Thursday, March 20, 2008

The New Indiana Jones Movie and Your Ministry - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

Go with me here...

As many of you may know, a new Indiana Jones movie is coming out this summer. It apparently features 60-something American actor Harrison Ford pushing around a walker and popping arthritis medication, as he battles the bad guys in an action-packed adventure for the whole family. Kidding...

Actually, I have no idea what the plot is for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. But that's not the point. I mention the movie to point out how they're promoting the film with great success and how you can use the same tactic to advertise your ministry or Christian business.

Say it with me: widget. A widget is a simple little tool that can be easily placed on blogs, websites, and elsewhere, that promotes something and is able to be shared with others. Notice the widget on the left of this post, offering you a chance to chip in a few dollars/pounds/rubles to support the Lucky Rock (your author's non-profit ministry).

The Indiana Jones marketing folks, geniuses that they are, created a trailer and then hired a company to make a widget out of it. The result--literally millions of people have watched the trailer! In fact, on the heels of the mind-boggling success of the first preview, they're now putting out a second trailer via widget. Read the Hollywood Reporter story about it here.

"I think the reason that studios are excited about widgets is that word-of-mouth and buzz is what Hollywood is after all the time," said Peggy Fry, senior vp sales and client services at Clearspring. "If you think about it, what a widget is, it's a digital version of word-of-mouth."

Now consider your ministry or Christian business. Do you have sermon audio, testimonials, video, music, or other content? What about links to key info on your website such as model homes, tax advice, investment insights, etc? You may not have all the advance buzz of the latest Hollywood blockbuster. But you likely have a group of partner ministries, supporters, or contractors that would be willing to help spread the word.

You can build a widget out of just about anything. And the cool thing about widgets is that pretty much anyone can copy and place them on other websites and blogs...the very definition of viral marketing!

I hear a bunch of you saying, "Hold the phone! How in the world do I build a widget?" That's where SproutBuilder comes in. I blogged about it extensively here.

Sprout is a free, web-based service (meaning the interface is online like Hotmail and others), that allows you to build, store, and publish slideshows, audio jukeboxes, link lists, and a bunch of other media. Log onto SproutBuilder.com, sign up for a free account today, and start building. If enough of you ask for it, I'll soon post a SproutBuilder tutorial.

Think about what your ministry or Christian business offers. Then think about how you can make it go viral.

Say it with me...widget.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Another Thing About Story Blogging - Ministry & Business Marketing and Strategy Blog

Yesterday I offered some quick tips on how to tell your ministry or Christian business story through blogs -- story blogging. To take it a step further, you can, in fact, dedicate an entire blog to just success stories or testimonials about your organization.

Case in point, check out the Crown Financial Ministries True Financial Freedom Stories blog. I volunteer with Crown here in Tampa, Florida and I built the site to showcase all that the Lord continues to do through Crown to help folks manage money and their whole lives, God's way. The blog features testimonials, audio from Crown's daily Money Matters show, and links to key Crown websites including giving opportunities.

How could you build a similar blog for your ministry or Christian business? Or how could you incorporate some of these elements in your existing website?

Don't just relay bland facts and figures (service times, location, etc.). Communicate the Holy Spirit's work through you as evidenced by changed lives. For you Christian business owners, convey your biblically-inspired honesty, hard work, and excellence as experienced by your many satisfied customers.

Happy Story Blogging...

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Telling Your Story...through Blogging - Ministry & Business Marketing, Media and Strategy Blog

By now most of you have heard about the wonders of blogging. Since you're reading this, you've obviously seen a blog and have some idea of what it's about. You may even read many blogs per day or week.

For those of you operating Christian ministries and Christian businesses, blogs can be a great way to tell your story and to steer what's said about you online. Notice I said "steer," not "control." Control of what's said about you online and your media, long ago went the way of Bill Clinton's virtue. So how exactly do you use blogs to tell your story and steer what's said about you, to the glory of God?

Here are some simple tips...

1) What are you passionate about? What gets you up in the morning/keeps you up at night? What has God led you to do about it? Blog about these things. Your vision and values drive your work and talking about them is a great way to communicate your niche in Christ's kingdom.

2) How do you accomplish your work? Do you teach English as a second language, provide food and shelter, or preach the gospel through media? Blog about it. Your philosophy of ministry -- both in your approach to the lost and those who know Christ, and the nuts and bolts of advancing Christ's kingdom (such as broadcasts and/or building projects) are part and parcel to your unique place in the Body of Christ. Tell others about it.

3) Facts and figures. Without going into gory detail, give folks an idea of the size of your ministry, your financial needs, your impact, etc. You'll usually want to weave facts and figures into an overall narrative which includes the things mentioned above and...

4) Action steps. What do you want people to do about it? You can mention your wish list in your blog posts and communicate the same through links to other important pages. You could also show an attractive ministry graphic or link to a page of testimonies from folks whom the Lord has blessed through your work, with an accompanying donation or prayer chain link.

Not coincidentally, these blogging essentials comprise what should be included in almost all of your ministry communications. Vision & values, philosophy, facts & figures, and action steps should be a part of nearly every letter, email, and promo video you send (with exceptions made for personal thank you notes and the like).

One last thing...I mentioned the value of blogging for steering what's said about you online. Telling your story through the above steps, by the work of the Holy Spirit, will help friends and potential partners see the value of the Lord's work through you and compel them to jump on board. On the flip side, telling your story through blogging will also dampen the impact of false or misleading information disseminated online by folks who don't have your best interests, much less the Lord's will, in mind. Assuming that your ministry is actually biblical, click here for more on defensive blogging.

Christian business owners should approach blogging in much the same way. Use online storytelling to interest folks in your business, set yourselves apart, and bring in new customers -- to the glory of God.

If you already write a blog, but you realize that it's in serious trouble -- either in appearance and content, check out this post on revamping your ministry website. Happy blogging...

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