A guide to evaluating your audience, by an experienced web-evangelist and
communicator, who administers her church site and several outreach sites.
People sometimes ask me, %#8220;I’m a novice. How do I start to design a website for
our church or Internet ministry.” I think most are expecting a crash course in HTML or
web-page design. And those can be important considerations. But the most important are nothing
to do with technology. I tell people, “The first thing to do is answer two questions:
Who’s your target audience? And what’s your purpose?”
When you answer those questions, you will discover that questions of site design and navigation, even content begin to answer themselves. But if you do not answer those questions, then no matter how stunning your graphics, how perfect your code, or how compelling your design, you will not minister effectively.
Who’s your target audience?
When I ask would-be webmasters that question, I often get an answer like, Well, I
guess I’m trying to reach everyone. I don't want to exclude anyone. The Gospel is for
everyone, right?” OK, the Gospel is for everyone, but even Paul adapted his presentation
of it to different populations. He did it one way to the Greeks, another way to the Romans,
and yet another way to the Hebrews.
The duty of a writer is to think of the reader first, last and always. The same is true of the
web designer. You must have a clear idea of whom you are attempting to reach in order to be
effective. A website of interest to teenagers, will not interest adults. Women and men respond
to different approaches and topic areas. Individuals of different occupations, educational
backgrounds, ethnic and cultural heritages need to be approached differently.
How?
So the question is: how do you go about doing this? The first step is to imagine a typical
visitor to your website. This does two things. First, it makes the concept of audience analysis
more concrete if you think about it in terms of a single person. Secondly, it reminds you that
no matter how many visitors come to your site, they all come one at a time. All communication
in the end is one-on-one.
- Demographics. Consider the basic defining characteristics of the individual.
Some basic considerations include: age, gender, ethnicity, cultural background, language usage,
educational background, occupation, political affiliations, religious background, and special
interests like hobbies.
- Psychographics. Originally coined by marketing experts during the 1970s and 80s, this
refers to the setting in which the person receives the message. For instance, what time of day
are they accessing the website? Are they surfing from home? At work? At school? Do they use a
public computer or a private one? Do they have time to read something long or are they in a hurry?
- Spirituality. Is this person likely to be a Christian or a non-Christian? If a
Christian, do they belong to a certain denomination? Is this person likely a member of your
church? What are their likely positions on significant doctrinal issues? If the person is a
non-Christian, are they someone interested in Christianity, but are not sure of the validity
of the Bible? Are they ‘spiritual’ in the sense of New Age spirituality? Are they
antagonistic to Christianity? Are they sympathetic to Christian teachings, but have they been
disaffected by the church? Are they atheists, agnostics, deists, wiccans, cultists, Hindus,
Buddhists, Muslims, etc?
- Life Challenges. What problems does this typical visitor face in a day? Do they
have hassles on the job, family problems, financial difficulties, medical problems, emotional
issues or spiritual problems? What are the big questions they are asking right now? For what
problems are they seeking solutions? Can your ministry help answer those questions?
- Motivations. What motivates this person to do things? Money? Family? Fear? Hope?
Love? Piety? Rebellion? Loneliness? Depression? Joy? Sadness? Are they driven most by what
they are running toward or what they are running from? Who or what influences them to take action?
What's Your Purpose?
Once you have a clear idea of your visitor, answering the next question becomes easier: Why does
this website exist? What are you giving to this typical visitor when they arrive? Christian
websites seem to encompass three general purposes: In-Reach, Outreach and Advertising. Now,
one website might touch on more than one of these, but each section of that site probably
should be devoted to one or the other, and usually the site taken as a whole falls into one of these general categories. Let's look at each of these purposes.
In-reach
A website or page may have as it main purpose to serve the needs of the members of the
church or Christian organization. One of the strengths of the Internet is its ability to
build community connections. When the last prayer is said on Sunday morning, church members
go their way and may not see each other again until the next service time. It’s not that we
don’t care about each other. We just find ourselves scattered all over town and don’t
have the opportunity for fellowship. Regional, national and international Christian organizations
find this situation magnified many times.
The Internet's ability to provide cost-effective communication 24 hours a day provides
people with ways to stay in touch throughout the week and across the miles. A church website
can update members about upcoming events, profile church members, stream the Sunday sermon for
shut-ins and post pictures from the Christmas party or church picnic. Web forums and email
discussion lists can help church members stay in touch with each other and strengthen those
relationships formed at church. Within national and international organizations, members can
form relationships which would have been impossible before the advent of the Internet.
This mix of ability to build relationships and to share information quickly and economically
is creating outstanding opportunities for churches and Christian organization to build 24/7
spiritual communities.
Outreach
Many of us in Internet ministry find that our vision extends beyond the local church to our
cities, regions, countries or the entire world. My own church website welcomes visitors from
over 70 countries a year! Even a small church can have a missions outreach in cyberspace.
Internet ministries engage in three basic types of outreach: Equipping, Evangelizing and
Encouraging:
- Equipping. As a teacher, I find the power of the Internet to educate remarkable.
At my college, I teach classes online with surprising results. In ministry, we are able to
provide Bible studies, ministry helps, self-improvement and Christian living instruction.
From daily devotions to seminary level Bible education, the Internet provides opportunities
to ‘equip the saints’.
- Evangelizing. I sometimes wonder what Jesus’ disciples thought when he told
them to “Go into all the World”. It must have seemed an impossible task at the time.
Yet, the Internet takes many of us around the world every day. As an American, I have
acquaintances in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Norway, the U.K., and South Africa. Ministries on
the Web can reach countries closed to missionaries.
Websites can be developed specifically to reach the lost. Some target those people who are
specifically seeking to learn more about Christ. Others help Christians build relationships
with non-believers. Still others target non-Christians at the point of their life situations
or special interests and introduce them to spiritual matters subtly. Wherever a person might
be in their journey toward (or away from) a relationship with Christ, Internet evangelists
are creating ministries to reach them.
- Encouraging. One element in emotional and spiritual healing is a sense of commonality.
When faced with problems, we often feel as though we are all alone with the problem. Through
the interactive capabilities of the Internet we can form relationships between people facing
similar life challenges and fulfill the Biblical injunction to “bear one another’s
burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ”.
Encouraging websites can also serve an evangelistic purpose. Relationships formed while helping
someone deal with a life issue can lead to a sharing of how Christ helps us face those challenges. Online support can begin with helping people heal emotionally and end with helping them heal spiritually as well.
- Advertising. Finally, a website may serve the purpose to advertise a local church, a
national or regional organization of major event. As part of the total media mix, a website is a
low-cost way to provide a significant amount of information about your organization. It is not
a replacement for other forms of advertising, but it can be a good supplement to the traditions
print and broadcast advertising.
Before you think about design or graphics, HTML code or search engine submissions, you must
answer these two questions. Without having a clear vision of your audience and your purpose,
your Internet ministry, regardless of its technical perfection, will fail to see the results
you desire.
The worksheet below may help you answer the two questions.
More on planning
- Prayer and a vision from the Lord are essential. Read Doug Reese's story of starting an evangelistic site.
- Many websites fail in the area of usability. Learn how to create websites that communicate clearly.
- Writing for the Web is not the same as writing for print, or sermon-writing. [More...]
- It is essential to understand the nature of the Web, if we are to use it to communicate effectively. [More...]
- Developing a Ministry Plan
from Cybermissions explains the spiritual steps likely to be involved in the development
of an online ministry.
- If you are a team planning a detailed website, this sequential task-chart may help.
- The Yale Style Guide gives advice on planning a site.
- How the site will be promotedHow To Create A Useful, Popular Website
- You must also consider promotion must be considered at the planning stage too.
Top of page
Visitor Profile Worksheet
Fill in all relevant information concerning the type of person you are trying to reach. Try to keep the information specific as possible. Obviously, for some websites one or more of the parameters listed below may not apply. However, before ignoring one of these lines, be sure that it actually doesn’t apply.
Demographics
Gender _____________
Age Range _______________
Ethnicity ____________________
Language (consider both the actual language and the level of language proficiency):
Geographic location: ____________________________
Economic factors:
Job _______________________
Income range _______________________
Education:
Level _______________________
Training ____________________
Assumed entry level knowledge __________________
Political leanings _______________
Religious Background:
Christian or non-Christian ___________________
If non-Christian but another religion, which one? _____________________
If irreligious, where in the process of spiritual seeking is the visitor.
____Atheist or agnostic
____Antagonistic to Christianity
____Personal antagonism based on bad personal experience
____Philosophical antagonism because of other religious beliefs
____Believes in God in the abstract, but not interested in a relationship with Him
____Had some church background, but nothing current
____Has little or no church background
____Is interested in "spirituality" but not Christianity
____Feels something lacking in life, but not actively seeking
____Seeking for spiritual fulfillment, but not necessarily interested in Christianity
____Curious about Christian beliefs but has some questions of faith
____Very interested in Christianity and seeking information about salvation
Special Interests: (e.g. hobbies, sports, professional, academic)
Other demographic factors:
Psychographic Factors
From where does the visitor access the Internet ______________________________
When does the visitor access the Internet ____________________________________
What is their social environment when accessing the Internet
How much time does this person spend online?__________
How do they begin to search?______________
Why do they generally access the Internet?
What keywords is this person likely to use to try and find a site like yours?
What is this person's attitude toward your topic?
Motivation
In 25 words or less describe what motivates this person to take action on the issues raised on your website:
Purpose Worksheet
Taken as a whole, what is your Internet ministry's primary purpose?
___In-Reach ___Outreach ___Advertising
If you answered 'Outreach', what is its primary purpose?
___Equipping ___Evangelizing ___Encouraging
In 25 words or less, write in the space below how you expect that the visitor you profiled will benefit from this ministry.
How is this ministry the same and different from other similar ministries or secular websites on the same topic?
