OurChurch.Com News and Announcements

Virtually Eliminate Distance in Missions Month

pdstein — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:51:37 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-07-02.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

The Internet is transforming missions work.

Just a few decades ago you might never hear from a missionary except when they're on furlough. But today, you're likely to find missionaries connecting with supporters via Facebook or posting about their latest adventure to their blog. In the most remote parts of the world, you'll find IT specialists right along side linguists and Bible scholars translating scripture into a new language.

July is Missions Month at OurChurch.Com. Our goal is to help facilitate better communication among missionaries and those doing short-term missions trips with family, friends, and supporters back home. Here's how...

Missions Month Features
================================
1) Get a Year of Bronze and Ad-Free for $149
2) Share Your Missions Experience
3) Live From Kenya
4) The OCC Missions Page

1) GET A YEAR OF BRONZE AND AD-FREE FOR $149
We know finances are tight for everyone these days, including missionaries. So, this month only you an get a year of the Bronze Hosting Package and Ad-Free Option for only $149. That's a savings of $50. The Bronze package includes your own domain name, a calendar, blog, photo galleries, and an eNewsletter. These are tools any organization serious about communicating with people can't do without. This offer is only available to those with Free and Starter packages and only during the month of July. Order now!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

2) SHARE YOUR MISSIONS EXPERIENCE
If you've done short or long-term missions work outside your native country and utilized the Internet in that ministry, you've got some first hand insights that could help others better use the Internet in their missions work. We'd like you to share that by writing a guest blog article about that experience. Read more about this opportunity and the insightful guest blog articles written last year on the Christian Web Trends blog.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2009/07/01/wanted-guest-bloggers-to-write-about-missions-the-internet/

3) LIVE FROM KENYA
Speaking blogging and missions work, my wife and I (Paul Steinbrueck) will be going to Nakuru, Kenya July 11-20 to serve along side some good friends who are building an orphanage and serving their community in lots of other ways. I'll be blogging daily during the trip, so you'll have the opportunity to see first hand how the Internet enables people to connect with someone serving overseas. My hope is it encourages you to do something similar the next time you or someone in your organization goes on a missions trip.

4) THE OCC MISSIONS PAGE
As a part of its Missions Month focus, OurChurch.Com has relaunched the "Missions Mashup" page, which combines information about Christian missions and missionaries from around the world into several useful tools. The page has been created to help people find and learn about Christian missionaries as well as to encourage missionaries to blog and share information with other missionaries.

It includes a customized Google map that includes "pushpins" showing the locations of missionaries. Clicking on each pushpin reveals the name of the missionaries, their location, and a link to their website and blog. Another feature is the Missions Feed, which combines the RSS feeds from each missionary's blog into a single feed. That means you can visit the Missions Mashup to view the latest updates from all the missionaries listed, or you can subscribe to this one RSS feed in your feed reader and receive updates from all the missionaries currently listed as well as any new missionaries that sign up.

Check out the Missions Mashup page to learn about the missionaries that are already listed and register if you're a missionary.
http://www.ourchurch.com/missions/

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

OurChurch.Com Is Paying $250 for Video Testimonials

pdstein — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:42:41 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-06-30.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

Has OurChurch.Com made a difference in your ministry with our web design, web hosting, or search marketing services? If so, tell your story on video.

OCC will feature the best video testimonials on the front of the web design, web hosting, and search marketing sections of our site. If we use your video, we'll pay you $250!

Your video should be 1-3 minutes and include�

- Your name, the name of your organization, and your location.
- A sentence about your organization.
- Describe the situation before OurChurch.Com helped you.
- Describe the services we provided you.
- Describe the results and how it has impacted your business or ministry.
- Describe how you feel about the results.
- How do you feel about OurChurch.Com?

You don't need any actors, fancy equipment, or snazzy video editing. We're looking for real people telling real stories about OurChurch.Com making a real difference.

Please focus on one service per video. For example if we created a custom site for you and provided search marketing service, please focus on one of those so we can use the video on that section of our site. If you want to submit separate videos on the web design and search marketing services you received, that would be even better!

Keep in mind that OurChurch.Com's hosting services include our easy-to-use NE1 Web Builder as well as free, unlimited support from our friendly, knowledgeable support staff. So, if you've found NE1 and/or our support staff to be helpful to your ministry, you might consider mentioning them. (Um, yeah, that's a not so subtle hint.)

Please upload your video to YouTube and send us a link through our help desk (http://www.ourchurch.com/support/). Hang on to the original, because if we decide to use your video on our site, we'll contact you and make arrangements to download it from you.

Deadline for entry is Tuesday July 21. So, get those cameras rolling!

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

Post comments and questions regarding this announcement here in our forums.

And now for the obligatory fine print� OCC reserves the right to mention and link to videos uploaded to YouTube both before and after the submission deadline. This does not constitute use on our site or infer a $250 payment. All winning videos become the property of OurChurch.Com. OurChurch.Com reserves the right to edit, use, and/or distribute winning videos for promotional purposes.

Get Connected in Social Networking Month

pdstein — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 15:41:23 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-06-04.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

Social networking is huge. What may have seemed like a teen fad with kids goofing off on MySpace has blossomed into way for people of all ages to engage online with the family, friends, church, and businesses they love.

Social networking has also become a way for organizations to connect with new people and to help the people within their organization share ideas and become better connected. But with all the different sites and tools, it's hard to know which to use and how to use them effectively.

June is Social Networking Month at OurChurch.Com. All month we'll be discussing social networking, rolling out new tools to help you connect better with us, and providing new tools to help you connect with new visitors and engage the people within your organization.

Social Networking Month Features
================================
1) Follow OurChurchDotCom on Twitter
2) Get a free $20 iTunes Gift Certificate
3) Interact with OCC on Facebook
4) Social Networking Round Table
5) Is your org on Facebook or Twitter? Guest blog about it!
6) OCC Goes social at Florida UMC conference
7) More Social Networking Goodies on the Way

1) FOLLOW OURCHURCHDOTCOM ON TWITTER
Earlier this week OurChurch.Com launched its official Twitter profile. I've been referring to it as all the stuff not fit for the blog - behind the scenes info, cool client stuff, and if you follow us we'll follow you and maybe retweet you from time to time. See the full announcement.
http://twitter.com/OurChurchDotCom
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-06-02.php

2) GET A FREE $20 ITUNES GIFT CERTIFICATE
One of the things we're going to do periodically with Twitter is give stuff away. Today we're giving away a $20 iTunes gift certificate. All you have to do is follow us and tweet this blog post.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2009/06/04/get-a-free-20-itunes-gift-certificate/

3) INTERACT WITH OCC ON FACEBOOK
OCC has had a Facebook page for some time now. For the most part we've been using as a way to notify you of new announcements, blog articles, and newsletters. We want to interact with you more and encourage you to interact with other "fans" of our Facebook page. So, look for us to start some discussions there and post coupons and free stuff you can only get in Facebook.
http://facebook.ourchurch.com

4) SOCIAL NETWORKING ROUND TABLE
It seems like every day there's a new social networking site or social networking tool that the blogosphere is clamoring about and saying your business, church, or non-profit "must use" if it wants to keep up, stay relevant, and connect with people.

So, to make sense of all this we've invited a panel of experienced social networkers to do a Social Networking Round Table with us. They've been gracious enough to take time out of their busy schedules to share their insight on social networking with us. The discussion has been broken into 4 parts with Part 1 posted yesterday. You'll definitely want to read these articles.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/2009/06/03/social-networking-round-table-%E2%80%93-part-1/

5) IS YOUR ORG ON FACEBOOK OR TWITTER? GUEST BLOG ABOUT IT!
When it comes to social networking we need to learn from each other. If your organization has been using Facebook or Twitter, you've learned a lot both from the successes and the failures. You've probably gained some great insight that would be very helpful for organizations that are just starting to jump into social. Consider sharing that insight with our blog readers by writing a guest blog article. In addition to helping a lot of people, you'll also get links and visitors from our blog.
http://blog.ourchurch.com/become-a-guest-blogger/

6) OOC GOES SOCIAL AT FLORIDA UMC CONFERENCE
OurChurch.Com will be at the Florida United Methodist Conference in Daytona Beach, FL next week (June 10-12.) In addition to having an exhibitor's both there, we'll also be blogging and Twittering from the conference. We'll be doing special giveaways to conference participants via Facebook and Twitter, so if you'll be at the conference follow us on Twitter and Facebook and stop by our booth.
http://www.flumc2.org/page.asp?PKValue=1540

7) MORE SOCIAL NETWORKING GOODIES ON THE WAY
Just a quick heads up that we've got several other projects we're working on that will help you connect with and engage your visitors through social networking. Can't say any more than for now. But expect more announcements in the coming weeks.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Follow OurChurchDotCom on Twitter

pdstein — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 14:20:45 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-06-02.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is excited to announce the launch of the official OurChurch.Com Twitter profile:

http://twitter.com/OurChurchDotCom

We've held back on jumping into the realm of Twitter because we want to try to do it right. So many companies (and individuals for that matter) use Twitter as just another tool for self-promotion. We want to use Twitter in a way that adds more value (and fun) to our followers.

There's so much stuff that goes on behind the scenes here, so many things we get to see because of working day in and day out with 13,000+ Christian churches, schools, ministries, and businesses. Until now we just haven't had a medium to communicate those things.

Twitter is the perfect tool for that.

When we see a client doing something innovative online we'll Twitter about it. When we see a ministry that really stands out we'll post a tweet. When we come across a news article or blog post that we just don't have time to blog about, this is where we can pass it on.

We'll also Twitter from conferences, make fun of our staff, banter with our followers, try to get our sponsors to comp us some stuff to give away to our followers, and just experiment and have fun in this new space.

If you don't Twitter and want to know what all the hubbub is about, watch the video, Twitter in Plain English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

If you're already on Twitter, follow us, and post a reply here in this forum topic with your Twitter address. And also post any comments or questions you may have about this announcement.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Non-technical OurChurch.Com Forums Closing May 31

pdstein — Tue, 19 May 2009 18:20:31 -0500

Hi Folks,

After a lot of thought and discussion, we have decided to close down all of the non-technical OurChurch.Com forums (with the exception of the OCC Fellowship forum) on May 31, 2009.

This was a difficult decision because we dreamed for years about having a vibrant community of forum users discussion ministry, faith, relational, and other issues. But the fact of the matter is that these forums are only frequented by a handful of users. And the discussions have often been argumentative or theological debates. There was just not enough edifying conversation or community to make them worth continuing any longer.

The forums being close include Christian Ministry Exchange, Faith and God, Relationships, In the news..., Original Writing, Spiritual Conversations, Prayer Requests, Humor, Teen Talk.

We understand that those of you who were regulars in these forums will be disappointed by the decision. We hope that you would continue to read and post in the technical forums that will continue.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck
OurChurch.Com

EDIT 5/21: We have decided to also keep the "Original Writing" forum.

Rule Google in Search Marketing Month

pdstein — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:10:32 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-05-05.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

Search engines have revolutionized the world. They have changed the way we shop, the way we read news, the way we find a plumber, and even the way we look for a church or school.

Entire industries like the yellow pages and newspapers are crumbling as a result. But from their ashes new organizations are rising - organizations that understand the power of search engines to connect people to their church, school, or business.

May is Search Marketing Month at OurChurch.Com. All month long we are focusing on helping you better understand how search engines work, and how you can position your church, school, or business in search engines to bring lots of new visitors to your site. Check out the learning opportunities and the great deals on search marketing services we have available this month.

Search Marketing Month Features
===============================
1) Search Marketing 101
2) Special Offer: No Set-Up Fees!
3) Churches: How Search Marketing Brings New Visitors
4) Schools: Search Marketing is the Key to Full Enrollment
5) Search Marketing is Replacing the Yellow Pages
6) Why SEO is a Never-Ending Job
7) Search Marketing Case Studies
8) Half-off Deluxe Directory Registration
9) Search Marketing Discussion

1) SEARCH MARKETING 101
If you are new to managing a website or if acronyms like SEO, PR, and SERPs make about as much sense as a bowl of alphabet soup, don't worry. OurChurch.Com is all about helping you understand tech stuff so you can make the most of your website. Check out articles we've published like

- How do Search Engines Work http://churchmarketingonline.com/2008/05/how-do-search-engines-work/
- What is SEO? http://churchmarketingonline.com/2008/05/what-is-seo/
- What is Local SEO? http://churchmarketingonline.com/2008/07/what-is-local-seo-and-why-its-important-to-church-marketing/

Those and many more are available in our CMO University site. http://churchmarketingonline.com/church-marketing-online-university/

2) SPECIAL OFFER: NO SET-UP FEES!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is very personalized, time-consuming work. It takes many hours to do all the keyword research, on-page optimization, report generating, and modifications needed to get top 10 rankings. That's why we usually charge a $499 up-front fee to get started. This month only, however, we're waiving that up-front fee when you commit to 15 months of any of our search marketing services. This includes our SEO Management, Top Church Search Rankings, Top School Search Rankings, and Local Business Search Marketing services. You must order before the end of May to get this great deal, so don't delay. Order today!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

3) CHURCHES: HOW SERACH MARKETING BRINGS NEW VISITORS
Today, most people who are looking for a church, start their search online. That's why it's so important for your church website to be in the top 10 sites in Google for church-related phrases in your area. Many churches now days report more than half their new visitors learned of their church online. If you lead a church or manage a church website, read this insightful article - How People Find a New Church http://churchmarketingonline.com/2008/04/how-people-find-a-new-church/ Whether you do it yourself or hire someone like our search marketing experts to do our Top Church Search Rankings Service http://churchmarketingonline.com/top-church-search-rankings/ optimizing your church website will pay off in spades.

4) SCHOOLS: SEARCH MARKETING IS THE KEY TO FULL ENROLLMENT
This is a tough time for many Christian schools. The economy is down, jobs have been lost, and many people are pulling their kids out of private schools to save money. But, not all schools are feeling the pinch of falling enrollment. Some parents are looking for private schools, and the schools whose websites are at the top of the search results are getting calls and new students as a result. Even if better search rankings bring your school just one new student it will pay for itself. It elementary, really. ;) Check out our Top School Search Rankings for more info.
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-school-marketing-services.php

5) SEARCH MARKETING IS REPLACING THE YELLOW PAGES
If you run a local business, this is one trend you've got to be aware of. When looking for a local business, today more people use search engines than the phone book. That makes a good website and good search rankings critical to the success of your business. OCC's Local Business Search Marketing service can put your business on the first page of the search results. Read on for more details:
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-local-business-marketing-services.php

6) WHY SEO IS A NEVER-ENDING JOB
A lot of people think search engine optimization is a one-time deal. You optimize your site, forget about it, and the visitors keep coming. Nothing could be further from the truth. The web is a dynamic place. Your website is constantly changing (or it should be), search engines are constantly changing their algorithms, and your competitors a trying to improve their rankings. All that means, you've got to continue to monitor your search rankings and make adjustments month after month. That's what our SEO Management service can do for you. We not only get your site in the top 10, we keep it there. Guaranteed!
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/search-engine-optimization-management.php

7) SEARCH MARKETING CASE STUDIES
To further demonstrate the value of search marketing, this month our Director of Search Marketing, Kurt Steinbrueck, will be publishing a series of Search Marketing case studies in the Christian Web Trends Blog. These case studies show the impact search marketing has had on real organizations - a church, a school, and 2 businesses. The first one will be published tomorrow May 6. You won't want to miss them.
http://blog.ourchurch.com

8) HALF-OFF DELUXE DIRECTORY REGISTRATION
Getting quality sites to link to your website is a key part of getting good search rankings. So, having links to your site in online directories not only brings new visitors directly from those directories, but it also helps your search rankings, which brings in more new visitors. This month we've got a crazy special on all 4 Deluxe Directory Registration services. Got your site listed in 250, 500, 900, or 2,000 online directories for half price. See the Deluxe Directory Registration page for more info.
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-manual-directory-registration.php

9) SEARCH MARKETING DISCUSSION
Last but certainly not least, as a part of our efforts to help you better understand search marketing we've started a couple new topics in our Marketing & Search Engine Services forum:
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewforum.php?f=5

- What's the one thing you've always wanted to know about search engines? http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=5671

- Post your #1 tip for getting good search rankings http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=5672

This is where iron sharpens iron as you, our staff, 13,000 other OCC webmasters can help each other become better at search marketing.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Reach Out in Internet Evangelism Month

pdstein — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:35:07 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-04-02.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

April is Internet Evangelism 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 26th.

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.

Internet Evangelism Month Features
==================================
1) Free Search Engine Registration
2) Church Website Assessment Tool
3) Internet Evangelism Day is April 26
4) Get the Latest Internet Evangelism Ideas
5) Discuss Internet Evangelsim in our Forums

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 (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/christian-search-engine-registration.php) (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 Search Engine Optimization Management service (http://marketing.ourchurch.com/search-engine-optimization-management.php) and get both the Christian Search Engine Registration and Major Search Engine Registration services free. Order today!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

2) CHURCH WEBSITE ASSESSMENT TOOL
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 26
Are you a Christian leader with a heart for reaching people with the love of Christ online? Internet Evangelism Day (IED) is April 26. 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://www.internetevangelismday.com/?partner=ourchurch

4) GET THE LATEST INTERNET EVANGELSIM IDEAS
This month we're focusing our blog articles on tips and strategies for online outreach. With the explosion of social networking sites like Facebook, there are tons of new ways to share your faith online to discuss. 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 got 3 Internet evangelism discussions going 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

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.

Looking for 3 Orgs to Receive $500 of Search Marketing Srvs

pdstein — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:29:37 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-03-18.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is looking for 3 organizations - one church, one school, and one local business - that would like to receive $500 of search engine marketing services as part of 3 case studies OCC will be performing.

The selected church will receive OCC's Top Church Search Rankings service, the selected school will receive OCC's Top School Search Ranking service, and the selected business will receive OCC's Local Business Search Marketing service.

http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-church-marketing-services.php
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-school-marketing-services.php
http://marketing.ourchurch.com/marketing-local-business-marketing-services.php

The case studies are being done to demonstrate how quickly OCC can get all 3 types of organizations to the top of the search results for targeted keywords. Participants will likely receive more than 100 top 10 search rankings in less than 2 months.

Cost of these services is normally as much as $499 up front and $99/mo. Participants will have the set-up fee waived and will make just a single $99 payment for the 2 month trial. The participant may continue the service after the two month trial at the regular $99/mo as it is designed to keep the high rankings for organization; however, there is no obligation.

The case studies (and participants websites) are likely to be featured in an upcoming series of blog articles.

These case studies are all about speed, so participants must be able to make decisions regarding keywords and changes to their website within 2 business days. Participants will also be asked to supply home, work, and cell phone numbers and be able to respond to emails quickly in order to facilitate quick and easy communication.

Participant Requirements:

1) Participant must have a website for a church, school, or local business. The local business must operate out of a storefront or provides a local service. Non-church ministries, colleges, on-line/correspondence schools, and purely online businesses do not qualify.

2) Participant must have the ability and authority to change the website for that organization.

3) Participant must be a resident of the U.S. and the organization must be located in the U.S.

4) Participants must reply to this email by the deadline of 4 PM EST Monday March 23. That reply must include:

A) You name
B) The name of your business/church/school
C) The URL of its website
D) Your home, work, and cell phone numbers

5) If selected, participant will be notified on Mon. March 23, and must submit $99 payment by 4 PM EST Wed. March 25 otherwise another participant will be selected.

6) Participant must be able to respond to all emails, including making decisions about keywords and changes to their site within 2 business days (and preferably within 1). If you are not online at least once a day or have to run every little decision through a committee, this is not for you.

We're excited to be able to help 3 organizations and prove the speed and value of our search engine marketing services all that the same time! Get whatever approval you need and reply back ASAP!

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Join the Organization Alliance, Get a Free Site For Life

pdstein — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:29:35 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-03-12.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

OurChurch.Com is launching a new partnership opportunity for large Christian organizations called Organization Alliances. Here's the deal - if you help to bring your parent organization on board as an Organization Alliance, we'll give you a free site for life.

Have I got your attention?

OCC is creating Organization Alliances with Christian associations that have at least 200 member organizations such as state and national denomination organizations, school associations, campus ministry associations, and missions organizations. These Alliances will benefit both the parent organization and the member organizations and help to facilitate better linkage and communication between them.

Benefits

- New Custom Interactive Website - OCC will create a brand new Custom CMS Premier website for the parent organization which will look amazing, be easy to update, and include lots of interactive features. We'll optimize it for search engines, and include our concierges service. All with no up-front fee.

- Church/School Finder - The parent organization's website will include a directory of member organizations which can be search by name or zip code, helping people find the church, school, or member organization closest to them. This is an essential feature for the parent organization and will help new people get connected with the member organization.

- News Feed - The parent organization's website will have a news section which will generate a feed that member organizations can add to their websites. So, as the parent organization makes announcements, the news is automatically updated on the member organization sites. Individuals will also be able to subscribe to receive news updates.

- Compensation - Parent organizations will have the option of receiving a commission on services ordered by their member organizations, providing a discount to their member organizations, or having money earned from their member organizations' purchases go to a charity.

- Organization-Specific Templates - OCC will create templates for its NE1 Web Builder that include the parent organization's logo for member organizations to use.

- Training - OCC will do a training seminar at the organization's conference.

For more details see the Organization Alliance FAQs.
http://partner.ourchurch.com/organization-alliance-faqs.php

Then forward this on to the folks you know in your parent organization and encourage them to take advantage of this opportunity.

To set-up a time to discuss an Organization Alliance with us, complete the consultation request form.
http://partner.ourchurch.com/org-alliance-request.php

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Earn More $ and Visitors in Partnership Month

pdstein — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 17:14:45 -0500

View this announcement in your web browser:
http://www.ourchurch.com/news/news-2009-03-10.php

Hi OCC News Subscriber,

I was just reading an article this morning that said word of mouth has always been the best kind of marketing and continues to be so even today. We have always believed that here at OurChurch.Com which is why we created the Spread the WWWord! partnership program years ago - to encourage you to tell your friends and acquaintances about OurChurch.Com and to reward you for doing so.

March is Partnership Month at OurChurch.Com. We're putting the focus on our partnership program. Encouraging those of you who are not participating to sign up, working with those of you who are partners to help you be more successful, and discussing with you what we can do to make the program better.

So, take a look at all the opportunities we're providing below.

Partnership Month Features
==========================
1) Get Starter and Ad-Free For Only $98
2) Free Advertising for New Partners
3) Big Announcement March 12
4) New Director of Partner Relations
5) Give Us Feedback Get 5,000 Banner Displays
6) New Partnership Graphics
7) Need Help Setting Up Your Banner?

1) GET STARTER AND AD-FREE FOR ONLY $98
This month only, if you have a free site you can upgrade to get a year of the Starter Package and a year of the Ad-Free Option for only $98. If you'd like to be a part of our partnership program, you need to have your own domain name, and this deal includes free domain name registration. Order now!
http://www.ourchurch.com/edit/order2.php

If you're already a partner, this is a great deal to mention on your website or in your newsletter to earn new referrals.

2) FREE BANNER ADVERTISING FOR NEW PARTNERS
Sign-up for our Spread the WWWord! partnership program and set up a banner promoting your organization using the partner banner admin during March, and we'll display that banner 5,000 times in April on OurChurch.Com and our member sites.
http://partner.ourchurch.com

3) BIG ANNOUNCEMENT MARCH 12
We can't let the cat out of the bag yet, but on Thursday we're going to announce a huge new opportunity - which includes among other things a free website for life. Keep an eye on your email or our announcements forum.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewforum.php?f=11

4) NEW DIRECTOR OF PARTNER RELATIONS
In an effort to better support our partners and develop better relationships with them, we've created the new position of Director of Partner Relations and named Karl Beaudry to that position. In the past, partners' questions would be answered by the member of our support staff who got to it first. By putting Karl in this position, he will get to know each partner better and be familiar with all future questions/issues/suggestions. If you're a partner, stop the partnership forum and say hi to Karl.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=5503

5) GIVE US FEEDBACK, GET 5,000 BANNER DISPLAYS
We want to help you become a successful participant in our partnership program. Because if you're successful, we'll be successful too. So, how can we do that? What can we do to help you? How can we improve the partnership program? Let us know by posting questions and suggestions in this new partners forum topic. Everyone who posts a comment or suggestion by March 31 will be entered into a drawing to receive 5,000 banner displays in April.
http://forums.ourchurch.com/viewtopic.php?t=5504

6) NEW PARTNERSHIP GRAPHICS
Our graphic designers have been hard at work creating cool new graphics you can display on your site to refer your visitors to OurChurch.Com. You can easily add these graphics to your site by clicking the "View HTML Source" under the graphic and copying and pasting that into your site.
http://partner.ourchurch.com/link.php

7) NEED HELP SETTING UP YOUR BANNER?
Unfortunately, many of our partners are losing out on lots of free advertising (and thus free visitors) for their site because they haven't set up a banner ad for us to use to promote their site. Banners can be set up relatively easily using the Banner Admin (http://www.ourchurch.com/ads/partner.php3) There is a Banner Admin Help Page (http://www.ourchurch.com/help/help-banneradmin.php) available. If you're still stumped, submit a ticket to our help desk and Karl will help you get set up.

Don't lose out on all that free advertising and new visitors.

In His Service,
Paul Steinbrueck, CEO
OurChurch.Com

Post your comments and questions concerning this announcement here in our forums.