An Email Marketing Checklist for Parish Teams
If your email isn’t intentional, it’s probably ignored. Some parishioners prefer a simple way to stay in the loop, especially if your social media presence isn’t strong.
Effective email strategy means sending the right info to the right people in a way that’s easy to read and act on.
So, let’s talk about eight practical ways your parish can use email campaigns to serve your community.
#1 — Send Your Email Weekly
A weekly cadence can help keep parishioners informed of all the events you offer without overwhelming them with too much information. Keep it concise and use routine sections so it’s easy for them to find what they want.
#2 — Promote Events & Parish Activities
Share the events, groups, and activities your parish offers. Try breaking it up by demographic. Include sections for families, teens, single adults, seniors, etc.
Make it easy for people to find what applies to them.
#3 — Offer Resources
Parishes always offer a plethora of resources for all different kinds of needs, whether it’s spiritual, financial, emotional, or educational. Highlight a new resource each week to let your audience know how the church helps its parishioners. Many people don’t know what’s available unless you tell them.
#4 — Segment Your List
Tailor emails to different audiences (e.g. parents of teens, ministry volunteers, RCIA participants). For example, send youth group event details to parents of teens or send updates on Bible study groups to active members who have shown interest in adult education.
Segmenting your list means your emails will feel more targeted, increasing open rates and engagement.
#5 — Use High-Quality Visuals (but restrain yourself)
A few well-placed images or banners are great, but don’t overdo it. Too many graphics can overwhelm the layout or trigger spam filters.
Use bullet points, bold headings, and clear sections to keep things skimmable. Don’t make it look like it’s from ten years ago. Competition for inbox attention, like social media, is fierce. Beauty helps you win that attention!
#6 — Focus on 1–2 Key Messages
Don’t feel like you have to put everything in one email, especially if you’re sending weekly. Stick to a few core highlights and keep the rest concise. A consistent structure (like routine sections) makes it easier for readers to find what they care about.
#7 — Add Clear CTAs
Make it easy for people to take the next step, whether that’s signing up, RSVPing, reading, sharing, donating, or forwarding the email. Buttons and links should be obvious and action-oriented.
#8 — Write Stronger Subject Lines
Many people don’t even click because the subject line doesn’t entice them. Keep it specific, address a pain point, highlight a big event, and keep it concise! Feel free to use emojis, too.
Every email marketing checklist begins and ends with value. If it’s not valuable to a specific audience; meaning, if it doesn’t help them reach a personal goal, then they won’t bother. If you want them to care, you need to as well.
Check out our Napa Institute Case Study on how we recreated their emails and improved metrics.
What‘s on your checklist for a valuable parish email? Join the conversation! Shoot us an email at info@yellowlinedigital.com and follow us on LinkedIn.
