Messaging

What is guest-centered messaging?

Guest-centered messaging steers clear of a “what information do we think people need to know” mindset and shifts to process how we can thoughtfully craft our message in a way that highlights how an event/program will enrich the lives of our target audience.

On average, a person comes in contact with 5,000 advertisements every day. We need to find a way to cut through the noise, stand out and capture their attention, and give a valid reason as to why they should care about what we’re doing.

In her book Less Chaos, Less Noise, church communication guru Kem Meyer writes,

“People aren’t motivated by your need. When people hear “we really need ________” they perceive desperation and self-centeredness. When you communicate “here’s a cool opportunity not everyone knows about” or “you might want to be a part of this one-of-a-kind experience,” it makes it about them, not us, and it motivates people to move.” (104)

Why is it important?

We believe in our mission to reach people with the Gospel, so we put a lot of thought, time, and effort into programs and events for our church body and our community. We want people to take part in these programs and events because we believe they help lead people to Jesus, to find real hope, and experience real life in Christ. To get people there, we need to convince them that it will add value to their life if they show up and participate.

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak.
Hans Hofmann

On any given day, we are all in a state of information overload. Options can be a good thing, but too many options can overwhelm.

What does this look like?

The more handouts you add to a table, the harder it becomes for someone to find what they’re looking for.

The more announcements you have on the platform, the less people hear.

The more events you promote, the less important each event becomes.

Instead of being a part of the noise, let’s cut the fat.

What does this mean?

All events are not created equal. A leadership meeting for a ministry will not be publicized to the same degree as a church-wide worship night. We must sort through everyone’s calendars and let the events that touch the most people and are highly missional rise to the top. Not because your meeting isn’t important, but because our goal is to drive home our mission. Sometimes that means sacrificing personal ministry preferences and feelings for the greater mission. When any event in our church succeeds, we all win because we are one church with one goal, not a collection of ministry silos.   

Instead of bombarding people with all of the information, let’s focus on helping people find what they’re looking for when they’re looking for it.

Why is following the style guide important?

Mismatched communications from any organization look sloppy. Using the same logos, fonts, terms and puncutation rules gives your materials a more cohesive feel and professional look.

Apostrophe

Avoid using apostrophes in plurals.
• Example: CDs, URLs, FAQs, 1990s, etc.

Commas

In lists of three items or more, USE a comma before and/or.

Numbers

Spell out numbers one through nine, use numerals for 10 and above.

Exclamations

Do not overuse!!!!!!!

Capitalization

Avoid all caps, except for emphasis. It gives the impression of YELLING. Whether you think this is true or not, the perception is there.

Capitalize pronouns when referencing the Deity (God, Father, Holy Spirit, He, Him, etc.).

Hyphens

Make every effort not to hyphenate words. Add hard return if necessary to avoid. Never hyphenate website addresses.

Periods

One space after periods and at the end of sentences. Omit periods in bulleted lists for incomplete sentences.

Quotation Marks

The period and the comma always go inside the quotation marks. The dash, the semicolon, the question mark, and the exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to the quoted matter only. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence.

Abbreviations

Avoid in general, particularly when referring to events or groups.
• Example: Cross City Church (Not CC or CCFE or FBC)

Acronyms are confusing and isolating if you’re new to the church.

Dates

Drop reference to year when appropriate. Don’t abbreviate.
• Example: Tuesday, March 9
   (not Tues., Mar 9 2017)

Times

Write consistently and concisely. Use am/pm, lowercase without periods, space between time and am/pm, and add a dash in between times.
• Example: 6 pm (not 6:00 PM), 7-8:30 pm (not 7:00 to 8:30p.m.)
• Example: 12 pm (not 12 noon), 10 pm (not 10:00 P.M. tonight)

Wordiness

Avoid it and eliminate unnecessary phrases or adjectives. If the sentence makes sense without it, you should take it out. A clear, concise writing style is preferred over a wordy, flowery style. Less is more.

Email

In paragraphs of text, email addresses should be italicized and lowercase. Don’t hyphenate or underline email addresses.
• Example: [email protected] (not camos@crosscity.church)
• Important: Avoid publishing personal email addresses in Cross City material. Instead, always use a crosscity.church email address.

Phone

Separate using dashes instead of periods. Use lowercase “x” for extension with no space. If applicable, include extension for direct connection. Help people bypass the switchboard whenever possible.
• Example: 318-322-5104, x105 (not 318.322.5104, ext. 105)

Web

Use lowercase for all web addresses. Internet addresses should not be underlined. Drop the www. In body copy, addresses should be italicized. Don’t hyphenate.
• Example: crosscity.church (not www.crosscity.church)

Accuracy

Cross-reference dates and days of the week with a calendar and with what’s listed on my.crosscity.church.

Audience

Do you answer the most important question our audience asks: “What’s in it for me?” Leo Burnett, leading advertising executive of our generation, says, “Don’t tell me how good you make it. Tell me how good it makes me when I use it.”

Basics

Does it include the necessary basics of Who, What, Where, When, Why, How (call to action), and Childcare? Did you include contact information?

Names

Double-check accuracy on names, phone numbers, and extensions; cross-reference with more than one proofer.

Consistency

Check punctuation, style and formatting to make sure it’s consistent throughout the piece. Compare with our Style Guide to review capitalization, type size, typeface, alignment, page breaks, hyphens, etc.

Spelling

It’s critical. A single misspelling can convey the information or audience is not important or valued. Do not rely on your computer’s spelling and grammar checkers (Grammarly.com included). Take every effort to have people’s names spelled correctly by verifying in My Cross City.

Terminology

Step into the shoes of a new guest and consider what their reactions may be to certain phrases and the appearance of the piece. Do certain words sound “cliché” or “too implied”? If so, it is likely our audience may not understand the message. Keep it simple.

Tone

Are we accurately representing the intended meaning? Question anything that may raise a red flag to you. It’s better to address the potential problem than to allow it to go unchecked. Don’t assume someone else will do it.

Grammarly.com

Grammarly is a free resource you can install on your computer. ALWAYS (sorry for the yelling) use this to double-check your own grammar.

Double Check

While it is easy for us to say it’s good, spending an extra five minutes on something could make something even more clear.

Before submitting a comm request, work through this checklist:

What’s redundant or unnecessary? What can I cut? Or, save for later?

Has my communication acknowledged real-life circumstances to motivate the next step? Is there a call to action? Is it clear?

Has what I am requesting been approved by the appropriate people and gone through the approval process on My Cross City?

Who is the one person I’m writing this for? Am I tailoring my content to them? Am I answering the questions they would ask, or am I subjecting them to the information I think they need to know?

Have I made the essentials easy to find: who this is for, what it’s about, when it happens, where it happens and how I engage? Have I included necessary contact information?

Have I answered the ultimate question, “What’s in it for me?”

What’s redundant or unnecessary? What can I cut? Or, save for later?

Have I sent this to be proofed for accuracy as well as meaning? Am I saying what I mean to say?

Would someone who is new to Cross City be able to understand the words and names I’ve used?

How will people use this message? Does my communication fit the context of where and how people will read and experience the material? Are they on the go? Sitting still? Distracted? Focused? In a hurry? Relaxed?

Is it easy for people to take action on this information? Are there too many options that make it hard to find? Is the most critical information at the front?

Have I thought about all the areas this communication will affect? Have I included the right stakeholders in the loop for awareness, advocacy, registration, follow-up, guest services, etc.?

What’s redundant or unnecessary? What can I cut? Or, save for later?