Tip for taking care of 18 months kids

[Suzie_Homemaker]

I agree that your ad reads very abrupt. I can be guilty of this as English is not my first language so when I write I have to get my husband to proof read things as people can mis-read it as me being snippy when I'm not. The other thing that doesn't make the ad flow is the repeated use of "I" to begin a sentence. That's something my husband repeatedly picked up on when I first wrote ads.

For a child care provider, parents want warm and fuzzy and fun so the tone of ads does matter especially in North America where a lot of focus is on people's feelings.

You posted your ad 11 days ago on a local Facebook page. To have received 7 inquiries is a big response. Realistically it takes a full year to fill spaces with quality client's although you can do it quicker if you just accept anyone who wants a space even if they aren't a good match.

For me, newspapers don't really work. Not many people read a paper these days. If your location is such you get a lot of passing traffic, consider a lawn sign (if your bylaws permit them) or a car magnet. This then highlights your location to those who are driving by on route to work anyway. Facebook can be good in some areas but if you are posting in a buy and sell group, that can come across as a strange place for a legitimate business to advertise. See if there are any Moms and toddler pages in your area or a child care group even. Some providers also find Kijiji useful too. If you live near a school, have a chat to the secretary and ask if you may leave some flyers on the front desk. While schools aren't normally permitted to endorse a service, some will let you leave a flyer.
Are there any local businesses like a call center or hospital? They are good places too if they have a notice board. And lots of local food take-away places have somewhere for local business cards as well. One final comment about the ad itself - have photos. Not of children or their faces but show your space. Images of the type of meals you provide, the space, the play area, the sleep area help parents visualize where their child will spend their day. Include the outside play space too. Take the time to check the background of your photos so that you don't have several garbage cans beside the outside play space or clutter on the floor beside the eating area. That should be obvious but there's a lot of community babysitter type people whose photos show a tower of unorganized chaos in the background or a pet roaming around the space of a soon to be open day home.

If you are financially able to survive a little while without filling all spaces, then consider experimenting with ads to see what sort of ad brings a higher response. This is useful to know in future. You could place a more upbeat fun ad on Kijiji and see if the response is higher to the matter of fact ad you currently have on FB. And don't be afraid to ask anyone who is making an inquiry, where they saw your ad so you can assess which forum is more effective for you.


I agree that the lack of lunch might also be an issue. I know here, the cheaper providers do not include food but the more established homes do. It seems odd to provide snacks but not lunches. If parents have the inconvenience of providing a lunch, then having snacks provided doesn't really save them much time. Do your competitors provide lunches or is it normal in your area that they come from home?

Be careful about the wording of your ad. I know here the Department has rules about a day home misrepresenting themselves in ads as being a center. You ad does read like you are center so those seeking a day home might well be skipping over your ad and those seeking a center might not be signing up with you once they realize you are a day home.