Yesterday, The Burner attended a free workshop from mass email service Constant Contact. Fuller Doctor of Ministry uses Constant Contact for their monthly email newsletter, and TB has to admit that the service is a great one. It makes sending out thousands of emails attractive, quick and legal.

Legal? Yep, there’s a law against sending unsolicited email. That’s why if you do send out mass emails without a service like Constant Contact, you have to enter about ten names at a time in Outlook, Gmail, etc. to get your whole list out. Spam is not wanted, and whether you believe it or not, someone might think your church’s holy electronic communication with devoted members might be considered spam by some of those devotees.

But let’s go back to the attractive part. Different email clients and browsers display emails differently; it’s impossible to be sure that what your email looks like on every browser and mobile device without knowing exactly how to do it. And as you probably know, it’s usual default is to not display pictures without the recipient’s permission. What if you have a volunteer that has a background in accounting instead of graphic design and web programming? Your beautiful email might never be displayed correctly, which–akin to hiring Picasso to design your church bulletin–is exciting if unhelpful.

That’s what Constant Contact is for. They provide both templates for pictures and text to be attractively combined together, along with a text-only version with the pertinent information for those that don’t allow graphics in email. They provide a way to store and edit your entire list as well, making it easy to create and manage your church’s electronic communications. If a recipient wants to forward the content to a friend, Constant Contact provides in that forward a way for a the new recipient to join the email list.

What? Your church does not use email communications? Well, you should for the following reasons:

• Everyone uses email. Seniors 65 and older are the fasting growing group of email users, so using the excuse that your church is full of old fogies that don’t have email is untrue and kind of mean.
• Email is global. People check their email at home, at work, in the car (dangerous),  at church…
• Email is instant and long-lasting. People receive it as soon as you send it and can save it for as long as they want.
• According to Constant Contact, people check their email an average of 5x a day
• Email is considerably cheaper than direct mail (which also has it’s place; your church should politely market itself in every possible and appropriate medium)
• Email is easily shared with others who did not receive it
• Email is easily archivable for future reference

So if email is so great, then what’s the downside? Well, according to Constant Contact, the average open rate for non-profit emails is 19%. Why so low? Think about your email inbox. How many messages do you get each day that go unread for days or weeks? How many e-newsletters or services do you subscribe to that just go straight to junk mail on accident? Further, mail in your mailbox and email in your inbox are very similar (hence the name “e-mail”). How many pieces of mail are currently piled up waiting for you to get to it? Today’s media marketplace is so crowded that it’s easy to get lost even if every aspect of your communication piece is appealing, relevant, interesting and with perfect spelling.

So email communications is not a silver bullet. You need to manage your list, cultivate trust with your congregation on what they will be sending you, and be careful and courteous with what you send. Value your congregation’s time as much as your own–they have lives outside Sunday morning just like you. They have jobs just like you. You’re competing for time and attention, and you’ll need to be as wise as e-serpents and as innocent as e-doves with your email communication.

And if you can find a Constant Contact workshop in your area, it’s well worth your time–and it’s free!