Church Marketing Sucks

Every week I hold online office hours and answer questions from folks like you. This week we’ve got a question about marketing budgets and bulletin advertising. Take a look and be sure to join me every Wednesday from 2-4 p.m. CDT for online office hours!

Wondering what project management software you like best and why? Thanks!

My response:

In my world, Basecamp rules the roost. I’ve tried a few other solutions, namely Zoho and OmniPlan, but both of those experiences were short-lived. Basecamp truly does project management better than anyone else.

Project management, as I’m sure you’re aware, is a tricky beast to tame. You have to keep lots of people all on the same page, at the same time. Doing this intuitively and cleanly is even more difficult. But Basecamp pulls it off.

If you’re looking for something different or free, check out this extensive list for some Basecamp alternatives.

There’s a lot of buzz about The City right now, the online social networking platform for churches. How do we launch into something like that without segregating the over 60 demographic who do not use computers to the level that this would require?

My response:

Vision. It all boils down to vision.

The 60+ demo in your church has dreams, desires and reasons for returning to the community. They also have an embedded set of values, just like younger generations. The key is to finding out what these are and relating them to the overall goals of the church.

Demonstrate how their values can be honored and goals accomplished through the use of technology. They may not choose to participate in it (although some will), but they will understand why you’re using a specific platform.

Once the 60+ crowd sees their legacy can continue through online community tools, they’ll be more receptive to the idea. Having said that, you’ll always have folks who want things to stay the same. That’s when your leadership needs to be strong and stay the course.

Thanks for the great questions everybody! Hopefully this information will help you get from where you are to where you want to go. See you next time in the office!