Automating direct mail campaigns has the potential to help your church boost membership, tithes and overall engagement with members. And you don’t have to break the bank to begin automating your mailing campaigns, either. To sweeten the deal, automating your direct mail campaigns is so simple that you’ll still be able to reap the benefits of direct mail while managing the rest of your responsibilities. Some ideas for how you can leverage automated direct mail campaigns to keep your church members engaged include:
Using Automated Direct Mail Campaigns to Increase Giving
It’s a mistake to assume that you can only accept offerings & donations from members attending Sunday Services. The reality is that church postcards are the perfect medium for accepting offerings. This also gives patrons the opportunity to donate more than once per week. Taking that into consideration, regularly automating mailing campaigns could be just what it takes to increase giving at your church. One of the most effective methods of using direct mail to facilitate giving is by including a QR code onto your mailers.
Doing so enables recipients to donate within minutes of receiving your postcard. This is also a great technique for gauging overall engagement of your campaign. Another idea is to include a direct link to a donation page on your postcards. Either option allows members to give at their own convenience.
Leveraging Automated Direct Mail Campaigns Allows You to Repurpose Social Media Content for Offline Audiences
Don’t underestimate how many members of your Church check their mailboxes daily, while failing to maintain an active online presence. Making social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram as your sole means for keeping church members in the loop disregards members that aren’t active on social media. And your social media pages may contain content that offline church members may find fun or compelling. A few ways you can use automated direct mail campaigns to bridge the gap between your online and offline congregation engagement efforts include:
- Sharing Congregation Photos:
Suppose you’ve had a massive turnout at your most recent Sunday Service. You can use content from that Church service to draw in an even bigger crowd in the following weeks. Seeing photos of the packed pews, along with the choir and reverend could be perfect for instilling a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out) that motivates recipients to return to church soon.
- Positive Comments About Services & Facilities:
Let’s say for instance that you’ve had an influx of new members show up at Church as a result of recent social media outreach. Afterwards, they leave a comment on the Church’s Facebook feed about what a wonderful time they’ve had. This could be just what it takes to attract more new members or to get members who have recently joined to get more involved at your church.
- Church Highlights & Bulletin Board Materials:
Automated direct mail campaigns allow Church updates & developments to go beyond the bulletin board. When members haven’t had the opportunity to visit in a few weeks, missing out on key developments is inevitable. But including bulletin board updates and member highlights on church postcards is the perfect formula for allowing busy Church members to stay up to date on new developments.
Use Automated Direct Mail Campaigns to Provide Event Recaps
Using direct mail campaigns to promote Church events can go a long way towards maximizing attendance. But don’t forget to close the loop with your audience by providing a thorough event recap. This could be precisely what it takes to boost attendance for the next event, or to get members engaged in volunteering at church events. That’s especially the case when your event recaps contain the right elements.
A tangible event recap postcard also allows recipients to share event insights with a friend or loved one who may be interested in attending in the future. Imagine that your event recap postcards contain personalization, along with high quality photos and testimonials for event attendees. This is the exact type of collateral that is capable of allowing recipients to think, “I can’t miss the next one”. And you can capitalize on that feeling by including a link that allows recipients to RSVP to an upcoming event.
Automated Direct Mail Allows You to Provide Specific Messaging to Certain Segments of Your Audience
One of the biggest benefits of automated mailing campaigns is their ability to strengthen connections with recipients. Part of the reason why automated mailing campaigns are so effective at building stronger connections is because you can use them to reach specific audiences with personalized messaging tailor-made for audiences based on your first-party data. Information like when new members joined or what events certain members have displayed a preference for attending is essential for connecting with specific segments of your audience.
Perhaps you could design a postcard that simply thanks new members for attending service, while inviting them to an event specifically for new and prospective members. Another idea is to use direct mail to connect with members of your church with children by conducting a mailing campaign that encourages recipients to come early enough for Sunday School. And thanks to Direct Mail Manager’s integration with platforms like Planning Center, leveraging your data to implement highly sophisticated mailing campaigns has never been easier. Your only limitations when it comes to creating and reaching specific segments of your audience is your congregation data.
Begin Automating Campaigns for Your Church With Direct Mail Manager Today!
Automated mailing campaigns are among the most effective resources available for achieving and maintaining a large church congregation. If you’ve never used an automated direct mail platform, getting your first mailing campaign up and running may seem daunting. But the team at Direct Mail Manager is eager to work with you to create campaigns that boost congregation sizes while keeping current members engaged. To begin mailing your congregation, sign up for a Free or Pro Direct Mail Manager account today. Members of your Church are waiting to hear from you!
