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Small budget questions #cheapmm No budget questions #freemm

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Do you need this?This presentation is for ministry leaders that are involved with any type of marketing, communications or media arts.

Even if you’re not in ministry, this is packed with ideas for low cost marketing concepts and inexpensive media.

This is the detailed presentation from the breakout group: MARKETING & MEDIA ON A SMALL BUDGET from ministryCOM.org 2009.

Benefits:Makes you a good steward of your money

A recession doesn’t matter because you are used to working with little or no money

Your budget plan is very detailed

Job security, because you’re saving much more than your salary

You spend more time prioritizing your expenditures

When you get a larger budget, you’ll spend it wisely

Forces creativity

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The GOOD news: You have a small budget

Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. --Oscar Wilde

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Types of resources:Budget - Your budget is a resource, even if it’s small

Information - You’re reading this, it’s a resource. Internet, other churches, books, seminars, conferences, classes, etc...

Media - What do you have? What do you need?

Services

Equipment

People

People’s media, services & equipment - Volunteers are usually willing to donate time and their resources if they know you have a need

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what box?

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Everyone has heard this phrase. Some people think it’s cliché, some are terrified of it and some will get philosophical about it… “by being out of the box, isn’t that technically being in a different box?” My typical response is “what box?” since I tend to orbit very far away from any box.

My definition of out of the box is:Doing things differently, expressing creativity and

leading the way, even if your path is that of the unknown.

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“It's hard for corporations to understand that creativity is not just about succeeding. It's about experimenting and discovering.” – Gordon MacKenzie Author of Orbiting the Giant Hairball

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Not everything we try will succeed. We bought 1000 pairs of 3D glasses (with logo and website printed on them) with the intent of creating video and graphic content that were 3D viewable. Because of some equipment and technical issues, it failed for it’s original purpose, but many positives came out of it.

We used them as bringer cards

Kids thought they were cool, took them and gave them to friends

We were able to use a pre-produced 3D clip in the final week

Brainstorming: free

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Print materials: $150

Local ad: $400

Billboard: $3000

Marketing/media budget: $0

Creativity: Priceless

What is creative bliss?

Creative bliss is brainstorming, processing ideas, and increasing the creative process. It’s easy to wrapped up in tasks and to do lists, but you should make time for creativity.

Everyone is creative in some way. get your team together and get them plugged into the right places. God is creative and we were all created by Him, in His image. If you have the mindset of not being creative, you won’t be creative.

Creative bliss tips:Increase your creativity… and your teams’ creativity

Info - Books, blogs, social media groupsMeetings - Yes, you heard me right. Take 15 minutes in meetings for creative time.Idea journaling - Write them down or they’ll be gone forever.

Cultural relevancy - Schedule time for it. Make time for it.

Playtime - Have toys, these help people express themselves. Use props, they are visual and will make people remember your ideas. Do show and tell.

All ideas are good - Even bad or challenging ideas can spawn good ones.

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I know what you’re thinking… “you’ve talked about resources, creativity, boxes, blah, blah, blah. Get to the

good stuff. I need some good money saving ideas!”

Here we go.

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Bringer cards•photos cut in half•full color•no minimums •$.05 each•these easily fit in wallets

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Microsites & Branding

What is a microsite? A website or group of web pages meant to advertise or support a larger website. These are relatively inexpensive and can drive a lot of meaningful traffic to your church website. Here are a few examples that support our main site, prestontrail.org.

mymiserablemarriage.com

badecono.me

hugofwar.com

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billboard

money giveaway

car window stickersdigitalfondue.org

Microsite case study:The topic is of current interest and sparks curiosity.

Bringer EventsBringer events are events you can do for your community. This is a great way to reach people in your church and also bring some people into your church that might have had no intention of coming to a church.

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Other cheap stuff:

Random acts of community kindness - help out in your community. Word will spead!

Media cards, info cards - create business card sized info cards for all your ministries.

Website - have a well designed, easy to navigate site.

Church social networking site - our church uses Unifyer for internal communications so our website can focus on bringing new people to our church.

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Social media & social networkingRight now, these are the top three... and they are free.

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BTW, this presentation was created because of a need communicated through Facebook :)

BlogsBlogs are a great way to communicate stories and event happenings in your church. They can also increase meaningful traffic to your church website. If you choose to blog, make sure you update them regularly.

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Buzz marketing & word of mouth

14% trust advertising

78% trust peersdigitalfondue.org

Other free stuff:

Free media sites - there’s a HUGE amount of free media on the web. Take the time to find it and be sure to respect peoples’ copyrights.

Piggyback on current media - don’t copy, but it’s okay to use similar styles when branding a series.

Share with others - network with other churches and media sites.

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Tips:Track your marketing - know what’s working.

Is it still working? Just because it worked in the past, doesn’t mean it’s still working

In-house or outsource? Resource before you outsource and get in touch with your inner analyst

Buy equipment if it makes sense - Do the cost analysis. Will you be able to use it over and over again?

Utilize every free thing you can get your hands on!

Don’t reinvent the wheel

Don’t put all your eggs in one basket - don’t spend your whole budget in one place

Do microsites… and keep them - these will drive additional traffic to your church site.

Put your website on print materials - if people like your message, they need to know how to find you.

Think long-term exposure

Use ALL of your budget - if you don’t, it’s a missed opportunity. You won’t get as much next year either.

Network with other churches - we are all working for the same cause. No competition here!

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Thank you!Twitter your comments and questions

Small budget questions #cheapmmNo budget questions #freemm

Follow this topic with Jody Wissingjody wissingptcc church (preston trail)

embracechaosprestontrail (preston trail)

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sundaydontsuckprestontrailcc (preston trail)

jwissing

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embracechaos

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