Strategic Evangelism Solutions For Global Impact
Why I Don’t Recommend Paying For “Magazine” Features
Aug 5th
As one with a Broadcast Journalism Degree who’s worked in TV NEWS, Entertainment NEWS and yep, Christian Media for roughly 19 years, I love observing and analyzing the trends.
And for whatever reason, right now it seems like every week there is a NEW Urban ADVERTORIAL PUBLICATION, hitting the pavement, with a little confusion about how to operate and how to identify the right target audience that will help sustain the publication in this new digital age we live in.
Trust Me when I say, it takes a lot of work, experience and ingenuity to stay around as long as publications like Ebony, Jet, Gospel Today, and Black Enterprise. And these publications do not call someone to request an interview and then ask the subject of the interview to PAY for that feature.
That’s NOT how it works.
However, it seems like every other week I have conversations with popular faith-based Marketplace Leaders who have some FUNKY story to tell about their experience with a Christian-based advertorial magazine publisher, who doesn’t seem to understand the difference between Journalism/Entertainment Journalism & STRAIGHT UP ADVERTORIAL PUBLISHING.
The conversation goes something like this:
Christian Advertorial Publisher: “Hi, Marketplace Leader, I’ve heard a lot about what you’re doing and would love to feature you as a cover story in my magazine”
Marketplace Leader: Great, tell me a little bit more about your publication and I’ll let you know my availability for an interview.
Christian Advertorial Publisher: We publish once a month and feature leaders of faith like you that are making a difference. You can visit our site at www.christianmag.com, plus I’ll send you a few copies in the mail.
Marketplace Leader: Okay great, I look forward to the interview and to reviewing your publication.
About a day or so after the initial conversation, the Marketplace Leader then gets an email similar to this one:
Hi, Mr. Marketplace Leader thanks so much for agreeing to be featured in my magazine. Please decide on which feature size you’d like and then just click here to pay $$$$ for your feature.
EXCUSE ME?
You’ve got to be kidding, right?
Unfortunately, many are not!
That’s right, now all of a sudden I see more and more Christian “advertorial” magazines that appear to be posturing themselves as legitimate Journalistic or Christian Entertainment Publications, when in actuality they are really more like those MONEY PAGES magazines we all tend to throw away every other month.
You know the ones, full of advertisements, yet no REAL content?!
Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE reading great magazine features. But the ones I love the most are the ones created with some journalistic integrity. Meaning they don’t do a “switacharoo” on you, after asking to FEATURE you in their magazine.
The great long-lasting magazines that we love to read, are mainstays because of ADVERTISING dollars and READERSHIP SUBSCRIPTIONS. Yep, that’s right, the advertisers pay big money to advertise in their publications because they know the readership subscriptions are legitimate and can be measured accurately. Those advertisers also know that they are filling a specific need to a specific audience!
One of the best articles I’ve seen on this subject is “ 5 Reasons Why New Magazines Fail”
So, here’s my “2 cents” worth of advice to all you Pastors, Ministry Leaders, and Marketplace Leaders who continue to call me asking whether or NOT you should pay to have a feature piece done on you…
ABSOLUTELY NOT!
I’ve been featured in Ebony Magazine, Local & Regional Newspapers and Christian Entertainment Shows and NOT ONCE HAVE I PAID to have the publication “cover me!” And as a former Publisher of a city-wide alternative URBAN entertainment publication, not once did we ask folks to PAY us to cover them!
There are so many media opportunities out here now, that if you invest in a good strategic media & P.R. plan, you might be surprised at where your message will land.
Trust me, if you keep doing what you’re doing and MAKING the right strides, the RIGHT people will see and God will OPEN DOORS THAT NO MAN CAN SHUT, without you having to PAY $$ TO WALK THROUGH THE DOOR.
What are your thoughts & experiences?
Christian Business Owners, Are you making these FATAL mistakes?
Jul 12th
Drumroll please (lol) ….
ABSOLUTELY NO MARKETING?!
I am seeing businesses fail, left and right these days.
None of us are immune.
As a matter of fact, my colleague Karen Swim and I were just talking about this, as we’ve noticed more and more business owners discussing NOT HAVING any business.
Nevertheless, we did research and noticed that even in this fickle economy where everyone is pinching pennies, there are some business owners who are MORE THAN surviving.
They are providing a well needed solution and the phone keeps ringing and the doors keep swinging open.
This one thing has never changed; if folks don’t know about you or your fabulous product, your business will be short-lived. That’s one reason why Karen and I hold each other accountable regarding “weekly marketing goals”
Neither of us have a huge budget for marketing, that’s why we have to be creative and consistent.
But you know what?
There are some simple and fairly inexpensive ways you can “ramp” up your marketing, even with the smallest budgets.
1. Plan at least (1) day a week to spend at least 75% of your time doing some sort of marketing or networking! I do this every Monday! I tell myself it’s a “Marketing Monday” and then I make sure I do follow-up emails to past clients, research rates for marketing, introduce myself to folks who I believe may KNOW others who might need my services and lastly, that’s when I also try to get my ezine’s together.
2. Pool Your Marketing Funds with a colleague who has a different yet similar and complimentary business. This helps double your marketing budget and you can agree to a specific plan that works for both or agree to share in the expenses for a particular ad or account.
3. Develop a Tips sheet that you can send out to the local media that may garner interest in your business. For instance, if you a CPA and you have some great ideas that may help other small business owners save money, type those tips up and send them out to local news organizations, business associates etc …You never know when that reporter may ask if they can interview you as the local expert OR when that association president may invite you to SPEAK at there association meeting.
4. Send a REAL message or email to some strategic people you have met via social media. What does this mean? This means review your FB, Link’d N and twitter contacts and really take the time to get to know some of your “friends” you really don’t know that well. Remember, social media is about nurturing relationships, much more than it is about providing “updates on your life”
5. Ask for referrals! One of the most fatal mistakes I see small business owners make is NOT asking for referrals from satisfied clients. When was the last time you presented a client with a customer survey that ALSO asked for a few concrete referrals with names, phone numbers and email addresses that you can follow-up with.
I hope these tips help you and remember you can always RENT-MY-BRAIN (for real!) if you need help with the marketing of a specific idea or product. You can check out Tell Your Story Like A Pro to find out more or give me a call directly at 877.595.9117 ext 3
What’s The Difference Between A Psychic & A Prophet?
Jul 10th
Lots of people hav
e been asking for MORE of Tuesday’s ( “Lesson Over Lunch” LIVE webinar-style interview with Dr. Paula Price where the theme was “What’s the Difference Between A Psychic & A Prophet” So, I took it a step further and had the broadcast transcribed, just for YOU!
We can all agree, unless you have foundational understanding and answers regarding your prophetic gift & calling, you could be headed for DESTINY-KILLING DISASTER.
That’s why I’m now offering the mp3, transcripts and some great resources from Dr. Price for those who are ready for that NEXT LEVEL. And yes, we are scheduling more webinars on this subject and MUCH more in the near future. GET READY!
Invest In Your Future – TODAY (Oh yes type in the sales code dhospecial to get $10.00 off the whole package)
Why MOST TV Ministries FAIL Before They FLOURISH
Jul 7th
Monday I spoke with (2) Pastors who explained to me their challenges with their Media Ministry Volunteers. Though one was in Atlanta
and the other in Ft. Myers, Florida, both had similar concerns. They knew they needed help and at this moment, they realized until they invested in professional help and training for their volunteers, THE VISION would continue to tarry.
Do You Need Help, Developing your Media Support Team?
Of course you do!
Unfortunately, most Pastors I talk to recognize this fact too late down the road, once their media output has clearly suffered.
One of the MAIN reasons TV MINISTRIES fail, is because there is no one there to give clear direction and NO REAL SUPPORT for VOLUNTEERS who often times consider it A HOBBY, not necessarily a purpose.
In my eBook The ABC’s of BROADCAST TV: How To Begin A Quality TV Ministry Broadcast Without Bursting Your Budget I discuss much of this in detail. Considering all the calls I’ve been receiving lately about this, I wanted to share a portion of that eBook with you today.
Once you have your strategic media evangelism plan structured it’s time to now TAKE ACTION. The first thing you want to do now is develop your media support team.
These are the people who will assist you in achieving the media vision God has given you.
Thus it’s important to recruit those with a passion for media from within your congregation.
Remember, PASSION is the key word here. If they’re 16 and have a PASSION and just happen to be enrolled in media classes at high school, you never know how vital that 16 year old may be to your team.
Then too, there may be a retired broadcast engineer sitting in your congregation and you’ll never know, until you issue the CALL FOR MEDIA MINISTRY VOLUNTEERS. Once you issue the call, plan to meet within 15-20 days of making the announcement. I would suggest, having each prospective volunteer, email or fax to you a resume, including their media experience and potentially a cover letter explaining the depth of their media experience. While we do want to see how each volunteer could potentially function within this ministry, we don’t want to unintentionally isolate those with no experience. Because here again, a non-experienced person with PASSION for the ministry, 9 times out of 10 is better than an experienced professional with NO PASSION and a bad attitude.
Once you receive this information, I would then have my media consultant review the resumes and cover letters and then prepare to meet with each potential team member individually and collectively. Once this is done, you should have a better idea of who can function where and in what role and why.
Along the way, you will also be able to determine to what extent you may have to hire broadcast industry professionals to lead, nurture and supplement your volunteer ministry folks. If you truly plan to go on TV with a spirit of excellence and at a broadcast standard level, you want to keep your mind open to hiring professionals. You have to be realistic when you examine the experience and skill level of your ministry volunteers. Some of your volunteers may be ready to dive in, some may not be. That’s why it is so important to make sure you have a media consultant who can help guide you through the process if there is no one in your ministry who meets these criteria.
More than likely, you will exist as the Executive Producer of your broadcast, because only you know the exact scope of the Vision God has given to you for your broadcast. Your media consultant may then exist as Consultant or Supervising Producer if there is no one in your ministry to fill this role. Your inner-ministry media support team should consist of the following positions:
Director
Technical Director (TD)
Associate Producers (AP)
Camera Operators
Production Assistants (PA)
Video Editors
Motion Graphics Artist
Multimedia Specialists
Engineer
However, if you need to hire professionals I would encourage you to hire a professional Director/TD. One person can actually do both positions at the same time. I would also make sure to hire 1-2 professional camera people, if there isn’t a viable volunteer candidate.
Now this support team will vary considerably depending on who is available and how you plan to launch your media ministry. If you plan to have the ministry just shoot the broadcast and then you hand it off to a professional firm to post-produce, then you don’t necessarily need a video editor or motion graphics artist or even a multimedia specialist just yet.
No matter what, remember during this part of the process having a professional media consultant close by is VITAL. The great thing about having a true professional media consultant on your team is that he or she should be able to also give constructive criticism about your broadcast and even provide a detailed assessment of what your team is doing wrong, right and give clear solutions. If your video production ministry is already up and running, it is always best to hire a professional consultant first to make sure you are moving in the right direction.
NEED MORE MINISTRY AND MEDIA TIPS?
I hope this information has been beneficial to you. Feel free to pass it on and SHARE.
You can view some of the work I and my team have done for ministries via my youtube page at http://budurl.com/dhoyoutube or you can feel free to call me toll free at 877.595.9117 ext 3 to find out more about how I MAY be able to assist you, YOUR MEDIA MINISTRY and your VOLUNTEERS.
