Parents often check the local paper for day care openings.
To promote your home day care, focus your efforts on your target audience. Put yourself in the place of potential clients and think about what is important to them. Parents are looking for caregivers who love children, who have a reputation for providing quality care and who are professionals in their field. One of your most significant promotional tools will be word of mouth. Even if you have only one child enrolled, you can begin to build your reputation and your business.
Instructions
1. Advertise in your local paper. Preschools often use this resource to make the public aware of openings or upcoming registration dates. Employ this same strategy to build your home day care. Invest in a larger ad with a border, rather than settling for a few lines in the service section of the classifieds. This will get you noticed by parents who are looking for reputable, professional child care.
2. Keep testimonials on hand and give them to prospective clients. If you have an established day care business, have your clients complete annual service evaluations. Include questions such as "What do you like best about my program?" and "Would you recommend me to another parent?". Ask for permission to share positive responses with other parents. If you're new to day care, ask for reference letters from people who know you and are familiar with your demeanor and love for children.
3. Join your local family child care association or team up with nearby caregivers to start an association if one is not available. Establishing close working relationships with fellow caregivers has many advantages, including the potential for a referral when a fellow association member is working at capacity and receives an inquiry from a parent.
4. Create a website for your home day care. Use a blog to create your website for free or spend less than 5 dollars to purchase a domain and you will be online within a matter of hours. The purpose of the site is to show potential clients that you are a professional and to demonstrate to current clients your commitment to quality child care. On your home page, make your day care and your credentials the focus. Use other pages for current menus, calendars and contact information. Limit your contact information to your email address for your security. Be careful not to include any pictures of the children in your care.
5. Foreground the advantages of home day care environments in all your promotional efforts. Some of the benefits of home-based care, as pointed out in "Business Resources for Family Child Care Providers," are lower child/staff ratios, a "consistent caregiver as children grow older" and a comfortable, familiar environment where children can learn, relax and thrive. (Reference 1)
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