How to Develop a Lead Generation Strategy for your Church

Churches fulfill a vital role in fostering community and bringing people together. However, growth is the only way this can turn into lasting success. Churches that stay stagnant won’t thrive. To reach new people, churches need a strategy to generate leads online. When churches connect with website visitors digitally and meet their felt needs, they can initiate digital discipleship and connect more people with their local church.

Missional Marketing is helping churches all across the country implement effective lead-generating strategies that increase website traffic and Sunday attendance. Here are 5 essential strategies your church can use to collect leads and connect with new people in your community.

Collecting new leads begins by driving new traffic to your website or landing pages. This can happen through online ads, social media posting, the Google Ad Grant, or organically. The Google Ad Grant offers one of the best ways to increase traffic to your pages by ranking your website on the first page of Google search results, where people are most likely to see you.

If you have a website but no strategy to help people find it, you may be among the many churches that only receive website visitors from their own congregation. With a few SEO techniques, online ads, or social media posts, you will see a significant increase in traffic to your website so you can connect with more people there.

The page people land on matters. It should be engaging, relevant to their search, and offer a clear call to take purposeful action. Studies show that it only takes a fraction of a second for people to formulate a first impression of your page. If they don’t find what they were looking for within seconds, they may click away to a different website.

The visual format of your website should be easy to read and simple to navigate. An outdated website or landing page will likely not retain visitors since they’ll wonder if your content is current. However, if you include eye-catching colors, pictures, and graphics to compliment your content and brand, visitors will likely hang around a bit longer.

Your website visitor may be searching for a church in your area, so make sure your church name, service times, address, and other relevant information are clear and prominent. If your church doesn’t have pages with engaging content ready, Missional Marketing provides Real-Life landing pages and Get Connected landing pages, ready for your church to use now.

When people are searching for a solution, they will offer their contact information to receive an immediate solution in their email inbox. Many churches successfully connect with web visitors by providing topical tips, devotional packets, checklists, and guides for download. You can also create helpful quizzes users can take to identify spiritual gifts, marriage health, or discipleship tools.

Relevant downloads and quizzes make pages more engaging to users by offering quick ways to engage with your website and receive resources. Your church will not only gain a new lead but know what topic led them to engage with your site. This allows you to follow up with each lead in personalized ways according to the resource they requested.

If your church doesn’t have the ability to utilize lead-generating forms, the experts at Missional Marketing are ready to help you start collecting leads today.

An effective lead generation system includes follow-up. When a person fills out a form or downloads a PDF, they may not be ready to take the next step. It’s important to nurture that lead, inviting them to upcoming events, church services, and relevant seminars. You can even invite them to connect more deeply with your church by watching a live stream or attending a Sunday morning service. People are much more likely to show up when they’ve received a personal invitation.

Consistent communication provides more opportunities for people to respond. Even if they’ve never opened your emails in the past, it only takes one well-timed invitation for someone to show up at your door so that you can meet them face-to-face.

If your church doesn’t have the ability or time to create and maintain follow-ups, Missional Marketing is ready to help. We’re ready to send automated follow-up emails and SMS communications on your behalf.

Personal invites will eventually turn into new church visitors. Some visitors may watch online for a while but will eventually attend in person. Not everyone is extroverted and eager to put themselves into new situations. Sometimes, it takes a time to warm up as people engage from a distance and learn what your church is all about. Providing resources and connections online simplifies this process, so it’s easier for people to take that next step of attending in person.

 Because you never know when a new visitor will walk through your doors, churches that prioritize growth should have a solid welcome team in place to make sure new visitors are greeted with a smile and have all their questions answered. When you have a system in place to identify new visitors and welcome them with open arms, their experience of your community will likely keep them coming back.

If your church doesn’t have an effective lead-generation strategy, you’re likely missing opportunities to connect with new visitors online. However, if you create a plan that includes these five essential elements, your metrics will increase. A robust lead generation process will walk your new visitor through each step of the process, so by the time they walk through your doors, you’ve already provided valuable connection.

Missional Marketing has a team of professionals who specialize in helping churches establish effective lead-generation strategies. We can set up systems that take care of each step of the process for you, so your messaging and follow-up are automated, and no visitor slips through the cracks. To get started, book a time to connect with one of our church coaches today.