I was at a local Creative Marketing meetup when someone asked this question to the panel of speakers. Their question was, "What should you do when the client asks you to make the logo bigger?" Responding to requests and feedback like this one is something anyone in the creative industries with any experience will know all too well. Whether you're a freelancer, agency member, volunteer, or an in-house creative (like many in the church world are), the root problem and solution is the same.

Let's think about this in the context of an example story...

Your name is Marcus, and 6 months ago you were hired as an in-house creative at a fictitious non-profit called Global Change.

Everyone say hello to stock-photo-Marcus. 👋 Hello Marcus! 😂

Global Change is a small organization that distributes aid and the Good News to underserved communities around the world. This is your first design job, so you're learning to ropes, but since Global Change is such a young organization, you're actually the first dedicated creative person that's been hired since the organization's founding two years ago. That means you have to interact with co-workers of all levels and work around the previous unorganized method of every department using either Microsoft Office or Canva, a DIY design tool, to design graphics.

Even though your new role is a challenge, you knew it would be hard when you started, and you've made significant headway. In the short time you've been at Global Change, you've implemented several systems to help organize graphic requests and control the visual branding. You've already...

• Created a style guide to serve as a home for Global Change's brand
• You've started using a project management tool to keep track of projects and goals
• And you've implemented a design request form that asks department heads and volunteer leaders questions about their design request that automatically goes into your project management system

In the six months you've been with Global Change, you've made significant progress. Both your superiors and you are happy with the results and progress you've made.

It's the Wednesday afternoon before Thanksgiving, and you're putting the final touches on the ad targeting parameters that you're using for a Giving Tuesday Facebook ad campaign to be run next Tuesday with the goal of increasing donations. You're proud of this campaign because it's the organization's largest fundraising week of the year, and you designed it to fit the season with Christmas visuals. Most of the office staff have already left or taken off today to spend an extra long weekend with friends and family. As you're packing your personal items in your backpack, almost about to close out of Outlook for the day, you get an email from Grayson, one of Global Change's board members in charge of finances, that's marked as important.

Everyone say hello to stock-photo-Grayson! 👋 Hi Grayson! 😂

What could it be? An important announcement that needs to be put on the social media accounts? Maybe a friendly message telling the office staff, "Happy Thanksgiving?" Nope. You open the message, and it includes a screenshot of your ad campaign's creative saying, "Can we make the logo bigger?" You already sent the graphics for approval and finalized the campaign's creative and copy over a week ago. But at the very last minute, you're getting an email to make the logo bigger. You sink into the depths of your chair.

What can you do? As a board member, Grayson is your boss, and even though it's the end of the day, no one (including you) will be back in the office until next week to celebrate Thanksgiving, not leaving any time to make the changes before the campaign starts. So you open up Photoshop, make the logo "bigger," update the campaign in the Facebook ad account, and reply back telling Grayson it's been updated and to have a Happy Thanksgiving. You leave an hour late and are the last one to leave the office. On your drive home, you think, "How can I fix this? I've implemented systems and even got approval, but I'm still getting last-minute requests to do purposeless changes."

</story>

Marcus is in a tough situation. At this point, you may be *asking for a friend* how can we help ourselves *cough* I mean Marcus in this situation?

You may be thinking that Grayson is the bad guy in this story. While sending emails at the last minute certainly is an unhealthy leadership practice, he's not solely to blame. When a person of any kind gets drowned in frivolous change requests one thing is clear to me. That person is positioned (or at least perceived) as an order taker rather than an expert or strategist.

When I go to McDonald's hungry, I'm going to complain if they short me my burger, but if I go to the dentist with tooth pain, I'm going to be happy when they tell me they can fix it without removing my whole tooth. Who's taking orders, and who's the expert?

Marcus is seen by Grayson (who, if we remember, is in charge of finance) as an order taker. Rather than DIYing their graphics, the Global Change team dictates to Marcus what they want, and he's acting as their personal pixel pusher. Even though he doesn't have graphic design skills or knowledge, Grayson doesn't trust Marcus' work. Unless something changes at Global Change (no pun intended 😜), it will be impossible for Marcus to develop the Global Change creative department and respond to the increasing number of graphic needs as the organization grows.

If Grayson and the rest of Global Change perceived Marcus as an expert in graphic design, they would either allow Marcus to execute his role without micromanaging, or Marcus would be in a position to ask a question like "How does this change contribute to the goals of this project?"

Positioning yourself as an expert sounds like a great idea, but it's honestly not easy to implement, especially in an environment you're already immersed in. So what can Marcus do?

• Add strategic value - Get into the planning meetings and contribute. Rather than executing someone else's vision, be the creative vision shaping the goals and strategy of projects.
• Push back when appropriate - By asking tactful questions, Marcus can steer the conversations in meetings and get good feedback when presenting creative work. It's not about you being right and the other person being wrong. Creative work is almost 100% subjective. No one is right, and you're both (hopefully) working towards a common goal. It's about providing your peers with the language to express their critiques in a meaningful way. Maybe Grayson meant that the graphics felt off-brand by asking for a bigger logo. That may or may not have been the case, but he could have felt that way, and by asking the right questions when getting feedback, Marcus could have extracted meaningful feedback to improve his design.
• Listen to feedback but don't always follow it - You can't make everyone happy, and you shouldn't try because there are ten not-so-good ideas for every good idea. Experts don't just do what you say because you say it. An expert does what their expertise has taught them to do in a given situation. Asking good questions helps you define the scope of a problem so that you can prescribe a solution. Would increasing the logo's size by 5% be enough to make Grayson happy? Probably. Should the size be increased? Maybe not.
• Discover the root problem - Was Grayson's feeling that the ad creative wasn't on brand and that the logo needed to be bigger a symptom of Marcus going off of the traditional spec with a creative approach by using a Christmas visual theme? Every suggestion is born from a previsualized outcome. When people make suggestions, it's because what they experience doesn't match their expectations. Sometimes it's a good idea to shatter expectations, sometimes it's not. In Marcus' case, would it have been a good idea to A/B test the creatives with the new Christmas and the regular Global Change ad visual themes? I think so; after all, A/B tests are a way to bring objective decision-making into subjective creative processes. If Marcus had discovered the root problem early on by asking the right questions (seeing a pattern here?), he could have created a solution that both addressed the root problem and tested a possibly better way.
• Collaborate throughout your process - The number of frivolous change requests will reduce when stakeholders are included in the process. Some toxic people, whether it be because of personality or ego, like control over others. Suggesting a small change could be their way of telling you who's in charge. (This is a big red flag, by the way! 🚩) Still yet, others simply want to be a part of the process. Asking for feedback in the early stages and asking critical questions can help ensure a project has buy-in and ownership from everyone involved. People will criticize the work of others but critique the work they're responsible for. And yes. There is a difference.

If you haven't caught on, experts ask the right questions. So should you make the logo bigger? Maybe. But more importantly, getting asked that question is a symptom of needing a stronger positioning and needing to increase your perceived expertise.

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Do tools matter? If so, how can the tools we use affect our ability to do our jobs?

Today Adobe announced its intent to acquire the popular user interface design tool Figma. If you are unfamiliar with Figma, it's a web-based interface design tool launched in 2016 that has been hailed as a replacement for Adobe XD and other interface design tools. Some users have taken it at far as being their go-to graphic design software for tasks other than user interfaces as well.

Many Figma users have expressed their alarm over the intended acquisition and are questioning the future based on past experiences with Adobe. However, Figma's CEO, Dyland Field, took to Twitter to try to ease some of these fears by saying that "Adobe is deeply committed to keeping Figma operating autonomously," going on to say that he will remain the CEO and there aren't currently any pricing changes planned.

Personally, as an Adobe user, I'm excited about the potential for great integrations with Figma and the Adobe ecosystem. For example, Frame.io, another company recently acquired by Adobe, has added deeper integrations with Premiere Pro and After Effects enabling editors to send previews and get feedback more efficiently. Still, I know that others who use alt-tools like Affinity, Resolve, and Canva fear that losing Figma to Adobe will result in Figma being embedded deeper in the Adobe ecosystem. For the same reasons that I love it, others hate it. Isn't that how most things work in life?

For many years especially in the church world, there's been a trend towards using alt-tools. Reasons behind this is that many industry-standard Adobe Creative Cloud applications can have a steep learning curve and some users want to avoid on going software subscriptions. The benefits and savings of the proposed alternatives are highly debatable, but still, many have caught on with growing user bases. Infographics like the one below from an Instagram account called Quzeco are often circulated among Facebook Groups and other forums to help new digital creators discover potential Adobe software alternatives. Some are even better than the Adobe offering, but most don't come close.

When advocates of alt-tools are criticized, they often label others as "gatekeepers" or trolls. While sometimes there may be truth to it, there is usually valid reasoning to support both sides. It's the nature of the creative personality type to look for an alternative, aka creative, solution. Sometimes in a quest to discover an easier alternative, creatives end up spending more time and money than if they just did it right the first time. Rather than criticizing others for using or not using a certain tool, let's take the time to learn why we need our tools and what role with need them to fulfill.

The right tools can be very valuable in the hands of the right person, but how do we know what the right tools are? Figma has clearly defined itself as a leader in the creative software space so much that Adobe has decided to add it to its portfolio of industry-standard tools. That signals that maybe the best tools are those that have the capabilities to enable creators to create without being bound by tool limitations.

For example, one of my greatest critiques of Canva is that it's slow to use, costs just as much as Photoshop, and imposes significant limitations on designers. Does that mean it's a bad tool? No. It has its place. But it does mean that those limitations should be aknowledged and considered in the decision-making process. Is it a waste of time to learn something that will only hold me back? I think so.

That brings us back to the opening statement of this post: "Do tools matter? If so, how can the tools we use affect our ability to do our jobs?"

When you're working with a tool every day, even a few seconds of extra efficiency add up to hours, and niche limitations rear themselves up as hindrances when you have to do something new or innovative. Selecting your tools is a process that will change the way you work and either help you be a better creator or hold you back. Key factors that must be considered include:

• Choosing an ecosystem that tightly integrates with adjacent tools and disciplines
• Allowing you to benefit from knowing how a company lays out its apps
• The ability to work alongside industry professionals using common file types
• Availability of templates, plugins, and other starter resources
• And finally, the community surrounding the tools that provides learning resources, videos, and tutorials

Specifically, as church creators, you and your volunteers can benefit from using industry-standard tools by gaining skills that can go on a resume.

Knowing which tools you and your team can best use to complete your roles and responsibilities can equip you to be a more effective leader and result in smoother and faster results.

We've added a new feature to The Church Factory website that allows signed-in members to add comments to posts. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Adobe + Figma acquisition and only the value of tools in general! I know the "tool wars" are a controversial topic, so please be constructive.

Creating content at scale is challenging. It's not too difficult to create just one type of content whether that be a live stream, podcast, social images, blog posts, or sermon clips yet when you need to do all of those every single week the amount of time required can quickly balloon to more than what even a full-time job could handle. When you're a volunteer or the only media person at your church the workload may be more than you can handle. Content creation doesn't have to be hard because there are many ways to help automate and streamline the content creation process.

Let's create your own robot army to run our content "church factory." 🤖

Tip #1: Record Everything

Record your live stream program output, record multichannel audio off your sound system, and record the output of each individual camera. If you have someone who can take photos (preferably on a DSLR style camera, not a phone) have them take photos of as much as possible. All you need is a flash drive for audio and SD cards to give to volunteers who can bring their own camera (or a cheaper recently new, maybe used, camera off ebay).

You'll never regret having too much source content. You can always delete things you don't need but you can't get things you don't have.

Tip 2: Repurpose Content

If you can't record a dedicated podcast each week, cut down your sermon. Yes, you'll need to do a bit of editing, but it's a short amount of time that gives you a good amount of content. If you can record a dedicated podcast, make sure to also record video along with it. If you have that extra video you can upload it as a full-length video to YouTube and cut it down into short-form clips stories and reels for Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

Convert sermons into blog posts. Take detailed notes while listening to the sermon and use them to write a <1000 word blog post. You can then embed your live stream archive at the bottom for people who want to go deeper on the topic. To keep the content fresh schedule this to publish a few months out. Additionally, you can set your blog to share your post on social media when it's published. Fairly easy content that gets you in search results and news feeds.  ✅

Extract quotes from sermons and then post them as tweets on Twitter and use them as part of graphics to share on Instagram or Facebook. You can use a boilerplate sermon quote template or put text over an image of the minister to save time when creating posts for Facebook/Instagram. If you've got a bit more time, go find your video archive of that sermon and trim the quote into multiple few-second clips that you can use for Stories, Reels, and TikToks. That's <5 mins per quote and you've got content for 4+ different platforms.

Tip 3: Create Reusable Boilerplates

Want to cut down on the amount of time you spend designing graphics? The solution is to create templates. No, I don't mean to go use copy and paste templates, but instead to create a generic design that can be easily edited with different text/photos with minimal effort. Photoshop has many powerful features to speed this up including smart objects and artboards. You don't have to come up with a completely new design every time. The quality of your content and the value it provides means more than the trendy-ness of your graphics.

Tip #4: Automate and Consolidate

Facebook Creator Studio is an excellent free tool from Meta (formally known as Facebook) that allows you to manage your Facebook Page and Instagram account. But, it only works with those platforms. To keep things all in one place you'll need to use something else. A social media management platform that I like is Buffer which offers 50% off for nonprofits. By putting everything in one place you can stay organized and not drown in logins, chrome tabs, and dashboards.

A great tool for marketers is basic coding skills. If you don't know how to code (church communicators totally should, more on that here!) you can use tools such as Zapier or Automate.io to connect up various enabled services to create advanced automations and workflows.

Not sure if you should automate something? Let's try this...

Adding automation makes a big difference over time. Kinda like compounding interest.

Summary

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If you're a freelancer or independent consultant pricing your services based on value is essential. However, there is a common theme among value pricing advocates that suggests hourly workers don't value price, which simply isn't true.

An hourly wage is determined not by how much value is created by the service provider (likely an employee), but instead by how much the overall market values the service. When a local market puts pressure on an hourly wage to rise it means it values that service more or in technical terms the quantity of labor supplied by employees is lower than the quantity of labor demanded by employers and the return on the investment of the employee is greater than the cost of the wage. The inverse is also true for lowering hourly wages. Unless a hourly rate is being artificially inflated or capped due to a minimum wage or other price floors/ceilings implemented by the government or guilds/unions, the hourly wage will reflect how much the market demands (values) a service.

Hourly wages can vary widely across geographic areas and regions. One might would be quick to say that the reason people in silicon valley make more than people in Surgoinsville, Tennessee is because the cost of living is higher, which it is. However, if it was as simple as that a smart firm would move to Surgoinsville to setup shop and take advantage of the relatively cheap labor. The determining factor is value. The quality of talent (based on the value provided) is much higher in a tech center then it is in a very small town. Hourly wages are value priced, but rather than being based on the performance of an individual or specific firm, the expected level of value is aggregated across a market.

A firm or individual who bills their services using value based project pricing on the other hand is billing based on the value they create. Rather than charging for and providing the average amount of value that the market expects to receive for a service, they can provide (and charge for) the level of value their expertise allows them to create for their clients.

Think of it from the perspective of a smart decision maker. It doesn't make sense to hire a firm or consultant in the customized creative services industry and pay them the market average when you're not looking to buy the average service.

Hourly billing only works for productized services that take low/no effort to replicate and where the deliverables are the same each time because the expectations and values received are averaged across the market as a whole. When you charge an hourly rate you are saying "I am average." Average service providers aren't experts and can't charge based on the value they create, instead they must price based on the value the market expects average firms to provide.

Are you just average? Then take the standard deduction so to speak. Provide the same value and get paid the same price as everyone else. But if you are providing customized creative services that create value for your clients you must price in a way that reflects the value your provide.

Everything is priced based on value. You just have to decide what level of value you want to provide.

Are you having trouble determining which frame rate or bit rate you should be using? Don't fear, in this reference guide we're going to find out which settings you need to be using for your live stream. First, let's establish what bit rate and frame rate means...

Frame Rates

As you're probably aware videos don't actually move. Instead, they're an optical illusion that makes you perceive motion. To create a video a camera takes lots of photos every second (the frequency of those photos being the frame rate) and then your display shows them back to back at the same rate. Because our brains naturally try to "connect the dots" we perceive motion even though it's really just a super-fast slideshow of photos.

The same principles from early film cameras apply (see gif below), but rather than a long sequence of tiny photos rolling in front of a light source, images are displayed on a digital display.

The most common frame rates at least in the U.S are 30fps, 24fps, 60fps, and 120fps. 24pfs is commonly used in movies because it was once the standard back in the film days. Something about that look seems to have stuck around. 30fps is the defacto internet standard frame rate. It provides enough frames to capture most motion and doesn't look too fake.

Both 60fps and 120fps are found typically in sports and some broadcast TV. Because of the fast movement occurring in most sports, it's necessary to capture in a higher frame rate.  The downside is that for some reason video at these frame rates appears fake or not as realistic compared to 30fps or 24fps.

Which one do I need? Most streaming destinations either don't support or don't recommend 24fps. So don't do that. 60fps and above start to look a bit fake and the extra frames aren't necessary because there shouldn't be much dramatic motion in most church live streams. That leaves 30fps, the internet "standard." Funny how that worked out, right? The standard still stands.

Bit Rates

Okay, so videos are made up of many photos in sequence and the rate the photos are taken is called the frame rate but what does bit rate mean?

Because the amount of data (information) taken in by a camera's sensor is often quite large we use compression.  The above example photo was about 6MB originally but after compression, it is  0.02MB. That's a huge saving when you're needing to upload or download 30 of them every second.

We all have finite upload and download internet speeds so rather than having to wait forever to download each frame of video we compress things down. The amount of data we send each second is called the bitrate. For HD video <10 Mbps is common with 4k content sometimes reaching as high as 50 Mbps.

Now that we've covered some basics let's look at what encoding settings some common platforms want.

Reference Guide

Facebook Live Recommended Encoder Settings:

YouTube Live Recommended Encoder Settings:

Vimeo Live Recommended Encoder Settings:

Restream.io Recommended Encoder Settings:

Restream.io has overall limitations (meaning any stream sent to them must follow these) and then each platform (ex: Facebook, YouTube, etc) have their own limitations. If you're using Restream.io you'll need to follow the overall limitations and limitations for your respective platforms.

Mux Live Recommended Encoder Settings:

Mux has three different tiers of recommended settings ranked by how well they will work.

It's that time of year again. Time to make promises to yourself that you probably won't actually keep after eating way too much turkey and pie. Don't worry. We won't tell.

According to this post, the top 10 most popular New Year's Resolutions are to:

1. Exercise more
2. Lose weight
3. Get organized
4. Learn a new skill or hobby
5. Live life to the fullest
6. Save more money / spend less money
7. Quit smoking
8. Spend more time with family and friends
9. Travel more
10. Read more books

As church marketers and communicators reading is something we have to do often in order to keep our minds sharp. If you're like me, you're probably always saving new books to a GoodReads or Amazon list. So to help get your year off to the right starts I'm sharing twelve of my favorite books for church creatives and communicators.

These are not affiliate links so feel free to click away. 🙂

#1 This is Marketing

This Is Marketing

This book shows that size doesn't matter. Even though it's shorter than most books on myself it still packs a valuable punch. Seth Godin, an accomplished author, wrote this book to show readers that there is someone who wants your message, you just have to know how to share it. 

Buy on Amazon for $16

#2 Never Split the Difference

Never Split the Difference

Hopefully, you won't ever need to talk down a hostage situation or negotiate the release of kidnapped victims, but having a few negotiation skills in your back pockets can always come in handy. This book written by Chris Voss, a former FBI and Harvard Business School negotiator, brings readers through exciting and thrilling real-life events while sharing valuable tips and tricks for not getting taken advantage of.

Buy on Amazon for $18

#3 Just My Type

Just My Type

For all the font and type nerds out there!

This book gives the detailed, but interesting history of many of the fonts and typefaces we know and love. If you enjoy typography and history then this book is for you.

Buy on Amazon for $11

#4 The Business of Expertise

The Business of Expertise

You're either selling your time or your thoughts. In David C. Baker's book, The Business of Expertise, he guides readers through selecting their unique positioning in order to become experts in their field.

Buy on Amazon for $38

#5 The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

The Win Without Pitching Manifesto

Don't let the name fool you. If you're not in-house or ever want to be out of house this book will change the way you view client/practitioner dynamics by teaching you to win without the pitch.

Buy on Amazon for $18

#6 Pocket Full of Do

Pocket Full of Do

A pocket-sized guide to the business of creativity by Chris Do.

Buy on The Futur for $35

And of course, a cheesy Baby Yoda GIF to conclude...

Every year countless website owners log into their dashboards to update their website footer with a new copyright year like this one:

If you haven't already now is the perfect time to make it dynamic with JavaScript! (😱 Don't worry, it's copy and paste ✂)

To do that we're going to drop in a bit of JavaScript. If you haven't heard of it before, JavaScript is a coding language that's used to "script" things in web browsers. It can be added virtually anywhere that allows you to insert HTML.

Let's break down what the following code does:

• Opens the "<script>" tag to tell the browser we're giving it some JavaScript
• Defines a new constant that contains the current date on the user's device
• Write or prints the full year as text
• Closes the script tag by saying "</script>" so that the browser knows to start displaying your regular webpage again

Pretty simple, right?

If you just want to copy and go here's the code to do that (just hover over the code and press the "copy" button 🖱), but I'm going to share a few more examples in a moment...  

<script>
    const copyrightDate = new Date();
    document.write(copyrightDate.getFullYear());
</script>

With a Business Name

You may also want to display your church name like this:

If so just copy this and replace Acem Inc. with your chosen name. The quotes are necessary so don't remove the quotes. 🙂

<script>
	const copyrightName = "Acem Inc.";
    const copyrightDate = new Date();
    document.write("Copyright "+ copyrightName + " " + copyrightDate.getFullYear());
</script>

With an Emoji

Maybe you want to use an emoji! © Just insert &copy; and you're good to go!

Or copy this example:

<script>
	const copyrightName = "Acem Inc.";
    const copyrightDate = new Date();
    document.write("&copy; " + copyrightName + " " + copyrightDate.getFullYear());
</script>

With All Rights Reserved

Some websites also want to show All Rights Reserved. It's open for discussion if adding it actually provides any legal protection or not. But you may choose that it's better safe than sorry!

And here's the code! 👩‍💻

<script>
	const copyrightName = "Acem Inc.";
    const copyrightDate = new Date();
    document.write("Copyright "+ copyrightName + " " + copyrightDate.getFullYear() + " | All Rights Reserved");
</script>

Footer Design Inspiration

For some more creative footer designs, head on over to this Awwwards post which highlights 25 Excellent Creative Website Footers. Awwwards is a great place to find web design trends and learn techniques. If you enjoy web design as much as me you'll surely enjoy it!

25 Excellent Creative Website Footers

From a Web Design Patterns perspective, the Footer is an essential and often undervalued element, which provides a quick entrance to the architecture of contents,...

Awwwards

Most of our local governments have started or have already lifted COVID restrictions on churches. Unfortunately, many churches are likely to go back to not streaming at all. Let's start with a quick story.

When a church I was once a part of first started live-streaming, we saw an excellent number of viewers.  This was when streaming on Facebook and YouTube really started to become more accessible but before it really caught on with churches. Our online views were quite impressive, considering the gear and in-person attendance we had. Furthermore, we had many consistent viewers who often asked for prayer, messaged our page, etc.

However, there was a problem. The leadership wasn't future-minded. Instead of utilizing technology, they choose to invest in expensive tactics that didn't utilize the modern tools we had at our disposal. Excuses would often be, "A church that hosted a conference does this." or my personal favorite, "At my old church, we did it this way."  Sounding familiar?

A year or two into live streaming every Sunday church service, the pastor shut it down. Why? Good question.  

He claimed that a person told him they hadn't been coming to in-person church because they stayed home to watch the live stream.

Sadly that's a story many church techs in smaller churches know all too well.

Often church leadership feels threatened by live stream attendance.

In this article, I want to explore a few potential reasons for that and attempt to give you a good response for each concern.

We're Not Good Enough

"My sermons aren't as engaging as Stephen Furtick's sermons."

That's probably true, okay.. that's definitely true.

But, that doesn't mean that your sermon isn't just as important.

You as a minister in your local church can do something that Stephen Furtick will never be able to do, and that's minister to the needs of your people. Messages don't have to be entertaining and they shouldn't always make everyone smile. The messages that God sends you are tailor-made for the people who will hear them. Maybe that's thousands through a podcast, or maybe it's the 50 who are in your church every week. You don't have to compare yourself to others, because God sent you, not them.  

Imposture syndrome can be tough for anyone who puts themselves out there. However, it's important to remember that it never has and never will be you who is ministering to your congregation. No, when you follow God's direction your sermons are designed by Him and perfect for His people. Give God the control and follow His guidance because none of us are worthy nor are we qualified to be a servant of the King.

It's okay if things aren't 💯 polished.

Really. It's fine.

What matters is that God's message can be spread through The church to the world. God placed you in an age where you can reach the whole world from your pulpit and expects you to make His story known.

Our Music Isn't Good Enough

Why do you bother having music on Sunday? Why not just gather around and listen to Spotify? Oh wait, it's to worship God. 😏

The goal of your Sunday worship should never be to sound the best or hit every note on key, no, the goal of Sunday worship is to worship your creator and to sing His praises!

If you're getting stuck on perfection and comparing your worship to someone else's worship you may need to take a step back, take a deep breath, and think about why you show up every Sunday.

To get to be on stage? 💡

To be famous? 📸

To show off? 🎤

No. 🛑

We gather together to worship the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and Creator of the Universe.

It's not for the worshipers, but the worshiped. 🤲 Broadcasting your Sunday worship service allows people anywhere in the world to join you and worship alongside your in-person congregation. That reminds me of something...

"For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." - Matthew 18:20

That's powerful stuff and I think it applies to online too! 🔥

People Would Rather Stay Home

As we've all experienced through the pandemic, no one enjoys Zoom calls. If people would truly rather sit at home and watch your church rather than be a part of your church in person maybe there are deeper issues in your church services.

Okay now... don't get defensive.

• Why do people get bored or tired during your service?
• Are there any opportunities to help things flow together more seamlessly?
• Would these people actually come if we didn't live stream or is it just an excuse?
• Are these people actively participating in the live stream chat?

Not everyone likes your local church's style of music or atmosphere and that's okay. It's not like most of North American has a shortage of churches. 🌎

Not live streaming will not only cut off people who can't attend your church due to health reasons but will also prevent visitors from trying your church before attending to find out if it's a good fit. If people choose to only watch the live stream you should, by all means, encourage people to join you in person, but for some people, the live stream is the only church they can get. Cutting them off from that could have a disastrous impact on their life.

Instead of deciding to force people to only be able to experience your church in person, look for ways to make in-person more engaging. You want people to watch your live stream and think "Wow, this service really touched my life. I can't wait to experience worship at this church in person!" But to do that you need to find out what issues there are that are causing people to stay home and tackle those head-on. 🎯

This is a post about parking lots, mugs, and spam. Confused about how those three fit together? Well, the answer is visiting a church. This Sunday all across American people will walk into the doors of churches for the first time. This isn't the case at every church, but most go something like this...

Visiting Church

Sam and his wife Morgan are new in town. Since the pandemic has opened up more remote work opportunities both Sam and Morgan are now able to work from home. They decided to finally make the move. Yep, ever since they first considered marriage (about 4 years ago) they've wanted to move to Churchville, but because of their education and new careers it just hasn't worked out. You see, Sam and Morgan got married in November of 2019 and are hoping to start a family soon. They want to raise their kids in an atmosphere like Churchville making it a perfect fit for their growing family. Life is going well for Morgan and Sam.

After getting everything moved and unpacked, with the help of family and friends, they've now started to settle in. After doing some Google searches for churches in their area they've found a few churches they want to visit. The first church on their list is Epix Church. A cool trendy name for cool trendy people like Sam and Morgan. It looks perfect!

Morgan and Same follow Google Maps to take them to Epix, but when they get there they're not sure where to go. Maps says  "You have arrived at your destination," but how do we get into the parking lot? After a few minutes of circling the block, pulling into the wrong parking lot, and dodging traffic they find the entrance to the lot. Shew.

Well, that victory was short-lived. Now to find a parking space! The entrance isn't clearly marked so their only guess as to where to go in is where the most cars are congregated. But most cars are congregated there. Yeah... so now Sam and Morgan park at the back of the parking lot, walk up the hill and are winded by the time they reach the top.

How's it going so far? Perfect. Never been better. Miserable...

After regaining their composure Sam and Morgan approach the door. Then out of nowhere, they hear a loud "Hey! What's your name?" Morgan looks at Sam and then to the direction the voice came from. There stands a man wearing a three-piece suit that cost more than Sam's first car. Sam, being an introvert, quietly says, "I'm Sam and my wife's name is Morgan." The greeter then says, "My name is Joe. Nice to meet you! Welcome home!" Joe then opens the door and hollers at the top of his lungs, "This is Sam and Morgan. They're new here!"

As Sam and Morgan's eyes adjust to the light inside what appears to be the church lobby they're stunned by a room full of people all with their hands extended trying to stir up some small talk. "Are you guys new in town?" asks one voice. Another says, "How long have you two been married?" Another man is making his way through the crowd holding a strangely colored clipboard. Morgan thinks, "Are we in a cult?" The man hands Morgan the clipboard and after giving a quick skim she thinks, "I've seen doctor's offices want less information" but she instead smiles and tells the greater, "Thank you," then moves on.

After finally making their way through the obnoxious crowd into the sanctuary they start to look for a seat. Finding a seat is never this hard at dramas or movie theaters, yet every row they come to contains personal belongings scattered across the seats. After finally finding an open row they sit down. Wow. That was stressful. Sam leans over to Morgan to start to ask a question about what time it was supposed to start (the website said 10:00 but it was already 10:04), but is interrupted by an indiscreet uhtumm. From their rear they hear an elderly woman grunt, "You're in my seat." Sam says, "I didn't know it had your name on it" then stands up and starts to walk away. As Morgan and Sam try to find yet another seat they see one opening. However, it's on the second row. Sam thinks, "I hate the second row!"

Church finally starts at 10:08, albeit 8 minutes late... The first song is good. The worship band and leader play three songs from Elevation and Bethel's latest albums. Original choices? Nah. But at least it's on key - most of the time.

After the second song the pastor walks onto the stage and exclaims, "We want to welcome all of our visitors! After church come right up here to the second row and make Sam and Morgan feel a part of the family! We've got a special gift waiting for you when you bring back your blue clipboard!"

Through the worship service, both Morgan and Sam looked around the room noticing how everyone was dressed. Morgan whispered to Sam, "I didn't know there was a dress code." Sam replied, "Me neither. The website's photos didn't look anything like this." Morgan added, "I think those ladies whispering over there are talking about us." Sam replied, "Look at those awful faces! I guess we don't look the way right to go here."

The sermon has to be good at least, right? Well, yeah actually. It was called The God Nod and was about God seeing something amazing in you even when you don't see it yourself. Oh, wait. Nope. no. As Morgan closed her sermon notes app she noticed an entry she had made a week earlier from listening to Steven Furtick's podcast. Yep. The sermon too. Are there any original ideas around here?  Which sermon series starts next week? At The Movies? After the sermon, a lengthy alter call with everyone in the building trying their hardest not to look up at the pastor in fear of being counted as getting "saved" for the second time in as many months started to conclude with a few announcements.

"Now's our chance Morgan!" said Sam, "Let's sneak out the exit!" As the two inched their way down the isle through the large double doors back toward the lobby they ran into Joe the greeter. Joe said, "Hey! Not trying to sneak off are you? Haha! Here's your special gift!" Joe then traded the blue clipboard for a coffee mug inscribed with the text "Epix Church" and said, "Remember, now you're family!"

After finally getting home the couple checked their phones. "Eight new messages? What could be happening?" said Morgan. Both Sam and Morgan's phones both were being hammered with message after message. What's going on?

Whelp. Turns out it's Epix Church sending a barrage of entirely useless messages with links to everything from sending money to signing up to volunteer. What? Why? Marked as spam.

What went wrong?

Let's analyze.

#1 They Didn't Know About the Church Until Google Searching

Your church can and should be targeting people who move into your area. With digital and traditional media you can make the first contact.

#2 Signage

Sure your church has a sign. It might even have those little letters that you can use to share snarky Bible verses and sayings, but do you have signage pointing visitors towards how to get into the parking lot or where to park once they get there?

#3 Parking

This one gets a part two. Where do you park? Does your team always park in the closest parking spaces or do you park the furthest away? Do you have designated visitor parking? What about handicap accessible parking? Are there parking attendants who help guide people towards spaces?  

#4 Dress Codes

Does your church want to be inviting or repulsive? That's right. How do you want people to view your church? Someone once said that the reason they don't go to my church is that the people there "don't look the same." Wow!! If your church dresses "up" and is worried about how people dress you might have a problem.

#5 Don't Single Out Visitors

The number one way to repel visitors according to this Lifeway Research article is to single out visitors. Don't do that. People don't want to have a spotlight shown on them. Having a mob of people descend upon visitors doesn't show that you care (quite the opposite actually) and doesn't allow the visitor to see what church is really like. Engineering artificial social experiences and fake friendliness only sets up situations of disappointment and loneliness down the road.

If you never talk to the person that worships beside you every week why would you talk to a visitor? Be genuine and consistent.

#6 Be Punctual

Nothing says I don't care about you like being late. It's disrespectful, unprofessional, and makes everyone look bad because of your selfishness. The same God that designed the laws that hold together the fabrics of our universe is the One you're supposed to be worshipping. Start on time.

If you're having trouble getting everyone on board implement a countdown timer. Schedule the timer to automatically end at the start time using your presentation software, then start the service on time even if no one is there.

#7 Don't Be Rude!

Being rude to a brother or sister in Christ is never okay, but especially when they're a visitor! Going out of your way to be unwelcoming is a surefire way to never see a visitor again.

#8 Don't Spam

Sending an automated text message or email is NOT following up with a visitor. It's not real. It doesn't form a connection. It isn't genuine. It's spam. Don't spam people. It's 2021, haven't we moved on from the intrusive in-your-face marketing tactics of the 2000s?

Wrap Up

What are you doing to improve your visitor experiences? Are you being genuine or putting your best foot forward? People crave what's real, they're longing for a true relationship with Jesus. We're surrounded by fake influencers and shady marketing tactics. Is it not the church's responsibility to be a light in the world? Make your church stand out as genuine, loving, kind, joyful, peaceful, patient, honest, loyal, gentle, and self-controlled.

If you haven't already, subscribe to The Church Factory to get a weekly email like this post delivered straight to your inbox. It's free, we're not selling anything, and it's easy: Sign Up Now

We can't all afford $5000 cameras and most of us aren't shooting 8k every Sunday. Thankfully there are a few good options in the sub-$1000 range that are perfect for most church use cases. Keep in mind that generally the cheaper the camera the smaller the sensor which means that low light capabilities won't be as good as a super 35 or full-frame sensor that higher-end cameras often possesses. If your church is on the darker side it's worth the investment to get a larger sensor.

Also, if you have other cameras or lenses you should try to match them up so that you don't have to buy all new lenses for each camera.

In this roundup style post, we're going to look at 4 cameras that cost $1000 or less. There aren't any affiliate links and these aren't product reviews as I don't have each of these cameras in front of me, but it is meant to be a quick reference guide for finding some of the best value cameras on the market.

Panasonic - LUMIX G7 ($600)

The old faithful of budget cameras. The G7 has been a good cheap option for many years now and can still hold its own for regular everyday tasks that many videographers need to do to create content. While some of the features are starting to show its age, it is still an excellent option for a first camera or situation where you just need something basic like static live streaming.  

• Sensor Size: Micro Four Thirds
• Video Output: 4k30
• Supports Clean Micro HDMI Out
• Unlimted Runtime
• Requires Dummy Battery for Continued Use

Buy at BestBuy for $600 USD

Buy on BH Photo for $600 USD

Sony Alpha a6400 ($998)

This camera is loved by many in the budget youtube/vlog world for its low cost and compact flip up screen. Plus, this camera also works great for live streaming because it has a clean HDMI output that can be brought into your capture card. If you also need to do some desk talking head shots while you're filming yourself this camera stands out as a great option with its flip out screen.

• Sensor Size: APS-C
• Video Output: 4k30
• Supports Clean Micro HDMI Out
• Requires Dummy Battery for Continued Use
• Unlimted Runtime
• Features a foldable screen

Buy on BH Photo for $998 USD

EOS M200 ($550)

Small but cheap. This camera is basic and quite small, but can get the job done. If you need a camera to mount somewhere or leave on a static tripod this camera may be a good choice. In the right use case, this can be a great camera at an even better price.

• Sensor Size: CMOS
• Video Output: 4k
• Supports Clean Micro HDMI Output
• Needs DC Power Adapter for Continued Use
• Unlimited Runtime

Buy at Canon for $550 USD

Z CAM E2C ($800)

While technically under our budget of $1000, this camera will require you to buy a lens, external monitor, and battery. If you have those things, great! It's a very modular system that gives you a lot of flexibility. However, if you don't already have the aforementioned gear you can easily go over budget just by getting the essentials.

This camera for its unmatched developer API support and value is one of my favorite cameras, but it isn't great for run and gun style shooting. If you're looking for a camera to mount on a rails and build out into a customized setup this camera is for you.

• Sensor Size: Micro Four Thirds
• Video Output: 3840 x 2160 12-Bit
• Supports Clean Full HDMI Output (not conversion cables needed) and SDI out with an external module
• Powered with batteries or Barrel Input
• Unlimited Runtime
• Advanced Developer API support (for building custom automation)

Buy on BH Photo for$800 USD

Conclusion

There you have it! Four cameras under $1000 to help you on your search for a budget camera for your church. Think I missed a good camera? Please reach out!

Technology has guided design throughout history. Take the printing press. Before it was invented, scribes had to painstakingly copy books and literature manuscripts. Once the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, typographic design turned from an art that was done a bit differently each time to something that required following more complex systems and rules set by the limitations of the type and press. The dawn of printed books and Bibles helped ignite the Reformation that changed the world and Christianity as we know it. Since the beginning of modern history, technology and design have been strongly linked.

Later, typefaces such as Futura, my favorite, by Paul Renner, became synonymous with new and modern. Futura was even selected as the typeface used on a commemorative plaque placed on the moon during the Apollo missions. The technological needs of the Cold War-era required designers to create advertising and propaganda that spoke to the political and social feelings of the world. Because technological superiority was a major part of the Cold War competition, there was a need for design that caused viewers to think about the future and associate designs with advanced technology and western government.

Digital Art and Design

One of the most dynamic changes in communication that our world has seen since the printing press has been from the computer and the internet. On February 19, 1990, the first version of Adobe Photoshop was released. (Web Design Museum) (Story) At that very moment, the world of design was changed forever.

Now graphic designers could easily manipulate images and text on their computers and see the results in real-time. The relative ease of use and ability for anyone to start creating raised a new generation of computer-savvy designers that could do things digitally rather than just with traditional mediums.

Early Web Design

Later in the early 1990s, HTML (Hyper-Text Markup Language) was created by Tim Berners-Lee. Before, the internet had been ugly, dominated by terminal-style documents that could only be accessed through primitive methods. (Raggett, Lam, and Alexander) While the internet was still far from what we know it as today, the markup language that forms the building blocks of the web had been created.

HTML is a language that uses tags such as <title>, <a>, <p>, <h1>, and <ul> to define various structures inside of an HTML document that is then rendered in a browser. H1, for example, is the tag used to show the name of a page. (Web Design Museum) It is typically, by default, the largest text on the page. While HTML did provide some design elements such as different header sizes and lists, it was still far from being able to create colorful and engaging content.

Internet Advertising

AT&T placed the first banner ad on a website by Wired Magazine. (LaFrance) Compared to the <0.1% average clickthrough rate of today’s banner ads (Chaffey), this first banner ad had a click-through rate of about 44%. (LaFrance) If you had never experienced the constant barrage of online advertisements as we have today and there was an image that said “Click Here,” wouldn’t you want to see what it did? I know I would.

AT&T’s advertising campaign that was the parent of this first banner ad focused on all the potential new things that could be done in the future with the internet. It predicted that the internet would be used to tour museums, catch up on the latest tech news, video chats, tablets, e-commerce, and more. (LaFrance) So, you could say that design (and advertising) helped predict the future of the internet and helped open the eyes of the world to what was possible with technology.

Designing the Web

It wasn’t until late 1996 that CSS (cascading style sheets) was created. (Bos) Along with HTML, CSS is one of the most fundamental languages used to create a modern website.

CSS is especially important to design because it defines the styling of a website. Now designers can create designs for websites and transform webpages from looking like Word docs into something with visual interest. (Bos)

Web 2.0

The term Web 2.0, first introduced by Darcy DiNucci in 1999, refers to the concept of website content being created and shared by the website’s users. Web 2.0 marked the birth of the type of site we now refer to as social media. Design on the internet is no longer limited to that of web design and photo galleries. Now design can take the form of user-generated content, shared across social graphs or networks, and created by users for other users. (Web Design Museum)

Web 2.0 meant that graphic designers had another role in the internet ecosystem. No longer limited to designing websites, design could then be applied to creating shareable content and advertisements.

Where Are We Now?

Nowadays, the web is in a transition phase. Some web designers, such as ones featured on awwwards.com, are pushing the limits of what the web browser can do. (Awwwards) Web pages can now allow users to interact with and explore 3D worlds, elements on a site can now react to music and sounds, and the line between what can be done in design programs such as Photoshop and Illustrator and what can be coded on the web is virtually nonexistent.

Design is no longer limited to what can be done on paper, in an image, or even a video. Technology has allowed design to outgrow its constraints and break into the world of interactivity. Now design can’t just be static. Design must be living and react to changes made by the user and the environment in which it is in.

Where Are We Going?

Over the past 500 years, technology has driven the mediums for which designers have created content and designed solutions. Over the next 500 years, it’s likely that design will continue to break out of the page and into the lives of viewers. Neither paper nor the browser will be enough, and design will be forced to be integrated into the real world through augmented reality and future display technologies.

Personalized experiences will continue to guide the creation of designs and advertisements to allow design to speak directly to an intended audience with a message relevant to their needs and situation. Technology and design are so closely linked. With great leaps in technology come new challenges and opportunities for designers.

Works Cited

Awwwards. awwwards. n.d. 3 October 2021. <https://www.awwwards.com/>.

Bos, Bert. A brief history of CSS until 2016. 17 December 2016. 3 October 2021. <https://www.w3.org/Style/CSS20/history.html>.

Chaffey, Dave. Average CTRs display and search advertising - 2021 compilation. 24 February 2021. 3 October 2021. <https://www.smartinsights.com/internet-advertising/internet-advertising-analytics/display-advertising-clickthrough-rates/>.

Karman Project. The Space That Makes Us Human. 2021. Web. 3 October 2021. <https://media.karmanproject.org/>.

LaFrance, Ardrienne. The First-Ever Banner Ad on the Web. 21 April 2017. 3 October 2021. <https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/the-first-ever-banner-ad-on-the-web/523728/>.

NASA. "File:Apollo11Plaque.jpg." July 1969. Wikipedia Commons. 3 October 2021. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Apollo11Plaque.jpg>.

Raggett, Dave, et al. Raggett on HTML 4. Addison Wesley Longman, 1998.

Story, Derrick. From Darkroom to Desktop-How Photoshop Come to Light. 18 February 2000. Wayback Machine. 3 October 2021. <https://web.archive.org/web/20070626182822/http://www.storyphoto.com/multimedia/multimedia_photoshop.html>.

Web Design Museum. Web Design History Timeline. 2017. 3 October 2021. <https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/web-design-history>.

In this post, we are going to cover how you can deploy a static website to Digital Ocean for free using their app platform. If you haven't already, go check out my open source Quick Bio Link templates on GitHub. They're free, easy to customize, and if you follow this post they're free to host. Can't beat that. Let's get started...

This tutorial uses Digital Ocean to host our Quick Bio Link for free. If you don't have an account yet, follow the referral button below to get $100 in free credit:

Step 1: Clone and Edit the Code

The first step is to get or write the code for your static site. Your code should consist of at least an HTML file and optionally CSS and JavaScript files. In this post, we're going to use a template from Quick Bio Links (see link below) and go from there.

GitHub - mackenly/quickbiolinks: QuickBioLinks Is A Template For Creating Your Own Instagram Bio Link

QuickBioLinks Is A Template For Creating Your Own Instagram Bio Link - GitHub - mackenly/quickbiolinks: QuickBioLinks Is A Template For Creating Your Own Instagram Bio Link

GitHubmackenly

First, visit the GitHub repository linked above. Then click on the green button that says "Code." Now, press "Download ZIP."

Great! The zip file should now be downloaded into your computer's downloads folder. Now unzip the file. Inside the folder navigate until you find the "templates" folder. Enter it then copy the template you wish to use. I'm going to use the "simple-gravatar-dynamic" template.

Paste your copied folder onto your computer's desktop. Open the folder then right-click on the file called index.html.  For simplicity's sake, I'm going to open mine with Notepad on my PC, but you can open yours with VS Code or another code editor of your choice.

Scrolling down a bit, you should see a <script> tag. Below that you'll find some comments.

The first option is to disable the credit link in the footer. Let's leave it as "false."

var disableCredit = false;

Next, set your email address. For this tutorial, I'm going to insert my email address but you should enter the primary email address associated with your Gravatar account.

var emailAddress = "hello@example.com";

Now we can choose to show an email link on our page. I'm going to set mine to true.

var showEmailLink = true;

Finally, we can insert some custom links into our link list. To do so you'll need to write some JSON code. Don't worry! You can follow the template given in the code. Remember to not put a comma after the last link. It may help to copy the first one to use as your template.

const customLinks = {
 "links":[
  {
   "label": "GitHub - @mackenly",
   "url": "https://github.com/mackenly/",
   "domain": "https://github.com",
   "useEmojiIcon": false,
   "emojiIcon": ""
  },
  {
   "label": "Schedule a 15-minute Meeting",
   "url": "https://calendly.com",
   "domain": "",
   "useEmojiIcon": true,
   "emojiIcon": "📆"
  }
 ]
}

Perfect! Once you're done make sure to save your work. You can do so with Ctrl + S on Windows or cmd + S on Mac. Now let's preview your work by opening the index.html file in your browser. By default, it should open up as a web page when you double-click the file.

If no information displays you may want to check that the email you entered is associated with your Gravatar account.

Here's what mine looks like:

Step 2: Create a GitHub Repository

Now it's time to upload our code to the internet. The first step is to clean up a bit. I'm going to rename my folder to "mackenly-links."

Now log in to GitHub. You'll now want to create a new repository by going to github.com/new. Give your new repository a name and a description. IMPORTANT! Unless you want your source code to be public for anyone to see, copy, and propose updates to you should select the repository to be Private.

After clicking create GitHub will now prompt us to upload some files. Rather than doing it through the command line let's select "upload an existing file."

From there select the index.html and README.md (optional) from your template file and commit the changes.

GitHub will now process your files and reload the page to show your repository. Yay! We're almost there.

Step 3: Create a Digital Ocean Account

Now let's log in or signup for Digital Ocean. If you're enjoying this tutorial and want $100 in free DO credits follow my referral link to signup. Many thanks!

Step 4: Create a New App Platform Site

Once in the dashboard select "Apps" from the left sidebar menu.

You should see a page like this. Select "Launch Your App" to continue.

Since we uploaded our code to GitHub select "GitHub" as our app's source.

You will now need to sign in to GitHub and authorize Digital Ocean to access your repositories. After that is complete you'll be taken back to Digitial Ocean where you can select a repository from a list of all your repositories.

The default settings should be good. Make sure that "Autodeploy code changes" is checked as that will allow our site to update anytime we make changes to our code in GitHub. Now click "Next."

The next page should look like this. You shouldn't need to make any changes here. When everything looks good press "Next."

On the next page, you'll be prompted to enter a name for your site. When you've chosen a name you like press "Next."

Now we need to select a plan. For this site, the free option should be good. After selecting a plan click "Launch Starter App."

Now Digital Ocean will deploy your website. This will take a few minutes. Don't leave the page. Once finished you should see a banner like this:

Step 5: Point Your Domain Name

Now let's point your domain to your site! First, go to the "Settings" tab then scroll down to where you see "Domains."

Click "Add Domain"

Now enter the domain you will be using. Since I have my domain managed in CloudFlare I'm going to select "You manage your domain." Copy the CNAME record.

Wherever you manage your DNS records (could be GoDaddy, Google Domain, CloudFlare, Namecheap, etc) you can then add a CNAME record.

After adding the CNAME record, go back over to Digital Ocean and click "Add Domain." DO will now rebuild and deploy your site.

🎉 Yay! You've now created a website, uploaded it to GitHub, deployed it to Digital Ocean, and linked to it with a custom domain.

If you find any errors or issues with this post please reach out. Thank you! 🙂

Bonus: Test Your Speed 🚀

With Bio Links, page load time is extremely important. To benchmark, your site's speed head over to Google's Page Speed Insights then run a test for your site. Mine scored a 100 which means my user's experience should be excellent.

Every time I hear of someone simply ripping an image of Google or having a fundamentally flawed understanding of copyright it knocks the breath out of me. In this digital age where high-quality, freely licensed content is abundantly found on websites such as Unsplash, Pexels, or Pixabay, there’s no excuse for committing intellectual property (IP) theft.

Neither this post nor anything on this site is legal advice. If you have questions about copyright I suggest visiting some of the sources I have listed at the end of this post and/or consulting a lawyer.

Intellectual property (IP) law is admittedly quite complicated and nuanced; after all, there is a whole discipline in law dedicated to it. However, it is essential for anyone intending to use or repurpose the work of others to be at least mildly familiar with the highlights. In this post, we’re going to explore three high-level ideas: “What is copyright?” “What is fair use?” and “How does copyright protect me?”

What is copyright?

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, “Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression.” That means that any original work you create is copyrighted as soon as you make it. In fact, this post is copyrighted. But there’s an important difference between copyright and registered copyright.

Upon creating your work, it is immediately copyrighted, which means others can’t use it without your permission. However, in the United States, to file a lawsuit for copyright infringement, your work must be registered with the U.S. copyright office. There is a small fee for registering your work, but it’s essential if you need to protect it in court.

What is fair use?

Fair use is where copyright gets complicated. Under certain circumstances, you may use copyrighted works without a license to do so. A few cases where fair use may be applicable are criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

When determining if something falls under fair use, you should consider the purpose. Is the material being used in a commercial nature or for a nonprofit educational purpose? Are you using the entire work or only a portion? Does your use devalue the market for the work? All are important factors when considering fair use. Just because it's being used by a nonprofit doesn't mean it falls under fair use either.

Should you rely on fair use to get around obtaining a license for content you use? Probably not. While some cases fall under fair use, you should always strive to use the content for which you can obtain a license (or written permission) because the laws surrounding fair use are quite turbulent and unpredictable.

How does copyright protect me?

You can copyright photos, books, music, artwork, computer programs, website designs, animations, recordings, and more. It doesn’t matter what type of artist or creative you are; your work can be copyrighted more than likely. Copyright provides the owner a few fundamental rights: Reproduction of the work (copies), Derivative works (modifications of your work), and Display of the work publicly.

When working with clients, it is your responsibility to outline the distribution of intellectual property (IP) in your contract. If you work for an employer you should carefully review the policies they have about the IP of work created for them or while working for them. Many great inventions have been taken from the inventor because of their lack of understanding about copyright and IP laws. Do you have the right to use the deliverables in your portfolio? Can you enter it for awards? Must you turn over all source files? Are there limits on how the deliverables can be used?

All of those questions are essential things that must be outlined in your contract. Copyright can be tricky, but if you don’t take the time to learn the basics, you can quickly lose all rights to your work in ways that you weren’t expecting.

Your images being found on Google does not allow just anyone to use them. Google Images is not a repository of public domain or free-to-use pictures like Unsplash or the other resources mentioned above. Google is merely a search engine that crawls and indexes content to help users locate webpages and content. Instead, to use an image you find on Google, you should identify the page on which the image is found and contact the IP owner to attempt to gain permission or a license to use the content. As a photographer or graphic designer, people using your work without permission can be worrisome. However, with the protection of registered copyright, you can protect your rights and property.

Sources:

Office, U.S. Copyright. “U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index.” U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index, U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/index.html.

Office, U.S. Copyright. “What Is Copyright?” What Is Copyright? | U.S. Copyright Office, U.S. Copyright Office, https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/.

Spoiler Alert: I think so. Here's why I think you should learn Python or at least hire someone who does:

Sure, there are many no-code tools out there like Zapier that allow anyone to use the power of code to connect various apps and services. Still, not everything is on Zapier, nor do no-code tools provide the flexibility of a programming language.

You're probably thinking, "Mackenly, I'm in marketing and communications. I'm not a programmer." And you are right. I'm not advocating that you learn C++, Java, or some other complicated language. After all, there's little reason that you would ever need it. However, knowing the basics of Python (one of the easiest languages) can be very helpful and set you apart from your peers.

Being able to code allows you to create solutions. The primary reason that a marketer should learn to code is to connect up applications using APIs (application programming interface) and webhooks. APIs allow code to read information from external services such as Facebook, your website, or ChMS. Webhooks act like push notifications in that when something happens, they send a request to your code with information. For example, on this site, when someone signs up to become a member (easy, free, and simple, click the button in the bottom right) a webhook sends their email to my code which processes the data and sends it to my email list provider (ConvertKit). You can enable automation between services and tools that otherwise wouldn't talk with each other and process the data in between. Can Zapier do that? I don't think so.

I use Cloudflare Workers to run my serverless functions. If you haven't guessed, Cloudflare lets you run your code in "the cloud." A serverless function is simply a place for your code to live without requiring you to do any server management, perfect for people who only want to use code for automation.

So if you're currently using Zapier, you've probably noticed the pricing. Wow, is the pricing high! $30/month for 20 Zaps. That's over a dollar per Zap unless you want to lock in to annual payments. With Cloudflare workers, you get 30 workers for free, and if you need more, it's $5/m (more if your workers are used more than 1 million times per month).

You've heard why you should be creating custom automation and the price benefit. Now let's talk about marketing benefits.

There are many tasks you do that you can automate or improve. For example, you can automate writing data reports, automate inputting data, use AI to analyze data, or automate the processing of media. Being able to code isn't a job requirement for marketers, nor should it be, but knowing some basics in Python can make your job easier and allow you to spend your time doing things that you enjoy, like Zoom meetings. 😉

To learn Python, I'd suggest downloading the latest version of Python, the PyCharm Community IDE, and exploring W3 Schools. Your goal shouldn't be to become a programmer because simply knowing a computer language doesn't make you a programmer. Your goal should be to solve problems using the tools you have at your disposal.

The font you use to display lyrics is a big deal. Often churches will stick with the default font in ProPresenter and not think a thing about it. However, choosing the perfect font can either complement or distract from your worship service.

There are a few qualifications a font must meet to be a good choice to display your lyrics with.

The first and most important qualification is legibility. A big problem with many serf fonts is that, while decorative, they can be challenging to read at a distance.

The second qualification is how well it looks in your space and what fits the look and feel of your worship space. This is where the font wars begin.

Rather than suggest a specific font, we asked churches what fonts they use for worship.

It turns out many of them look very similar.

Futura Bold

Futura is a font known by all type nerds because of its clean and modern appeal. Futura isn't new, though. Futura was first released in 1927 by Paul Renner, survived the Nazis, and even made it to the moon.

Futura is a favorite among projectionists for bringing a classic yet clean look that feels familiar and fresh.

Futura PT from Paratype

A sans serif typeface with 22 styles, available from Adobe Fonts for sync and web use. Adobe Fonts is the easiest way to bring great type into your workflow, wherever you are.

Bebas Neue

Bebas Neue is one of the most unique font selections in this collection. A feature of this font is that it is rather skinny and tall, allowing you to either fit more words on your screen or provide a wider margin to highlight your visuals.

Bebas Neue from Dharma Type

A sans serif typeface with 1 style, available from Adobe Fonts for sync and web use. Adobe Fonts is the easiest way to bring great type into your workflow, wherever you are.

VMC Worship Bold

VMC Worship Bold is the only font I'm aware of that has been designed from scratch, specifically for displaying lyrics in church. There are other worship fonts out there, but I'm unaware of any other fonts created from the ground up.

I like VMC Worship Bold because it is somewhere between Futura and Montserrat and borrows some of the best characteristics of both.

Free Church Fonts — Visual Media Church

VMC Worship is a custom designed worship font designed for church projection. Free fonts are available for churches to use in all design and media projects.

Visual Media Church

Montserrat

Montserrat is the only font that shares a name with a British territory in the Caribbean on our list. The font Montserrat is a popular Google font created by Julieta Ulanovsky that started as a Kickstarter project.

Google Fonts

Making the web more beautiful, fast, and open through great typography

Google Fonts

Papyrus

Okay, this one is a joke. But ask any group of graphic designers or projectionists what their favorite font is, and Papyrus is sure to come up. Papyrus, exceeded only by Comic Sans, is one of the world's most made fun of fonts and shouldn't be used unless you're trying to be funny. 😏

Papyrus® Font Family | Fonts.com

Papyrus is a roman calligraphic typeface with distinctive human touches like rough edges, irregular curves, and high horizontal strokes in the caps. It imp

Fonts.com

Urbane

Urbane is one of my latest favorites. Especially in other weights, Urbane brings a clean urban look without being a distraction. I could see Urbane being used in some sort of creative layout that emphasized the medium or demi bold weights.

Urbane from Device Fonts

A sans serif typeface with 14 styles, available from Adobe Fonts for sync and web use. Adobe Fonts is the easiest way to bring great type into your workflow, wherever you are.