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When first starting a daycare business, it may be difficult to fill all of the empty slots and increase your enrollment. There are many marketing options to help promote your daycare center such as flyers, websites, and classified ads. We asked the OwnADaycare Facebook fans to share their best tips to getting more kids signed up as well as long as how long it took to fill slots in the their daycare business.

• Depending on the age that you want, go to local daycares and tell them that if they get calls for infants to give them your information. (This is of course if you want infants and they only have the older children). Get to be friends with other daycare providers and ask if they will give out your name. Where I am providers are good about doing this.
• It just seems to take time. I was full last December and then from Jan to May, ALL my full times kids withdrew and went to centers (eye roll). The rest of May and all of June I had NO KIDS, NO CALL, NOTHING. July I had my nieces and nephews. I put ads out on Facebook, craigslist etc. and then I was gone on vacation for almost 3 weeks. Came home and had 4 interviews in 2 days and had 3 of 4 sign up! So now I have 1 full timer,1 part timer, a full timer starting mid-September and a part timer starting this week or next. I have other provider’s friends that get calls constantly and then others who have had NO calls for months on end.
• It’s all about networking. What I have found is that it takes about 6 months for things to pick up and it’s all about fitting the parents budget if your price is too high then they would rather pay for a facility childcare than as to pose a home. It took about 8 moths for me to get my childcare together and have my full timers. Don’t give up! Give it time and it will come together there is always someone who needs childcare. Put an ad on Craigslist as well.
• Do you have a childcare resource in your community where parents go who are seeking daycare? we have one that is supported through state and federal funding, and it is also tied to licensing. What about the organization that handles state or county subsidy payments? Could you reach out to them and see what they suggest? Like how do their clients find care providers? Network with other providers. Do you know any in your community? If not, find them. Chances are, if they are established, they get calls all the time and can’t fulfill those parents’ needs. They could refer to you.
• If you contact your local child care resource and referral they can help you find kids that suit your needs and the parent’s needs. I never advertise and get calls all the time from them.
• When you put your ads out, I have found that parents like to hear that you don’t sit the kids in front of tv all day. They like to hear all of the activities you will be doing with the kids like play dough, painting, coloring, playing outside things like that. I got a lot of inquiries after changing my ads!
• Walking around the neighborhood leaving flyers in each house, each school nearby, posting a lot of signs all around the neighborhood, and quite simply word of mouth worked for me a little expensive to advertise but well worth it.
• FACEBOOK!!! Set up an ad and take pictures of your daycare and post them on a facebook business page. I have gotten tons of phone calls this way!!! It is the BEST way of promoting your business and it is free and friends of friends will let others know.
• In 16 years, my best advertising was word of mouth. I’ve never really had to advertise. Mindy has a great idea with cards or labels attached to Halloween candy!  Also setting up booths and area events to let people
• Word of mouth keeps kids in your care but when your first starting out you need to advertise your environment and education. Make a website with pics of your environment so they can look before calling it helps parents know they aren’t wasting their time and after seeing what you offer 9x out of 10 they will sign ip over phone and just come by to sign contract and actually tour the place
• If you live nearby any parents who go to a big companies or in military, if you can get at least 1~2 parents from such places be interested in your daycare and do an excellent job, the word travels. Lowering rate in certain part of town helps, but in another part of town where people look more at education level than the money, it helps to be actually slightly more expensive.  I’m not sure why.
• I like the magnet idea, and I don’t want to sound cheap, but money is tight in my home and so I print up my own business cards and have gotten load of compliments on them. I also belong to a group called www.freecycle.org and was able to get some thin magnets, not as big as the business card but almost, so I like the Halloween idea with magnet business cards and I can put these magnets on my cards and wall. I have what I need with little or no money invested! I just got my 5th child today, so things are looking up, I am almost at my goal and I am one year in. I belong to a CC association and have gotten referrals from them, and my ad on Craigslist has gotten me the rest. I have put business cards in the baby/kid section at the stores and nothing yet from that. Good luck everyone there is a lot of daycares in my town and a new one opening one street over from me and I have contacted her and we are doing a get together at my home on Wed mornings with the Library coming in to do a story time, I am excited. I figured the two of us could help each other out, not be competitors.
• Getting to know other providers in your area can be helpful too. I try to stay in contact with those in my area and ask them to pass on my name if they get a call for care they can’t take.
• I have purchased all of my advertising materials from vistaprint.com, all of the stuff was free such as: business cards, magnets, tee shirts, ball caps, an outdoor banner, a lawn sign, pens, coffee mugs, brochures, post cards, car magnets, key chains, bumper stickers, rubber stamps, notebooks, sticky notes, note pads, address labels… I think there is probably more. But I only pay shipping. I order as much as I can for free, pay the shipping, and then hand the stuff out at parades and community events. That’s how I get most of my kids. Plus I advertise with the local hospitals by placing an ad in their employee newsletter.

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If you own a daycare, consider writing a monthly newsletter. Why is this important? A great newsletter is a simple tool that helps keep the lines of communication open between parents and staff. What’s more, daycare newsletter helps you grow your business, increase enrollment, and stand out above and beyond your competition. Not only does it help grow your business but it helps retain clients. Newsletters also build credibility, enhance your reputation, and are a critical element in building your brand.

Daycare Newsletter Structure

A daycare newsletter should be brief; no more than 4 pages.  The front page and back pages should attract parents’ attention, so the most significant or time sensitive information should be located here. What new things will the children learn this month? Are there any important announcements? Are there changes in policy coming up?  Do you have any new clients? Welcome them to your daycare family. Get this type of information right on the first and back pages as these are the pages parents will most likely see even if they don’t open the newsletter.

Newsletter Content

The daycare newsletter should contain informative information for parents.  A few articles or personal anecdotes work. Some suggestions:

• Tips for busy parents
• Easy, healthy recipes parents can make at home
• Extending lesson themes at home

Calendar of Events: Be sure to include a calendar of events for the month.  Share your breakfast, lunch and snack menu. Provide quick parenting tips for busy families.

Personal information: To make your newsletter shine feature the children and the staff in the newsletter. Mention any milestones or accomplishments of children and staff.  Take pictures of children’s artwork or other projects and highlight this in the newsletter as well.

A Few Tips for Outstanding Daycare Newsletters

Get parents involved: One way to make your newsletter stand out and also make sure that clients actually read the newsletter is to get them involved in creating the newsletter. Invite parents to write a feature article on a topic of their expertise or share a personal story.

Add pictures: Photographs are a great way to add a personal touch to the newsletter. If you do choose to use photos of the children in your care, be sure to have a photo authorization form on file for each child.

Finally, the newsletter does not need to be extra fancy, it can be a straightforward newsletter created in Microsoft Word, or search the internet for examples and free newsletter templates.

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Daycare Business Cards

One of the first steps in finding clientele for child day care center is through marketing in your own neighborhood. Business cards are an inexpensive way to attract clients for your daycare business. A business card has limited space. Do not clutter the space but be sure to include information that attracts attention and conveys your important information. Most clients will not want to take the time read a business card that is cluttered with too much information.

In other words, keep it simple. Here are some elements that you will want to include on your daycare business card:

• Name of Daycare: Make sure the business card is colorful and has the name of your daycare in large letters or a simple logo. For example: “Mary’s Family Daycare”
• Contact Information: Unlike on your daycare flyer, you may list your name and full address on the flyer. Also include your phone number and email address.    For example:

Janet Michaels, Director
123 Main Street
Anytown, State 12394
(123) 555-2222
marysdaycare@daycare.com

The address is optional and depends on your individual comfort level.

• Daycare philosophy: Your daycare’s one-sentence philosophy should be stated on the business card. For example:  “A place for children to learn, play, and grow”.
• Special features: Be sure to mention the best and/or unique features of your daycare. If you are daycare provider who offers drop in care or extended hours, or you own an environmentally friendly daycare center, be sure to highlight these aspects of your business. For example: “Environmentally friendly family daycare”.

You may also want to include the following:

• Credentials: If you or your director has a bachelor’s degree in education or has acquired a certain number of early childhood education units, make note of it. If someone on the staff has special certificates or has attended special workshops, list that. You are more likely to attract clients if include special credentials.
• Government Programs: If your daycare works in conjunction with government subsidized programs, be sure to add this information in short simple wording.

Where to distribute Business cards

Business cards can be distributed to most places that flyers are distributed. Laundry mats, schools, hospitals, and churches are great places to start. Your local hospital is also a great resource. Usually they give information, coupons, and freebies to new moms. Ask hospital staff if they could include your business card in that package. Give the business cards to your clients and ask them to hand them to other interested parents.

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Marketing your daycare business on Craigslist is easy, free, and a great way to increase your enrollment and keep all of your slots filled.

1. First go to the Craigslist website: http://www.craigslist.org/about/sites and select the city or region where your daycare center is located.

2. Once you have selected the city/region closest to you, look in the upper left hand corner for “Post to Classifieds”. Click on “Post to Classifieds”.

3. Click on “Services Offered”, then click on “Household Services”.

4. Do you have a Craigslist account? If you do not have a Craigslist account, in the upper right hand corner, click on “Apply for an Account” and sign up for a Craigslist account. If already have a Craigslist account, click on “Log in to Your Account” and log in.

5. Your account may need to be authenticated by phone to post to household services. Complete this process.

6. Once your account has been authenticated, it is time to set up your advertisement. Create a “Posting Title”. Your posting title should be succinct, to the point, and grab the attention of potential clients.  For example: “Professional In-Home Family Daycare Available, 2 F/T Spots Open”.

7. Type in your specific location. For example, if you live in Los Angeles, specify what part of Los Angeles you live in (i.e. Los Feliz or Silverlake).

8. Type in Your Post Description: This is where you will type in the actual copy (wording) of the advertisement. This information will be similar to what is written on your daycare flyers.  The flyer should detail days and hours of service, the age ranges of children you care for, details about your meal service.

Be sure to mention the best and/or unique features of your daycare. For example, if you have a bachelor’s degree in child development, early childhood education or you have completed a number of early childhood education units, make note of it. If you have special certifications or have attended special workshops, list that. If you offer drop in care or extended hours, or you own an environmentally friendly daycare center, be sure to highlight these aspects of your business. Do NOT list your full address, but describe the neighborhood (i.e., quiet residential area close to parks), but do list your phone number.

9. To finalize your post, you will need to type in a verification code and click continue.

You may also use Craigslist to advertise your daycare business’ open house or grand opening, or daycare jobs.

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Daycare Incentives, Photo by kugelfish

Marketing your daycare business is a full-time year-round task. Besides advertising your daycare business with flyers, business cards, open houses, and online ads, there is another smart option: Start a new client incentives program.

Offering incentives for enrolling as well as incentives when a client refers a family to your child care business is a great marketing tool that may help increase enrollment. Here are a few examples of incentives that may attract clients to your daycare business over and entice a client to enroll their child in your program instead of another daycare:

• Offer a 10% discount when enrolling a second child
• Offer 5% discount for 3 months on referrals
• Provide one free week of child care for clients who refer a family and a child enrolls
• Offer financial rewards if a client refers a family and a child enrolls
• Offer three days free to a new client while they evaluate your child care service
• Present Free parent’s night out once a month for enrolled children
• Offer $100.00 off for the first week
• Provide five free hours of child care on a day that the child is not usually enrolled
• Offer a lower promotional rate as an incentive for the first 2 months and then return to standard rates
• Offer free child care one weekend or a few evenings during the holiday season
• Provide gift bags for parents when they enroll their children which may include candles, stationary, etc.
• Provide welcome bags for new children which may include developmentally appropriate coloring books, crayons, and educational materials

The incentives you offer depend on your enrollment needs and your budget. For example, if the budget is tight, monetary rewards or discounts on tuition may not be the best option. Instead choose non-financial rewards such as those that involve your time, i.e., free parent’s night out or holiday or weekend care. Be sure to create flyers announcing and detailing your incentives program and hand them out to clients. Also, post the flyers areas you would normal post your daycare business flyers (community bulletin boards, hospitals, schools, etc.).

Although this is not usually the case, some clients or new enrollees may take advantage of the referral incentives. Make it clear that families referring full-time child care children will receive an incentive credit after the new family has completed three months. Be sure to create a referral incentive program form that details the rules of the program and must be submitted and signed.

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If you have recently started a daycare business, you many need to increase the number of clients that use your child day care center.  There are a variety of ways to attract new clients to your child care business.

1. Friends and Family: Friends, family and colleagues should be your first resource for child care clients. Contact friends and family to let them know of your new daycare business.  With the current state of the economy, many parents are returning to work or taking on second jobs and need someone to care for their young children.  Your child care business is a great resource for excellent, reliable, safe daycare from someone they know and trust.  Then ask them to spread the word about your high quality services.
2. The internet: The internet is a great resource for connecting with a wide variety of people and organizations. Create a simple website which details your location. Many daycare software systems allow you to purchase a website template which lets you easily plug in your own business information. Once you have created your website, advertise your daycare service on Craigslist, Facebook, and Twitter. Register your child care business with many of the online daycare directories for home daycare providers, so that your daycare is searchable on the internet.
3. Advertise: The best way to find new clients is to increase your business’ visibility. Your licensed daycare provider you should create flyers, brochures, and business cards to advertise your daycare service.  Your advertisements should include your, your daycare’s philosophy, the programs you offer, any special services available, general location of the business, hours of business, and business phone number. Business card magnets are also a good tool since potential clients can stick your business card on their refrigerator and always have your business information close at hand.
4. Community Organizations:  Visit schools, churches, hospitals and other community organizations to let parents know about your high quality child care services. These organizations are also great places to leave your daycare flyers, brochures and business cards.
5. Television, Radio, and Workshops:  Contact local radio and television stations. Let them know you are an expert early childhood development and a licensed daycare business owner. Explain that you would be willing to be interviewed to talk about parenting, daycare, or the business of child care. While on the air be sure to plug your daycare business Make mention of your business’ web address and emphasize any unique or superior services you r business offers. Offer free parenting or educational workshops to those in your community.  Pass out flyers and brochures after the workshop to promote your childcare center.

Once you get the word out that you are a licensed daycare provider and that you provide safe, high quality childcare, getting new clients will be a snap. Of course you can only take in a limited amount of clients so be sure to start a waiting list and keep potential clients updated with regard to your availability.

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One of the first steps in finding clientele for child day care center is through advertising in your own neighborhood. Flyers are an inexpensive way to create visibility for your childcare business.

Here are a few tips for creating a daycare flyer that gets noticed and also gets responses.

• Keep it simple! Make sure the flyer is colorful has the name of your daycare in large letters, and simple logo. Most people wont to take the time read a flyer that is cluttered with too much information. The flyer should detail days and hours of service, the age ranges of children you care for, details about your meal service.
• Do NOT list your full address on the flyer, but do list your phone number. This is for your safety as a daycare provider and security of the children in your care. Simply describe the area (for example: A quiet, safe residential area in Belmont Shore)
• If your daycare cooperates with government subsidized programs, make sure to include this information.
• Be sure to mention the best and/or unique features of your daycare. For example if you or your director has a bachelor’s degree in education or has acquired a certain number of early childhood education units, make note of it. If someone on the staff has special certificates or has attended special workshops, list that. If you offer drop in care or extended hours, or you own an environmentally friendly daycare center, be sure to highlight these aspects of your business

Once you have created your simple flyer they can be distributed door to door and placed strategically on bulletin boards in related businesses.  Great places to post your daycare flyer include grocery stores, laundry mats, schools, and churches. You should also place your flyer on the windshield wipers of cars parked at places were parents shop like toy stores, and children’s clothing stores. Your local hospital is also a great resource. Usually they give information, coupons, and freebies to new moms. Ask hospital staff if they could include your flyer in that package.

Your local realtors and leasing agents are also a great source for advertising your daycare business. The usually give a welcome package to new residents which includes a directory along with flyers and business cards from local businesses. Ask for a meeting with the realtors and leasing agents in your local community and ask them to include your flyer in their welcome package. Let them know that your reliable and affordable daycare services are an additional selling feature of the neighborhood.

Again, it is very important that your flyer looks professional and polished and details all of your contact information and high quality services.  If you are posting flyers in public areas, use letter sized sheets and include handy tear away sections on the bottom which include the name of your childcare center and phone number. Flyers are a great marketing tool for your daycare business. If you’re search for staff, also note this on the flyer; it’s also a great way to alert those seeking child care jobs.

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One way to make a business gain more profit and get the recognition it deserves it to advertise it. The same thing applies to your day care facility. You want your centre to be known and get more clients so you advertise, but it doesn’t follow that you have to spend a fortune to market your facility. Yes you can effectively market you centre in your locality but the question here now is how will you do it? It’s pretty easy really – all your need is a little hard and consistent work. Your primary call should be made with the printers to make an order for you stationary which should include the following details –

 Letterheads

 Anything extraordinarily special about your day care that makes it stands out from the competition.

You may also consider hiring people or a reputable company to put flyers on cars for you, but be sure you’re not breaking any law so double check the appropriate city and local ordinances before you start putting advertising paraphernalia all over the town.

Also check with your post office about the procedures of doing mass mailing and ensure you target home development with young family population instead of a retired community – you would want grandma’s forwarding flyers to her children for their children.

After that you can start stepping out and doing a little leg work and a bit of local networking. On this particular part of your plan, think of places where there’s a congregation of locals and people where they stay for long periods without anything to do. Some of these places could be –

 Doctors and dentists waiting room – these places are full of potential clients

 And be creative and think of places where there is a captive audience and people waiting around desperate to read any advertising literature.

Rummage around for –

 Local financial institutions where there are bulletin boards and have lines of people waiting.

 Hunt on your local stores and inquire if they can allow you to post your flyers in their windows or doors.

You can also try arranging meetings with local school and see if they can allow you to post flyers on their notice boards. Convince the principal or career officers and try to arrange doing a talk on child care or the day care business for the PTA or a career class.

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Congratulations, you’ve just opened your new daycare center and you are on your way to being your own boss. You will have the opportunity to earn your own money and call all the shots for your business. Loving the job you are in and being in total control of your business can be very rewarding not only financially but also emotionally. The success and profitability of your daycare business is in your hands.

Now that you have your daycare center ready and open for business, you need to start getting those customers. You need to find ways to attract customers to do business with you and get the ball rolling. A good way to do this is through marketing and advertising. You need to go out there in the world and let everyone know you are open for business. Okay, so advertising may not be your forte but your business needs it and you have to do it in order for you to get those people walking through your doors. Advertising is not really that difficult. There are many ways for you to advertise your daycare center.

One good way to advertise your business is through friends and family. Let all of them know that your business is open and they can start bringing in their kids or telling other people about it. This is a no-expense advertising for you. I’m sure your friends and relatives would be happy to help you spread the word about your business. Some of them who have kids may even be your first customers. You can give your friends and family members some flyers and business cards that they can help give away to friends or co-workers who are or might need your services.

Business cards and flyers are a cheap way to advertise your business. A lot of people who have business cards often just have them stored in their drawers. Make use of your business cards and don’t be afraid to give them away. That’s what they’re for, to be given away. Once your business card starts circulating, one way or another it is bound to land on someone who actually needs your service. This same goes with flyers. Think of places where your flyers would get the most attention. This would be places where parents usually go.

Grocery stores and supermarkets are ideal to give away these flyers since most moms do their shopping for their family. Groceries would often have notice boards where you can attach your flyers to. Community boards and other public announcement boards in your area perfect spots to put your flyers and yes, people do read these boards.

Another place where you can do some advertising is through print ads. You can advertise through your local paper or community magazines. Make sure your advertisement can be seen by your target market. Make it as attractive as possible but be sure not to over do it. Your ad should have the necessary information about your business and how to contact you. Do not cram all the information in your advertisement since what you want to do is entice your potential customers to inquire about your services. You want them to call you and talk to you, not just read your ads. You can put a small picture or logo that would catch the eyes of the reader.

You can also advertise through mailers if you have enough time to spare. This is a good way to be able to target the specific people you want. Of course you will only be sending mailers to families not to other business establishments as most likely your mailers would just go to the company trash bin. When you send out mailers, be reminded to only send to your own community. Parents who live far away from you will not be travelling a long distance just to drop off their kids before going to work. What they are after is convenience not another problem.

Advertising through the internet is another option for you. You can put up your own website where people who frequent the World Wide Web can learn about you. Make sure your website is easy to navigate and user friendly. Do not, I repeat do not put a lot of pop ups for your website as this will just annoy your site visitors. You don’t want them spending time closing the pop-ups instead of reading information about your business and how to contact you. Make your site simple yet very attractive. A lot of people are using the internet to find daycare centers and if you have a website, then you have a chance to be known and chosen by a lot of parents who need your service.

When you advertise your daycare, be sure you put all the highlights and what makes your daycare center different from all the rest. You would need to have a good marketing strategy. You would need to be creative and provide services that other daycares don’t have. You can advertise all you want but if you do not have a good marketing strategy it could all be just a waste. Remember there is a big need for daycare centers, a lot of people are trying to meet this demand and to stay competitive you have to market your services in such a way that the parents would choose your over them. You have to have innovative ideas that you can put in your advertising to make your business more attractive to your target customers.

One way to market and advertise your business is by doing tie-ups with other companies who share your target market. Children stores and boutiques are good business where you can tie up with. You can help advertise their products at the same time they can help advertise your services to parents who shop at their stores. They can put your business card or flyers at their counters or pay areas where parents would be able to spot them immediately.

Advertising and marketing can take your business far. You just have to be creative and try different ways of allowing people to know you exist and check out your services. Let advertising and proper marketing bring in your customers and the profits that you and your business needs.

See: How to start a daycare center

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Starting a daycare business is a very intelligent move. People need extra income to meet the spiraling cost of commodities and utilities. Parents on the other hand need to work full-time, sometimes with extra job on the side, for the same economic reason. By taking advantage of the needs of parents to find a responsible and quality care for their children while they are away in the jobs, your daycare center is guaranteed of income.

For your daycare business to really grow and turn in a modest income, you need to have a substantial number of clients. In order to attract clients, it is necessary that you have to advertise your business. You need not go too far advertising your daycare center as parents will outright reject the idea of putting their children to a far away daycare center. It will cost them precious time and gas to bring their children to a distant daycare center so their first option is one that is just around the area. You should then focus your advertising efforts to an area that is reasonably close to your daycare center. Anything farther will be a waste of your time, money, and efforts.

A very effective form of advertising is creating flyers to advertise your daycare business. Your flyer should give out the name of your daycare center, your name, your address and phone number, and most importantly, your license or accreditation number. You may also include your qualifications and trainings in the area of child care. Having all these in a flyer will make a very impressive advertisement for your daycare center.

You need not spend a ton of money for your flyers. You can create the flyers yourself using your home computer and printer. Show your artistic talent in designing an eye-catching flyer because a dull and flat flyer will simply end up in the trash cans. Then put all the important details and information in the flyer if you are out to get additional clients for your business.

Distribute and put your flyers in areas where your potential clients can see them. The local groceries and stores are good places to put your flyers as parents often visit these establishments. Have your flyers in the notice boards by the entrance of these establishments.

You can put flyers in gyms and in areas close to schools. Parents go to the gyms, they drop off their children to schools so there is a great chance that they will see your flyers.

You can request permission from local churches, museums, and other public places to allow you to put up some flyers in their bulletin boards. They will definitely be seen by people who frequent those places.

The best way to distribute your flyers will be to go around the neighborhood and drop flyers in the mailboxes of houses in your area. It will also a good idea of you can personally deliver your flyer to parents in the neighborhood who have children that need daycare. You may have that important chance of speaking to them personally and discuss what you can offer in your daycare center business.

See: Start a daycare center

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