Great points Paul – love the 1-2-punch.

I'm about to conduct a focus group for a client. One of the topline questions that will be instructive is to see who they think each page is for (your #1 above) what they think the net takeaway message is for every given page (#2 above).

If you think about it, how well you execute on #2 is really moot if you don't get #1 correct. I find that forcing our teams to reduce all noise in the messaging really helps to accomplish #1 well.

But you can't get buy-in for this, unless you show 'em the facts. IHaving impartial 3rd parties give their own (unguided) feedback to what their perception is for #1 and #2 on any given marketing collateral piece (online or offline) really convinces people of the urgency to drive at the areas where there is room for improvement.

This kind of stuff should beg of the church to allow mentors to rise up and lead people where they need help being led. I think the church tends to place the emphasis too much on the pastor at times, when there's no possible way he alone can help communicating with / guiding a person to their next step. A great place for small groups or mentors to come into play I think, helping clear the confusion and direction.

It's definitely a chapter you have to read through at least 2-3 times. It's a very important subject, and sometimes I think people just skim over it – thinking their message cannot be confusing. Confusing a simple message isn't hard to do, and people don't think the way they communicate something could ever be confusing, LOL.

Ion, I think communicating the next step is huge. I see frequent examples where people announce an opportunity and then forget to tell people specifically how they can participate.

As Kem wrote, every communication should answer the two most important questions:

1) is this for me, and
2) if so, what's my next step.

And the next step should be as simple as possible. Don't tell people to "see John Smith after the service," because new people don't know John Smith. Don't ask people to fill out a form on a web page 3 screens long just to get more information about small groups.

Thanks Gabe for you summary and comments. I too found the framing issue engaging and helpful.