Church bulletins are service guides of the church. They are primarily used as the best communication tool. And help to give vital information about the church.
These are printed and distributed to the visitors. But with the world facing COVID-19 pandemic, people are apprehensive of having physical contact with a foreign object such as a church bulletin.
So, not many people will actually be willing to collect the church bulletin. And since it carries information about your church, your website, and social media accounts, this scenario will be the least you would want.
Plus, the bulletin also has information about the special events the church organizes. This includes conferences, retreats, outreach, and community happenings. Hence, it is important for people to be aware about it.
Furthermore, printing a new bulletin weekly requires a lot of paper consumption. In a world that promotes eco-friendliness, printed bulletins are not considered ideal. Besides, they also incur a lot of printing costs.
Hence, it’s time to optimize the church bulletin. The best part is that there is a solution to all the challenges mentioned above—QR Code technology.
QR Codes are becoming increasingly popular in social distancing because of their contactless delivery. And are a sustainable solution.
Scroll down to know more.
A. QR Codes— A brief
QR Codes are 2D barcodes. They can easily be scanned via smartphone or a dedicated app to access the linked content. Hence, you do not need to incur any equipment cost such as a handheld scanner.
Plus, QR Codes can link unlimited content. You can link a website URL, text, PDF, and other content to a QR Code.
Furthermore, QR Codes have an advanced type called Dynamic QR Codes. These QR Codes can be edited anytime. The pattern of the updated QR Code remains the same. Hence, you do not need to reprint it.
With Dynamic QR Codes, you can also track their scanning activity. That is, you can get data such as district, city, country, browser, and device from which the QR Code was scanned.
Besides, you can add design to a QR Code. And make them look colorful and attractive. That is, you can add a background color, a text, or a background image to a QR Code.
Hence, the QR Codes can be used for social, promotional, and functional purposes. Now let’s see how QR Codes can be used for church bulletin.
B. QR Codes for church bulletin
Since QR Codes ensure contactless exposure, they become the ideal solution amidst coronavirus.
So, instead of printing paper bulletins, you can simply link the bulletin to a QR Code. That is, you can link your church bulletin PDF in a QR Code. And place this in the church office.
Upon scanning via their smartphones, visitors will be redirected to the bulletin. Thus the possibility of any physical contact just eliminates.
Plus, you do not need to reprint the QR Code weekly. With a Dynamic PDF QR Code, you can edit the content anytime you want. And this way, you can update the bulletin weekly without creating a new QR Code.
The updated QR Code will remain the same as the earlier one. Hence, you also save on the reprinting costs.
How to create
In order to create a QR Code, you need a best QR Code generator tool such as Scanova. Here, you can Sign up for a 14 day free trial.
And then create a Dynamic PDF QR Code, which can be edited anytime.
Here is a detailed step-by-step guide on how to create a PDF QR Code.
C. Other use cases of QR Codes on church bulletin
Churches also use QR Codes on their bulletins. With QR Codes, you can make your bulletin actionable and interactive.
In this section, we will show you various use cases of QR Codes on bulletins. And how churches across the globe are already using it.
i. To increase website traffic
Generally, churches mention their web address on the bulletin. But not many people actually type the URL on their mobile browser. And then visit the website.
With a QR Code, you can instantly take people to your website. You just need to create a Website URL QR Code. And print it on the bulletin.
Just write a CTA element such as ‘Scan to visit website’. Upon scanning, visitors will be redirected to the website.
For example, Our Mother of Good Counsel Parish, in California uses a QR Code on its bulletin. Upon scanning the QR Code, the end users are redirected to the church website.
Here is another example. Ang Mo Kio Methodist Church, Singapore also issues a bulletin with a QR Code on it. Upon scanning via their smartphone, people can access the church website.
ii. For easy registration
The bulletin also mentions the registration link for special events organised by the church. But again it is time and effort consuming to type the whole link or registration. Hence, not many people fill the form.
You can simplify the process by creating a QR Code. That is, you can encode the registration link in the QR Code. And then print it on your bulletin. Don’t forget to write a help note such as ‘scan to register’.
Upon scanning, visitors will be directed to the link. Hence, the manual work of typing and browsing is eliminated.
For example, Toowoomba Central Seventh-day Adventist Church, used a QR Code for this purpose. The QR Code was linked to a conference registration form that was held in September 2018. Upon scanning, the visitors could know more about the conference and could register for it.
iii. Make it easy to watch or listen to your sermon
Instead of providing visitors the audio/video link of your sermon on your bulletin, you can link it in a QR Code. Upon scanning, they will be redirected to the link. To encode an audio link, you can create an Audio QR Code. If you want to link the video, you can go ahead and create a Video QR Code.
This way, visitors will effortlessly be able to listen/watch to your sermon.
For example, Seneca Community Church, USA uses QR Codes on its bulletin. Upon scanning this QR Code, end users are redirected to the community Channel. Here, they can listen and watch the church sermon.
iv. For easy donations
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, it is advisable to go as contactless as possible. But donating paper notes require physical contact and they cannot be sanitized. One way to resolve is this by donating through scanning a QR Code.
The use of QR Codes for payments is already very common. You can simply add a Paypal QR Code to your bulletin. People will then be able to donate with their PayPal account.
Or you can link the donation webpage to the QR Code. Upon scanning, end users will be redirected to the donation page.
For example, St. William Catholic Church in Naples uses QR Codes for donations. Upon scanning, end users are redirected to the donation webpage.
So, these were some of the ways you can use QR Codes for your church bulletin. Besides, you can use the technology on other print media creatives, which you use for promotional purposes. This includes flyers, pamphlets, or brochures.
Here is a detailed guide on church marketing strategy using QR Codes.
How to create
To create QR Codes, you need an online professional QR Code generator tool, which offers your content category.
With Scanova, you can choose from 26 QR Code categories. Depending upon the content you want to link, you can start creating QR Codes.
Hence, you just read a detailed guide on QR Codes for church bulletin. Create a QR Code now to optimize your bulletin.