Church marketing on a limited budget

Marketing is fundamental for your church to share its mission, values and events with the greater community.

With effective church marketing, your church can be heard and seen by more people than ever before. Even if you have a limited budget, there are ways to make your message impactful.

Here are a few budget-friendly strategies to make it work.

Build a marketing team

Assemble a group of volunteers who will help generate ideas, attend events, take and submit photos of, and monitor social media posts. Use the Church Marketing Tool to develop a plan. Find other church marketing strategies online.

Take advantage of community resources

• Check out local television and radio stations and newspapers. Many offer digital calendars where it is free to post community events. If you can’t find one, consider creating a community calendar.
• Collect the names and email addresses of local press contacts. Learn how to write a press release and submit one for major events. Be sure to give the media outlet plenty of advanced notice.
• Check out free local publications, such as restaurant or tourist newsletters, which may have a religious section. Offer to contribute a church article and include service details in your bio.

Put feet on the ground

Reserve a vendor booth at local fairs and events. Ask volunteers to staff the booth. Draw attention with a fun lawn game or give away candy or other freebies. Ask visitors to sign up for a door prize drawing. Follow up with any contacts via email. Always offer flyers with church and service information. 

If you're on a tight budget and can't afford to rent a booth, you can still attend local community gatherings and mingle with other guests. It's a great way to meet new people and get to know community members.

Make your own personalized freebies

• Ask your congregation to donate gift items that represent your community. Package the gifts in a gift bag or box. Insert a brochure with information regarding ministries and service times. Put a church label on the outside. In a pinch, use a business card.
• Enlist crafters in your congregation to use their Cricut or other vinyl cutters to help create customized vinyl lettering for T-shirts or notebooks.
• Be whimsical. Recruit youth to add business card tags to lollipops. Cut out plain paper wrappers. Have them write the church name and address on them, color them and tape them around candy bars.

Maximize social media

Utilize all major social media platforms. Accounts are free, and each one garners a new audience. Research each platform to determine the most successful content. For example, Instagram is primarily for photos. Tik-Tok is a video platform.

Use free social media graphics and create your own. Post frequently and consistently. Engage with your online community through comments and direct messages. For important messages, consider boosting the post. For a small amount of money, you can often increase your reach exponentially. Ask your volunteers to stay active on the church's social media sites. Their commitment to liking, commenting and sharing will increase the number of people your posts reach.

Create DIY marketing materials

Marketing materials can be costly. However, you can use Canva or other free or inexpensive marketing tools to create digital and print-ready logos, flyers, banners, business cards and advertisements.

With ready-to-use templates, designing becomes easier. You can print these materials on your church copy machine or search for the best deals by comparing prices at local and online printers. Keep an eye out for online printing sales to save more. Print only multi-purpose items such as flyers with general church information, business cards with static contact information, or labels with your church name and phone number to get the most value for your money. 

Collaborate with local businesses and nonprofits

Get to know business owners and nonprofit directors in your area. Find ways to help them in return for free marketing opportunities. 

For example, a local lawyer whose office is near your church may need extra parking for a weeknight event. Allow him to use your parking lot, and ask if you can place Sunday service invitations on the windshields of the cars.

A homeschool group may need a place to host a job fair. Open the doors to your fellowship hall in return for a free booth where you can get to know homeschooling families in your community.

Nonprofits are often trying to raise money or promote their cause. Encourage your congregation to donate canned goods to a local food pantry or to volunteer their time. Ask for permission to leave business cards or church information for the patrons.

Participate in innovative outreach

• Organize workshops or informational sessions for the community. Find skilled volunteers who might be interested in teaching an introductory computer course, ESL or crafting. Offer the classes for free.
• Explore the world of podcasts. Look for podcast producers who want guest speakers on a variety of subjects. Learn how to be a good podcast guest and volunteer. 

Keep your website up to date

Regularly clean up your website.

• Update service and ministry information.
• Update sermons, regularly.
• Test the URL to make sure there are no connectivity issues.
• Make sure the site is visually appealing for desktop computers, tablets and phones.

Creative and adaptable marketing can help your church reach a broader audience, foster community engagement and ensure a lasting impact.