Have you noticed that the business world has adopted words commonly used in the religious world? Companies once hired spokespeople. Now the job title is “evangelist” (for example, Guy Kawasaki, former evangelist for Apple).

The business world also talks about a successful sale as a “conversion.”

Church evangelists can learn a great deal from modern marketing. Marketing and evangelism share many of the same goals. They can also share the same strategies.

The hottest trend in marketing goes by several names: Inbound Marketing, Relationship Marketing and Content Marketing are just a few. These three emphases fit beautifully into any church’s evangelism program.

INBOUND MARKETING

In a nutshell, Inbound Marketers make lots of helpful information available to everyone for FREE, using blogs and websites, coupled with Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn networking tools. While sharing their expertise, they gain authority. When people are ready to buy, they think of the people who were so helpful to them on the web. This marketing technique is tailor-made for Church Evangelists. Help people and they will come to you.

This marketing specialty grew from the modern challenge salespeople faced. As a people, we once were amenable to the knock on the door, the cold call, or chatting it up with visiting sales reps in the company cafeteria. Today we are security conscience. We ban solicitation, check Caller ID before answering the phone, and we do not allow anyone to enter our work space without passing security.

Marketers looked for new ways to get their message/product before potential customers. They used modern tools and technology to attract interest. It is a breath of fresh air for the business world. They no longer feel like nags. They refer to the old days (just a few years ago) as the days of “Interruption Marketing.” They are glad they are no longer distracting irritants. They know that the people they talk to are already interested in their message.

RELATIONSHIP MARKETING

Companies don’t want to work harder than they have to. Finding new customers is more work than keeping old ones. Businesses look for ways to stay in contact with their customers and continue to serve them long after the initial transaction. This can begin on the web. Some of it will rely on other strategies which we will discuss in later posts. Churches must learn from relationship marketers. It will help them be better Christian witnesses.

CONTENT MARKETING

Content Marketing is related to both Inbound Marketing and Relationship Marketing. Content is the helpful information you provide for FREE that attracts people to your message or product. Churches of any size can do this. It is a redirection of energy, but it is a potentially powerful evangelism tool. Provide helpful advice, meaningful thoughts, valuable information, and show that you care. People will notice and begin to build a relationship with you.

Churches must consider implementing these outreach techniques. It requires work and retooling ministry concepts, but these new methods can be very effective. It is not enough for congregations to be witnesses for Christ. They must be effective witnesses for Christ. That means looking for strategies that will make a difference in people’s lives and in the life of your congregation.

The above chart reveals 2×2’s web site’s pattern of growth. This is a project of a very small congregation. We began using Inbound Marketing techniques in February when we launched this blog. We took a few months to learn the ropes. In mid-summer we began following best marketing practices. We slowly started adding content more regularly (now daily). We monitored the statistics. Weekly, we saw interest growing. Today we expect to welcome our 1000th site visitor (almost all within the last four months!). We are averaging close to 30 new visitors every day. We’re not sure where we are going, but we are following a plan that seems to be appreciated. Thanks to all readers. We encourage you to start your own web ministry. We’ll be glad to help.