Want to improve your church visitor follow-up sequence? Then you’re in the right place.
Because today I’m going to show you my new visitor follow system step-by-step.
The best part?
This new visitor follow-up sequence contains exact word-for-word email copy that you can swipe and use at your church.
Here’s the deal:
Attracting new visitors to your church is not an easy process – and it shouldn’t be taken lightly.
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Consider this…
When a new family visits your church, you likely only have one shot at a church welcome and capturing their information.
Here’s the kicker: if you don’t capture a visitor’s information, it’s very possible that they leave your church – never to be heard from again.
This is why almost every church has a church visitor card of some kind – to capture new visitor information.
What’s more, churches will often provide a gift to visitors upon filling out their church welcome cards.
Think of it as an incentive.
But that’s just part of the story…
Because it leaves us with an unanswered question:
What is the best gift your church can give to new visitors?
For several years, I’ve been disenchanted with the majority of gifts churches offer to new visitors.
Common examples include:
Now, don’t get me wrong, none of the examples listed above are poor church welcome options. I just think there is a superior option churches need to consider.
Here’s the bottom line:
Aside from collecting as many church visitor cards as you possibly can, there are three specific goals your church welcome follow-up sequence should aim to achieve with new visitors:
So, how can we accomplish this?
Here’s my recommendation…
Rather than offering your new visitor a mug with your church’s logo on it, instead, I recommend pledging a $5 donation to a charity on behalf of your new visitor.
What’s more, allow your new visitor to choose the charity from a list of pre-approved options.
The secret is this:
By pledging a $5 donation to a charity on your new visitor’s behalf, it demonstrates that you are a generous church that is outwardly focused on the world and community – not just inwardly focused on your own self-interests.
Here’s the bottom line:
When you demonstrate to a new visitor that you are a generous church in your first interaction, not only does it make a great first impression (see goal #1), but it also establishes your church’s brand – a brand of generosity and care for others.
It gets better though…
Another reason I love the $5 donation pledge is that it invites your new visitor into the act of giving and allows them to choose which charity they wish to support.
This is key.
Don’t pre-select a charity ahead of time. Instead, choose a number of registered charities that your church is proud to support, and then allow your visitor to choose from that pre-selected list.
This sets a precedent with your new visitor that you are partners from day one.
You invite them into the act of giving to be an active participant.
Because this is what we want in our churches, right? Active participants who are involved – not passive spectators that just sit in pews.
This is the foundation for a memorable church welcome.
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And we don’t stop there…
Now that we’ve determined the free gift we’ll be offering to new visitors in our church welcome, we need to talk about the connect card we’re going to be receiving from our new visitors.
Most importantly, we recommend prioritizing a digital connect card at your church.
This doesn’t mean you need to eliminate your physical church connection card. I wouldn’t recommend that. Instead, prioritize and highlight your digital connection card first and foremost.
Now, you’re probably wondering…how can I create a digital connect card?
Simply put, the best way I know is by using a tool called Nucleus.
Nucleus is a new kind of church website builder we built, and the big idea behind Nucleus is – next steps.
And the first next step most people will ever take at your church is filling out a connect card.
That’s the first point of contact.
To make this as easy as possible, Nucleus has a single-click template for church connection cards that will allow you to create a digital connection card with literally one click.
You don’t need any web experience or expertise to use Nucleus – in fact, it was designed with church staff and volunteers in mind. It’s that easy to use.
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Here’s how the digital connect card strategy works in three simple steps
By following this simple three-step process, you can speed up your new visitor gift and follow-up sequence faster than you ever could with a physical connect card.
Why is this important?
Because for most churches, the visitor follow-up process begins on Monday at the earliest – but often later in the week. And usually, at that point, church is the farthest thing from a new visitor’s mind.
The daily stresses of life and the weekly grind have kicked in, and they’re that much less likely to respond to any follow-up your church is trying to initiate.
Remeber goal #2? Initiate follow-up as soon as possible.
Your church’s goal with follow-up should be to capitalize on the attention you have with this new visitor – on Sunday – preferably while they’re still in service.
To make this even easier, I want to give you pre-written email copy to use in the first follow-up email you send to new visitors – along with a pre-written announcement script that you can share from stage asking new visitors to fill out your connect card.
Let’s start with the in-service announcement:
Here’s what I recommend that you say – feel free to copy this script word-for-word and use it:
And there you have it! That’s the announcement script I like to use.
Here are several things to note about this announcement script:
After a new visitor fills out your digital connect card, a follow-up email should trigger immediately.
Here is an exact word-for-word script for that as well:
Here are several things to note about this email script:
Here’s a quick summary of my church visitor follow-up sequence…
Create an online connect card to use as your church’s primary connection card. By using Nucleus to do this, you can create a digital connect card with just a single-click using the pre-made Nucleus single-click template.
To see if Nucleus might be a good fit for you, head to www.nucleus.church and you can sign up for free.
Using a a next steps tools like Nucleus, draft a follow-up email that will automatically be sent to new visitors that fill out your digital connect card. Nucleus can do this natively from the form, making it easier for you than ever.
Looking for a pre-written template?
Use the done-for-you email copy listed above.
When a new visitor replies to this email with their choice of charity, pledge a $5 donation to that charity on behalf of your new visitor.
Use the pre-written announcement script also shared above to promote your digital connection card each week.
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When executed properly, the benefits of The New Visitor Freebie Follow-Up system are significant.
To recap, here are just a few of them:
Download The Ultimate Church Connect Card Template – a fully customizable connect card template that really works.
Copy This New Visitor Follow-Up Sequence - get started connecting with new visitors at your church today.
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Download The Ultimate Church Connect Card Template – a fully customizable connect card template that really works.