Using an Email Newsletter to Keep Your Congregation Informed, Build Community

Email newsletters are an excellent way of communicating with your congregation and building community … and a great tool for Building Rockin’ Church Web Sites.
The more your church congregation is “in the know” the more likely they will be to participate in church events and activities, especially if it is a large church with many things happening in any given week.

Here’s everything you wanted to know about using email newsletters …


THE BENEFITS

There are many benefits to producing an email newsletter for your church or ministry:

Cost – Depending on how you distribute (through an email list program, or online services), email newsletters are a bargain. You can purchase an email program for approximately $100, or subscribe to an online email service for as little as $15 a month or less (or cheaper).

Simplicity – Email newsletters are relatively simple to produce. If your church already publishes a bulletin (who doesn’t?), that text can serve as the basis text for an email newsletter. It’s simply a matter of cutting and pasting it into an email program or service.

Communications – Think of an email newsletter as another channel of communication with your congregation. In addition to informing your church of upcoming events and activities, an email newsletter can serve as an emergency communication tool when you need to mobilize your church for urgent prayer meetings, disaster relief mission trips, or even severe weather threats.

Community – Just as your local newspaper helps foster a sense of community, an effective email newsletter, when done properly, can give your congregation a sense of being more involved in your church’s ministry.

THE DANGERS

Along with the great benefits of using email newsletters, there are also inherent dangers to using them:

Overuse and Abuse – This is one of the worst dangers of using email newsletters, but also the easiest to avoid. If you continue to barrage your congregation with worthless emails, they will simply stop reading them. Because they are so cheap to use, the temptation is to abuse (Pun intended). As an email newsletter “publisher,” you must not inundate your congregation with emails with little or no value to them. The best way to avoid this is to set up a simple publication schedule and use policy. First, determine the frequency you’ll publish and send the newsletter (Say, each Monday or twice a month on Fridays). Second, set the circumstances in which you’ll break that schedule (For example, for emergencies like severe weather interruptions of services, or urgent needs requests like a special offering for disaster relief mission trip). Then, stick to them!

Using Email Addresses without Permission (Don’t!) – You may already have an in-house database that lists your church members email addresses. Please don’t use this list to start your email newsletter. To work effectively, email newsletter subscriptions must be voluntary. There are several ways you can build your database the right way, but I will give you two. The first option, depending on how the email newsletter program or online service you’ve chosen works, is to place an electronic subscription form on the front page of your church’s Web site. Give it a prominent place on your Web site and label it clearly. The second option is to pass around a sign-up sheet through your Sunday school or worship service (i.e., maybe, on their offering envelopes) to enlist subscribers.
Company Email – It is also vitally important that you ask for your congregation’s personal email addresses and NOT their company/work email addresses. This has to do with Christian values in appropriately using company resources. Please be especially sensitive to this and avoid potential conflicts with your members in their vocations.

CONTENT IDEAS

It has been said that content is king, when it comes to publishing in any format. Producing quality, timely and relevant content is vital to success in using email newsletters as a communications and connecting tool for your church.

Here are some suggestions for content in your email newsletter:

A Word from the Pastor – I have found people will read what the pastor’s writes before anything else. People want to hear what their pastor has to say. Starting your newsletter off with a brief note or article (100-200 words) from the pastor gives the whole production a personal touch. Think about it. Their pastor has taken time out of his day to jot down a short note to them, while simultaneously trying to keep them informed about their church’s activities. Again, this section of your newsletter doesn’t need to be a polished sermon, or even a devotional (although it could be) – just thoughts from what’s on the pastor’s mind and what he wants to share with his flock.

Spiritual Guidance or Prompts – One church I know asked several key teachers in his church to write a couple short 100-200 word devotionals. They were then edited by the pastor and distributed throughout the church. This would be perfect for this section. But you could also collect good resources from the Internet and put the links to those trusted sites in your newsletter, accompanied by a brief note of what it would be helpful to readers. Ideas for this section could also include: Read through the Bible verses for that week, links to articles on evangelizing cults, past sermon MP3 files from the pastor or another Bible teacher, among others.

Church Activities, Services, and Events – This is rather self-explanatory, but I should mention it. Generally, for this section, I will include a paragraph for each ministry activity or event, giving details information (Answering the vital questions of: Who, what, when, where, why, and how?). Make sure if, for example, you’re highlighting a Parent’s Night Out that you include a registration deadline and who to contact and any other pertinent information. Here is an example of how I usually arrange these paragraphs: Sample Paragraph of an Event:

FAMILY FUN NIGHT SEPT. 30 – The church will host its annual Family Fun Night Thursday, Sept. 30, from 6-10 p.m. in the gymnasium. Events will include face painting, free throw shooting contest, a special showing of a kid’s movie, and a short devotional by Pastor Todd. Cost is free; bring a friend or neighbor. Contact: Anne Baker at the church office at 555-5555 ext. 50 for more information.

Calendar of Events – List all your activities and special events for the upcoming month. I would not include every regularly scheduled event, as you could list those somewhere else.

Church Information – Since you are mass distributing your email address, it is important to list your full church name both in the header of the email message body as well as at the bottom so the reader knows where the email is coming from. Include the church’s name, address, simple directions to the church facilities, and phone number at the bottom of the email. Be sure to also include Sunday services times and other weekly, regularly scheduled worship services and Bible study times. Plus, I would also add, that due to the fact some of your members will forward the email to their friends they would like to invite to church, I would also include your church’s “on call” or emergency number as well as the church’s office hours.

Unsubscribe Instructions – At the very end of the email you should include instructions for how a reader can unsubscribe to the email newsletter. Most programs and services provide this information. If not, you could say, “To UNSUBSCRIBE to this email newsletter, send an email message to: Church@Church.com with the word ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ in the subject line.”

EXTRA DO’S AND DON’TS

Here are some additional thoughts and suggestions for your church’s email newsletter: Use a template and stick to it. – A template is just a standard format of how your newsletter will look. Most email newsletter programs or services offer sample templates that are well designed and effective. Find one that is simple, easily read and use it consistently.

Send in text format, not HTML – I suggest using the simple text format for your email newsletter. Unless you have someone in your church with Web site experience, the time and energy it takes to prepare an HTML email newsletter is not worth it. By HTML, I mean that your email newsletter looks similar to a Web page, with graphics, etc.

Give it a good name – Name your email newsletter. I have used “Updates@[Church Name or Abbreviation].” Another title could be “Life@First Church.” If you have a printed newsletter, you could also name it the same, but only use the name “Online” or “Email Newsletter.” We call ours Quail Mail.

Don’t send mass emails through BCC – The temptation is to use your BCC (or Blind Carbon Copy) function of your individual email program (like in Microsoft Outlook and others). I have been told there is a security risk to your readers from SPAMMERS. As a precaution, invest the money in an email newsletter program or online service. In the short- and long-term, it’s worth the money.

Encourage members to forward – Using good common sense, I would encourage your members to forward your email newsletter to their friends and neighbors they would like to invite to your church. This could be especially helpful when you’re promoting evangelistic events or programs that fill key needs in the community (for instance, upcoming summer camps for kids).

Pick a good gatekeeper/editor – Ideally, you should have one person responsible for sending out the email newsletter and at least one person to be the designated backup. Make sure you document how it is done with the appropriate passwords and put those in a safe place. Enlisting one person to be the gatekeeper of the distribution of the email newsletter ensures proper use of the service.

EMAIL NEWSLETTER SERVICES

Here are four email newsletter publishing options:

See all the previous posts in the Building Rockin’ Church Web Sites here.

November 14, 2006 · Filed Under Email Newsletters, Rockin' Web Sites, Web Site Design

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Comments

8 Responses to “Using an Email Newsletter to Keep Your Congregation Informed, Build Community”

  1. Craig (mars-hill) on November 15th, 2006 2:44 am

    I really like using Pommo in order to manage and send newsletters. You need to be able to host it yourself though. They have a good online demo so you can play around before deciding if it’ll work for you. (It does have some problems with Safari).

  2. Eric on November 15th, 2006 6:45 am

    Craig, thanks for the info about Pommo! It looks good!

    Does anyone else know of any free php or .net based mass email management apps that I can install on my church’s host server?

  3. Jonathan Blundell on November 15th, 2006 7:20 am

    Also, if you choose to use HTML, be sure there’s a link or other information on how people can view it online in case they can’t view it through their e-mail client.

    http://www.encounterthis.com/ezine/Nov121.HTM

  4. Jim Walton on November 15th, 2006 2:30 pm

    I receive a weekly email from a church that I have done some work with and one thing they have on there that I like is volunteer(s) of the week. They highlight a volunteer or maybe a married couple and describe their service in the church. This particular newsletter has their picture but that wouldn’t be necessary, I guess, if you’re doing a text email.

    There are so many volunteers within the church that nobody ever sees, but the fruit of their labor is evident.

    Just another idea for how to use a weekly email.

  5. Cory Miller on November 15th, 2006 2:40 pm

    I’m really loving these comments and participation!

    I’ve wrestled with free programs and services and as the adage goes, “You get what you pay for.”

    I was using Zookoda.com for this site but it just felt like a lot of work … I finally bit the bullet and got the one I’m using now — Express Email Marketing. Much better, although I’m still learning and refining it.

    Speaking of church email newsletters, I’ve started them in three different places — two churches and a seminary. With all three I’ve had nothing but positive feedback.

    In fact, just Tuesday, an older senior adult said to me, “I love getting Quail Mail!” :-)

  6. AnneS on November 27th, 2006 6:46 pm

    Our church has had great results from Intellicontact as a bulk email sender. They have a strict privacy/no spam policy which was first criteria for us since we are not able to host our own in-house software. Google them for more info if interested — they have non-profits rates cheaper than the already reasonable rates shown. GREAT customer service and easy to use, feature packed interface.

  7. Laura (Driven Life) on December 9th, 2006 7:35 pm

    We’ve been using Publisher to format & send email newsletters for 2 months now. You can even have it convert the newsletter to a page on your website if you happen to use Frontpage. I started using it because we already have the software so its free to send newsletters.

    So far the response has been tremendous- our community loves hearing from different pastors in each issue and its been getting fowarded everywhere.

    We’re undergoing a huge redesign and I think we’ll continue to use Publisher since we already have the software & its free to send newsletters.

    See our last issue here:

    http://www.drivenlifechurch.com/nov28pulse.html

  8. Larry LaBarge on March 7th, 2007 3:38 pm

    Email still has a place in communications. I work for a Christian company that just released “Oikos” a social networking software for the church. Social networking is probably the easiest and best way to build community.

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