Top Five Church Bulletin Best Practices
This summer we asked a handful of pastors from across the county to email us their church bulletins. Why? So we could learn more about how they’re communicating with their congregation and wider community – and about how SALT could help!
Well, you can imagine our surprise when more than 75 bulletins arrived in our collective inbox in less than a week! After poring over the bulletins one by one, we’ve now pulled together a list of five “bulletin best practices” that stand out from the rest:
- The bigger the church, the smaller the bulletin. It seems counterintuitive, but bigger churches seem to use their bulletins more like “mobile websites” for visitors and rely on email and online newsletters to keep regulars and members in the loop.
- Less is more! Reduce the amount of information to the top five things people need to know for the week. Remember: paper is for visitors, email for regulars!
- Develop an announcement template. To keep things streamlined and easy to read, drop the flowery language and stick to the facts, keeping the format consistent throughout: event, date (with the day of the week spelled out in its entirety), time, contact person, and contact information. This approach makes it super easy for people to find the information they need without having to navigate through a long paragraph.
- Negative space is your friend. It’s how our eyes breathe. Announcements stand out more when there’s blank space – think of it as breathing space – on the page.
- Prioritize beauty. Find more ways to add photos and images to your bulletin, and be sure to change it up regularity so that people don’t get bored and switch off. Remember: your bulletin isn’t just a means to an end; it can be a form of inspiration all by itself.
Okay, that’s our bulletin best practices round-up – looking over the samples you sent in, we’re completely convinced that following these five tips will take your bulletin (and church events!) to the next level :)
Peace and beauty,
The SALT Team
p.s. Special thanks to all who sent in bulletins!