Christian Women's Speakers Publicity & Promotion Growth & Expansion Campaign

Christian Women’s Speakers Publicity & Promotion Growth & Expansion Campaign
Online Directory at www.WomenSpeakers.com
Webhostess 2002-2017, Marnie Swedberg
 
Goals:

• Create a clickable US map allowing local women’s ministry leaders and event planners to find speakers within driving distance of their events.
• Provide a way for speakers to be found and contacted online, without a middleman.
• Keep the operational necessities of the site to a minimum.
• Attract an ever-increasing number of speakers, planners and WM leaders to the site.

Strategy:

• Develop a set of screening criteria for speakers to insure credibility.
• Use programming skills to create a simple site where speakers fill out a form to create a profile.
• Add an online contact form where planners and WM leaders can connect directly with the speakers.
• Provide free search capabilities for planners by charging some of the speakers a small fee for inclusion. Both free and paid listings should be available, with the paid listings getting extra benefits and publicity.
• Grow the site using free and inexpensive marketing opportunities.

Outcome:

• Now representing 979 speakers, WomenSpeakers.com is the largest online directory of Christian women speakers in the world.
• Thousands of local, driving-distance planner/speaker connections each year. For example, in the past months (as of fall 2017), speaker Joyce Thrasher of Atlanta, GA, has received invites to speak at:
  • Women’s Retreat at Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA
  • Christmas Tea for 125 ladies in Loganville, GA
  • Women’s Conference in Madison, AL
  • Women’s Ministry Kick-Off in Lake Park, GA
  • Christmas in July Event in Atlanta, GA
• Speakers are also being invited to speak cross-country and around the world. In the past few weeks (as of fall 2017), vetted connections have been made for engagements in:
  • Rockford Springs, MI
  • Joplin, MO
  • Arlington, VA
  • Savannah, GO
  • Sacramento, CA
  • Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • Amsterdam, the Netherlands
  • Mbeya, Tanzania
  • Monrovia, Liberia, and hundreds more.
• The Bible Study Expo has introduced 98 authors and their books to thousands of leaders and Bible study enthusiasts worldwide. Collaborations include over 30 publishing houses giving away free Bible study books, CDs, or DVDs to over 300 guests from many countries and every continent.
• Marnie’s Friends Talk Radio Show is a #1 ranked and featured show on Blog Talk Radio, is carried by iTunes & Stitcher, and available as a radio play box for any website, now serving over 125,000 listeners and having featured over 240 guest trainers.
• Marnie created 26 “Event Planning Templates” which have been used by hundreds of churches. Theme sets include posters, bulletin inserts, postcards, plus ideas for Scripture focus, related music, decorations, theme-related fun foods plus more.
• Marnie’s “how to” books have helped launch and grow women’s ministries in over 30 countries, ministries which invite speakers. WM books include:
  • Women’s Ministry Guide: How to Start a Women’s Ministry from Scratch
  • Retreats Made Easy: A How To Guide Including Budget Template
  • Scavenger Hunts Made Easy
• Marnie’s two devotionals, “Feeling Loved” and “Flow Through Vessel,” are popular women’s conference topics. As the webhostess of WomenSpeakers.com, Marnie is able to promote the site and invite speakers at every event at which she speaks.

Tactics:

• Vet speaking engagements to protect the speakers from SPAM and scams.
• Promote the speakers at www.WomenSpeakers.com through the site, emails, social media posts and personal connections at every opportunity.
• Attract event planners and WM leaders via:
  • The Online Annual Bible Study Expo featuring the authors of the latest Bible Study books. 2018 will be the Expo’s 10th anniversary.
  • Host highly-sharable weekly training programs for WM leaders, event planners and speakers at Blog Talk Radio. Originated in 2009.
  • Write “how to” materials for women’s ministry and event planners.
  • Create event planning theme sets to help smaller churches.
• Allow speakers to gain front-page promotion on the site anytime they want to, by using a simple, 2-minute tactic.
• Use support ticket trends to continually upgrade the site to insure ultimate ease of use for all stakeholders and reduce support staff requirements.
• Use every opportunity to increase speaker, event planner, and WM participate at the site.

Strategic Partners:

• The thousands of Women’s Ministry Leaders, Event Planners & Christian Women Speakers who frequent and support the site each year.
• The publishers who’ve participated in Bible Study Expo including:
  • Thomas Nelson
  • LifeWay Press
  • Focus International
  • David C. Cook
  • WaterBrook Press
  • Harvest House and more
• The trainers who’ve collaborated with Marnie’s Friends Blog Talk Radio Show including:
  • Cecil Murphey
  • Pam Farrel
  • Mary DeMuth
  • Dwight Bain and more.
• The hosting services that make all this possible including:
  • Brilliant Directories
  • Blog Talk Radio, iTunes, Stitcher
  • Weebly
• The technical programs that we use:
  • WeVideo
  • PicMonkey
  • AVS Audio
• The social media outlets we frequent:
  • Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn & G+
  • YouTube
• Conferences hosting Marnie as keynote speaker include
  • Valley Baptist, Bakersfield, CA. Lynn Bradshaw, WM Leader.
  • SECHE, Sioux Empire Christian Educators Conference, Sioux Falls, SD. Bill & Kim Kinderman, Coordinators
  • Evangelical Free, Willmar, MN. Jani Anderson, WM Director
  • Northwest Conference, New London, MN. Marlys Wilson, President
  • Achievers Edge TeleSummit, Online. Suja Johnkutty, Producer
  • Transformation Conference, Online Expo. David Farkas, Producer
  • Motivation Marathon, Online Expo. Deb Scott, Producer
  • Oak Hills Christian College, Bemidji, MN. Matt Graf, Coordinator
  • Salem Covenant, Duluth, MN. Janet Peterson & Von Noble, Coordinators
  • East Lincoln Alliance, Amery, WI. Rev. Eric Danielson, Pastor
  • Cornerstone Baptist, Ludington, MI. Jen Richert, Coordinator
  • Karlstad Baptist, Karlstad, MN. Jennifer Durkee, Coordinator
  • Roseau Baptist, Roseau, MN. Judy Otto, Coordinator
  • Aida Bible Church, Aida, MI. Debbie Jo Schwarz and Janette Felder, Co-Directors of Women’s Events
  • Camp Forest Springs, Westboro, WI. Diane Johnson, Retreat Coordinator, and more.
• Website, media, and professional support via Upwork.com.

WORK WITH MARNIE