DO you need help with your church publicity? Could your parish use some help to get its activities noticed in your community?

The new book, published in November

November sees the launch of the second edition of the book 100 Ways To Get Your Church Noticed by our communications adviser Neil Pugmire. It’s based on the advice he’s been giving to our parishes since 2000.

It has been thoroughly revised and updated since the first edition was published in 2006, with extra chapters on how churches can use social media, create mobile apps and put together websites that look good on mobiles and tablets.

It also includes advice on making good use of your buildings and noticeboards, effective media liaison, creative posters and leaflets, and how to produce must-read parish magazines.

The second edition of the book, which is published by Church House Publishing, also includes extensive illustrations and photographs showing examples of good church publicity. Many of the examples are from our diocese.

And you’re welcome to come to the book launch, which will happen at one of the churches featured in the book – St James’s Church, Emsworth. The launch is at 11am on Wednesday 26 November, and all are welcome.

Bishop Christopher, who wrote the foreword for the book, will speak. We’ll also share some good ideas for effective church publicity that you can use straightaway.

“When I started giving advice to parishes about publicity, there was no up-to-date book on the market that I could point people to, which is why I thought of writing one in 2006,” said Neil. “But since then, the ways we communicate with each other have changed so much that we thought it was worth updating the entire book.

“Working with Church House Publishing has also meant we can include lots of illustrations and photos to show exactly what we mean. Because there are 100 ideas, even churches that are already good at publicity will learn something.”

Among the churches featured are St Jude’s, Southsea, where the new glass-fronted entrance is a good way of encouraging visitors; St John’s, Forton, where a welcome service included balloons and welcomers wearing ‘welcome’ t-shirts; and St Mary’s, Liss, where an active children’s corner shows parents that their children will be welcomed.

The Rev Andy Wilson, vicar of Christ Church, Portsdown, is pictured in a chapter about taking good photographs. The key role of Facebook in a new development such as Whiteley is compared with pinning notices to the tree outside St Mary’s Church, Buriton, as ways of reaching different audiences in different contexts.

There is also an accompanying website – www.getyourchurchnoticed.com – which features further ideas, plus the chance for churches to submit their own examples of good publicity.

Also featured on the website is the video prepared for Diocesan Synod, which involved a group of worshippers visiting Hambledon, Emsworth and North End churches to comment on the effectiveness of their publicity methods.

To buy copies of the book, see: www.getyourchurchnoticed.com