Seth Godin on Church Marketing

October 2, 2006 by

Simply strategic guy Tony Morgan interviews marketing guru Seth Godin. Here’s a quick excerpt:

Nearly everyone who markets something suffers from the following conceit: other people do marketing, but my product is so amazing and magical and important that marketing isn’t necessary.

Nowhere is this idea easier to embrace than in a church. After all, marketing seems contrived or selfish or callous. If you really and truly believe that your faith is the one and only right faith, how dare you market!

But I don’t think the “one and only right faith” is accurate. No one is particularly chosen or blessed or better. A look at history makes that really clear. So you need to get over that if you’re going to grow.

So, yes, if you want to grow, you need to market.

Of course then Godin finishes with this, when Morgan asked him what insights church leaders could gain from his latest book, Small is the New Big: “I have no business at all telling church leaders much of anything. I hope they’ll find a nugget that resonates, especially if their goal is to spread kindness and openness. We need more of that.”

Post By:

Kevin D. Hendricks


When Kevin isn't busy as the editor of Church Marketing Sucks, he runs his own writing and editing company, Monkey Outta Nowhere. Kevin has been blogging since 1998, runs the hyperlocal site West St. Paul Reader, and has published several books, including 137 Books in One Year: How to Fall in Love With Reading, The Stephanies and all of our church communication books.
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2 Responses to “Seth Godin on Church Marketing”

  • goteeman
    October 4, 2006

    Just dropped in to say I love your concept and angle. So much of what the church has become is so far from what Christ is about, and it’s become really irrelevant.
    Keep it up, dude.
    Jeff


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  • Holy Cow!
    October 8, 2006

    I’m a big Godin fan…also don’t miss out his latest post:
    “50 churchgoers switch to a new congregation because of a boring or uncaring leader for every one that leaves because she was offended by a new way of thinking.”


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