Church Marketing Sucks

This weekend Todd Rhoades sent us an e-mail pointing out a series of mailers sent out by Seneca Creek Community Church in Germantown, Md. It’s not clear from the images if these are just postcards or full blown fliers, but they all seem to be advertising a specific sermon series and targeting a very specific audience. That’s a very smart way to go.

I like some of the imagery, especially the parenting mailer (pictured here). It’s simple, clean and captivating. Some of the others are a bit too busy to be effective, especially when they come with a pile of junk mail.

The Q&A format is also a bit forced, especially since it assumes an answer. Better copywriting would have helped. It’s also important to avoid churchy lingo. The parenting mailer is a series called “Raising Up Great Kids” with titles like “Raising Up Positive Kids,” “Raising Up Pure Kids,” “Raising Up…” –you get the idea. The phrase “raising up” is typical christianese. “Raising Positive Kids” is something a non-churched parent can relate to. “Raising Up Positive Kids” just sounds weird.

The back of the dreaming mailer features “what some of your neighbors are saying” and has quotes and pictures of actual people attending the church. What a cool feature. Notice that it’s real. No stock photography here. I’d love to see more church marketing take this approach.