Tips for Your Ministry Blog or Website
Creating a women’s ministry website is not as challenging as one might think. All that is involved are a few steps and some creative brainstorming. As you are considering a brand-new women’s ministry website, you will want to consider 3 important elements.
- Women’s ministry blogs should be discoverable on the web.
- You should be passionate about your women’s ministry blog.
- Identifying tools to make your job easier..
What is a Women’s Ministry Website or Blog?
Christian blogging means you use a blog or website to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ through a variety of narratives, stories, and processes. It’s an internet ministry with words. Blogging for women’s ministry means you are doing something equally as important as face-to-face ministry. You are sharing about a resource or an experience that will help people grow closer to the Lord and live their lives better.
Should my women’s ministry have a blog or website?
That’s nothing to sneeze at. That is important.
Let’s begin with some questions you may be asking yourself.
Should I start a blog or have a website for my women’s ministry?
Yes, if you are in women’s ministry. Also, you have likely noticed I’ve used the terms “blog” and “website” somewhat interchangeably. This means you have options.
Let’s talk about which might work best for you.
The first question to ponder is whether or not you have a passion for women’s ministry or is it a service you are providing temporarily to the Kingdom of God?
I have performed several roles in the church that was not my passion or call – I just did them to help out. That makes a huge difference as to whether you want to create a blog or a static website to promote your women’s ministry.
What exactly is a blog?
A blog is actually short for the term “weblog.” It has installments and frequent additions or “posts” which are delivered right to the readers’ email inboxes. The posts share information, promote women’s ministry events or simply inspire women to be amazing women of God.
If you are passionate about women’s ministry and it’s all you think about, perhaps a blog is a route you would want to take.
Remember, a blog is updated very often and provides exhaustive information on a variety of subjects and topics. It can be at a lot of work, but your passion for women’s ministry will fuel you.
Passion is something that drives you to “hang in” there when life interferes or throws a monkey wrench into your process.
It’s something that will keep you up at night thinking creatively about it and praying about it. If you’re passionate about something, it’s almost as though that thing chases you and pursues you.
Abandoning it is not an option.
It’s as much part of you as the DNA in your spiritual cells.
Maybe you were “volun-TOLD” to be part of women’s ministry.
Not passionate, just called to women’s ministry?
Sometimes, women are put in ministry leadership roles to fill a need in the congregation or in the community.
This means they may not necessarily have a passion for women’s ministry as others might. Instead, maybe they “raised their hand” because no one else would. These women’s ministry leaders are getting things done because they care, and want to please God.
If this sounds like you, consider creating a static website in lieu of a needy blog. You can still use a blogging platform. The only difference is it will be structured in a way that will not set the expectation of frequent installments or weekly communications.
Note: for the purposes of this blog post, I’m going to call your online presence a “blog” instead of a website.
What should I put on my women’s ministry blog?
You have two options for content on your women’s ministry blog.
Your women’s ministry blog could be the platform that promotes your ministry service. Every ministry should serve – in fact, that is what the word ministry means.
It means to serve. Here is an article outlining this from Christianity.com.
A blog would spotlight that service and be updated often. The service could be inspirational or informational content like you are reading now. Another benefit of a blog is you can build a community. Blogs allow you to interact and talk to the women who visit your site.
Alternatively, your web presence could be a static, or non-changing web presence that tells what your ministry is about and what it does. It will not change often – it’s purely informational.
Think of it like an electronic business card. No communication, just information.
Some websites also have a blog. This means they are self-promotional but a blog is associated with and linked from the main website.
Before you draft a plan for your women’s ministry website, have a clear vision of what the ministry will do and accomplish. Community-building or getting information out there – there are your two options.
Structure your website with your goal in mind and set it up with that focus and for that purpose.
Which one sounds best for you? A blog? Or a static website?
If you opt for a blog…
Write about the topics important to the women you want to reach.
You can write about prayer, Bible study from a woman’s perspective, being a Godly wife, or anything else women are interested in learning about.
If you’re planning a local event, be sure to put a local spin (as in the above FB tip) on the topics so your audience remains somewhat narrow.
A women’s ministry in Iowa does no good for women in Ireland. Well, it could, but not if the ministry is an even-focused one.
For local ministries, just including the local name helps search engines or algorithms present it to the right people.
Another very important tip is to ask the women in your church circle or congregation to visit your blog, post comments and invite their [local] friends and family to follow, join or subscribe.
Determine Your Target Audience for Your Women’s Ministry Blog/Website
Before you start building a website for women, it is important to consider who your target audience is.
Contemplate their age, interests, and preferences to determine the proper content, visual elements, and overall features of the site.
Be specific in your goals (above) so you can create something unique and tailored just for them. This will help ensure that your ministry website makes the impact you hope to achieve.
Read my post on starting a women’s ministry to get specific ideas on creating a target “avatar” as is often done in marketing circles.
How to Create Your Women’s Ministry Blog
Step 1: Think of a domain for your women’s ministry
Selecting the right domain name and hosting provider is a crucial step in creating a successful women’s website.
The domain name (i.e., your www. _________.com) should be easy to remember and clearly represent your website’s content based on the previous step we discussed – your blog focus and purpose.
You want a domain that aligns with your ministry purpose.
In other words, select one that will answer search inquiries the women make. This makes it easier for women to find you.
Instead of a domain like www.hisflowers.com, choose one that speaks to the purpose and vision of your ministry.
If your ministry is for women quitting tobacco (a weird example, I know), maybe your domain could be www.womenwhodontsmoke.com.
I’ve made terrible decisions in choosing domains throughout the years and I lived to regret them. One of my worst domains was www.gottabemegirl.com. What was that about? People never could remember it and had no clue what the blog was about.
Pick a name that describes what the blog/website will accomplish.
Step 2: Find a good hosting service for your women’s ministry site
Many domain registrars offer a range of helpful advice on available domains and even some technical support to set them up. You can even search for domains on their sites to ensure the one you want is available.
When choosing a web hosting provider, research different providers to find out which one best fits your needs.
I use SiteGround Web Hosting. Even before I knew they give me a referral fee, I was going to recommend them.
After a terrible experience with HostGator a few years ago, they restored my hope and faith in web hosts.
The prices are reasonable, and my site is always up and functioning. Check them out here. To be fair, Siteground isn’t listed among the “big dogs” out there. Here is a review of their services by PC Magazine.
Money is always an issue in women’s ministry. Of course, choose the web hosting plan that works for you and your budget. But, remember some of the cheaper ones may be smaller servers that cannot grow with you.
I have several websites/blogs so I have a hosting plan to accommodate that life. But, you can get a hosting plan for just one site and pay very little a month.
Just do your due diligence.
Consider factors like data storage capacity, performance, traffic levels, and customer reviews before making your decision. Below I’ll share whom I use. So far, it’s been a stable and reliable hosting experience.
This Forbes article features some good picks for this year.
How to Market Your Women’s Ministry Site
Step 1: Using social media to promote your women’s ministry site (or blog)
As your women’s ministry takes shape in these planning stages, think about how you can utilize social media and the internet to help you reach the women you want to minister to or your target audience.
Even if your ministry is geared toward your local church, social media can be a powerful ally.
Go Facebook. Create a Facebook group or Facebook page with your city’s name included in the title. For example, I’m in Kansas City, so my group would be “Kansas City’s Christian Women’s Tea Cup.”
Long before your first outreach, begin thinking about your audience and how you can get into the Facebook algorithm now.
Go Instagram. You can’t beat the traffic you can get from Instagram – at least this is true as I type this.
If you are on the “Gram”, you know it features many bloggers on there. The reason is it has a very friendly algorithm. Facebook will try to entice you to place ads.
Even those Instagram and Facebook have merged, Instagram is more laid back. They just show your stuff as long as people like it and interact with it.
Don’t worry, selfies are not necessary for an IG account. Opt to create graphics with Canva or even Microsoft PowerPoint (save images as .png or .jpg). Some of my favorite Instagram accounts are just inspirational graphics or Bible scriptures presented in pretty image form.
The point is to reach out to local (or national) women and gain some traction in search engines and social media to cultivate a women’s ministry audience long before you need one.
One of the biggest mistakes women’s ministry planners make is waiting until their event is about to happen to begin reaching out to women in their demographic.
Start building an online community NOW – even if it’s a small one or a temporary one.
Step 2: Partner with Christian writers to help
Another suggestion is to join a Christian blogger Facebook group, like Blessing Bloggers. I mention this group specifically because it’s a great group of people and they are very helpful.
You can post your need for a content creator and likely hire a professional, saved Christian Woman to write for you.
Some bloggers may also allow you to republish their content on your blog.
On the other hand, delegating is free, so let’s start there.
Often, it’s not hard to find a person in your real life who loves to write.
For that reason, go ahead and ask around.
Ask women in your church or social circle if they like writing.
Find out who likes to journal.
Very often a person who loves to journal will love to write about other subjects as well. Go ahead and ask around.
Another tip is to look at your own social media profiles for the person who has long social media posts. I know this is a little funny. But very often a person who writes wordy posts might have a flair for writing and enjoy it. They might be your undiscovered blogger!
Note: be clear about who owns the content once it is published on your site. Document it via email so no confusion emerges later.
Step 3: Ask friends and family to help!
Along the same lines, if you have a family member with a large social media following, they might be able to help you too.
For example, one of my nieces is great at social media. Whenever she posts something, it always gets lots of interaction and tons of responses.
If you notice someone (locally) like the within your network, ask them to post about your women’s ministry site. They already have the audience.
Doesn’t that sound like a great idea? It is!
No point in posting to promote your women’s ministry event and receiving 5 likes when someone else can post about it and get you 50!
It’s also important the blog encourages local women to read and local organizations to possibly mention you. Keep it local if that is the audience you are targeting.
Women’s Ministry Blogs and Websites can be a HUGE blessing!
When women’s ministry blogging is targeted to a national or global audience.
Personally, I have mostly been a blogger aiming to reach a larger audience of women.
Honestly, even before blogging was a thing – I had a blog. You see, initially, my “blog” was a website. That’s what we had back in the day because blogs didn’t even exist.
As an innovative chick, I created an entire website using a WYSIWYG (i.e. “what you see is what you get” program for creating websites). The software was called Adobe Golive.
Stay with me, I’m still on the subject.
I would update it every single week with fresh content on topics I thought would encourage women.
At the time, I was a young, divorced single mom and writing was my private “liberator.” It allowed me to release my stress, and insecurities, as well as my own personal brand of “madness” and humor into the world. I loved it!
Here is my point: CNN.Com (yes, the national television network) found my humble little website and ended up interviewing me about my women’s ministry. The topic was parenting alone or single mothers.
Guess how they found me. Yep, on my women’s ministry “blog” or website!
I share this because if you are praying to reach a wider audience for the purpose of women’s ministry, blogging can certainly do it.
Plus, you never know how the Holy Spirit will use it. He may send you visitors who can help you propel your vision into the stratosphere! That’s what CNN.com did for me with their article!
Your new women’s ministry website can reach so many women or, more importantly, the precise women God wants you to reach.
Reaching an online women’s ministry audience has never been simpler.
Sure, there may be a learning curve. Please do not become discouraged by all this information I am sharing with you. You can do this!
You may have to study and learn how to do things you never thought you could do before. But in the end, that’s a good thing.
It’s a fabulous thing to learn something new and to allow the Lord to stretch you in ways that force you to rely on Him. That’s how He is most glorified in women’s ministry and in anything else – when we are desperately dependent on Him.
Need a confidence boost? Watch my inspirational video below. You can do this!
Blog Management Tips for Christian Women’s Blogs
If you can, use WordPress.org. Paid hosting is the way to go.
WordPress has free hosting as do other blog platforms. Avoid them if you can. They limit your capabilities, you have ads (because NOTHING is free except salvation) and you don’t get to use plug-ins for features to make your site better.
Free hosting will also inhibit you from being found in search engines – which is super important!
I absolutely love creating women’s ministry websites using WordPress. It has plug-ins that give you many ways to engage your audience and customize your blog.
One of the best resources for creating and customizing your WordPress blog is a site called Wpbeginner.com.
Listen, I cannot tell you how many times I have literally crashed my blogs or website and wordpressbeginner.com bailed me out. It’s a great website to get you started and it features lots and lots of videos too.
Then, there is SEO and your women’s ministry blog…
When I started that first website long ago, Google was super friendly. I’d post something and if someone searched for it they found me quickly and easily.
Those days are gone.
A women’s ministry blogger these days needs to be much more intentional. A lot of competition exists for the women you want to attract. You need to optimize and organize your blog so it can be easily found.
Ranking in search engines does take some effort and some education.
Some bloggers pay money for the right “identification” words or keywords that enable them to be found when someone searches in Google or other search engines.
I have several successful blogs and I have never done that.
Instead, you simply have to know a little bit about search engine optimization (i.e. SEO) or how to organize your women’s ministry blog (or website) so that you may be found by the right searcher.
I am not, by any stretch, a search engine optimization expert. Yet, I am not a novice either. Read my post on Christian SEO to get a bit deeper into the concept of SEO.
If you found me through Google or another search engine, that is proof I know how to be found. The same goes if you found me through social media. Leverage it all to attract the women you want to bless with your content.
Intentional planning is all you need to be found.
Some practical tips for your women’s ministry blog
Here are some basic tips to ensure your site is search engine optimized (or at least this is what I do and have done through the last several years).
- Create a good title that communicates the topics related to your blog post.
Make sure it is something people will search for to find your content. For example, if your women’s ministry is providing clothing for women in need, don’t name your blog post “Cute Threads” or something like that because it does not convey what the blog post is about.
Google uses your title to send people to your blog. Instead, name the blog post something like “free clothes for needy San Francisco women”.
When someone googles that topic, perhaps you will show up in the results. In reality, this title would be entirely too long. Still, you get the idea of the illustration.
2. Use a good solid meta tag that correlates well with your title.
If you use WordPress to set up your new women’s ministry blog, you can use a plug-in called Yoast (or All in One SEO) to optimize your blog posts.
Yoast will help you create short descriptions of what your blog post is about. These short descriptions are like the first impression people get in the search results. It’s basically that little, short paragraph under the title after you search in Google. Think of it as a summary of your writing in a particular blog post.
Logical headings are smart too. Organize your blog post so it makes sense to the search engines and to your reader.
The reason I suggest this is because you’re going to want to use what is called headings which will help the search engines know what it’s about and how it’s flowing.
It also helps because people reading your women’s ministry blog posts will be able to visually scan the page and see what it is about. It’s a win-win!
The headings help the reader and the search engine find you and your new women’s ministry blog.
Maybe create a sitemap or a navigational page to help your readers find their way around your women’s ministry blog. I am not talking about individual blog posts at this point I’m talking about your overall blog. Yoast, the plug-in I referenced earlier, creates this for you.
Can you tell I love this plugin?
It has some small weaknesses but for novices like me, it’s a big help. The sitemap file can help ensure that search engines discovered the new and updated pages on your site. Some sources say you don’t need them, but I still use one.
3. Optimize your images with relative keywords.
As you’re setting up your women’s ministry website or blog, you can find lots of resources to help you optimize it so that it may be found quickly and easily.
Such resources will tell you about optimizing your images. This simply means using what is called alt attributes to describe the images.
This essentially gives you an alternate text if the image doesn’t load but it also helps the search engines find you. You simply need brief descriptive names for each image that aligns with the overall purpose of your post or your blog.
Please know there is so much more to learn about making sure your new ministry blog is found.
Don’t stress because you can learn as you go along. Honestly, the best strategy is to plan your blog, define its focus and purpose, then start writing. Figure out the rest as you progress.
It’s a good idea to write 20 to 30 lengthy and comprehensive posts before expecting to be found.
I just heard one of my favorite YouTube vloggers, Income School, say it can take 6 months for a new site to be found. Indeed, it takes time for search engines to find you and it takes time to cultivate the content women want to read. So, this is a long game, not a short one. Be patient, my Sister.
Don’t forget to pray and ask God’s direction every step of the way. He is so much more important and powerful than Google or any search engine optimization you could ever do.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
