Strategic Evangelism Solutions For Global Impact
Christian Business Owners
Prayer Line and Valentine’s Freebie
Feb 14th
Hey there, Just wanted to get this quick note out before I hit the sack!
If you’re a Christian business person, I hope you’ll join me, Sarah Mendez and Dr. YaQuanda McCall in 10 minutes at 7am EASTERN Monday, as we pray for Markeptlace Leaders just like you!
Here’s the number to call!
We pray for 15 minutes, so if you can, dial : 712-432-1630 cd 418609
Or if you can’t join us be sure to go to the REPLAY:
dial: (712) 432-1283 – 418609#
As always, you can go to www.budurl.com/PrayerFeed2 to listen in via your computer or to connect to our RSS feed.
A few more things:
1. If you missed Saturday’s interview with Mia Sherwood of Heartsong Ministries, you can go here to listen in : We had a great conversation about Dreams & Visions and HOW TO KNOW when God is really speaking to you via a dream and HOW to CLEARLY understand what He is saying, even through the symbolic imagery. I really enjoyed the interview!
2. If you know any Christian “divorcees” who are still struggling through the DEVESTATION of the DIVORCE or are just needing some extra encouragement send them here and give them this CODE (valentines2011) to get my mp3 “From the Cradle of Crisis to the Door of Destiny” FREE on Valentine’s Day 2011. I ministered this last year around this same time via a Telesummit featuring Tara Travis, Barb Pruitt and myself.
Encourage Someone on Valentine’s Day!
Valentine’s Day can turn out to be a challenging day for many, especially those who are Christian, Divorced and Single, not necessarily by choice. Do me a favor and ENCOURAGE them on this day and also, forward this information for them to download this FREE mp3.
That’s it for now. Hope you can jumpstart your day with a quick session of Prophetic Prayer with me and the team!
Have a great one,
Dwann
877.595.9117 ext 3
P.S. Gospel Heritage is back in Jax THIS WEEK. Read the full story!
Maximize your eEvangelism via Social Media without Burning Yourself Out!
Feb 2nd
Happy Black History Month as well, to you if you’re in America.
Here’s my QUOTE OF THE DAY.
“I prefer to be true to myself, even at the hazard of incurring the ridicule of others, rather than to be false, and to incur my own abhorrence. “
Frederick Douglass
I hope this note finds you and yours doing well.
I’ve been meaning to share this information for a while and finally was able to sit down and write out my thoughts on the subject. May I have 5 minutes of your time?
Here’s a QUICK Online Lesson In Social Media.
Or at least one essence of it. Many times I hear Pastors and ministry leaders “fretting” about social media and how ‘impersonal” it is and WHY there’s just not enough time in their day to really TAKE IT ON.As I pondered about this, I knew it was time to share some easy “tricks and tips” of the trade that will definitely help make your online evangelism outreach more consistent and less burdensome to you or whoever is overseeing this effort for your ministry.
What’s Social Media REALLY about?
What you have to remember is that SOCIAL MEDIA ie: facebook, twitter, blogging etc …is really about BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS.
That’s right, it’s more about allowing the people to get to know you, what you stand for and your VALUE, than anything else.This means, just like you nurture your personal friendships that you consider dear, you must also do the same via SOCIAL MEDIA.
Whatever you do, don’t look at it like it is ONLY a way to increase product sales, donations or get more folks to attend your church etc …but really view it as a way to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS and as a way to “catch fish” as we are INSTRUCTED TO DO. As such, this means when folks need to hear from you the most, you should be there.
When is that time?
ANY TIME AND ANYWHERE, EVERYDAY & EVERYWHERE!
Now, if you’re saying “OMG, every day!?” Please, please simmer down. (smile) And look at it from this perspective. Since we really have NO IDEA about God’s timing, this means we must be consistent in order to really effective evangelize online and reach those He’d have us to reach, at the time He’d have us to do so.
How Can I be consistent without burning myself out?
One of the tools that I use to keep me consistent, especially via twitter is SocialOomph!
Great name, huh?
Essentially, this tool allows me to pre-program and pre-plan tweets when I know I am definitely going to be saying something specific on a specific day. It also allows me to plan according to the different events I may be hosting as well. From prayer lines to prayer meetings to prophetic conferences, I can plan ahead. This also means I have the ability to pre-program consistent messages over a long period of time, without necessarily having to to manually TWEET it every single day and minute of the day, all day long!
Whew!
What a lifesaver.
To give you a better idea of what I mean, here’s a specific PERSONAL MINISTRY example in CASE STUDY form.
Personal Social Media Case Study
Ministry Event: I wanted to make sure that I got the word out about the initial ministry service sponsored via my personal prophetic ministry and marketplace ministry: Global Institute of Church & Marketplace Prophets. I knew that using social media would be key and would be the most effective and inexpensive way to go
Methods Used: Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, LinkedN, WordPress Blogging, Opt-In email Database
Challenges: The biggest challenge was being able to use social media without BOGGING DOWN the people and it would also be convincing those who knew about the ministry event to SHARE THE INFORMATION.
Plan of Action: For 30 days out, until the day of my event, use my social media network and email database to spread the word about Prophetic Prayer Explosion Jax with Twitter & FB being most used methods. Also, use socialoomph to strategically and DAILY list times of prophetic prayer lines and who should come to Prophetic Prayer Jax and why and what they can expect. Whenever I could, I also planned to always ask my email database members, tweeps and FB friends to forward the information to at least 5 of their friends.
My Social Media Strategy Worked!
Results: Because I was able to use socialoopmh and program my activities that I was clear about I was able to keep then engage my audience, double the amount of time that I would normally be available to do so.
For instance, I knew on Friday afternoon at a specific time, I would be heading to the airport to pick up Prophet Anita, so I programmed that in accordingly. I knew that same Friday that I’d be praying with 5-fold ministry leaders at 7am, so I pre-planned that as well.
A tid-bit to my surprise, (lol) when I walked into the auditorium, the hall was PACKED, with faces I recognized and many more I didn’t. Sure enough, many reported they had been invited via their friend or saw a post or email on the event. They were happy to be there and I was more happy to see them. Here’s a photo from the service.
A tid-bit to my surprise, (lol) when I walked into the auditorium, the hall was PACKED, with faces I recognized and many more I didn’t. Sure enough, many reported they had been invited via their friend or saw a post or email on the event. They were happy to be there and I was more happy to see them. Here’s a photo from the service.Bottom line: Stay Real, Stay Relevant & Stay READY and plan ahead as much as you can.
If you’re interested in finding out more about how to use socialoomph, go here to check out the site and register. Yep, the basic one is free.
Don’t worry, I DO realize I may now have to do a WEBINAR on how to use SocialOomph, Tweetdeck and a few more of these tools. So, stay tuned!
Prayer is This Friday!
Enjoy your day & remember 1st Friday is THIS FRIDAY so please join me, Prophet Anita McCoy and Dr. YaQuanda McCall as we pray for 5-fold Ministry Leaders at 7am EST.
Just dial 712-432-1630 cd 418609
Dwann
877.595.9117 ext 3
P.S. If you missed my podcast The Truth About Raising Prophetic Children with Dr. Mario Maxwell, there’s still time to listen to the archive. Listen in Now!
Need Prophetic Mentoring? Read This
Could Strategic Prayer Be THE Solution For Your Career or Business?
Nov 22nd
I always say there is absolutely NOTHING like the Power of Prayer, especially when you pray God’s Word. I really believe IT is THE SOLUTION for all of our issues. Although I do realize FAITH without WORKS is dead, praying strategically and prophetically as God leads regarding specific situations is IN MY BOOK, the BEST THING any of us could do.
That’s why I’m so pleased to be able to OFFER Power Prayer Calls for Marketplace on Mondays. I believe, prayer is one of the most neglected actions we as Christian Business people turn to. Unfortunately, we tend to forget that PRAYER IS A SOLUTION.
Whether you’re a hair stylist, teacher, administrator, C.E.O., Business Manager, Mechanic, Small Business Owner, Publicist, Actor, Entertainer, Musician or even Author, I guarantee if you take the next 30 days to strategically pray regarding obstacles you may be dealing with in your career or business, you will see a change.
If you need help JUMP-STARTING your prayer life in that regard, join myself and the G.I.C.M.P. Company of Prophets every 2nd and 4th Monday for Marketplace Monday Power Prayers for Christian Industry Leaders.
Just dial 712-432-1630 code 418609.
We pray as God leads and end with The Word Of The Lord for this season in your business.
Since starting the prayer line up again a month ago, we’ve heard tremendous testimonies of how the calls have impacted LIVES, VISIONS and BUSINESS PLANS in great ways! Let God do the same for you! Go here to get the RSS feed to digitally download all the prayers on your computer.
Our next call is Monday, November 22 at 7am EST.
Dwann
LISTEN TO THE PLAYBACK!
P.S. Don’t forget we pray Globally for all on 1st and 3rd Fridays. And you can always call in to listen to the last recorded prayer by dialing this ARCHIVE line: Dial – (712) 432-1283 Enter Access Code – 418609#
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
