When you saw the title of this post, what went through your mind?
You’re not alone. Those are all common responses. Many of us have the experience of the forgotten blog somewhere in the internet, so some of us feel timid or even aghast at the idea of starting one for a church.
All the same, you should absolutely have a church blog.
Writing is a skill that comes naturally for some, and is a struggle for others. Whether or not you’re confident in your abilities, or if you have a job that doesn’t require it, it can still sometimes be necessary to write something that will be read by someone else.
A couple weeks ago, we talked about how a content framework consists of a home base (your website), a media empire (blogs and emails), and outposts (social media). This week, our focus will be on the media empire, which is the source of all your church’s long-form communication.
Though your media empire may reside on your church’s website, it serves a very different purpose. The purpose of your website should be to encourage people to visit and get involved at your church; the media empire should direct people further into your website. In this blog post, we’ll delve into blogs and emails and learn how they can develop your church’s content framework.
Blogging has become a legitimate profession. There are blogging conferences, blogging communities, and endless blogging platform options.
I follow bloggers who make $5,000+ from one Instagram picture. Some feature products on their blogs and receive compensation from big-name brands. Kind of sounds like a dream job, right? People send you free stuff, you say a few nice things about it online, and you get lots of money. That’s my dream, at least.
In 2015, for the entire month of February, Chick-fil-A offered free coffee to introduce customers to their new brew made from specialty beans. This generous promotion caught my attention and I found my way to their restaurant several times in those 28 days.
So, what does this have to do with inspiration boards?
It can be a challenge to find quality stock photos and graphics for free or on a budget. Today, I’m going to share some of my favorite places to search for artwork to use in ministry.
Pastors have been writing to God’s people for centuries. Remember those letters the apostle Paul wrote to the Early Church? And this one guy, Martin Luther, posted some ideas on a church door about 500 years ago. (Just think how many shares he would have gotten with a blog . . .)
Your blog might be filled with super content, but it will end up flying under the radar if you don't promote it! (See what I did there? Punny!)
If you’re worried no one is reading, be patient. This doesn’t point to terrible writing or boring content. It takes time to gain traffic and readers. But don’t just twiddle your thumbs waiting for readers! Actively promote and advertise your posts to make your blog grow.
Promotion is crucial to growing your blog and its audience. Here are seven ways you can grow the audience of your blog.
Writing sermons is only one part of a pastor’s work, but it’s one that can take a great deal of time in study and preparation. Every pastor I know wants to be faithful in his preaching and therefore invests time and energy into properly studying the Scriptures and preparing for Sunday morning.
There’s not a lot of shortcuts out there, though, and many of the helpful technology tools cost a great deal. Fortunately there’s a number of tools freely available on the internet to help streamline the process.
To that end, here are my go-to online tools for sermon writing. They’re not the only ones, and I won’t even claim that they’re the best, but they’ve served me well and continue to do so.
Some people simply aren’t online much. Maybe that’s the case in your congregation. But that doesn’t mean a church or pastoral blog would be a waste of time!
Even with a “offline” congregation, a blog can still be a success. Try these 3 ideas to make the time spent generating blog content worthwhile.
