Your message matters. It precedes everything you do.
- It’s what you’re known for
- It’s why people come to you
- It’s your gift from God for use in the kingdom
When I teach marketing to pastors and ministry leaders, I make it clear that the message defines your target audience, website, marketing copy, media selection, speaking platform and every tactical choice you make to find people who need you.
That’s the reason we develop marketing strategy. What must we do to find the cohort of people who need to hear my message?
Teacher and student must be brought together. In marketplace language, marketing brings buyer and seller together. Transformation occurs when a product meets a need.
For most of us in ministry, our product is our words:
- We speak our message in pulpits, counseling sessions and podcasts.
- We write our message in books, blogs and email drips.
We deliver the goods through our personal vending machine. People are drawn to us because of how God filled our temple.
“What do we have that we did not receive?” (1 Cor. 4:7).
God gave us a message for our mission. Our message is unique because we are made to be one of a kind. What you do and how you do it is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I’ve found that leaders have difficulty determining their message. It’s a struggle to isolate our unique offering. I see leaders working hard to be all things to all people because they have yet to find their spiritual lane.
While it takes several hours of training and work to identify a unique call, with trembling legs I offer the following thought starters for you:
Please grab your favorite notebook and pen. Do you have a favorite?
Scroll down to see my favorite pen and notebooks for daily writing.
- What are you currently teaching or writing about that seems to create engagement from others?
- What process do you use when working one-on-one with others? Does it help you to work through problems presented to you? Sometimes your message is in your process.
- What do others like to “pick your brain” about? Do several people pick you for the same topic?
- What do you hear others teaching that you believe you could provide better help? Do you have better solutions or methods? Do you have a unique path to teach?
- Look over past writing or teaching notes. Which messages seemed to resonate more than others? Which messages were the easiest to write? Where do you achieve your best flow?
Do you need help with your message? Send me an email at [email protected] and tell me where you are stuck.
Keep reading this newsletter for more direction on message strategy.
And send me a note to tell me about your favorite pen and notebook. I’ll share it with our tribe in a future newsletter.
(These are my two favorite notebooks.)
