Blog Archives - Page 10 of 21

Thankful for You.

At Finney Media, we’re so thankful for you. Thankful that we get to work alongside hard-working, creative geniuses like you who are overwhelmed with life and work and yet still find the time to put together profound ways of communicating God’s Truth.

Episode 1: The Real Raw Creation Process (Oh, yes, this is a continuing series.)

The holiday focus on thankfulness got us thinking of a way to highlight how the holiday itself began. Using Abraham Lincoln’s original 1863 proclamation – yes he really did begin our Thanksgiving Day tradition while the Civil War was still raging – and combining it with Cindy Morgan’s How Could I Ask For More.

And, the first edit sounds like this:

Audio Player

00:00

Use Up/Down Arrow keys to increase or decrease volume.

We say first edit because we’re diving into ideas capitalizing on the speed of technology such as:

Take a creative idea.
Use it to create a first version and quite possibly a second version.
Test it with listeners. A/B test it if we have two versions.
Continue to edit and test until we’ve reached the point that listeners LOVE the piece.

Here’s the thing. We’ve now tested this audio piece with some listeners and here’s what we found.

They love the idea of a sound piece about gratitude.
They think there are too many big words in this one, hard to understand, and just too long.

This is a good thing. Listener feedback points us to an improved version. It’s GREAT that they didn’t like elements of the first version. This helps us learn how to craft the second! Stay tuned for the next version that we’ll reveal next week!

P.S. This audio is not available for airing—it’s not ready to genuinely connect with a listener.

Guest blog by Dr. Paul Virts, Advocace

Several years ago, when I led a Christian radio ministry, I had lunch with the head of a cluster of public radio stations. When comparing the fundraising of our stations with his, he remarked, “I wish I had your cause—I could raise a lot more money!” With these comments he referred to the passion Christian radio listeners have for their favorite radio stations.

That listeners are passionate about Christian radio stations and programs is undisputed. In a recent nationwide study (Why Listen 2018, Finney Media), listeners (seven in ten of which were donors) gave Christian radio a Net Promoter Score of 73 (on a scale of -100 to +100). That’s just below the perennial “winner” Costco (79) but well ahead of other well-known brands such as Chick-Fil-A (58), Microsoft (45) and Amazon (25).

One way to measure donors’ passion for your ministry is to ask them, other than giving to their local church, what priority they assign to giving to the radio ministry that sent them the Why Listen 2018 survey. Here’s how listeners responded to that question:

One can make the case that high priority for giving reflects deeper passion for the ministry. In this study, more than three in four (77%) donors said giving to the ministry was among their top three priorities for donating.

For a fuller discussion of this finding as well as recommendations on how to ignite donor passion, read How can you get your donors more excited about your station?—Part 2 >>

Read more on the Why Listen?® national survey here or feel free to send us your question at whylisten@whylisten.com.

Increasingly, your website is becoming a home base for your broadcast ministry. You didn’t get into this ministry to become a techie, and the idea of getting your site up to snuff may seem like a daunting task from both a time and financial perspective. The good news is, you don’t have to spend like a media mogul or dedicate an entire multimedia team to ensure a welcoming presence that connects your visitors to the what they need to go deeper with your ministry and your Maker.

Here are 5 “must haves” for your ministry’s website – none of which will break the bank (or your spirit).

“Listen Live” buttons, links and banners

For most of you, your live audio content is the most important part of your ministry. If that’s the case, then listening to the livestream of your broadcast should be your primary call to action. We recommend having a live stream button in the header as well as multiple links and graphics highlighting your livestream placed throughout your website. For our teaching ministry friends, the lesson is similar – get them linked into a podcast of your audio and keep them coming back for more.

Donate Button

For those of you that are charitable stations / ministries, another primary call to action on your website is to donate. It also is a primary reason people will come to your site, so make it easy for them! Again, in the header, as a main menu item and as appropriate on other pages of your website are all good practices. Ensure your donation experience takes as few clicks as possible.

Install a Secure Socket Layer (SSL) Certificate on your site

While this sounds technical (and it is!) it is easy, inexpensive and important! You know a site has an SSL Certificate when you see the little “Lock” up in the address bar of a website. In the past, it was only important to have this function on pages where collecting personal information, processing donations/sales, etc. However, now many web browsers and popular search engines will make your site hard to reach if you are found without SSL in place. The good news is, a call to your hosting company and a small fee will put you on good footing.

Optimized for Mobile

Optimizing your site for mobile earlier may have seemed like a luxury, but the story has quickly changed. Today over half of all website traffic is consumed via mobile devices. If your site is not mobile responsive, then it’s time for an upgrade. The good news is, these days most website templates have mobile responsiveness built in. Review your site on several types of mobile devices to ensure you are giving your audience a quality experience.

Clear presentation of the Gospel

We are blessed by Grace with a saving Faith. We are further humbled to participate in His story of transcendent Love by pointing others toward Him. People come to your website for a variety of reasons and through a variety of methods. If someone comes to your site seeking answers, make it clear and easy for them to learn about the Ultimate Answer.

If you would like help implementing any of these ideas, or an App or and Alexa Skill – or to receive a free 10-point Website Inspection, please contact us today.

If you want creative air talent, master this one-word coaching style.

The coaching style is “Encouragement.”

Your air talent is not a technician or engineer whose job is to analyze problems, write code, or tighten screws.

Air talents are artists. They create—with words. They make people feel something.

Consider this: Artists do not create better art because they were criticized or scolded. In fact, criticism shuts down the artist’s creativity.

Artists must have courage and release parts of themselves into a nasty world just waiting to criticize and reject.

You, as talent coach must help them be brave, shield them from inappropriate criticism, and be a friendly, but truth-telling, filter that they can trust. You are the one who will protect them from doing something that just doesn’t connect.

This means the coach must be an artist, too, one who honors the truth of these words from Paul Tournier, Swiss psychologist:

In all fields, even those of culture and art, other people’s judgment exercises a paralyzing effect.  Fear of criticism kills spontaneity; it prevents men from showing themselves and expressing themselves freely, as they are . . . Much courage is needed to paint a picture, to write a book, to erect a building designed along new architectural lines, or to formulate an independent opinion or original idea.

And finally, Francis Ford Coppola on the biggest barrier to being such an artist:

Self-confidence always. The artist always battles his own/her own feeling of inadequacy.

Be the artist for the artist.

And see creativity blossom.

NOTE: Our Talent Coaches believe in this one-word style. Learn more about them on Our Team page.

See Part 1 HERE

FIRST THINGS FIRST

First … the bad news. Being on top can beat you up mentally, physically, and spiritually. You may see a straight path before you, but it’s fraught with pitfalls and landmines. Christian Broadcast Ministry leadership is tough. In part one LINK HERE of this series, we prepped for leadership spiritually by checking sin at the door. Now it’s time for the “Gird Your Loins” portion of our discussion. The Bible uses that odd phrase here:

“Therefore prepare yourself [gird your loins] and arise, and speak to them all that I command you. Do not be dismayed before their faces, lest I dismay you before them.”
Jeremiah 1:17-19 New King James Version (NKJV)

Jeremiah had a very tough message to deliver. He was charged with telling sinful people to surrender and live among their enemies. It was about speaking the truth in love. As we put on the Armor of God every day, the thing that we gird our very loins with is the Belt of Truth.

Why? So that we may withstand.

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth …”
Ephesians 6:13-14 English Standard Version (ESV)

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: ROD AND STAFF – LEARN TO USE THEM

As a leader, people look to you for guidance. Your tools for guidance are the rod and staff. The rod and the staff are meant to “comfort” the sheep, not beat them. Yes, the staff of a strong leader is a comfort. Sheep are able to relax when they know what their boundaries are.

Rods are a bit different. Shepherds use rods as weapons of defense or as a walking stick, but they also use it to whack disobedient sheep on the head. The Hebrew word shebet, or rod, is actually more like a club. When Solomon wrote Proverbs 13:24 “Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him”, he was not sharing an easy message. So as a leader, you must be a guardian of the truth, stickler for submission to authority (as was God), and prayerfully seeking the way for your broadcast ministry, so that you don’t let flock go astray.

The rod, staff and prayer are your mandatory tools. As you course-correct and discipline, prayerfully be sure that your agenda is not your own but something that the Lord would have your ministry pursue. Not easy, by the way.

STEPPING INTO THE HARD STUFF

As a leader, people will try to undermine you.

With that said, if your authority is well-established, the staff will perceive and understand your role. If your authoritative role is undefined, he might not think that he has to heed your correction. And what’s the best way to establish your role if you’re a new leader? Same way Jesus did … in love. He declared his authority over and over, but he did it in love.

When correction time came, he always gave a warning. He also offered to reason through the problem. Isaiah said, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.” Isaiah 1:18

This is challenging talk. But being a leader is challenging! Let us know if we can come along side at any time. Contact us HERE.

Guest Blog by Dr. Paul Virts, Advocace

There is little doubt about Christian radio listeners’ passion for their favorite radio stations and programs. In Finney Media’s recent nationwide study of all major Christian radio station formats as well as individual talk and teaching programs (Why Listen 2018, Finney Media), listeners gave their stations and programs a Net Promoter Score of +73 (on a scale of -100 to +100). That’s well ahead of other well-known “brands” such as Samsung (+67), Apple (+47) and Amazon (+25).

The major challenge for noncommercial radio programs and talk/teaching programs is how to translate listening passion into donor passion. One way to measure donor passion is determine by how frequently they give to their favorite station or program.

In the Why Listen 2018 study, donors were asked how frequently in the last two years they had donated to the station or program that sent them the survey. The data for all listeners is summarized in the chart below.

One can make the case that the more frequently one gives to a broadcast ministry the deeper is her or his passion for the ministry. It’s clear from this data that donor passion isn’t as strong as listening passion.

For a fuller discussion of this finding as well as recommendations on how to increase donation frequency, read “How can you get your donors more excited about your ministry?”

Read Part 1 of this series.

FIRST THINGS FIRST

First … the bad news. Being on top can beat you up mentally, physically, and spiritually. You may see a straight path before you, but it’s fraught with pitfalls and landmines. Christian Broadcast Ministry leadership is tough. In part one of this series, we prepped for leadership spiritually by checking sin at the door. Now it’s time for the “Gird Your Loins” portion of our discussion. The Bible uses that odd phrase here:

Why? So that we may withstand.

TOOLS OF THE TRADE: ROD AND STAFF – LEARN TO USE THEM

STEPPING INTO THE HARD STUFF

As a leader, people will try to undermine you.

This is challenging talk. But being a leader is challenging! Let us know if we can come along side at any time. Contact us.

The Finney Media Why Listen?® national survey of Christian radio listeners took place in the spring of 2018, with 26,800 respondents filling in a survey. Once the results were compiled and tabulated, with results sent to participating stations and programs, we led numerous conversations and group presentations. Within these conversations and after presentations, we’ve received questions asking for clarification or additional reflection.

In this blog, we’ll cover several of those questions. The full presentation that today’s questions came from can be found HERE/Momentum PowerPoint. The chart that captures the key point in this presentation is this (scatter) chart.

The upper right shows media groups that received high Findex™ scores, showing high listener heart connection, and observationally a large audience.

Question: How important is imaging for stations with a high Findex? Or put another way, what part does imaging play in developing a heart connective relationship?

Answer: Within Why Listen, we see that providing spiritual encouragement is the key summation of how to best engage with your listener. This is true around the clock, and with every type of content. Imaging all by itself can’t do a complete job, but it should, indeed, reflect the spiritual encouragement that is found within the total station sound. It is part of the station, part of what draws a listener in.

Question: Is having fun part of creating a relational connection on a station? Do games qualify?

Answer:Yes, to both. Humor is part of life, and is certainly part of engagement. But a caution sign needs to be hung here. Humor can be a very personal thing, so assess what you are doing and run it by different types of folks. It’s crucial that humor for Christian radio stations not be funny at someone’s expense. The second part of the caution sign is this: Don’t overdo it. This is part of life, but listeners who want a lot of comedy will tune in to a comedy program.

Question: How do highly successful stations make the spiritual accessible?

Answer:This is one of the programming areas that Finney Media specializes in. For starters, how about using accessible language? Everyday language? Talk like you talk to your friends about spiritual matters. Stay away from cliché words. Say what you mean so that if I’m not in the inner circle, I’ll get it. Tone is important here, of course. And vulnerability is the glue.

If you need more help with any of these areas, contact us today!

Superheroes are all the rage right now. Marvel Studios keeps cranking out blockbuster movies like they’re on a factory assembly line, and Warner Bros. appears to be running to follow suit. All of this provides excitement for moviegoing fans, many of whom dress up as their favorite superhero for the premiers.

It’s fun to think about a world where we have superpowers. It would be amazing to be born with or acquire the ability to fly, run extremely fast, super-punch, or manipulate objects from across the room. And the truth is that God could have given those things to us. After all, He is God.

In reality—if you think about it—God has given us superpowers, though in a different way. Each and every person on the planet is born with a special set of gifts or strengths—things that he or she is better at than the majority of other people in any given group. It could be a knack for leading people, understanding others’ feelings, coming up with good ideas, organizing details, or a myriad of other things.

Consider this. To be an effective leader, it’s important to recognize your team’s strengths and utilize them accordingly. After all, you wouldn’t send Black Widow to break down a wall, would you? The Hulk would be much more efficient. And you wouldn’t ask Captain America or Thor to develop a software program, right? Iron Man or Bruce Banner would be the obvious choice.

While your job may not involve saving the world from alien invasions, the stakes are high. You’re on a mission to bring individuals to Jesus. People’s eternities are on the line. And God has given you a team with special abilities with which to touch lives.

At Finney Media we are fans of the measurement of these special abilities with CliftonStrengths (formerly Strengthsfinder). It measures the top five strengths of an individual to give you a pinpoint focus on what he or she is best at. You can get a detailed explanation of each strength as well as categories of strengths that are best used for different situations in the workplace.

Whether or not you use this kind of instrument, it’s important for you to know your team members’ strengths. Take time to get to know them. Watch to see where they excel.

A team is only effective if it works together, and it needs good leadership to make that happen. Use the superheroes that God has given you to make the biggest possible impact in the spiritual war we’re in.

NOTE: If you are interested in further discussion on your team strengths, please contact us!

Finney Media hosts Why Listen? Survey webinar September 25th at Noon Central zeroing in on changes since the 2016 Why Listen? survey. Register HERE.

Between 2016 and 2018, listeners to your station grew older, had family situations change and were impacted by the culture and the world around them. That’s what we found when we tabulated the 26,800 responses from the most recent Finney Media Why Listen?® Survey.

As an example, across the three formats surveyed, the percentages of respondents with children under 18 living in their home declined dramatically.

Does this factor into the dropfound in respondents who indicated as a Main Reason to listen “it’s safe for me and my family to listen to”?

And, what remained the same—reasons that you can count on? Across formats, high on this list was “I want to grow spiritually.”

There’s much much more to review. To do that you’ll need to sign up for Tuesday’s webinar. Even if you can’t be there live, you’ll need to register to get the materials we’ll present.

For our challenging times, you’ll want to better understand the moving parts.

Join Finney Media President Chuck Finney as he outlines the changes we see in Christian radio listeners since the 2016 Why Listen survey. With the 2018 survey now history, we can trace our listener’s feedback changes—dramatic changes in the past two years.

Register HERE. It’s $59 for the first 75 webinar registrants, so register today and join us Tuesday, September 25th at Noon central.

Thankful—for you. Working together to share our faith – Episode 1

Guest blog by Dr. Paul Virts, Advocace

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