Marketing Your Message Part 2
Last week we discussed why God calls us to invest our talents, and invest in ourselves. But, even when our heart’s intent is to do just that, it can still seem extremely overwhelming and mind-numbing to determine where and how to get started. So today, we are going to begin the focus on laying the foundation of your ministry, before we begin outlining how you want to market your ministry.
Before we even start thinking about marketing methods, we need to focus on the four emotional W’s of marketing:
- WHY you are doing what you are doing (your spiritual calling)
- WHAT is it that God has specifically called you to do
- WHEN do you need to do it
- WHERE can you begin investing your talents
If the answer to all of these questions are based on your relationship with Christ, your desire to be obedient to His calling on your life, and your quest to further your ministry to glory His ministry, not your own, then you are on the right track! Make a commitment not to let the enemy fill your head with worries about pride, and stay focused on the motivator for your efforts through spending time in God’s Word and private worship.
Wherever you find yourself today, take some time to pray about God’s leading in this area. If you feel led to narrow down your focus and try to find your niche, consider doing these further steps:
- Make a list of the main things you feel qualified to talk about, which will normally stem from a result of personal experience and your own walk with Christ.
- Make a list of the subject areas you would like to talk about, and that you feel most comfortable and knowledgeable about.
- Consider how these two lists compare to each other; see if there are any commonalities.
- Think about the stories you may want to tell in your messages, which should primarily be personal stories (if you use another person’s story or something you read about, just be sure to give credit where it’s due). Try to narrow down what type of audiences you think would be most receptive to the story.
- Consider if this list of stories you want to share, falls into one of the general categories of people mentioned above, or another category that you can think of, and see if seems like your niche.
- Pray for God to make it clear to you what your primary target audience is, and to confirm in your heart what your next steps should be.
Truly narrowing down our focus and discovering our niche, all the while trying to understand the why/what/when/where’s of ministry, can seem a little intimidating, and may even cause us to feel confused and unsure of exactly what we are called to do.
But take heart – this is a process that all new speakers go through, and although your reassurance and confirmation may not happen overnight, in time and through private worship, you will feel God’s nudging in one direction or another.
If you are listening, God will be speaking.
Tomorrow’s tip: Laying The Foundation/Part 2 – The Art of Setting Goals For Your Ministry