A layperson catches up with her email one evening. She thinks through each email, deciding to either read it, save it or delete it.
She comes across the monthly newsletter from her association, hesitates and then deletes it.
“There is never anything of interest to me in that newsletter,” she mumbles. “I ought to unsubscribe.”
With the bombardment of information in our digital society, how do our messages break through in ways relevant to recipients? How do they provide high value to them and not just tell them what we believe they ought to know?
Consider your association’s newsletter
For me, reading associational newsletters involves scanning to see if anything catches my attention. Recently, I realized much information is focused on pastors and to a lesser degree on church staff. There is hardly anything for laypeople.
I wondered to whom the newsletters are sent. What other ways does the association communicate with church pastors, staff and laypeople?
I surveyed associations and discovered my initial hunch was correct. Many more people receive the newsletter than there are pastors of churches in an association.
My survey revealed 90% of the people receiving associational newsletters are not a senior or lead pastor. However, these pastors are the primary audience for many things communicated, which makes the newsletter of low value to other recipients.
Questions about associational communication
Three questions are crucial regardless of whether it is a print or digital newsletter, social media, group text, online video, podcast, telephone call, face-to-face encounter or other way of communicating with pastors, staff people and laypeople.
First, does your communication go to the right people? Second, are you communicating the right information? Third, do the right people use that communication medium?
Put those three questions together, and the key fact-finding question is are you communicating the right information to the right people through the right medium?
Perhaps you are. Perhaps not. Think deeply about your association’s communication. Take time to review your answer to the fact-finding question.
Who are the right people?
Regular communications such as newsletters ought to go to a minimum of seven people in each church — the pastor, the ministry assistant and five laypeople.
The larger the church, the more this list ought to include additional staff people and a larger group of laypeople.
The goal should be for communication to go to an average of 21 people in each member church. The size of churches will determine the number of people to receive communication.
A general communication should be sent to these people at least monthly. This can be sent by snail mail or email. Beyond that, there may be specific communications with more specific target groups such as pastors.
What is the right information?
Be sure the newsletter shares information of specific value to a high percentage of the recipients. Use a separate targeted medium if you are primarily trying to get information to and a response from pastors and church staff.
Laypeople become disinterested in information irrelevant to them.
Storytelling is powerful but underutilized in many event-driven and deadline-driven newsletters. Too little attention is given to stories about people, meaningful programs or ministries and missional progress.
Commission stories to be written that are informational, inspiring and affirming of Kingdom ministry. Highlight real people and churches, both within and outside your association.
If you cannot produce your own stories, consider highlighting stories published in The Baptist Paper.
What is the right medium?
This is the toughest question. Without research among your intended audience, it is difficult to know what medium people read. The right combination of communication is essential.
Consider your newsletter. Distribute it digitally — by email — to your full database. But that is not enough. Do more with your newsletter.
Post it to social media and your website and provide a link to it by text.
On social media and your website, the distribution should be supported by a 90-second video by the associational mission strategist highlighting one to three things in the newsletter.
