A great flyer for your daycare center goes a long way…
There are many ways to market your daycare center, including some innovative strategies and supercharged tactics. But at the end of the day you’ve also got to have an informative, visually-pleasing flyer as well. It can be easily handed out, passed around or tacked up.
If it catches the parents’ eye – that’s good. And if the content in it is of substance and gives them the right information – that’s even better.
Learn how to create a great flyer for your daycare in our video:
Info to include: ages accepted, tuition price, philosophy
Potential new customers are going to pick up your flyer and scan it for a few seconds. If it catches their interest they might open it up. That’s why you’ll want your daycare center logo, an eye-catching photo and your location to be prominently displayed on the front.
You also want to let parents know the age range you accept. If you don’t accept a kiddo as young or old as theirs, don’t make them read two minutes into the flyer to find that out.
In the flyer, describe the amount of supervision kids will have, and specify your child-to-teacher-ratio. Parents want to know that their youngster will get the care and attention they need. They also want to be sure that they will fit in. Talk about the learning-through-play at your daycare, the educational philosophies that inform your instructors, and the cultural or religious backgrounds that underlie your daycare center, if applicable.
For brochures and extensive pieces: testimonials, certification, details
As I mentioned, parents want to know that their kids will be safe and happy at your daycare center. An effective flyer for your daycare center should list staff certifications, medical training and instructors’ years of job experience.
Parents relate to other parents so Including testimonials from current or past happy customers is also a great idea. Other specific details that could possibly be helpful to include are information on how you are set up to accommodate kiddos with special needs and an explanation of how your center helps shy or socially awkward kids feel accepted and comfortable for example.
Additionally, you should consider including basic price information in the flyer. Being direct and straightforward about the price range of your daycare builds trust and cuts down on potentially time-wasting back-and-forth.
This is optional, of course. Some may prefer to keep tuition information private and discuss it after a potential new customer contacts the daycare center, but it’s up to you. Just remember, parents will respond well to you being up front. Even just stating “Tuition begins at $____” can be a helpful piece of information.
Fill the flyer or brochure with professional photos
As great as information, proof of certification and testimonials are, one photo says a thousand words. Potential customers looking for a loving and safe place for their youngsters are naturally going to want to see photos. Hiring a professional photographer for a photo shoot is an outstanding way to have top-notch photos to use for marketing, including in your flyers.
In terms of the nuts and bolts, it doesn’t have to be rocket science. You can ask a friend to help out and start from scratch in Photoshop or Word. There are flyer templates included in Word, or you can find templates online to get started as well. Of course, alternately, you can hire a professional graphic designer instead and kick it up a level!
This can be expensive but necessary, no matter how long your daycare’s been open. It’s good to have flyers and brochures as a go-to for prospective parents. If allocating funds for that purpose is a problem, you can look into ways of making extra revenue by filling your vacant spots with Hopping In.
Sorry, but flyer appearance does matter!
It’s not all about looks, but appearance does matter. Seek a balance between information and visuals. It should take a few minutes to read through and urge potential customers to contact you for more information.
It’s definitely possible to make a daycare flyer that is both professional and fun, but hold back on going overboard with brilliant neon colors or zany graphics. Daycare may be about the kids, but the flyers are all about the parents.
Author: Hopping In Blog
Sholom Strick is an expert on the business of running daycare centers and founder of Hopping In, a tool that helps childcare centers and family daycare providers fill unused spots.
To contact him or for media inquiries email s.strick@daycareteam.com
