What is your goal in sending a ministry update?

I ask staff this question fairly often. What is your #1 goal when you send a ministry newsletter out to your supporters? I’m always surprised at the blank stares I get back in return. When I press them to think about it I usually get something to the effect “to update them on the ministry” and / or possibly “make prayer requests known”.

Both answers are good. But neither answer should be your top priority when it comes to sending out a prayer letter. Surprised? You shouldn’t be.

So what should your #1 goal be?

When you are doing your “newsletter thing” you want one question on your mind above all others, “what can I do to make sure as many supporters as possible read this?” That is a staff’s #1 goal when sending out a newsletter. You want to have your newsletter read. Period. Nothing else even matters if people aren’t reading your updates.

So what can you do to get more people reading your ministry newsletters? At Staff Monkey we encourage clients to think about length, quality and frequency.

Length can be a killer for some staff. So many great things going on, so little time. If your newsletter is much over 3 to 4 paragraphs in length its too long. Long newsletters don’t get read. You don’t read long newsletters, we don’t read long newsletters and neither do your supporters. Limit what you share. If a supporter wants to know more, they will ask.

Quality is just as important when it comes to your newsletters. Use great pictures, not blury out of focus ones. Always send in color, not black and white on hot pink paper. Make it look attractive and inviting to the eye (lots of white space). Write about things that your supporters will care about, not just what you care about.

Frequency rounds out this dynamic trio. You need to send your newsletters often and consistently to your supporters. Once a month appears to be the sweet spot. Not once a month if you remember, but once a month, every month. You want your donors to expect your newsletter much like they expect their Economist, Atlantic Monthly or Christianity Today.

Keep these 3 things in mind as you send out your newsletter over the next year and see if you start to get more supporters interacting with you and your ministry. I bet you will.