Blue Tooth Marketing for Christian Businesses...Make Some Money, Give to Ministry

I promised you I'd post another round yesterday, but seminary reading and company coming to town proved too formidable a duo. I digress...

This post is for all you Christian business owners. I just can't resist "tearing the roof off" of your techno-understanding, (sorry to steal your term, Francis Schaefer). Christian business owners need to wake up to new Blue Tooth revenue streams and use the excess cash to fund ministry.

A few Blue Tooth broadcasting possibilities...

1) Radio stations. We've all heard remote broadcasts at car dealerships. Imagine a radio station booking additional revenue by offering to broadcast on-site Blue Tooth alerts about the hottest vehicles. Suddenly the dealership is generating leads that they otherwise may not get, because most folks don't want to talk to a salesperson and just want the info on the car(s) they're interested in.

2) Grocery stores, coffee shops, bookstores (basically any retail outlet). Why aren't you using Blue Tooth to broadcast coupons, new merchandise, this week's specials, and so much more? Get a long-range dongle, buy some software, and amaze your nearby customers with your technical prowess and with the deals you're advertising.

3) Got an oil change yesterday. Now wondering why they're not setting themselves apart from the other oil change joint right across the street, by using Blue Tooth to broadcast their car repair specials.

4) Concerts. Use Blue Tooth to sell band merchandise right over the phone, to be mailed or picked up at the table in the back. Blue Tooth broadcast fan club subscriptions, album info, upcoming events, etc.

5) Movie theaters. Blue Tooth snack bar specials and opt-ins for your frequent movie watcher club.

The list goes on. The possibilities are endless. Praise the Lord! Make some cash and give it to ministry, (maybe the Lucky Rock).

By the way, if you're not sure how to manage your business or your money God's way, check out Crown Financial Ministries' great website and buy a copy of the classic CD series God's Principles for Operating a Business.

Follow-up to Blue Tooth, Location-Based, Mobile Ministry

In my last post I mentioned the incredible potential of Blue Tooth marketing. Again, the range of at least one low-cost device is purported to be 900 feet (600 feet from dongle to phones)!

As you consider Blue Tooth broadcasting (for which the Spirit-led possibilities for helping people know and grow in Christ are pretty much endless), please be sure of the following:

1) Supplemental signage is key. Don't just broadcast into oblivion; put notice of Blue Tooth alerts on your church sign and on billboards. Also put adverts in your church bulletin. And if you use video monitors to show the worship service, add a small graphic letting folks know about your Blue Tooth content. Such signage will also help you reach folks who've turned off their Blue Tooth devices, who obviously would not otherwise be reached by your Blue Toothing.

2) Less is more. Even though Blue Tooth is opt-in, don't just constantly stream a thousand different ads to see what sticks. Certainly some experimentation will help refine your messaging, but don't go nuts. Whether you're a church or parachurch ministry, keeping it to simple ministry info and interest surveys is probably best.

3) Keep file sizes to 10K or less (unless you're located in Europe or Japan). Most phones simply can't process big files efficiently, thus your latest super cool church video will just be annoying and likely off-putting. A slick graphic with links will fit within a 10K limit.

Alright, I can't resist giving you a couple more Blue Tooth ministry ideas...

1) Set up a short-range (150 feet) Blue Tooth dongle in your Sunday school/education wing. Broadcast a simple listing of the various classes available with links to more info.

2) Youth/college events. I know, I know youth and college are worlds apart. But they use Blue Tooth like it's hardwired into them (HA!), therefore Blue Toothing them should work better than other groups. Send out evangelistic info, news of upcoming Bible studies/discipleship opportunities, and a calendar of upcoming events.

3) PRAYER!!!! Inspired by the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul commanded, "With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints," (Eph. 6:18). Send out Blue Tooth invites to submit prayer needs to everyone who walks through your doors and to your community. The goal is not to let folks know that the "great genie in the sky" is now granting wishes. Rather, we're proactively fulfilling the Spirit's exhortation to pray at all times for the saints and we're presenting God as sovereign, able, and loving to the lost. Praying for lost and found according to God's will is absolutely biblical and I quite frankly can't think of many better ways to use Blue Tooth than to efficiently collect prayer needs.

Nuff said for now. Feedback?

Blue Tooth Location-Based Mobile Ministry

What in the Wide World of Sports is Blue Tooth, location-based mobile ministry? It's a means of effectively reaching folks that is easy to accomplish and could absolutely revolutionize your ministry impact. In a nutshell, Blue Tooth broadcasting (BTB) through a simple USB adapter or through a Blue Tooth transmitter, will allow any computer to become a broadcast hub for your ministry.

Though I'm still in the midst of feverish research and gathering price quotes, I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am about the ministry prospects of Blue Tooth broadcasting. For all you techno-challenged folks like me, let's briefly survey the technology involved with BTB. Then I'll offer a few ideas for using Blue Tooth broadcasting in your ministry.

Thankfully, the technology involved in BTB is quite minimal. Basically you need a Blue Tooth dongle (a silly word, indeed) or a Blue Tooth adapter, and software to run an ad campaign to folks within range of your transmission. The BT transmitter sends out a signal to any passers-by with Blue Tooth devices and lets them know that content is available. If recipients opt-in, then they'll get your ministry info, links to websites, coupons, and more (the possibilities are pretty much endless).

Proxiblaster has the best deal I've found for Blue Tooth ad software ($129) and they offer a n affordable long-range dongle (range up to 900 feet for $129). They also sell relatively cheap software that will run campaigns on multiple computers ($199). No, I don't work for Proxiblaster; they're simply the best BTB solution I've found thus far.

Onto the ministry possibilities...

With Blue Tooth your church could:

1) Send church invites and evangelistic info with web links to folks in your neighborhood.
2) Give attendees the opportunity to learn more about specific ministries, without their ever having to stop by a ministry table or fill out an interest survey. Blue Tooth could be especially helpful during ministry fairs and serving-focused teaching series.
3) Offer coupons for discounts at your church bookstore/coffee shop.
4) Send missions updates, prayer requests, and more to interested members.
5) Broadcast church info to folks visiting your church for a major outside event (concerts, bible conferences, etc.).

For ministries who regularly host conferences & events, you could:

1) Gather contact info through a simple form Blue-Toothed to a attendees. As a former fundraiser and event organizer, I know follow-up is an incredible challenge after ministry dinners and conferences. Folks who are jazzed up/thrilled/inspired at events, often fail to provide their contact info/avoid you like the plague after an event. Not anymore. With BTB, you could capture their contact info, interests, and maybe even donations at the event!

2) Blue Tooth a simple menu that allows folks to choose the ministry(ies) they'd most like to receive info on. If you've got a new project requiring funding for personnel, technology, and more, you could recruit folks to give to those things they're most interested in. Or if you're running many different ministries with diverse focuses and goals, you could use Blue Tooth to capture attendees most interested in specific projects/ministries.

A few closing thoughts...

In case you missed it, BTB is permission-based. Folks have to opt-in to receive content. You won't just be spamming them into oblivion.

No more "kitchen sink" follow-up letters. Through BTB you'll already know what the folks you're writing to are most passionate about. Rather than throw all your projects into your ask letter and hope something jumps out at them. BTB should empower you to highlight specific opportunities they've already expressed interest in and perhaps even help you tailor the gift amount you seek.

Best practices worth mentioning. Proxiblaster also offers an informative guide to BTB content. Among their tips, they suggest you keep file sizes to 10k or less and post signage letting folks know they can receive your Blue Tooth content.

I'll keep you posted as I dive deeper into BTB. If you're already using Blue Tooth location-based marketing, I'd love to hear about your successes and failures.

Happy Blue Toothing...