Church Business Magazine Enjoys Popularity of Digital Delivery, Website Ranks No. 1 in the Industry

Church Business Magazine has made a lot of Web-friendly changes lately, debuting its most content-rich website yet earlier this year. The redesigned portal, www.churchbusiness.com, features thousands of articles from CB's 12-year history in publishing, made available in searchable archives of 200+ subtopics. Other new additions include blogs by the editor and human resources columnist; Webinars focusing on strategic planning and audio issues; eBooks about everything from staff management to buying a bus; exclusive interviews with high-profile religious leaders, including Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Luis Palau and Max Lucado; and a handful of other Web features no other magazine site in the industry can claim.

Phoenix, AZ (PRWEB) November 9, 2006 -- Church Business Magazine has made a lot of Web-friendly changes lately, debuting its most content-rich website yet earlier this year. The redesigned portal, www.churchbusiness.com, features thousands of articles from CB's 12-year history in publishing, made available in searchable archives of 200+ subtopics.

Other new additions include blogs by the editor and human resources columnist; Webinars focusing on strategic planning and audio issues; eBooks about everything from staff management to buying a bus; exclusive interviews with high-profile religious leaders, including Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, Luis Palau and Max Lucado; and a handful of other Web features no other magazine site in the industry can claim.

Digital Delivery Proves a Good Idea
At the same time, CB made each issue available for digital delivery. This opt-in option lets readers view the magazine online vs. in print -- a move that has paid off to the tune of 5,000+ more opt-in subscribers than it started with.

"We started with 3,000," says Group Publisher Mike Saxby. "Now we have 8,500 -- and it's always growing."

Part of the popularity of digital delivery is its ease of use. When viewing the magazine online vs. in print, readers can click links in the digital magazine and be taken directly to relevant websites listen in articles and in ads.

Additionally, digital delivery subscribers receive each issue a full week before the print issue hits doorsteps. This method of delivery also makes archiving easy, eliminating the need to clear off a bookshelf for all the past issues and flip through dozens of magazines for the topic sought. (Everything can be stored on a hard drive.) Finally, each issue can be forwarded to other ministry leaders without ever having to visit the copy machine -- or even leave the room.

Why All the Changes?
The idea for digital delivery -- and all the other Web tools introduced -- is the product of popular demand. For years, major mainstream business journals have promoted using the Web to supplement print offerings. (For a recent example, visit http://www.fastcompany.com/subscr/110/open_hyper-local-hero.html to read a great Fast Company article on the subject.)

CB executives paid close attention to this advice in an effort to maintain their marketplace leadership, implementing brand-new elements to its offerings.

And Just What All This Done for CB?
Combined, these Web-centric efforts have catapulted ChurchBusiness.com to the no. 1 most visited website in the industry, generating an average of 8.5 times the site traffic of its competitors. This status is awarded by www.Alexa.com, a third-party, independent ranking system. Basically, the lower a site's Alexa ranking, the more traffic it generates.

As of press time, Alexa rankings for the industry's magazines* were as follows:

1. Church Business
www.churchbusiness.com
Rank: 131,596

2. Church Executive
www.churchexecutive.com
Rank: 810,293
Finding: ChurchBusiness.com attracts 6.1 times as many visitors.

3. The Church Report
www.thechurchreport.com
Rank: 929,673
Finding: ChurchBusiness.com attracts 7 times as many visitors.

4. Religious Product News
www.religiousproductnews.com
Rank: 1,799,747
Finding: ChurchBusiness.com attracts 13.7 times as many visitors.

New Features
ChurchBusiness.com includes a variety of exciting new Web offerings:

Searchable Archives -- http://www.churchbusiness.com/archives.html
Inspired by the Harvard business Review site model, nearly 2,000 CB articles are now searchable by 40 topics -- capital campaigns, child care, audio, video, lighting, outreach, construction, design, finance, fundraising, leadership, marketing, staff management, and many more. Also, browsers can now forward the articles by e-mail, bookmark them, and add their own comments.

Blogs -- http://www.churchbusiness.com
The new site features three blogs: Rae of Hope by Editor RaeAnn Slaybaugh, currently the second most popular dynamic page on the site; CovenantLeadership by long-time, revered Staff Management columnist Ken Godevenos; and Tuesdays with Kerry by Publisher Kerry Beaulieu (coming soon).

Webinars -- http://www.churchbusiness.com/webinars/calendar_webinars.asp/view/archive
Church Business is the first magazine in the industry to enter the world of Webinars -- Web-based seminars -- beginning with January's "11 Steps for Successful Strategic Planning for Churches" event, which was sponsored by RSI. The "11 Steps" event attracted more than 200 attendees.

The next Webinar, "Improving the Worship Experience with Better Audio" was held on Wed., Sept. 20 and sponsored by Aviom, Inc. It received rave reviews for its professional-quality information and presentation.

More Webinars are in the works for future months.

eBooks -- http://www.churchbusiness.com/ebooks/
CB is proud to be the first (and only) magazine in the industry to offer church leaders free access to eBooks -- downloadable-PDF collections of articles on essential church management topics.

There are currently five eBook in the free Church Business eBook Series. They focus on staff management, audio-video issues, investing in a vehicle, financial advice and church design. All are written from a uniquely Christian perspective, and intended for a church-based audience. These eBooks have inspired thousands of downloads in just months since they've been available on the CB website. Numerous additional eBooks are slated for release in 2007.

Exclusive Interviews with America's Best-Known Religious Leaders -- http://www.churchbusiness.com/interviews/signup_CB_11_06.html
Downloadable PDF copies of our exclusive interviews with Joyce Meyer, Max Lucado, John C. Maxwell, Luis Palau, Joel Osteen, Bishop Eddie Long and more are now available online.

New, Improved Advertising Options -- and Lots More of Them
Advertising and sponsorship opportunities abound for these Web features:

Additionally, all these Web tools are outlined in more detail in the CB 2007 media kit, available online at http://www.churchbusiness.com/mediakit/.

CONTACT:
Katherine Kennedy
480.281.6786

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