Email is King. All hail the king!
I know that sounds flippant, but in P2P communication no platform has yet managed to supplant email. As popular as Facebook and Twitter have become, the largest P2P communication channel remains email.
In 2015, 205 billion emails, on average, were sent each day. Meanwhile, only 23 billion text messages are sent each day, 500 million Tweets and 55 million status updates are created on Facebook. The numbers are staggering, I know. Yet, the volume of emails dwarfs all others players in the field.
The power of email cannot be understated. While some people may resist signing up to Facebook or Twitter, or undertake a Lenten fast from social media, the one channel that even the latest adopters usually have is email. This means email is central to any parish’s communication strategy.
My current favourite application to help with email and parish ministry is MailChimp. The Forever Free plan at Mailchimp allows for up to 2000 subscribers and 12,000 emails to be sent each month free of charge. The multiple list feature allows for different communications to reach different audiences. Customizable templates can be updated with a parish logo, pictures and text, or, with a little HTML knowledge, you can create your own.
Regular communications like announcements and newsletters can be created easily and unexpected messages such as obituaries and emergency announcements can be quickly shared with the entire community or just a small group. MailChimp can also be integrated with tools such as Facebook, WordPress, Raiser’s Edge and more.
This free platform allows churches to use email to build community and fellowship and keep in touch with those that may otherwise only connect a few times a year. By having the entire parish list only a click away, communities are able to come together in times of crisis and share the Good News of God’s Spirit working in the world.
You can read more about how MailChimp can help manage your church communications by reading their guide for nonprofits here: https://mailchimp.com/resources/guides/mailchimp-for-nonprofits.