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Strategies for Church Growth

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Inviting people to come to church can be hard work. Word of mouth is the best way but it’s not always possible. That’s why many churches invite their neighbors using the mail. It’s easy, effective and personal. And with non-profit postage rates starting at about 7¢, it’s affordable.

What to Mail
Not every church has the budget to send out elaborate folded mailers or brochures. But many churches can afford to send out simple postcards. Postcards are less expensive to print and mail, plus the message is easily seen.

Since there’s no envelope to open and nothing to unfold, postcards make it easy for your neighbors to read what you send to them. Unlike regular mail, with bulk mail rates, you can send a big postcard for the same postage as a little one.

Accurate Mailing offers postcard printing and bulk mail services. We often mail postcards that have been printed elsewhere. Many local churches have their postcards printed out of state and shipped to us for mailing because postage is at least 30% less.

What to Say
Since postcards are simple and easy to read, make your message simple as well. Many people are just waiting for somebody to invite them to church. Don’t mess with the message.  Some of the most effective cards that we’ve seen have simple messages centering around events. Of course, Easter and Christmas are the biggest events and a perfect time to mail.

Where to Mail
Some people that will drive 30 miles or more to go to their favorite church. But not that many. Proximity is a major factor for most people. Concentrate any effort as close to the church as possible. The closer to the church that you mail, the better your response rate will be.

Who to Mail

1.New Homeowners: Every week a number of people are moving into your area. Many of them would love to receive a card or a letter, telling them about your church. Mailing to new homeowners in your area once a month won’t cost much but the return can be quite impressive at the end of the year. Accurate Mailing Services provides a monthly new homeowner list on labels or printed directly to your mail piece.

2. Your Neighborhood: Using our neighborhood list you can send your message to every address surrounding the church location. Plus you’ll get the lowest saturation postage rates available. Mailing to the entire neighborhood is the list of choice for Easter and Christmas and for introducing fall programs.

3. Families with Children: Often chosen to promote VBS and Sunday School, this list is used when the immediate area doesn’t have many children. Your mail will be sent to individual families with children. Urban churches and locations that border retirement communities can make good use of this list.

At Accurate Mailing, we don’t pretend to be the know-it-all of church marketing. But after many years of working with hundreds of churches, we’ve learned some common sense approaches that work. And we know how to save you money in the process.

Call us today to find out more or send us an email!