In the old days, when you heard someone talking about marketing, you might want to immediately associate that with a high price tag or a group of well dressed important people in a room surrounding a conference table discussing ideals and strategies and mentioning words like: “Narrowcasting” and “Channel Distribution”. But in this new age of internet technology and open source tools, you can take your ministry to the next level and reach the people you know you have a calling to help; how do you do that? I’m glad you ask! First off you need to get a web presence (website) for your ministry, even if you ministry is part time and operated out of the 300 sq. ft bedroom or garage at your home. You are going to meet a lot of people in your walk and most time when you meet people, they will only recall the very important points of you conversations if there were any at all; so you need a place to send them when you walk away and they are in the conform of their own home and have the time to evaluate what your ministry is all about.

You should also set up at least one social network site (e.g. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, Digg, etc.). Social network site allows you to connect with people all across the globe for free and with very little effort. It allows you to let people in on what you are doing without sounding like a brash sales agent; that’s one of the great things about the social network environment and best of all its are FREE!

Now most people these days have a digital camera and some even have digital camcorders. One of the unique beauties about technology today is when it comes to digital cameras (even the cheap ones), you have the ability to video record yourself digitally and upload it to the World Wide Web, most smart phones have this capability as well (blackberry, droid, iphone, etc.) This is a powerful tool often overlooked by newbie’s in business and ministry. I say this because with resources like YouTube, where millions of people access it daily, you cannot afford to have a 30 second video of yourself advertising your ministry to all who will listen. You can have your very own 15-30 minutes ministry talk show for free; now that’s something HBO, CNN or TBS want do for you! You will be very surprised how many hits (video access) you will get from people all over the world. Learn to talk to your public and let them know what is going on with you and how you can help. I know this must seem a bit intimidating to you, but after a few published videos, you will begin to get very comfortable with yourself and expressing what your ministry is all about to the camera. Those who need your help will reach out to you and those who don’t, won’t; it’s that simple.

Blogging is another useful tool to get the word out about what you are doing ministry wise, and if you don’t think blogging is a very effective tool, then you should take a closer look at yourself since you are reading one right now!

“Byron McPhaul, CEO of Design Team 2GO (DT2GO) based in Tallahassee, provides application development, database development along with website design, hosting and multimedia services to state and local governments, churches and other small businesses. He started the business in 2006 after working nine years in the state’s technology department. McPhaul was the content manager and web designer for Myflorida.com, the state’s online website. He advocates those searching for jobs who are good at working with computers hone their skills to work as independent contractors in the IT field.

“Technology is growing and is as stable as the medical field in terms of growth, but the applications and software designs are ever changing and it’s crucial to stay abreast of new ideas in the field.“The opportunities are boundless,” McPhaul told the Florida Courier. “You are not dependent on working for a corporation if you are good at technology and understand it. There will always be someone who is willing to hire you for outsource and as a consultant and independent contractor.“Businesses, state government, major corporations are more apt to want to deal with you than hire someone because they won’t have to worry about benefits and insurance. The state is looking for people who can come in at a great rate and bring their systems up to par.” Start thinking like a Bill Gates

Breaking into the field may not require a four-year degree, and McPhaul says there are tons of resources online and in books to hone technical skills. Businesses have learned they can save money by implementing automation services. They would rather streamline data online, send out electronic invoices and utilize document management instead of having three or four file cabinets taking up space. “Pick up a book and get online. It’s essential that you like to do research and tinker – that is play around with it and see how it works. That’s what Bill Gates did. What separates him from so many people is he followed through with his passion. A lot of people told him he wouldn’t make it. “Everybody has a gift and a calling,” McPhaul added. “This economic crisis caused pres-sure to be put on people to give birth to that calling and bring it forth. Jobs aren’t plentiful, but people have ideas and stuff within them that people need and will pay for.”

Source:
Florida Courier