When it comes to social media, I simply cannot live without these tools: 1) Texture or background graphics Pick something that represents your brand or series theme. Odds are, you can find a large collection of graphics for <$15 total that will totally level up your design game. I added a folded paper texture on top of this simple quote graphic. Here are a couple to get your gears turning: Tree rings, folded paper, stone, mountains/landscapes, vintage paper; or use your own search terms here....
23 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Since I did my webinar in 2023,... ...a lot has changed about this process! Here's what I've learned: To remind you, the benefits of the Google Grant for nonprofits include free access to Google Workspace (custom email addresses, Drive storage, docs, slides, etc...) and 120k in Google Search ads, among other things. I've helped quite a few clients get set up with this grant and I've learned a few tips along the way. I want to share those with you today. 1) Buckle up for a hurry-up-and-wait...
30 days ago â˘Â 2 min read
I've been setting up a lot of Facebook events recently... ...and I want to share 14 very important things I've learned. You curious? Keep reading to find out how you can get my help promoting your next Facebook Event. đ Baseline: Before we go any further, you need to be absolutely positive that the event you're advertising is one that people WANT to go to. None of the rest of this newsletter matters if you don't have that piece. (Read this newsletter for a thought experiment along these...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 3 min read
My recommended email marketing approach includes: One email to your members/insiders every week (much like a traditional newsletter) and One email to every email address you've ever been given consent to contact. âď¸ That's the one we're talking about today. You can hear me talk about this approach in more detail in my Mission & Ministry presentation on the Speaking page on my site. (Starts around 24:40) This second weekly email can contain almost anything: from a short devotion to a roundup...
about 1 month ago â˘Â 2 min read
This week... I had to turn off promotions for an outreach event I was advertising for a church because the response was becoming overwhelming. This was, of course, a good problem to have. What made this event go wild? I think we (the pastor and I) asked the right questions as we were putting it together. I want to share some of those questions with you today. Perhaps this will lead to a reimagination of the outreach events you've tried in the past. It's my prayer that this leads to more...
about 2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
I have a font-buying addiction. I'm no stranger to Creative Market's font section. Getting to classify my impulse purchases as business expenses? Dangerous. Sometimes, though, it's nice to have a fallback that's completely free. If your brand does not have defined font styles and you're hoping to become a little more consistent, this might be a great place to start. Here are five of my favorite free typefaces, suggestions for how to use them, and a handy tip for getting your sizing just...
2 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Let's dive into a crash course on all things domains. Boring? Maybe. Likely to be useful to you at some point down the road? Definitely! First, what's a domain? A domain is a fancy name for your URLâor the link to the homepage of your website. It's also what your custom emails would live on. Ex: churchname.com, [email protected] Domains typically cost between $20 and $40 per year to maintain ownership. Pretty cheap. For this reason, people will commonly buy the .com, .org, and .net...
2 months ago â˘Â 2 min read
Two free Adobe Express tools you'll return to again & again! You'll need to create a free account with your email. Once you're logged in, here are a few links to bookmark for watermark-free downloads. Add subtitles to short social media videos You don't want any fancy bells or whistlesâyou just want to plop some captions on a video and then download it without a watermark. Is that too much to ask? Did you know? At least 50% of Reels watchers view videos with their sound off. If you're doing...
3 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
Here's the tiniest little tweak you can make to your YouTube videos... ...to increase organic reach in your local area. Did you know? YouTube is the second largest search engine. Second only to Google Search itself. There's some discourse about Google Images actually being second and YouTube being third. You can decide where you'd like to land. Blah blah blah đ¤ Either way... YouTube has been called "the search engine of the future" by many and that's one of the reasons I place such a high...
3 months ago â˘Â 1 min read
You all have really loved my Pinterest boards for business cards & brochures... It's time to look at a whole bunch of merch inspo. đ You'll see a lot of wedding favors and wedding party gifts; these are just there to show you just how many products can be customized these days and get your gears turning. Browse my board The content of this board could be used in a variety of ways: Items on sale to your people so they can "rep" their church or school New visitor gifts Small disposable or...
3 months ago â˘Â 1 min read