You have my permission to do everything differently this summer.
This came up on a recent Communicators Club Zoom call. Someone mentioned that they scale back their newsletter frequency over the summer, and a few others were quick to say they do something similar. More were genuinely surprised I was on board with that. Someone even asked, “Is that really okay to do?”
It is.
Dialing things back is one way to go about it, but it’s not the only way. It’s really about disrupting your rhythm.
I run to the same 30-song playlist almost every single time. Those songs always work. Until they don’t. Every now and then I need something completely different to get me out the door, or the moment just calls for something new. Then, eventually, I find my way back to the tried and true. Routines only hold up over the long haul if you’re willing to shake them up occasionally.
So yes, disrupting your rhythm might mean sending your newsletter less often or pulling back on how much you post to Instagram. It might also mean launching something totally new, like a social series you’ve never tried before, or a full pivot in your email content.
Summer is actually a great time to experiment because the stakes feel lower. Attendance fluctuates, people are traveling, and your audience is a little more forgiving. Use that. Try the thing you’ve been curious about but haven’t had the nerve to test during a busier season.
A new client mentioned to me just this week that they include reflections on current events in their bulletin. That kind of content would translate really well to email, and right now there is certainly no shortage of things worth reflecting on. Maybe you forego your regular social media rhythm altogether this summer and replace it with a once-weekly short video of a recorded prayer or benediction.
Whatever you decide, I’d encourage you not to go completely dark. Algorithms don’t like absence and honestly, neither do people. But fresh content and new formats signal to algorithms that you’re worth paying attention to, so a thoughtful adjustment to your communications pace can give you a boost rather than set you back. Your community isn’t tired of you. They’re just tired of the same thing on repeat. There’s a difference, and it’s worth remembering.
For Digital Congregations, I had stepped back from all-subscriber emails in favor of more targeted communications to specific, much smaller segments. It worked in all the ways I wanted it to, but I’ve had enough moments lately thinking “most of them would find this useful” that I decided to lean back into the broader list for the summer.
Think of it as a loose summer series for faith-based communicators. Once a week or so, nothing too structured, drawn from client conversations or problems I’ve helped solve or things I’m watching happen in the communications world that seem worth talking about. Consider this the first one.
If you feel like you need to do something differently this summer, do it. You have my permission. A well-timed disruption has a way of reminding both you and your audience why you show up in the first place. In the long run, that serves everyone well.
