How to Shift Your Digital Presence into High Gear (Canopy Church)
Canopy Church - Canopy is a family of house churches learning to live free in Southern California
Canopy Church
Canopy is a family of house churches learning to live free in Southern California
“We began working with Good Grain Creative in order to have top-tier communication across all platforms without having to become communication experts ourselves. And, that’s exactly what has happened! Asher and his team see things we never would have seen, ask questions we would never have thought to ask, and their expertise has dramatically improved our communication strategies and processes. They are our experts, and we are now free to invest our time fully in the ministry of our church without sacrificing excellence in communication. We are so grateful for Good Grain Creative!”
— Joshua Harrison (Lead Pastor)
The Results
40% Increase in Traffic in 30 Days (Sunday Online Engagement Doubled)
A 500% above Average Click-Through Rate on their Weekly Email
Hours saved and reallocated to Building out more ministry initiatives from Canopy.
Don’t Believe Us? Here’s the Raw Data
Website Data 08/27
Website Data 08/27
Mailchimp Analytics 08/25
Mailchimp Analytics 08/25
What Made all of the Difference?
Making the Website a Portal more than a Pamphlet
Covid-19 has created a lot of problems for the church. Until the pandemic came to our shores, churches often used their website as a tool for information more than involvement. The Pandemic, and doing church via Zoom has fundamentally changed how important a church’s website is. For Canopy, we looked at how their site worked for them and we found that it became more of a pamphlet for prospective churchgoers more than a portal for anyone who wanted to get involved in their initiatives. We shifted their site’s functionality to better feature ways to get involved and ways that Canopy is making a difference in their community through creating a blog feed where all of their church’s information is centralized. This made people come to Canopy’s website to explore stories and potential for their involvement more because we gave them a digital way to involve themselves more than see if Canopy was the church for them.
Creating a Weekly Email that works for Canopy
Canopy used to have incredible Weekly Emails, and by incredible we mean stock full of incredible information about their church. Yet, the email did not do its job in driving their audience back to their website, there was a ton of churn. When we began the blog, we linked it straight to their MailChimp account. We focused content production for the website and for viewership to get driven through a more straightforward email that summarized the newly available content on Canopy’s site. This simplified email gave Canopy’s staff time to focus more on practical ministry objectives than their digital ministry objectives because their weekly email now better works for them and their longer-term goals.
Pioneering New Digital Frontiers
Canopy has an incredible Instagram account. It is incredibly cultivated and well designed. Yet, Canopy did not have a Facebook page. While it is evident that Facebook skews older, we believe that having a presence on the social media giant’s flagship platform is essential. Facebook is the third biggest website on the planet, with billions of potential eyeballs waiting to discover meaningful content. While Canopy’s presence on Facebook is in its early stages, this recommendation opens up countless possibilities for audience acquisition, engagement, and Canopy retention. We are excited to see their digital presence rounded out with their new Facebook profile and what it means for growing their church’s long term growth.
Why I Love This Client Story
Pastor Josh Harrison was one of our research participants. His feedback that made me realize how much smaller churches and church plants need affordable strategic communications. Josh is the pastor that challenged me to price competitively for churches and precisely price below $10K per year. It brings me no greater joy than to have given him a month of our services for free to see our recommendations approved, implemented, and productivity growth for Canopy’s digital engagement by over 40%.
Beyond this, before coming to Nashville, Josh was my pastor and has since become a dear friend. I watched as his sermons impacted the lives of my friends, encouraging deeper relationships with Christ for established Christians and compelling people I never thought would come to the faith to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior for the first time as well.
To come alongside the fantastic work that Josh continues to do for the kingdom is an honor in it of itself. To bring incredible benefit to him from the work God has called me to, Josh has also spoken into, is both a befitting benefit and a pleasantly thematic one. Josh Harrison continues to be one of the ministry leaders I look up to the most. He knows Christ’s power and strength, and relies on it but does not flaunt it. Whenever Josh and I catch up, I am always surprised by how down to earth in personal settings. In many ways, that contrast reminds me of Jesus and what he may have been like when he walked the earth, down to earth with powerful teaching.
To be entrusted with his ministry’s digital presence, like any other partnership, is an incredible honor. It gives me immense joy to see him benefit from a company he has spoken into so powerfully. When we looked over the 30-day analysis, we were shocked. August is Canopy’s best month online since COVID conditions peaked in California in April 2020.
Josh continues to be an incredible pastor, friend, and leader in Orange County, California. We at Good Grain Creative are so delighted that the Lord allowed this partnership to be fruitful, and now, to continue as they have decided to renew with Good Grain Creative moving forward.
If you are in Southern California, looking for incredible teaching and an authentic community on mission. Go check out Canopy.
-Asher Segelken
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