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I plan on advertising my parents night out program through craigslist this weekend but would like your input on dos and donts first. I particularly would like to place my website in the ad, which does not contain my address but it does have my phone number, email, and a picture of me. Just wondering what approach to take to send the message that I'm professional and trustworthy but protect myself at the same time. Also, what's your method for screening families and avoid spammers?
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Craigslist in my opinion is just asking for problems. In my area, the only providers that advertise on craigslist are those that are having trouble finding families through other means.
Just be careful if you go that route. -
I would avoid Craigslist. You get what you pay for. Some ladies here have used it successfully, but not me. I find it to be a scary place, frequented by scary people.Comment
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Here in KC, Craigslist is the only way to find parents, and I have found all of mine through it! (I should say, it's the only way for parents to find ME, since I have asked all of them and they don't have a clue about Childcare Aware, care.com, or any other resource and referral websites)
I post pics of my home and play area, but no pics of children! I also give a sample schedule, rate info (not everyone posts rates, and that drives a lot of parents bonkers), and specials if I am running them. I also link to my website and haven't had any problems with that. Make sure not to put an email address in the text of your CL ad--SPAM SPAM SPAM. Once I took it out, I no longer got any! "Make money from home" Um yeah, I already do, thanks anyway.
Good luck! I have tried a parent night out in the past and it crashed and burned. A few called and signed up and no showed, ended up having one child that cried the whole time and one of my regular dc kids that didn't understand why none of her friends were here. I hope your venture is more successful!Comment
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Here in ohio it's excellent for getting parents. A huge volume of people use it. I can't think of anywhere better for getting new clients. Care.com was a bust for me.Comment
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I used CL for the first time last fall, I had a positive experience, so I will use it again in the future.Comment
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CL is pretty good here, I've gotten several calls and interviews but no actual kids out if it. Lots of people advertise on there!Comment
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where I live, only the extremely desperate providers use it now
I used to use it years ago and every once in a while I look on there to see what it's like and some post 15-20 of the same ads and just change a few words around with each one.
I swear I saw one that said " dinner dinner chicken dinner, bring your kids here" :
::: just ridiculous stuff
I guess it really depends on where you live
I always had a lot of luck with " special gift just for stopping by"
just a cute little bag of inexpensive toys, pencils, snacks.
that usually gets them in
good luck
:hug:Comment
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I use craigslist, all of my families I got off of craigslist.Comment
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CL is big here, and is used almost exclusively for job hunts including in child care. But it's not good here for finding childcare. People still seem to reply mostly on Google I believe. I always think it's worth your while to pay to have your business listed with Google. I don't think it costs much but some of the other members can tell you more, it has been discussed before. Good luck:-)Comment
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I frequently use Google to advertise for clients. It's very common in my area. It's my experience that its always best to use more than one marketing strategy. It helps to intermingle them. For example your CL ad (depending on your area) can be simple ans to the point. Describe what you are offering and make it stand out with perhps a colorful flyer, catchy title and/or interesting photos. Add a link to your website with more detailed information to get parents interested enough to call. Use commonly used words that parents may search for online and you have a better chance of having parents see your ad or website when they search online for childcare.
This is what works for me but keep in mind that every area is different.Comment
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Thank you so much for your replies! I haven't posted anything yet but I'll definitely be careful when I do. I have also read Marina's article on marketing too and I'll definitely be following her advice. ThanksComment
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