also so much fun - Themed camp song, daily saint and Bible verse, tons of crafts and little gifts to take home, Adoration every day...not to mention...
17 days ago • 1 min read
Bulletin Bootcamp is here! For five weeks, we'll walk through refreshing your bulletin together - not just the design, but also how you make it. By the end of the summer, you can have a bulletin parishioners actually take, read, and do what it says, while taking you less time to make. Learn more and join in here. I've been the bulletin editor at two different parishes. At the first, I "inherited" the bulletin. And since I was doing it while simultaneously manning the front desk and helping...
18 days ago • 3 min read
I got an email from one of my favorite Catholic shops last week. "One-day only birthday sale!" The problem? I read that email while holding a squirmy baby in one arm and shooing my toddler out the door so we wouldn't be late picking his older sister up from Vacation Bible School. Oh, I'll look at this later, I thought. You want to know when I remembered? The next night. After the sale was over. Because that was the only email the shop sent about it, and I was so scattered when I read the...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Free Bulletin Training on Wednesday "5 Essential Strategies to Make Your Bulletin Easier and More Effective" Wednesday, July 8 at 2 pm ET / 11 am PT So stuck in the constant cycle of submission deadlines you never have a chance to think about the big picture of the bulletin? We'll be chatting about bulletin design, strategy, and simple tips to make your bulletin easier to make and encourage more people to take. SAVE YOUR SEAT Yes, replay will be available to registrants, but try to come live...
25 days ago • 5 min read