 |
home | |
search | |
faq | |
contact | |
|
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||
|
|
|
||||||||||
 |
 |
|
|||
            
Global Technology Office
|
|
Effective Personal Website for MPDBy Rob WilliamsIntroduction At its core, Ministry Partner Development is trusting God to introduce you to people who will partner with you in ministry. This relationship is built around an introduction to people (networking), presenting your ministry and needs effectively, asking for a partnership, and then maintaining that relationship through various communications (phone, prayer letters, visits, etc). As technology advances and the most Americans are now online (63% according to a December 2003 Per Internet Project report), the ways we communicate and relate is changing and shaping the way we can even build partnerships in ministry. To illustrate, in 2001 I was on a support appointment with a businessman in his office. After I asked him to join with us, he said he would if he could take care of it right then. I pointed him to our website and he was able to setup a monthly bank transfer right then. He also asked that all our communications come via email. He told me he does everything electronically; he pays for everything on a credit card and does most correspondence through email. Although he may not be typical, I believe there are many more people like him now, and more will be like him in the coming years. How can you be ready to respond to someone like this? In my opinion, it is to have an effective website in place for such an opportunity. To do this, you should think through and plan for your website to cover three areas: Marketing, Delivery, and Response. Marketing Advertising. Your website should be in your brochure, email signature, and other written communications you send to your partners. Use the site to place links to give.ccci.org, donation forms, photos, prayer letters, and more about yourself. Your current and potential partners will want to get to know you better in this way. Another idea is to ask your supporters who have their own websites to create a link back to your site (a soft way to network). Delivery The most likely visitors to your website are business people; therefore, the site should be comfortable for them to visit (professional looking). You might minister to people not like them (say high school students), but the overall look and feel should make the business people feel comfortable. If you want a site for your target ministry audience, create one for them specifically and link them together! Some of you may have the ability to create the look and feel yourself because you know how to use programs like Microsoft FrontPage or Macromedia DreamWeaver. If you don’t, there are a few template solutions endorsed by the MPD office that make it very easy and simple to create a site. For more information, please visit the MPD Online website. Writing on a website should be done in a way that is clear to the reader. Photos should be optimized so they load quickly. Navigation should be logical and easy to follow. Finally, be sure your web pages look good when they are printed! Response The simplest and easiest way to allow people to communicate back with you is through email. However, please use caution when giving out your email address (same goes for your physical address). Spammers love to “harvest” email addresses online. A simple solution is to post your email address as an image. It’s not foolproof, but it can slow down the spammers. However, the best solution is to use an online feedback form of which the results can be emailed to you. Check with your website host to find out how you can do this as there are often different rules depending on how the host likes to run forms such as these. You will also want to stay in communication with your supporters through your prayer letters. It’s very simple to create a new page on your website with your prayer letter on it. You can email that letter to the people who have asked to receive it. Please DO NOT send emails like this to people who have not asked for them; don’t be a spammer! I have recently found many people would rather receive our eNewsletter rather than our printed prayer letter. For example, we email over 300 people our eNewsletter and less than 140 printed letters. There is some overlap because in some households one prefers email and the other prefers the printed mail. We will mail to anyone who wants it our printed letter, but we are seeing a steady increase of those who would rather receive the email. Conclusion I hope I have been of some help for you. May God introduce you to more people who will partner with you in ministry. Rob Williams |
|
|
|
 |
home · about us · from the cto · web marketing · security · tntmpd · global connexion · eministry · knowledge center · stories · opportunity · contact
|
