Door Hangers to Promote your Home Daycare

In part one I discussed how I used print ads and mailers to promote my home daycare. These activities where marginal, though the mailers showed much more promise than print ads.

In this section I talk about marketing your home daycare specifically with door hangers. Door hangers are those annoying little flyers that are shaped specifically so that they fit around door handles. You’ve probably had pizza companies or painters etc. put these on your front door and there’s a reason – it works.

They are similar to mailers in that you control the area where the mailers go (i.e. the neighborhood), but due to their odd shape and that they are hung on doors and not just another marketing piece in the mail box, people actually look at them.

The wording/layout on the door hanger is important. First and foremost, you want to show where you are located. You need to have the parent recognize immediately that you are close by. Convenience is a major component in the parent’s decision process to sign up with you home daycare. I think as well, somehow that it feels safer knowing that the child is nearby. I don’t know, can’t really explain it but it seems to be true.

And it terms of the wording it helps a lot to put some urgency into the writing. The best way to do this is to advertise a single vacancy on the door hanger. Don’t just advertise your daycare service, it’s too general. I tried that especially in the beginning when we had a lot of openings and not a lot of references and when all of my slots where open. What we found that really worked was wording like “One Opening for 12-24 Month Old.” It’s odd but I used to get calls from moms all the time that would ask if we still had a vacancy for an opening that I had advertised months before. It meant that they had saved the door hangers… And the fact that they asked that specific question meant that they had some concern or a sense of urgency that they may not be able to get the spot.

In addition, wording like that implies a few things – you have a full roster and that you must be good, maybe a bit of a stretch here but, trustworthy. It also creates the needed oomph for the parents to pick up the phone and call. Urgency and legitimacy… That’s what I found worked best.

Bottom-line the door hangers worked. I highly suggest that you look into this one marketing technique to promote your home daycare. We signed up several kids from this and the costs were minimal at approximately $100 for 2500 to have them printed out. One of the negatives of the door hangers is that you have to have them printed out due to their odd shape and thickness of the paper. We tried a couple of different companies like Kinko’s but they really didn’t have the right equipment. You’ll probably have to go to a traditional printer to get it done.

Last thought, although cheap and effective, door hangers are a pain to distribute. I sent my husband on this chore. He would walk through our neighborhood and hanged these on two hundred or so doors at a time on Saturday’s, taking four to five hours… I even got him to do this one Saturday during the winter – it was twelve degrees out!!! Perhaps you have a trustworthy neighborhood teenager to do this or like me you can engage your slave labor (husband) to get these out.

Stay tuned for part 3 of 4 on Starting a Home Daycare – Marketing

Tania Rauth wrote a book on how to start and run a home daycare. More info at starting a daycare or how to run a daycare

Ok, now what? How do you go about advertising your new website without breaking the piggy bank wide open? It’s not at all hard to do if you know where to start.

Listed below are 8 free ways to begin driving traffic to your cozy little home on the web:

1.) Classified Ads

Free Online Classified Ads are not just for used cars and yard sales, they also offer an easy no-cost solution for promoting your home daycare business online.

2.) Daycare Directory Submission

This is another free and easy way to get qualified traffic to visit your website. When you think about it, who would be more qualified than a prospect that’s willing to search through an online daycare directory? Make sure that you’re there to be found!

3.) Email Signature File

Creating a signature in your email program is a simple and easy way to promote your website. Remember, emails get forwarded all the time, so take advantage of this free exposure. Take your email program for a spin to see what it can do.

4.) Forum Signature File

Much like an email siggy, most forums allow you to add a signature line to your profile that will be added to the bottom of each of your posts. Utilize this feature to include a link to your website. The key here is to never blatantly advertise, but let your signature do the work for you.

5.) Press Releases

Send a press release to your local newspaper announcing the launch of your new website. This is an excellent way to gain publicity and exposure for your home daycare business and stand out in your community giving you a distinct advantage over your competition.

6.) Search Engines

Be sure to submit your website to all the major search engines. They are still one of the most effective ways to bring targeted traffic to your website. This process can be a little slow in the beginning, but don’t get discouraged. The end results will be well worth the wait.

7.) Social Networking Sites

Think Facebook, MySpace, and the many other social networking sites out there are for the teen scene only? Au contraire, mon amie! Think again. If you’re a member, be sure to link back to your website.

8.) Voice Mail

Most of us have answering machines or voice mail services nowadays. What better way to put your marketing on auto pilot than to direct prospects to your website to learn more about your program while you’re juggling morning snacks between twin 9 month olds, 4 toddlers, & Fido.

Bonus Tip:

Invest in you own domain name. Not only does it make you look more like the professional that YOU know you are, but it’s also easier to verbalize, print, and remember for both you and your prospects. It’s a win-win.

Visit http://www.FamilyDaycareMarketing.com for more articles, tips, and marketing resources for your Home Daycare Business.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Allison_Toney

What I’m referring to here is those signs you see all the time on the sides of cars or trucks. A lot of small business such as construction companies, landscapers etc use them. I used a magnetic sign. You could also have sign stenciled onto your car for a little bit more money, but regardless, this was one of my best marketing tools to promote my home daycare. For $40 we got years of advertisements out of this simple sign and signed up several kids. Parents would mention the car sign all the time and that recognition made them feel good about my home daycare.

Think about it. Every time you go to the store, every time you go to diner, every time you leave the house you are advertizing your business in the exact community you want to be recognized. Parents see your name constantly and over time it builds a lot of awareness and trust.

It terms of the sign it was very simple, yet professional in appearance. The sign said our name, city and phone number. My name was “Daycare By Tania” so people automatically knew what I did. And by the way, I highly suggest you create a simple, short name with daycare or child care in it. I’ve heard a lot of people use long confusing names like “Julie’s Cuddle Bear Factory” or something similar and it creates confusion and takes up a lot of text on advertisements.

In addition, you can get really creative and maybe a little aggressive with it. For example, about two years into our daycare we suddenly lost half our enrollment, which was a little nerve wracking to say the least. (For complete random reasons too). We needed to bring our enrollment back up fast. We keep thinking about what the best way was to get the phone to ring. How were we going to reach as many parents in our community immediately – the car sign was the trick.

Our local elementary school has a single entrance and a single exit. During drop-offs and pickups all of the parents have to exit the school by using one single location. They have no other way to leave the school other than the one exit. So we put our brains to work and decided to just park our car (with the car sign on it) across the street from the exit so the sign was as clear as day. The parents pulling out of the parking lot couldn’t help but see the sign. The first time we did this the phone rang within minutes! To this day I laugh at how simple yet effective this was.

Parking the car in front of the exit worked on several levels. First of all moms would call right then and there as they were pulling out. Secondly, it built that name awareness in the exact community we got 99% of our kids. This is a no brainer for you to do. Go to your local sign store to get this done.

Had I wanted to take this to the next level I could have put on the side of the car something like “current vacancy for 12-24 month old” and that would have really caught their attention. It would have let them know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I parked the car there on purpose. And it would have built that urgency and legitimacy I’ve mentioned.

Stay tuned for part 4 of 4 on Starting a Home Daycare – Marketing

Tania Rauth wrote a book on how to start and run a home daycare. More info at starting a daycare or how to run a daycare

Know Your Customers

Knowing your customer is the key to successfully marketing your center. The more you know about the parents’ expectations, the easier it will be to develop a program that meets their needs, as well as the kid’s. You can also, develop a list of questions to help you identify what the parents will likely need, want and expect of your center.

The questions may include:

1. What type of service will be provided?

2. What are the operating hours?

3. Do the operating hours match the parents’ work schedule?

4. Is extended evening care available?

5. Where is the center located?

6. Is the location convenient and easily accessible?

7. How many staff members training in early childhood education or a related field?

8. What is the teacher-to-child ratio?

9. Will there be a curriculum? Will it be structured?

10. Will you create an activities schedule?

11. How will the center be operated? Hours? Activities?

12. Have medical/first aid policies been developed?

13. What will the sleeping arrangements be?

Once you have answered these questions, you will have a foundation from which to develop your marketing plan.

Know the Competition

A vital rule of marketing is to know your competitors. Although operating a home daycare won’t require you to compete for business like a daycare center would. It is still best to know who your competitors are.

Your competitors should include all those who offer related services. They may be in the same geographic area or another area that is accessible to your clients. To determine the competitiveness of your market, find out…

1. The location of other childcare services in your area.

2. Who your major competitors are?

3. How long your competitors have been in business.

4. How your center will benefit the clients more than your competitors’ centers.

5. If there is a need for additional centers in your area or in an area that is easily accessible?

6. How competitors’ centers are like or different from yours.

7. What your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are?

8. How competitors will act when you enter the market.

9. What competitors’ are your competitors’ reputations, etc., are.

Find out as much as possible about your competitors.

Get The Word Out

Marketing your daycare center will require several strategies. The best on that I recommend is word of mouth. Tell everyone you know about your business, most likely they will know someone who needs your services. By the way word of mouth marketing is the cheapest of all.

However, any other method of advertising you use, you will have to spend money and costs will very.

You should put your marketing plan into action at least five months before you open for business. Make sure your advertisements match the image you are trying to project.

If you are going to pay to advertise, try to meet your competitors head on. Look at your competitors. In what sections do they advertise? What size advertisements do they use?

Inexpensive Advertising Techniques
If you do not have the money to advertise by television, newspaper, or radio don’t here are other inexpensive, yet effective ways to do so. Here is a list of some of the things you can do:

Fliers and brochures

Business cards

Referral agencies

Networking

Yellow Pages

Classified ads

A successful marketing plan, carried out effectively should render your business successful. Again know who your customers are, find out who and where your competitors are, and then market your business until you reach your opening day goals.

To find more in-depth information on the ways to market a Home Daycare please visit: http://www.asapchildcare.com

Having a daycare business, you need to have customers. For you to gain lots of customers, you have to advertise your daycare business. But how and where should you advertise your business?
Usually, parents choose a daycare center that is close to their homes. Parents do not want to commute too far just to bring their kids to the daycare center before they go to work. With this, you do not have to advertise your daycare business to far from home, but take note that you still need to advertise it very well to gain lots of customers.

You can begin with creating flyers in advertising your daycare business. In creating flyers, you have to put the name of your daycare center, your name, your address and your phone number, and print out plenty of these flyers. You can create the flyers at the convenience of your own home, using your own computer and colored printer. Making flyers is not expensive but it is an effective way to advertise your daycare. This is not the time for you to be shy, you need to gain customers, so you have to put all the important details in your flyers and print about hundreds of it.

In putting the flyers, you want to make sure that these flyers are in places that parents go. Put some flyers outside your local supermarkets or groceries. Usually, mothers do the shopping, so they always visit supermarkets and groceries. It is best to put the flyers on the notice board near the entrance of the supermarket or groceries.

You can place flyers outside the gym, since many parents go to gyms.
You can put some flyers close to schools. Typically, parents drop their older kids in school. So, having flyers there can help you advertise your daycare.

Put flyers on facilities that kids can be such as baseball field to your neighborhood since parents normally go to cheer for their kids. Having flyers, parents can see it.

If putting flyers, you can advertise your new daycare center in the locations that people usually visit. With this, you will gain lots of customers and can help you out in gaining great profits from your daycare business. Take note do not litter, make sure to put the flyers on notice boards or you can ask permission.

See: Start a daycare

Dolson McArt – Author of: Ways to Advertise Your New Daycare Center

Contributing to EzineArticles.com since March 2007