In such a digital world as we live in and with an unprecedented proliferation of information hitting us daily from multiple sources it is no surprise that our behavior and the way we prefer to consume information has changed.
Looking back at 2015, our weekly e-newsletter, First Things First, was sent to approximately 175 people/members and had an average open rate (number of people who actually opened the email) of 38%. Today, in 2022, First Things First is sent to 556 people and has an average open rate of 66% reaching over 365 people every week! This is an outstanding open rate compared to the national average rate of 30% for church emails!
On the other hand, our 8+ page monthly newsletter, The Voice, and our primary source of communication and information for so many years has dropped in readership – even after digitizing the newsletter in 2019. Analytics of the digital newsletter from January-May 2022 show it had an average open rate of only 35%.
It’s obvious there has been a shift of how First Lutheran members prefer to receive their information today with the First Things First e-newsletter readership greatly surpassing that of The Voice. Given this and the time and cost of publishing The Voice, the decision has been made to retire the monthly newsletter. Premiering in October of 1953, it’s had a great 69 year run! For most of those years, it was the only means of communicating news with the congregation and served as a life-line between members.
Moving forward, you can continue to expect First Things First to provide you with the most up-to-date news you need to know every week. You can also be “in the know” by checking out the News blog on our website, reading each Sunday’s First Glance bulletin insert and following us on Facebook and Instagram.
If you have news you want to share, send it to our Communications Director, Kathleen Simley, at least two weeks prior to wanting it published. Photos and videos are always welcomed, too.
Who knows what the future of communications at First Lutheran has in store for us? With technology evolving as quickly as it is, the possibilities are endless! Stay tuned.
