The Pro Church Tools Show with Brady Shearer

Email is still, in our opinion, the second most important platform for your church to be using on digital. Brady shares 7 of his best performing subject lines from this year.     What's In This Session? Example #1: Embarrassing (39.47% open rate) [CURIOSITY] (2:49) Example #2: [Blank subject line] (33.51% open rate) [CURIOSITY] (4:01) Example #3: Pastors are too old (33.9% open rate) [CONTROVERSY] (4:41) Example #4: 7 things Millennials don’t care about in your church (37.3% open rate - 10.83% click rate) [LIST] (5:46) Example #5: A gift from me to you (34.85% open rate) [FREEBIE] (6:49) Example #6: The easiest lighting setup I’ve ever used (32.82% open rate) [EASY] (7:05) Example #7: How to 27X your organic reach on Facebook (30.11% open rate) [HOW-TO] (8:20)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned MailChimp Active Campaign Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/7-best-performing-email-subject-lines-2018-ep-099/.

Brady shares seven statistics from Barna's Trends 2018 trends that he found particularly interesting in regards to church attendance and where Christians are currently.     What's In This Session? 1: 2 out of every 3 Christians admit to experiencing a season or spiritual doubt (1:59) 2: More than a quarter of Christians still find themselves doubting (2:26) 3: 38% of Americans are active churchgoers; 43% are unchurched; 34% is dechurched (3:51) 4: Only 9% of churchgoers attend a church of 1,000 or more (4:18) 5: 40% of churchgoers attend a church of 100 or fewer (4:58) 6: More than half of all American adults (58%) wish they read the Bible more often (6:28) 7: The ideal form of Bible study is 59% “discussion with friends or peers” and just 32% for “sermon or lecture" (6:28)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Barna Trends 2018 YouVersion App Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/7-important-church-statistics-2018-ep-098/.

Brady discusses the surprising statistic that almost 50% of Millennials listen to podcasts, and how your church can make the most of this medium.     What's In This Session? Podcast statistics (0:34) Brady & Alex's experience with podcasts (1:10) Idea #1: Q & A podcast (4:03) Idea #2: Conversational podcast (5:34) Idea #3: Short & off-the-cuff (6:53)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Barna Trends 2018 This Cultural Moment The Liturgists Podcast The Bad Christian Podcast Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/churches-can-reach-millennials-using-podcasts-ep-097/.

Brady has always had a morning routine, but over the last couple months has made some changes. He shares why this routine is so valuable, and both he hand Alex share what their morning routines look like.     What's In This Session? The importance of investing in yourself (0:18) 10 minutes of mindfulness meditation in silence (2:08) Read: Personal development book & the Bible (3:24) Journal: Goals, learnings, gratitudes & prayers (4:16) Alex's experiences (7:44)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The Beauty of Discomfort by Amanda Lang The Sleep Cycle App Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/develop-morning-routine-ep-096/.

Brady discusses a copywriting tip that you can use to help drive more next steps at your church. The key to this is to respond to objections preemptively.   What's In This Session? Advanced copywriting & communication tip (0:24) Common objections (2:01) Fix #1: Confront the objection (2:50) Fix #2: Confront the rejection (4:31) Fix #3: Confront the alternative (6:17)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Nucleus Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/advanced-church-communications-tip-preemptively-responding-objections-ep-095/.

In the past couple weeks Brady has been researching change, and how to make long term positive choices. He shares some thoughts on how to create lasting change in your church.   What's In This Session? Humans are predisposed to reject change (0:49) Necessity is the single biggest driver of change (1:51) Brady's work experience (3:59) Nucleus (4:28)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Nucleus Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/finally-see-real-change-church-ep-094/.

Alex discusses how he is using Facebook groups in his church, the hesitation he felt before starting one, and the results he started seeing within the first 24 hours.   What's In This Session? 2018 algorithm change (0:29) "Facebook was built to bring people closer together" (0:45) Why Alex was originally hesitant (2:05) The first 24 hours (3:38) One or multiple groups? (4:44) A review (7:22)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned How To Get More 5-Star Online Reviews For Your Church | Ep. #085 Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/expect-launching-church-facebook-group-ep-093/.

Communication is tough, but even small changes can move the needle forward. Brady discusses a commonly used phrase in church announcements and why we should stop using it. What's In This Session? Small changes can move the needle forward (0:56) "Don't miss it!" (1:31) Reason #1: Consequences (2:06) Reason #2: Laziness (3:33) Alternative: "See you there!" (6:15)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned The Church Storytelling Formula Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/1-phrase-church-stop-using-say-instead-ep-092/.

Brady and Alex share some digital tools we have begun to use on a regular basis at Pro Church Tools and how they can be helpful for you and your church.     What's In This Session? Grammarly(0:31) ahrefs(1:57) Linktr.ee(3:32) Smart URL (5:38) Skyroam(7:51)   Show Notes & Resources Mentioned Pretty Links ProChurchDaily.com Pro Church Tools Pro Church Tools on Facebook Pro Church Tools on YouTube Brady Shearer on Instagram Brady Shearer on Twitter Alex Mills on Instagram   Find the full transcript for this session of the Pro Church Podcast at http://prochurchtools.com/5-new-digital-tools-using-2018-ep-091/.

Watch the video version of this episode of The #AskBrady Show here: https://www.youtube.com/user/ProChurchTools   #TIMESTAMPS:   1:44 - If we have a youth group page what kind of stuff am I posting? What would they want to see, what kind of stuff would they interact with? 13:54 - When it comes to A/B testing hashtags on Instagram, should I make a new Instagram post with the second set of hashtags, or should I delete set A and replace with set B in the same comment? 19:58 - I saw that Nucleus.Church was pinned with an app like logo, I was wondering if you could explain how to make your website capable of doing this. 22:25 - Should I try to make every post something for both the youth and older crowd? Should I just focus on one group, or should I try to have some posts directed at each group?   Brady Shearer is the CEO of Pro Church Tools Inc., a company helping churches communicate better. Through weekly videos, podcasts, and articles, Pro Church Tools reaches more than 25,000 churches every month.   Brady is the host of The #AskBrady Show, a church communications focused Q&A video show and podcast, as well as the Pro Church Podcast, a weekly interview audio podcast.   Follow Me Online Here: Instagram: http://instagram.com/bradyshearer Facebook: http://facebook.com/prochurchtools Website: http://prochurchtools.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/bradyshearer