Email newsletters are a must for every church. These vital communication devices provide a quick and easy way to reach regular attendees and those who do not attend every weekend. People have come to expect to receive emails from organizations they have a relationship with, including their local church. Correspondence from organizations like the church is welcome because they inform and connect, allowing members to receive updates and other relevant information for themselves and their families.
With the right software that provides easy-to-use templates, newsletters can be a simple and effective tool. Here are four reasons newsletters are a must for your church:
Email is Effective
Email is still the most effective means of reaching your audience, with 91 percent of people using email every day. It’s important to note that younger people are more likely to give out an email address than a physical address or phone number. It’s a great way to start a conversation, and the recipient can respond when she gets ready.
You Own Your Email List
If Facebook, Instagram, or other social media platforms suddenly go away, begin charging, or enact policies that are contrary to your mission, you will find yourself in a quandary. At best, they’ll become difficult or expensive to use and maintain. At worst, you’ll lose all your contacts. Not so with email. People have opted in and given you permission to contact them, and you own your email list. Newsletters are a must because you will be able to continue to contact people in spite of changes to social media.
Email Is Personal and Private
Posts on social media are for everyone to see, and it’s easy for posts to get lost in a busy newsfeed. When you send a newsletter, it’s delivered to an inbox, where the recipient will see it whenever he checks his email account. Automated email marketing tools allow you to add a personal touch and address the member by name.
Unlike social media, email allows you to control who receives your messages. For example, you can send exclusive announcements such as prayer requests to current members only, or you can send a series of welcome emails to a visitor.
Take it a step further, and you can reach members within your church based on their needs or interests. For example, families with small children can receive a newsletter from your children’s ministry; whereas, a retiree can receive an email customized for them. Each ministry within your church can create a newsletter for that area.
You Can Measure Email Open Rates
Data is the key to reaching the most people, and email newsletters are measurable. Emails have higher conversion rates than social media, and you can track open and click rates to determine the types of messages that are the most engaging for your congregation. According to SmartInsights, the open rate for religious emails sent through Mailchimp is quite high, at over 25 percent with a click-through rate of almost 3 percent. Don’t be afraid to experiment to learn which headlines get the most attention or the day of the week that more people open your email.
A strong church management software like FellowshipOne can help your church create an engaging church newsletter using one of its prepared templates. Click here to receive a free, customized demo. Using your stored member data, you can customize who receives which communication.
Don’t miss out on the opportunity to engage your people with a church newsletter. It’s an effective mode of communication that communicates with personal, private and tailored messages. And with the right software, it’s easy to measure its success. With your church’s email newsletter, you can build relationships and encourage engagement among members and nonmembers alike.
