How to Advertise a Family Daycare

Getting the word out is essential to building a successful daycare business. You want to let parents know that they can feel confident that their children will be safe with you, and that you will provide activities to help the children learn and grow. In order to provide this level of comfort to parents, you need to be a licensed child care provider, and you should emphasize this in your advertising. In fact, some publications won't run an ad for an unlicensed daycare. Once you are licensed, you can focus on getting your name out to potential clients; creative advertising is the key to a successful and popular family daycare.

Things You'll Need

• Fliers
• Business Cards

Instructions

1. Place an ad in your local newspaper; include your licensing number, your general location, your business hours, phone number, and whether you participate in a food program and/or state payment assistance programs. Also mention your qualifications, as well as any special services you offer, such as field trips, preschool curriculum and/or specialized training.

2. Pound the pavement. Visit local "parent-friendly" establishments, and ask if you can hang fliers and distribute business cards. Kid-friendly restaurants, parks, zoos, libraries, water parks and even schools are good places to advertise. Include the same information on your fliers and business cards that you did in your print ad.

3. Join local parent groups through Meetup.com; Mom-to-Mom Ministry groups in your area, found at www.momtomom.org; or local church groups. This gives you a chance to introduce yourself and to network with parents.

4. Place ads on websites offering child care services such as Sittercity.com, Care.com or Craigslist.org, all these sites offer free advertising.

5. Use social networking sites such as Facebook.com or Myspace.com to reach parents. Create a business page to advertise your services, and network through your existing friends and clients to reach other parents.

6. Contact other licensed childcare providers to establish a referral system. You will find that some providers have a full daycare and have to turn away parents, these providers might be willing to refer their parent callers to your daycare.

7. Check with local licensing bureau; many offer a database that parents can access when searching for a new provider.

8. Ask current clients to refer you to their friends and family. Consider offering a referral incentive for your parents, such as a one-week discount or a free day.

Tips & Warnings

• Continually update your information with your local licensing bureau so that parents calling to request information on child care providers will have accurate information about your openings.

• Be polite and respectful to all parents who respond to your advertisement, even if you choose not to enroll their children. A negative review from a parent to her friends can contradict your advertising effects. According to Paul Rand, a managing director of Ketchum Midwest, "One determined detractor can do as much damage as 100,000 positive mentions can do good."

References

• Marketing's Flip Side: The 'Determined Detractor'
• Jennifer Weller; Owner of Little Ducklings Daycare; Dowagiac, MI

Resources

• Craigslist
• Sittercity
• Meetup