[A while back I wrote a PDF report on free offers or giveaways, but thought I needed to elaborate and focus in on the subject again. This will end up being about a four-part series of posts, so tune in.]

In a nutshell, booklets are a great guest giveaway for churches – and in particular, an excellent response mechanism to track guests on your church Web site, or in your newspaper or Yellow Book ads.

Most churches don’t realize the number of guests that may visit their site [or advertisements] and leave no trace they were there or saw your ad.

[If you haven’t noticed, it’s harder to track a site guest on the Web and through an ad, than it is when they come in your sanctuary!]

Just looking at my church’s Web site statistics over the past couple of weeks, I realize a lot of our site guests are likely church members ... but as I begin to promote our new church site [see the 20 lessons I learned from that redesign] I hope to increase the percentage of non-members that make an Internet visit, or at a minimum steer potential guests to the site first to take a test-drive of our services, ministries, etc. I mean, isn't that one of the vital job functions of a church Web site?

THE FREE BOOKLET GIVEAWAY OFFER

Here are six reasons I’m really quite fond of booklet giveaways versus other ideas ...

1. They cost less – you can get bundles of booklets for about a buck or less
2. They beat the typical mug and pen giveaway
3. They appeal to felt needs and communicates the Gospel
4. They add value to the receipient because they request it
5. They allow you to track requests and manage follow up
6. They give you statistics to evaluate the effectiveness of your Web site and promotions easier

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NEXT SERIES POST: Part 2 -- My Personal Experience with Booklet Giveaways

COMING UP in the "Great Guest Givewaway Ideas: Booklet" Series:
Part 2: My Personal Experience with Booklet Giveaways
Part 3: Ideas for Your Own Church Booklet Giveaway
Part 4: Designing an Online Request Form

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Tags: Church Marketing | Church Communications | Church Incentives | Giveaways | Church