Always Promote

One thing I think that churches fall short is in promoting events effectively. There are a lot of churches that will attempt to tell people in a compelling way about the next weeks event, but I believe there are several keys to promotion.

1. Build expectation. Whether its a new sermon series, an event or a new class you can build expectation by letting the people know how this could benefit them. Mention a common topic and wet their appetite by mentioning something that your message or class will solve.
   
   Building expectation is all about peaking interest. So make it interesting. Do something different. Be like Ed Young says, predictably unpredictable. Don't allow the message to be the typical sermon, or the class to be patterned in a way that everyone can predict what you'll say next. Mix things up.
   
2. Begin with the next beginning in mind. When you start something, know what's coming next. What are you following this up with? How will you do it? Do you have a big Sunday where you want everyone to invite their friends to? Then what are you going to have next for them to want to come to?
   
   Don't fail to plan. It's an old adage, but it's worth stating and being redundant, by saying it again, and repeating the saying over and over... k... I'm done. People who fail to plan, plan to fail. Don't be a leader that plans to fail.
3. Give them something to help them remember. It might be an invite, a pen, or a paper clip (if you give them a paper clip, let me know how you tied that in, I'd love to know.) Be creative. Use something that common to their life so when they see it, use it, they remember what's coming.
   
   Theaterchurch.com gave away invites that looked like a cd for a series they called "Billboards."

These are simple, but effective principles to promoting. Let me know what you think.