Empower Your Ministry Blog

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Turn the volume down if the lyric offends you… but I couldn’t keep my eyes off of him… He even changed guitars after the song….

Are you doing anything that MAKES people want to watch or hear you?

In CONCERT?

On your WEBSITE?

Will putting where you will be performing on your website make anyone come to the concert?

No.

Does having a song on the radio get you any concert attendance?

No.

Does inviting someone to an “event” on FaceBook result in them checking “yes” and actually showing up?

No.

So, then Mr. Smarty-pants, what does work?..

All of this together

Did you know that statistically, it takes you contacting someone NINE times (and better, nine different ways) before they will ever respond?

It’s true

Here’s the way it might play out:

1 – someone sees an update by you on FaceBook  – they see your name one time, probably don’t give it much thought

2 – you post a comment on their status – they may or may not respond

3 – you post a video of your group-they never watch

4 – they see an event invitation – “hey, that’s whatsisname”

5 – they hear someone talking about your band – they visit your blog

6 – they read some of the content of your blog.

7 – they see a flyer for a concert – “hm, that guy said he likes the Tennessee Titans too .. on his blog”

8 – they get go check out your Blog to read some more about you..

9 – you send them an email update about the show… and they show up that night.

Do you have a system for doing this yet?  I want to hear about it

I don’t know if you have noticed or not, but, some of our favorite studio and live musicians DON’T play in every single part of the song. Could it be that THIS is one of the reasons that we love their playing?… because they don’t play in every part of the song?   In other words, they “lay out” when they need to. For a musician, knowing when to “lay out” IS Read more…

One of my favorite Bloggers, Seth Godin recently told the tale of Two Lemonade stands.  I put it here for your convenience:

The lesson from two lemonade stands

The first stand is run by two kids. They use Countrytime lemonade, paper cups and a bridge table. It’s a decent lemonade stand, one in the long tradition of standard lemonade stands. It costs a dollar to buy a cup, which is a pretty good price, considering you get both the lemonade and the satisfaction of knowing you supported two kids.

The other stand is different. The lemonade is free, but there’s a big tip jar. When you pull up, the owner of the stand beams as only a proud eleven year old girl can beam. She takes her time and reaches into a pail filled with ice and lemons. She pulls out a lemon. Slices it. Then she squeezes it with a clever little hand juicer.

The whole time that’s she’s squeezing, she’s also talking to you, sharing her insights (and yes, her joy) about the power of lemonade to change your day. It’s a beautiful day and she’s in no real hurry. Lemonade doesn’t hurry, she says. It gets made the right way or not at all. Then she urges you to take a bit less sugar, because it tastes better that way.

While you’re talking, a dozen people who might have become customers drive on by because it appears to take too long. You don’t mind, though, because you’re engaged, almost entranced. A few people pull over and wait in line behind you.
Finally, once she’s done, you put $5 in the jar, because your free lemonade was worth at least twice that. Well, maybe the lemonade itself was worth $3, but you’d happily pay again for the transaction. It touched you. In fact, it changed you.
Which entrepreneur do you think has a brighter future?

Hey Artists’… how’s your Lemonade (product table) stand? Are you changing people THERE with your time and attention?

from Kevin's iPhone

This blog is intended to be a public service to anyone on Ministry. First off, let me explain what I mean by ministry.

I wondered what ministry meant when NOT explained by someone in the church.  If you scroll down past all the meanings that you have heard church people define, then you get to the REAL meaning of ministry to me… Attending to the wants and needs of others.   So if this meaning is correct, then we ALL should be in ministry.. The singer, the recording engineer, the mechanic and the dentist.  If you want to empower your ministry, you want to empower anything that you do.

This blog, I hope, will prompt you and enlighten you to look at what you do differently.

Here is what I’d like for you to do:

Subscribe (on the right) and I will make sure that you get every update.  I plan on updating a few times a week.  There is a free supplemental download page for subscribers… worksheets and other helpful posts from around the world wide web!

Think- Try not to look at this as a MUSIC only or a CHURCH-Y kind of blog.  As I said before, we are ALL in ministry. If you are in business, and you truly CARE about people, YOU are in ministry.

Join the conversation-We all learn from each other.  I hope to learn more from you and about you from this.  Help ME learn by participating.