Does Your Church Set You Up For Spam Or Viruses?

I get a good amount of correspondence both about churches and from churches. I subscribe to a lot of church messaging systems. Some are through organized email list sites such as Aweber and other list management service providers. I know how I got on those lists. There are some churches who maintain their own database for email correspondence and at least with some of those, I am not sure how my email address ended up on their list (especially the ones who address to my work email account).

I maintain a list for my homechurch. It is an opt-in type email server. So, the only way you are going to get email from that list is either if you subscribed or either you email/let me know personally you wanted to begin getting church messages and I will add you. Most folks add themselves. Recently, I got an email from an individual that just said "February Newsletter". It didn't say from what organization. These days, I don't just open up any email, but after some deductions understood who it came from. Imagine my surprise when I opened the email and saw not just my name in the "TO" address fields. Instead I saw a bunch.

To say the least I was concerned. I protect the list for my home church that I maintain vigilantly against spam and people joining the list just to push products and/or viruses. So I emailed the Minister and the email originator. I told them of my concern. Not wanting to just be a whiner, I also provided some best practice techniques of how to send out bulk email and not expose recipients to unwanted spam which in many cases can lead to viruses. Some of those best bulk email practices were:

• To make your life easy, create a Distribution List (simply a group of email addresses attached to one email name. So if you want to send an email to 1 person or 1,000, all you have to is to put the Distribution List Name in the appropriate slot). The other benefit is that it is very easy to maintain.
• When sending out any email (but more importantly bulk emails), using the proper term in the "Subject" line can make the difference if it survives the spam filter of many email software programs. Sending out a generic "February Newsletter" subject as was done in this case is going to cause suspicion of many spam filters as well as human filters. In this day and age, we don't want to open an email to find out what is inside it. The fact that the newsletter was an attachment is going to result in many people NOT opening up the document for fear of viruses.
• If you are going to send a newsletter, it is easier on everyone's bandwidth (and peace of mind virus wise) if you either you include the content in the body of the email or if you put a link where people can either download or view the document.
• When sending from an organization, the originator should have the organization's name as the "From Name". Putting a person's name that you may not be familiar with is less likely to be opened.
• When you send out a bulk email such as a newsletter, ALL recipients (whether individually or by using a distribution list) should be in the "BCC" field. This will result in each person getting an email with just their email address on it.
• The email originator should have their address and their address ONLY in the "TO" field.

The first response was from the originator. I believe she misinterpreted my recommendations and rationalized the process. The bottom line response in that email was if I didn't like their approach, I could happily be removed from future emails. The next albeit belated response from the minister was to the effect of "we will look into it and we will call if we have questions" Needless to say, my response to the minister was until the policy changes, please remove me from this list. When they get a better procedure or incorporate a true list management system, I will be back. I want the information.

I got a virus recently. It didn't come from the above mentioned email (or I don't believe it did J). But I had to take 3 hours (which would have been more without the help of a friend) to resolve it. I actually think I got it just looking at a website that Google had directed me to (actually a polling site that I was researching for another article). The bottom line is that it happened quickly. I also know that the most common viruses are spread through emails. I worked at a company that literally had a rule against opening ANY email that had an attachment from an unknown person. And if you opened it up (especially if it had an attachment), you were liable to be terminated. That was how serious they took it as they had experienced all to often the aftermath.

Bottom line, your email address is exposed to spammers and to viruses when for whatever reason it is in a bulk email and is either in the "TO" or "CC" fields. In lieu of a email list service and you are sending out bulk emails, then put the recipients in the "BCC" field if you care about them. As I said, I want the information, but not at the risk of getting a virus that a friend may not be around to help me out so quickly. As for the rest of you, my recommendation is if you receive email from an organization and your name is lumped with a bunch of other names in the TO/CC fields, remove yourself immediately. It is the only way that you can safeguard yourself from spam/viruses.

John Panico is the author of this article. He has consulted with literally hundreds of companies in different capacities.

He is the General Manager of Local Guys Equities, LLC, a company through marketing built a multi-million dollar portfolio in less than 12 months. He consults real estate investors at REI Minute.

John also runs Unity Church Marketing and is in regular attendance at his home church.

4 Reasons Why Your Church Marketing Isn't Working

When you put your church's marketing plan together, you knew that you were on your way to success. But something happened along the way and it isn't close to where you want it to be. And everyone is looking at you because this was YOUR idea You are wondering yourself what went wrong.

Here are some reasons that church marketing programs fail, so you can avoid them when you start your next campaign.
- Limiting beliefs/choices - There are times when we just don't think "big enough" That old saying of "go big or go home" is a pretty good one. Look to The Secret when you are formulating your marketing campaign. Don't think about the how you will accomplish what you are wanting to. Think what it is on what you want to accomplish.

I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say..."We can't do that because..." or "That may work with other churches, but it won't work here." Those thoughts shouldn't be accepted when you are formulating a marketing plan/objective.

Not long ago, I heard this phrase, wrote it down on my white board across from my desk as a reminder...

Take Massive Action!! (pretty comes later)

When you dream big, others catch on to the idea. Not all of them are going to resonate with it at the same level you either envision or implement the campaign. So, your dreaming big will motivate others as to the possibilities that are out there. The result is almost always better than your original objective.

1. Doing just good enough or taking shortcuts - I ran across a quote the other day and it hit the nail on the head. It was by Saadi and said the following: All things are difficult until they become easy! Let's face it. We live in an instantaneous microwave society. We want results and we want them now. As such, we easily rationalize why we can only do this or that. In essence, we take shortcuts. Well, here's a newsflash for you folks...and one that many ministers, CEO's and others may not like hearing. Marketing may need to simmer before it is ready. So use your best ingredients, resources and talents to get the best possible result.
2. Cost - Make no mistake about it, running a marketing campaign has a cost. And the cost is not always measured in financial outlay. I used to run sales organizations back in another life. When I did sales training, I would always, always, always ask the question..."How many of you want to make $100,000 this year?" Almost everyone without fail would raise their hand. The next question would be this: "Of those with your hands raised, how many are willing to do what it takes to make $100,000 this year?" I can tell you that while most still had their hands up, the reality was much different. Why is that you ask? Because many of the marketing programs you are currently running or plan to run fall into the following: Simple, but not easy! The ideas and concepts that you want to promote may be simple. We have to be willing to give up something in order to get what we want! So if you or your church or organizations are not willing to pay the cost, then maybe you should be rethinking what you are doing! (This sounds harsh until you look back on your first campaign that fails and see that the cost was too high.) So, the question to ask yourself is this: What will you do vs. what can you do????
3. Problems/Issues/Challenges - In your marketing plan, everything had a perfect ebb and flow to it. In the real world...not so much. So you should expect (you put in the term you are most comfortable with J ) problems, issues or challenges along the way. Few campaigns go perfectly or without something that wasn't planned coming up that could drastically affect your objective. Expect it. In the same manner, expect that not everyone will agree with your approach. I have a simple rule that I put into place up front that seems to work for me...you have to be part of the solution or you are part of the problem.

It is okay for you to offer (once again, insert your term here) "constructive criticism" about the project. But if you are going to participate, then here are the rules:

1. You have to bring 3 solutions to the table. We all know there is more than one way to get something done. I want you to have thought about it BEFORE you come to me. You just may come to the conclusion that the current approach is a good one (I didn't say the best, but a good one!)
2. You have to be involved as a part of at least one of the solutions. Unless you are willing to take an active approach to solving the challenge, then my response generally is "Thank you for sharing" and move on.

I will also tell you that I have been guilty of this myself in the past. But in the end the campaign will benefit best when it is surrounded by problem solvers, not problem finders.

So, there you have it. Want your church's next marketing campaign to be a hit? Be sure that you avoid the above marketing mistakes to insure that you have a success!

John Panico is the author of this article. He has consulted with literally hundreds of companies in different capacities.
He is the General Manager of Local Guys Equities, LLC, a company through marketing built a multi-million dollar portfolio in less than 12 months. He consults real estate investors at REI Minute.
John also runs Unity Church Marketing and is in regular attendance at his home church.