OurChurch.Com News and Announcements

May is Marketing Month

pdstein — Fri, 02 May 2008 10:47:48 -0500

While marketing is often thought of as advertising or self-promotion with the purpose of selling a product or service, and have an even lesser view of marketing ( Read - Is Marketing Evil? - http://churchmarketingonline.com/2008/05/is-marketing-evil/ ) in a broader sense marketing is everything an organization does to reach out to people who can benefit from what that organization does.

Every organization - whether it's a church, a school, a non-profit ministry, or a for-profit business - exists to serve people. Every organization wants to reach out to the people who it can serve. Therefore, effective marketing can help every organization grow, serve more people, and have a greater impact.

May is Marketing Month at OurChurch.Com. We're focusing this month on helping not just for-profit Christian business but also helping churches, schools, and ministries get the word out about what they're doing and connect with the people they can serve. At OCC we believe marketing is not about hype, false impressions, manipulation and pressure, but rather communicating authentically and effectively and getting your website listed at the top of search engines and directories so that people who are already looking for an organization like yours can find you.

1) Free Search Engine Registration
What good is great website if nobody can find it, right? Unfortunately, churches and Christian ministries usually don't give much thought to making sure people can find their websites in search engines. Have you? OurChurch.Com is the leading provider of search registration and search engine optimization services to Christian organizations. This month we want to see as many Christian organizations as possible take steps to make their websites more visible in search engines, so we're providing 3 opportunties for you to receive free search registration services.

A. Get our Major Search Engine Registration (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) for free when you purchase the Christian Search Engine Registration service (which will get your site listed in about 50 Christian search engines).

B. Get both the Christian Search Engine Registration and Major Search Engine Registration services free when you purchase our Guaranteed Search Ranking service.

C. Get both the Christian Search Engine Registration and Major Search Engine Registration services free when you purchase our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Management service.

For more info go to:
http://marketing.ourchurch.com

2) New Church Marketing Online Blog
Last month OurChurch.Com launched a brand new site dedicated to helping Churches reach people in their communities online. Most people looking for a new church start their search online. (Read How People Find a New Church) If your church wants reach these people, it's important that your church website be at the top of the search engines. The Church Marketing Online blog helps pastors and church leaders better understand search engines and how to use them to reach people in their community.
http://www.ChurchMarketingOnline.com
http://www.churchmarketingonline.com/2008/04/how-people-find-a-new-church/

3) Top Church Search Rankings - No Set-Up Fee!
OCC's Top Church Search Rankings service can put your church's website at the top of Google, Yahoo, MSN, and Ask! Just read the case studies and see for yourself. Right now we're waiving the $399 set-up fee on this new service.
http://churchmarketingonline.com/top-church-search-rankings/

4) Learn and Discuss Marketing
One of the great things about online marketing is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to get the word out about your organization if - and this is a big if - if you know what you're doing. In May we'll be focusing the articles in our Christian Web Trends blog on marketing issues. We also hope you'll join us in the OurChurch.Com Marketing Forum to discuss marketing ideas and issues. Have you got questions about marketing? Got a marketing idea you want to run by other Christian webmasters? The marketing forum is the place to talk about it.
http://blog.ourchurch.com
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewforum.php?f=5

Read the HTML version of this announcement at:
http://www.ourchurch.com/marketing-month.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

New NE1 Web Builder Features for Internet Evangelism Month

pdstein — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:52:32 -0500

As a part of OurChurch.Com's Internet Evangelism and Outreach Month -http://www.ourchurch.com/internet-evangelism-month.php - we've introduced several new features to the NE1 Website Builder. These new features will benefit all organizations but they are particularly applicable for evangelism. The features include:

1) SiteMap - The new SiteMap module/page provides a list of links to all published pages on the site. The sitemap is automatically updated anytime pages are added, deleted, or renamed. A sitemap can help visitors find their way around a website. It also helps to ensure that search engines can find all the pages in a website, and therefore can help more people to find a site.

2) Map & Directions - The new Map & Directions page makes it easy to embed a Google Map into a website. Having a map and driving directions on a website that serves a local community (e.g. a church), makes it easier and more likely new people will visit. A map and driving directions can also help that website's placement in Google Maps and other local search engines.

3) Address in Footer - When new websites are created, NE1 puts the postal address of the organization in the footer of the website, just above the copyright notice. Like the Map and Directions page, this helps both human visitors and search engines. Administrators of existing NE1 websites, can add their postal address to the footer of their website by modifying the footer in the Config form.

4) Bookmark - A new "Bookmark" link has been added to the bottom of all pages. This helps Internet Explorer users bookmark web pages.

5) Navigation Clues - Also sometimes called "bread crumbs" these links at the top of a website help a visitor to know what page they're on and what sub-menu they are in. Navigation clues have been enabled by default, but can be easily turned off in the Config settings.

6) Spell Checker - Spelling mistakes on a website reflect poorly on an organization, so we've added a spell checker to the NE1 page editor. Currently the spell checker is only available in Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze accounts, and we're in the process of resolving a technical issue so it can be installed in Free and Domain Package sites.

7) Church Website Assessment Tool - We've added a link to a great tool provided by the organizers of Internet Evangelism Day that helps church website administrators evaluate their site and provides tips to making a church website more accessible and friendly to unbelievers. You can find a link to the Church Website Assessment Tool on the main NE1 Admin Panel page under the "Additional OurChurch.Com Options" heading.

If you use the Church Website Assessment Tool, you'll notice that with the introduction of the features mentioned above, the NE1 Website Builder provides church web administrators with the capability to implement just about every recommendation there.

OurChurch.Com members can find help and instructions for using these new features in our help pages:
http://www.ourchurch.com/help/

For more information about OurChurch.Com's NE1 Website builder go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/NE1

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

ChurchMarketingOnline.com and Top Church Rankings Service

pdstein — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 16:10:16 -0500

OurChurch.Com, the leading provider of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Marketing for Christian organizations, has announced a new Local SEO for Churches service and ChurchMarketingOnline.com, a blog to educate and inspire churches to better connect with the people in their communities online.

"More and more people are searching for a church in the major search engines like Google," said Kurt Steinbrueck, OurChurch.Com's Director or Marketing Services. "We are very excited to be able help churches with their outreach and evangelism efforts by getting their websites to the top of the search rankings and at a fraction of the cost many churches pay for offline marketing such as direct mail postcards and billboards."

OurChurch.Com began offering search engine optimization services in 2004 with its Guaranteed Top Search Ranking service. It is one of the few SEO companies that offers a guarantee with its services. Soon after releasing the Guaranteed Top Search Ranking service, OurChurch.Com launched its Major Search Engine Registration and Christian Search Engine Registration services. In four years, OurChurch.Com has provided these search marketing services to hundreds of clients.

The Church Marketing Online blog seeks to inform churches about the numerous opportunities for online outreach including search engine optimization, local search, social networking, and other church marketing ideas. "Throughout its 11 year history, OurChurch.Com has always thought of itself as a ministry as well as a company." Steinbrueck said, "For us it's not enough to provide affordable website services. We also want to help people understand the importance of the Internet to their ministries and how to best use it to fulfill their missions. ChurchMarketingOnline.Com is an extension of that, seeking to provide information to help churches market themselves online and stay on the leading edge of online marketing and evangelism."

The new Local SEO for Churches service will also mark a move by OurChurch.Com into local search engine optimization, a growing niche of the search engine marketing field. "Most people who are searching for a church are searching with local keywords or in local search engines like Google Maps (Google's local search option) or Yahoo Local Business." said Steinbrueck. "So, it was a natural fit to provide local search engine optimization for churches."

The Local SEO for Churches service and Church Marketing Online blog have been launched in preparation for Internet Evangelism Day, a global day of focus on the opportunities for online outreach and evangelism, which takes place Sunday April 27th. "Some churches see evangelism and marketing as two different things, but they are actually the same." Steinbrueck said. "It's all about connecting with people and sharing the love of Christ with everyone we can."

For more information, please visit:
http://www.ChurchMarketingOnline.com

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

Internet Evangelism and Outreach Month

pdstein — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:43:29 -0500

April is Internet Evangelism and Outreach Month at OurChurch.Com. Throughout the month of April, OurChurch.Com will be making efforts to raise awareness of the opportunities to share the Christian faith online and to increase participation in Internet Evangelism Day Sunday April 27th.

The Internet has revolutionized the way we get information, communicate, and build relationships and as a result it presents unparalleled opportunities to communicate the Gospel for both individuals and organizations. Here are some ways we can help you in your efforts to reach out to unbelievers online.

1) Free Search Engine Registration
What good is great website if nobody can find it, right? Unfortunately, churches and Christian ministries usually don't give much thought to making sure people can find their websites in search engines. Have you? OurChurch.Com is the leading provider of search registration and search engine optimization services to Christian organizations. This month we want to see as many Christian organizations as possible take steps to make their websites more visible in search engines.

This month only, if you buy the Christian Search Engine Registration service (which will get your site listed in about 50 Christian search engines), we'll give you our Major Search Engine Registration (Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc) for free.

Or buy the Guaranteed Search Ranking or Search Engine Optimization Management services and get both the Christian Search Engine Registration and Major Search Engine Registration services free.
http://marketing.ourchurch.com

2) Is Your Church Website Attracting or Repelling Visitors?
Your church website has enormous potential as part of your outreach strategy to reach into your community. It can be like an enticing �shop window' and virtual doorway to draw people into faith and fellowship. However, many churches do not understand how to design a site that will do this effectively. Now you can get a free evaluation report of your church's website using the Church Website Assessment Tool. If you use OCC's NE1 Website Builder, you'll find a link to the Church Website Assessment Tool on your admin panel.

3) Internet Evangelism Day is April 27
Are you a Christian leader with a heart for reaching people with the love of Christ online? Internet Evangelism Day (IED) is April 27. IED is a focus day to bring awareness to the opportunities the Internet provides for sharing God's love online. The IED website makes it easy for your Christian church or ministry to do an IED event by providing tons of ideas and resources. Participation can be as simple as including an insert in your church bulletin that gives church members ideas for how they can share their faith online.
http://ied.gospelcom.net/index.php?partner=ourchurch

4) Internet Evangelism Blogs
This month we're focusing our blog articles on tips and strategies for online outreach. Plus we'll be linking to and commenting on every Internet evangelism related news and blog article we can find this month. So, consider the Christian Web Trends Blog your source for all info related to Internet evangelism and IED this month.
http://blog.ourchurch.com

5) Discuss Internet evangelism in our forums
We've initiated 3 Internet evangelism discussions in our forums. Take a few minutes to learn from others and share your knowledge and experience:

- Personal Internet evangelism strategies - Have you had spiritual conversations online? What worked? What didn't work? What questions do you have?
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=4145

- Church Internet outreach strategies - What have you done with your church website to make it more appealing to unbelievers and encourage them to attend a service? What have you done to make your church website more visible in search engines?
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=4146

What are you doing for Internet Evangelism Day? Share your best ideas. Ask questions about IED.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=4147

6) More Improvements Coming to NE1
Later this month we'll be introducing some new tools and resources for our NE1 web builder that will help you better connect with non-Christians and present the Gospel to them. Plus get ready for a brand new outreach-related service to launch later this month! Stay tuned for more detailed.

http://www.ourchurch.com/internet-evangelism-month.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

Congrats to the Photo Contest Winners

pdstein — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:12:42 -0500

OurChurch.Com would like to congratulate the winners of the NE1 Photo Gallery Contest and the Christian Photo Contest.

NE1 PHOTO GALLERY CONTEST
Congratulations to From Our Hearts - http://www.fromourhearts.net - winner of the March NE1 Photo Gallery contest for their gallery - http://fromourhearts.net/index.php?p=1_64 - which includes beautiful photos of people and natural settings in Honduras. For their prize they will receive a free NE1 Flash header - http://www.ourchurch.com/NE1/template-design-services.php - valued at $249.

CHRISTIAN PHOTO CONTEST
The judges have submitted their picks, the results have been complied and the 12 winning photos have been selected for OurChurch.Com's first ever Christian Photo Contest - http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/christian-photo-contest.php. There were a lot of amazingly beautiful photos that helped to give us a glimpse into the awe-inspiring creativity of the wonderful God we serve. Thanks to everyone who participated in the photo contest. We hope you'll continue to glorify God through the art of photography.

The winning photos can be viewed in the Christian Photo Contest Winners Gallery at:
http://www.custom-ne1.com/index.php?p=1_16_Photo-Contest-Winners

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

Free Photo Training Webinar

pdstein — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 14:09:30 -0500

Hello OurChurch.Com webmasters,

We'd like to invite you to join us for a free training webinar (online seminar) at 1:00 PM EST Thursday March 20, which will help you to better use photos in the NE1 Website Builder.

- Learn how to crop, rotate, and resize images online with NE1.
- Learn how to insert images into your web pages and make the text wrap around them.
- Learn how to create photo slideshows.
- Have your questions about photos answered in the open Q&A session.

Get all this training in an hour from the comfort of your own computer.

Reserve your spot today!
http://www.ourchurch.com/NE1/webinars.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

March is Photo Month at OurChurch.Com

pdstein — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 15:41:33 -0500

Digital cameras are inexpensive and nearly ubiquitous. Just about anyone, anytime, anywhere can snap a quick picture, and email it to friends or upload it to a website. This has opened the door to many opportunities to communicate through imagery.

March is Photo Month at OurChurch.Com. All month we'll be focusing on using photographs on websites. Enter the Christian Photo Contest with $700 of cash prizes. Check out the NE1 Photo Gallery Contest. Learn about the NE1 Website Builder's photo gallery and slideshow features as well as the built in image editor in this month's webinar. Create your own photo galleries by getting a discount on the Bronze hosting package. And much more� Read on for details on all the opportunities available during Photo Month.

1) CREATE YOUR OWN PHOTO GALLERIES WITH THE BRONZE PACKAGE
One of the great new features in the NE1 Website Builder is the photo gallery with slideshow. The photo gallery module comes at no extra cost with the Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze hosting packages. We want to see more sites using this module, so during Photo Month you can upgrade and get a year of the Bronze package for only $99. (That's only $9 more than the 6 month price.) Or upgrade to the Bronze package and Ad-Free Option for only $179. That's $1 less than the 6-month price.

This special offer is only available during March and only available to websites currently with free or domain packages.

2) NE1 PHOTO GALLERY CONTEST
In a effort to recognize those organizations that are making great use of the NE1 Photo Gallery module, we're holding a Photo Gallery Contest. Everyone who submits a gallery for consideration gets a free link (which may help search engine rankings) and one winner will receive a free Flash header. Check out the NE1 Contest page for details.
http://www.ourchurch.com/NE1/contests.php

3) CHRISTIAN PHOTO CONTEST - $700 OF CASH PRIZES
OurChurch.Com is awarding $700 in cash prizes as a part of its first Christian Photo Contest. The photo contest is an effort to highlight the work of photographers who give us a glimpse into the glory of God through the art of photography. See the photo contest page.
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/christian-photo-contest.php

4) PHOTO WEBINAR
Did you know you can crop, rotate, and resize images online with NE1? Do you know how to insert images into your web pages and make the text wrap around them? Do you know how to create photo slideshows? Get valuable training on using photos in the NE1 Website Builder absolutely free in the Photo Webinar (online seminar) Thursday March 20 at 1:00 PM Eastern time. Reserve your spot today!
http://www.ourchurch.com/NE1/webinars.php

5) PHOTO TIPS
We'll also be turning our attention to photos in the Christian Web Trends blog. Learn how to better use photos to connect with visitors. Find out the most common mistakes people make with photos on a website and how to avoid them. Get the scoop on how pictures can draw hundreds of new visitors to your website every month.
http://blog.ourchurch.com

6) FUN WITH PHOTO CAPTIONS
Do you like funny pictures? Take a 5 minute break in the Humor Forum for a caption contest. Each day we'll post an unusual picture and then see who can reply with the funniest caption. Check out the Caption Contest Gallery for all the pics and best captions.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewforum.php?f=15

For more information see the Photo Month web page:
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/photo-month.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

OCC Hosts $700 Christian Photo Contest

pdstein — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 14:30:04 -0500

OurChurch.Com is awarding $700 in cash prizes as a part of its first Christian Photo Contest. The photo contest is an effort to highlight the work of photographers who give us a glimpse into the glory of God through the art of photography.

A first place prize of $100, second place prize of $50, and third place prize of $25 will be awarded in each of the following four categories:

1) God in creation. The winning photos will be those that best feature the glory of God in nature.

2) God in humanity. The winning photos will be those that best exemplify the glory of God in people.

3) Christian Symbols. The winning photos will be those that most creatively and artistically capture Christian symbols such as a cross, a church, or an advent wreath - human artistic creations designed to point us towards God.

4) NE1 Fun. The winning photos in this category will be those that best demonstrate the motto of OurChurch.Com's NE1 Website Builder: A Website for Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere.

The Christian Photo Contest is being done on Flickr in conjunction with several other Christian photo groups.

For contest rules and more details go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/hosting/christian-photo-contest.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

NE1 Website Builder Now Has a Calendar

pdstein — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:47:37 -0500

OurChurch.Com has launched a new calendar module for its NE1 Website Builder. The calendar includes many improvements over the calendar in its earlier Beacon web builder.

For churches, schools, and other organizations a large percentage of website visitors are looking for information about upcoming events. An online calendar is a critical tool for helping people get involved and stay active.

Some website companies charge $5 to $20 extra each month for a calendar. Other companies provide stand-alone calendar services at similar prices that require frames or don't integrate into an organizations website. But OurChurch.Com is making the NE1 calendar available at no extra charge with all of its premium web hosting packages (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Domain).

Some of the most noteworthy features of the NE1 calendar include:

- Easy addition of events that recur daily, weekly, monthly or annually
- Inclusion of hyperlinks and graphics in event descriptions
- AJAX technology which enables moving from one month to the next and between day and month views without reloading the entire calendar page.

In addition to these useful features, the NE1 calendar enable web administrators to customize their calendar's appearance to match the rest of the website with 21 different color and font settings.

Current OurChurch.Com members with free sites can add a calendar to their site by first upgrading to a Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze or Domain hosting package.

Current OurChurch.Com members that have a Platinum, Gold, Silver, Bronze or Domain hosting package can add the calendar to any page by editing that page, clicking their cursor in the editor at the place on the page where they want the calendar to be displayed, and selecting the calendar from the "Insert Module" drop-down menu. Events can be added by selecting the calendar from the "Add-on Modules" menu. Members that don't see the Events Calendar listed in the "Add-on Modules Menu" or the "Insert Module," may need to refresh their admin page or clear their browsers cache.

For other questions concerning the calendar module, the NE1 Website Builder, or other OurChurch.Com website services, please call us at 727-723-2454 or contact us through our help desk:
http://www.ourchurch.com/support/

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

OurChurch.Com Delivers Custom-Designed Websites for $399

pdstein — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:13:20 -0500

OurChurch.Com, a leading provider of website services to Christian organizations, has begun offering custom-designed websites with Flash headers for only $399. This new web design service is based on OurChurch.Com's NE1 Website Builder, which was launched in January, and includes functionality such as a blog, photo gallery, PayPal shopping cart, calendar, and newsletter.

"Many people still think they can't afford a website with a unique, custom design, and they settle for something less," said OurChurch.Com CEO Paul Steinbrueck. "By providing Custom NE1 websites for only $399, virtually every church, organization, and business can have a custom website that expresses the uniqueness of their organization, its mission, and its people."

Because Custom NE1 websites are integrated with the NE1 Website Builder, they can be quickly and easily updated by the website owner from any Internet-accessible computer.

Ongoing service includes domain registration, hosting, weekly back-up, email accounts, web traffic statistics, and support by phone, email, and online help desk all covered by a single $39 monthly service fee with a one year commitment.

For more information about the Custom NE1 website service go to:
http://www.ourchurch.com/design/custom-ne1-design.php

In His Service,
OurChurch.Com