Developing a Successful Web Ministry

Holly Rein 

This article provided by the Engstrom Institute

Your ministry can and probably already is benefiting from having a presence on the Web. You can build stronger connections with members and donors. You can reach out and connect to new people—either people you hope to minister to or people who can partner with you in ministry. You can increase your communication with people you're already connected with, and save costs on mailings.

Below are 12 principles of effective Web ministry that will help you improve your current Web strategy. Consider these as a checklist to see how you're doing, and where you could do better.

1. Integrated Communication Strategy. The Internet can support and build up all the aspects of ministry communication you're already using (mailings, special events, marketing, donor relations, etc.) Think about all the ways you communicate currently, and find ways to include those on your Web site. If you have a special speaker at an event, make it available as an MP3 download. If you create a slick brochure, use some of the same design in part of your Web site. If you mail a newsletter, make it available online. If you hold a special event, make it possible to register for that event online. Blogs are a wonderful tool for including people in the work God is doing through your ministry—tell those great stories online. Post links to articles or volunteer resources. Allow people to give to your ministry online. Whatever you're currently doing, do it online as well.

2. Professional and Attractive Design. First impressions are important. A sloppy or confusing Web site makes people think that your ministry is disorganized or out-dated. People often learn as much about you from the design as from the content—it is how you establish credibility. You want to have compelling images that reflect your ministry "brand" and mission. Your personality and values should be evident from the homepage. Pay attention to visual hierarchy—make sure your user's eye knows where to travel down the page. Use white space to give the user's eye a rest. Consolidate information—write two sentences and then "click here for more information" rather than including a long article on the homepage.

3. Clear and Consistent Navigation. Make sure you know where you want people to go when they get to your Web site, and make it clear. This is called the architecture of a Web site. It needs to be well thought out and easy to use. For example, make sure that donors have an immediate link to a donor page, people you minister to have a space on the site, and volunteers have a place to go for resources. People need to be able to immediately get to the information they want without having to "weed through a bunch of other stuff." Before you launch your Web site, have people test it and make sure they can find the information a user might be looking for.

4. Clear Communication of Mission and Vision. If your ministry has not spent time in "branding" and developing your mission and vision, that's an important step to take. Know what you're all about, your ministry personality, and your vision for the future. What is the one unique thing that distinguishes you from similar ministry organizations? Those types of distinctives should be clearly communicated through your Web site. The information on your Web site will be all that many people know about your organization, so you need to be clear on what the driving force behind your ministry is.

5. Fresh, Interesting and Timely Features. If your Web site never changes, people will stop visiting. Make sure you're advertising current events and frequently updating your ministry's success stories. Most people look at the Web as the way to get the most up-to-date information possible on your ministry. If they find old information, they will stop visiting your site.

6. Extensive Content Library. This should include readable PDF downloads, flash videos, MP3 downloads, and anything else that will drive people to your Web site and keep them there. Think of what the user might be looking for, and make that available.

7. Grassroots Marketing. When you make it possible for Web users to forward content to their friends and family, you have made a new contact for your ministry. One great way to do this is through funny content. Perhaps you are familiar with the video "Baby Got Book," which was a music video spoof of the rap "Baby Got Back." It was about how the best woman out there is the woman with the biggest Bible. That video got sent around the world within days, because people loved it and sent it to everyone they knew. That is valuable marketing exposure to people you might not otherwise come in contact with. You might also be able to get exposure through a particularly moving story about God's work through your ministry.

8. Online Membership. Your goal should be to personalize the Web experience based on the user's needs. Prayer partners and donors are interested in a particular type of information, whereas missionaries or volunteers need a different type of support. Tailor the Web experience to each of your constituencies to help them get the information they need more quickly. One way to do this is to find out via a survey what type of information they are interested in. Another method for finding out how to personalize the Web experience is to infer from the user's online behavior (which pages they visit, etc.) what they are interested in. Then you can send them information tailored to their interests. You can provide incentives for the user to give information about themselves. Give us your name and email address, and you can see this funny video or access a particular article. All of the information you gain this way will be collected in a database, and you can learn more about your constituency through studying the information. It also allows you to communicate with them via email.

9. Consistent Email Communication. There are two reasons for consistent email communication: it keeps people connected with your ministry, and it encourages people to visit your Web site. Make sure that people who visit your Web site are motivated to register for email newsletters. Make it easy for them to do so. Give them a clear description of what the newsletter is about. Make sure to tell them that you will honor all unsubscribes. Offer specific newsletters for specific interests—prayer letters, donor information, ministry updates, etc.

10. Strong Revenue Model. If it's done right, your Web site will generate revenue for your ministry. This will happen through online giving and purchases through your ministry store, if you have one. Total online contributions in the U.S. are estimated to grow to 64 billion dollars by the year 2010, which will be almost 30 percent of total dollars raised. It is crucial for ministries to offer the option of online giving. You will lose a small percentage to the credit card processing fee, but it will also cut down on your internal paperwork. Also, you can save money by asking your constituents if they would like to receive email communication only, email and regular mail, or just regular mail.

11. Cost Effective Infrastructure and Administration. In most cases it is more cost effective for ministries to look to an outside provider for their technical infrastructure. It will save you the worry of maintenance, you will receive automatic upgrades, and it is relatively inexpensive to pay the Web hosting fees. Also, an outside vendor will be able to use a distributed network, which will enable users around the world to access your Web site without paying long-distance fees. You will also need an in-house communications director who can spend time thinking about your Web strategy and updating content. Design and/or writing skills would be useful to have in a communications director.

12. Detailed Reporting. How can you evaluate whether or not your Web site is succeeding? The first step is to define what success means for your ministry. Fill out a short "report card" each month to see how you're doing. Track your Web page views, registrations, donor conversion, and online revenue—including average gift size. Pay attention to trends that might alert you to problems.

Potential Roadblocks and Remedies

As you're developing your Web ministry, here are some potential roadblocks and some tips for overcoming them:

• Responsibility and ownership. Have one person (preferably an employee) who consistently updates your Web site. This helps with consistency on the Web site and ensures that someone can always give up-to-date information about site maintenance. A volunteer may go out of town or stop volunteering, and if they are the only one who knows how to update the Web site, you're in trouble.
• Varying audience. Is your site primarily serving supporters, workers, or the people you minister to? Spend time developing the Web site architecture to reflect your goals. Look at what ministries similar to yours do on their Web site. Perform usability testing.
• Quality of graphics and content. With a limited budget and time constraints, it is tempting to get sloppy on your Web site. You figure that something is better than nothing. But if people see a sloppy Web site, they will think your organization is sloppy as well. Prioritize your content and put as much quality content online as time allows. Proofread carefully.
• Timeliness. Make a list of the regular updates that need to be made on your Web site and how frequently they need to happen. Have one person (a communications director) in charge of all the updating. Every time you meet as a staff, spend five minutes discussing any updates that need to be made to the Web site.
• Time and expertise. Sometimes a ministry will have a big vision, and then realize that they don't have the time or skills to do the job right. You do have to think about the costs and manpower needed for ongoing maintenance and updates to the Web site. But the development of the site itself can be outsourced, and there are many affordable options available.

Adapted from a workshop presented at the 2006 CMA Conference by Holly Rein, Web Ministry Consultant at Trinet Internet Solutions, Inc. www.trinetsolutions.com.