How to Advertise a Daycare Center
The advertising of your daycare should make up an important part of your overall marketing mix. Let’s take a closer look at the importance of advertising and consider some of the methods that a daycare center might use.
With consumers being bombarded with so many advertising messages these days it can take a while for your advertisement to be noticed by those who may use your services. For this reason you should not just run an advertisement once and then give up but rather run a campaign of at least ten ads. Starting a campaign on your daycare’s opening day is really too late. Campaigns should be started at least two or three months prior to the opening date.
With so many advertising options available it can sometimes be confusing to know where to start as you obviously will not have the budget to try everything right away. Take a look at how some of your more successful competitors are advertising their daycare centers. If they are running the same ads over a long period of time it is likely that they are working well in the local market so you can look into using them. Don’t copy their ideas too closely as originality will always win in the end, but study their campaigns carefully and try to look for aspects that are worth imitating.
Business Directories
When people look for goods and services in their local area, business directories such as the Yellow Pages are often the first place that they look. A listing can be expensive but is usually well worth it, especially if you come up with a great ad design that jumps out of the page demanding to be the first one that the client should call.
Community Notice Boards
Once you have had some flyers made up there should be numerous places where you can post them for free. Think about areas that get good exposure and then go around placing your daycare advertisements on notice boards at schools, churches, doctor’s clinics or anywhere else that is appropriate.
Direct Marketing
The response rate for mailing out or hand delivering advertising material to clients is usually pretty low but you will probably only need to get a few leads out of it to justify the cost. Buying a mailing list of postal addresses of families in your target market is one way to do it but you would likely do much better just by delivering them in the area that you are targeting by hand. If you hand deliver them door-to-door you should first check with your local post office as some cities have regulations that forbid unsolicited mail.
Vehicle Advertising
Whether you are using your vehicle for business purposes or for personal reasons you will be spending a lot of time driving around the area close to where your daycare business is located. Having an advertising wrap fitted to your vehicle has an initial cost but offers years of free, highly targeted exposure.
Local Publications
Local newspapers and other local publications are a good way to get the word out about your new business. These businesses are often desperate for advertisers and if you negotiate with them you should get some good discounts. If you really push them they may also do a small article on the launch of your new business.
There are many other great ways to advertising a child daycare business. Take a look at some original methods that other businesses in your area are using and see if you can adapt them to promote your business. Always test methods against each other so that you can find out which are cost effective and which ones show poor results. Have a policy of asking new clients how they found out about your service.
Well planned advertising campaigns along with a wider marketing strategy can really make the difference between success and failure in the daycare industry so be sure to devote a good deal of time to this area.
Free Advertising For Accountants And CPAs
There are dozens of ways that accountants, CPAs, and tax accountants can advertise the accounting services for free. The following is a bulleted list of just a sample of free advertising methods that can be used:
Join clubs and associations. When you are a member of a club or association, like trade associations, social clubs, health clubs, or country clubs, it gives you the opportunity to network with other professionals in those clubs that could be in need of your services.
Submit your services to online business directories. There are thousands of online business directories that you can submit your business to for free. The niche directories target a specific market, like those searching for accounting services.
Publish articles in article directories. Write specific articles that deal with specific accounting issues and you will become recognized as an expert in your field – an expert CPA.
Treat your existing clients like family. When you treat your existing clients great you will be surprised at how quickly word-of-mouth can spread and you will gain more business referrals from people looking for accountants.
Give free speeches to business groups. When you give a speech to a group it provides you with the opportunity to show off your expertise. Again, you will be seen as an expert in your field.
Attend Trade Shows. Visiting trade shows is a great way to practice your elevator pitch on a wide group of people and to distribute your business cards.
Submit classifieds ads on the internet to offer your accounting services. There are many classifieds ads sites that let you post ads for free, craigslist.org being the most popular.
Basic Marketing Concepts For Restaurant Menu Printing
There are basic marketing concepts that you must know when considering, for example, Mexican restaurant menus for your business. If followed, these five tips can help you to make the best decisions and get the most out of your business marketing strategy. With any advertising plan, you need to be able to put all of your effort and time into its development and delivery to ensure that it is carried out successfully. No advertising strategy is successful without the right planning, including design, delivery, content and more. Every single detail needs attention and these five tips you must know will help to ensure your Mexican restaurant menus are the best they can be.
1. Build Your Brand. Make sure you Mexican restaurant brand is prominently displayed on your flyer design. Include your business logo, ensuring the name is easy to read and clear and you can even add a restaurant mascot image if you prefer. Branding is essential to ensuring customer are not just a one off sale, you can ensure they keep coming back to you and not to competitors by providing a memorable brand to your flyer design.
2. Use High Quality Food Pictures. Make sure you include high quality photographic imagery in your menu design. Low quality blurred or low resolution images can have a dramatic negative impact on your sales. Customers are much more likely to be enticed into purchasing your food with tempting and tantalizing imagery of the food they could get in your establishment.
3. Always Print in Full-Color. Make sure your flyer design is in full color. Customers respond to full color advertisements in a much more positive manner and grayscale printing can actually be harmful to your customer sales base. Using vivid and properly thought out color schemes within your flyer design will attract more customers to your flyer and will therefore increase your sales naturally.
4. Hire a Professional Designer. If in doubt, hire a professional graphic designer. It may cost you more than if you did it yourself but you will obtain a design that is not only highly effective and well planned to suit your target audience and your business but also one that will last you a very long time and increase your sales as a result.
5. Optimize Your Menus According to Your Distribution Method. Optimize your distribution by utilizing more than one method (Example: newspapers, direct mail, and doorhangers). No flyer marketing plan is successful without the aid of an effective distribution method. Direct mailing is the main core of any Mexican menu printing campaign, however, there are other ways to get your flyers noticed too. Make sure you hand out flyers to all of your customers on every order, and keep some in your restaurant as well so that passers by can take one with them for later. When direct mailing flyers, make sure everyone in your delivery area gets one and that more than one is supplied to student accommodation and flats. You can also hand out menus in the local high street and outside late night establishments such as clubs and bars so you can catch people when they are most likely to want a bite to eat.
Advertise Your Daycare With Flyers and Postcards
One great way of advertising your daycare business is through the use of flyers and postcards. Below we examine some of the elements of good flyer design and consider how a childcare center could go about distributing these kinds of promotions.
Flyers and postcards are a cheap and effective way of getting word out about your business. If you make them yourself at home on your PC with MS Word or by using some of the free online templates that are available you only have to consider printing costs. For a more professional design or to print postcards you will need to use the services of a design professional and a commercial printer.
Daycare Business Flyer and Postcard Design
1) Focus on headlines that draw readers into reading your entire message. Don’t be the one that gets thrown straight in the trash.
2) Include a strong call to action to try and get prospects to call you right away.
3) Postcards and flyers should set out information in a clear and organized way. If it looks too cluttered consider using the reverse side for some of the less important details.
4) Double check spelling and details to make sure that they are correct and that you have included everything that a prospective parent would expect to find. You don’t have to include the prices of your daycare services though.
5) Test a variety of messages and formats to see which ones get a better response.
6) Marketers think that people prefer postcards these days as they are smaller and can be easily filed away for future reference. If you do go with flyers consider attaching a business card to them to give prospects something smaller to hang on to.
7) Seek inspiration from what other service businesses in your area are doing. Borrow ideas from other industries rather from other daycare services.
Distribution
1) If you have a mailing list then you can post a flyer to everyone on your database. Aside from this method the next best approach for mass distribution is door to door. Be sure to check with your local post office to make sure that you are in compliance with any local ordinances.
2) Once your daycare has opened for business ask mothers to pass on your flyers to other families that they know that have young children.
3) Think about the places where mothers of preschoolers are likely to hang out and try to get your flyers or postcards posted on the walls and notice boards of these businesses and organizations.
4) Team up with other businesses that also target families with children in your area and do a promotion featuring several businesses at once.
Flyers and promotional postcards are still an effective advertising medium for small businesses across the country so don’t listen to those who will tell you that this method is no longer effective. Test it and see for yourself.
You only need a response rate of one or two per 1000 flyers or postcards to make this method cost effective for your daycare business so definitely give it a go and see if it works well as a method of bringing targeted leads into your childcare center.
Monavie Juice Drink – I Don’t Want a Free Sample Already!
The Monavie juice drink was introduced to the public in January 2005 (almost 4 years ago as of this writing) and markets nutritional products specifically through a Network Marketing form of distribution. The incredible buzz surrounding the product is based on the remote location in the Amazon that the Acai berry (its main ingredient) is found.
Considering all the research, success of the company and the sales of its products, it is difficult to disprove the potency and health benefits of this drink at a glance. At the end of the day you must really try it for yourself as with any nutritional product it will have varying effects on every individual.
As an opportunity the Monavie juice company promotes the idea of health, wealth and freedom which seems to be a common Mantra of most Nutrition based Network Marketing companies. The uniqueness of the product itself seems to attract many people that are looking for something that gives them an advantage in the marketplace due to the products rare ingredients.
In terms of overall promotion, the primary marketing seems to be done by giving away free sample bottles of the Monavie juice drink to friends and family members and hosting tasting parties for your warm market in hopes they will either become customers, join the business opportunity or both. This traditional marketing format has seemed to work for very few over the years and relies on an individuals ability to sell and invite which has proved to be a losing cause for most. I believe the ability to achieve success with the Monavie opportunity can be greatly enhanced with the implementation of solid online and attraction marketing principles, coupled with a targeted marketing funnel designed to expand the distributors income streams.
5 Flyer Printing Tips You Must Know
There are many things to consider when thinking about your first flyer printing purchase. It can be a daunting experience and many people make mistakes that end up costing them money and time when it comes to flyer printing. There are 5 flyer printing tips you must know before you begin ordering bulk flyer orders. Make sure you follow this simple advice to ensure your flyer designs come out just the way you want them.
1. Check with your chosen professional flyer printing company which file formats they prefer your flyer design to be in. Most companies will either allow a great variety of different formats or just one specific format. Some will request only an image of your design to a high size and resolution so quality is not lost on resizing. Make sure you know exactly what you need before hand. You should also try to save file formats in a lower version compatibility mode such as .eps(8) even though you may be using a newer version of the software. This ensures your design can be properly viewed across as many different versions of the software you are using, as possible.
2. Don’t forget to embed all images and turn all lettering into outlines before saving and sending off to the printing company. This should be the last thing to do on your flyer design in case you want to change any images or text at the last minute however, it is vital to remember to do this before sending off your design. Not embedding everything and creating outlines in your flyer printing design can mean fonts become changed and images are lost as the flyer printing company may not have the same font you used and will not have the images you included in your design.
3. Make sure your design is clear and to the point. Whatever you are using your flyer printing for, it needs to be clear, concise, easily readable and easy to understand. Make sure it has a good balance between images, text and negative space so that the reader can see exactly what your flyer is about and they are not bombarded with loud shapes too much text and designs.
4. Make sure your flyer design is suitable for your businesses target audience. Even though you may like the design yourself and think it looks great, professional or just plain cool your target audience may not think so. If your design is not appealing to your target audience your flyer printing campaign will not get the customer response it should do. Try to evaluate your flyer design based on how your target audience will see it and make the necessary alterations to the design even if it goes against what your personal preference is.
5. Lastly, but by no means least, double check everything. Even if you have developed the flyer design with a meticulous and careful design process ensure you double check absolutely every aspect of your flyer design before you send it away to be printed. You never know what you may have missed earlier that could ruin the whole flyer design.
Free Samples – Be Innovative, it Works
We all see it in many places. Supermarkets do it frequently, and it works. Vendors offer tastes in anticipation of customers liking it and buying the product. A new customer is created and who knows where this will go.
Think about it, how much does it really cost to send out a free sample to a potential customer, a buyer or a CEO, whoever may influence the buying decision.
Store owners should explore creating a cost sharing relationship with its vendors, or do it yourself. Customers love to shop where they can experience free samples, it is a draw to the store and sales increase for both the free samples and the entire stores product line. I heard a friend tell his wife “…we should go to this store, they have tons of free samples” and the wife said, “Ok lets go shop there.” This contributed to the customer experience and drew the traffic.
This concept, if thought through could apply to services, wholesale distributors, and in any level of sales organizations.
It makes sense. Let the product or service speak for itself and let the consumer try something new they would not ordinarily try. How valuable is a new customer? Enormously important and sampling is not that expensive, as well it pinpoints the potential consumer in a buying atmosphere, and it makes sense.
Figure out how to do it and try this out, it will increase product awareness and sales. It is an advertising and marketing program with a direct revenue impact.
Especially in this tough consumer market were purchases are debated…samples will win the day.
Depending upon the type of product you sell, another aspect of free sampling that makes great sense and promotes your goods is to offer free goods to the sales staff of your distribution system. Recently I was out buying a winter hiking boot, and was not certain what to buy, the salesperson told me he personally used a particular brand and loved it, that was all the recommendation I needed I bought that boot. I further questioned him and he informed me that company gave them to the sales men for free, but he loves the product and freely recommends it…it made the sale; another great use of free sampling.
Try it…it works. Be innovative, it works.
Do It Yourself Full Color Flyers in 7 Steps
It is very easy to print flyers on your own. In fact, you do not need a lot of training to develop a great design to be processed by a flyer printer.
Almost everybody with a decent understanding of how to use computers should be able to deal with a color flyer design and work with a flyer printer. Let me show you how it can be done. Below is a list of seven steps that will help you create your own custom flyer. You can do all this steps on your own with little training. You just need some simple tools and a computer.
So let me get started with the first step.
1. Set your goal – First things first, set your goal. You might think this is not necessary, but trust me, setting a goal will shape many of your decisions for its design and printing. Moreover, it should help make the process a lot easier since you already have a guiding objective. So set your goals precisely before you start anything else in flyer printing.
Do you want to sell something? Do you want people to go to your event? Do you want to inform them about an important issue? Do you want them to get a good impression about your company? Decide on these important questions and set your goal straight. This should be pivotal for your many decisions later on.
2. Write your content – Next, once the goal is set, you should start writing your content. It is best to do this before your layout begins so that you can focus on the message more fully. Remember that it should be short, concise but detailed enough to be printed into a color poster. Make sure that you make a good and attractive headline plus some easy to read supporting content that helps you achieve your goal that you set earlier. Try to proofread your work to make this all perfect for the design. Of course, do not forget to type this up already in a word processor for easy use later.
3. Get promising images – After writing your text, the next step is to get some images. Depending on your goal, you will want to get pictures of your products, concept images of your events, special symbols for your company etc. etc. You should always aim to get something impressive but unusual when it comes to your images. Take digital photographs, but creating your own graphics is also good, especially if you are good at doing it. Just make sure that you always get a high-resolution image or picture so that it can easily be inserted into a design layout without any difficulties.
4. Get flyer templates – Afterward, you will need to get a template. Flyer templates should help you design faster and easier. Get these from flyer printing companies that have websites online. Lots of them offer these free.
5. Start your design – Now, it is time to start your designs. Just load your template in the appropriate program and then insert your image and text content into the layout. This step would depend on your creativity, but make sure you balance both text and image elements out so that one does not overpower the other. Choose your background colors and fonts wisely so that they do not clash.
6. Test your design – Once you are done with your initial draft you should not send it yet to the flyer printer. First, test your designs out on a sample audience. Get your friends and family some draft copies of your draft color flyer and see how they react to it. If you can, try also to have some random people to look at your flyers to get their feedback. Based from those reactions, try to alter and enhance your flyers to make them more effective at achieving your goals.
7. Print your design – Finally, you can now print. Try to choose a printing company that is affordable and produces good quality prints. A good place to start looking is the Internet because there are hundreds of online printing companies there. Just compare all the choices you have and see who is the cheapest with the best quality prints.
Once you have chosen the right one, place your order, choose printing options and you will be done with flyer printing. You will just have to wait for the finished products to be delivered.
Therefore, this is how you print flyers in 7 steps. Try it out!
Massage Marketing Ideas For Building a Solid Massage Therapy Practice
Venturing out on your own with a new massage business, or hoping to breathe new life into your established massage business? Whether you have a faithful client base or are still waiting for your first client, these tips will help you form a solid massage marketing plan for your business.
Of all the massage marketing ideas you may hear about, word of mouth is by far a massage therapist’s strongest asset. Clients who have personally benefited from your healing touch are a natural advocate for your massage therapy practice.
People tend to accept opinions based on personal experience, particularly when those opinions are offered freely, with no underlying motives. Personal referrals from friends or family members-or even casual acquaintances-are more likely to generate a response than traditional advertising venues such as newspaper ads or flyers.
Loyal clients raving about your massage skills to their friends and family, resulting in an endless chain of referrals and new clients, is an inspiring vision, but in the meantime, what can you do to light the spark?
One way to spark referrals is to offer a special deal for clients who refer your massage services to a friend or family member. How does this work? Here’s an example. If a new client books (and keeps) an appointment as the result of a referral, the client who made the referral receives a free massage session. If the new client rebooks at the end of their first appointment, your regular client gets another incentive, such as hot stone massage.
Other rewards for referrals could include free add-on treatments such as foot massage, spa treatments, or aromatherapy. These add-ons encourage the client to sample other services you have to offer. If they enjoy it, they may even consider adding it to their regular massage sessions.
Another source of potential referrals is community involvement. Network with community members and local business owners, especially those who work with clients and customers that would benefit from therapeutic massage. Individuals who are prominent in the community can effectively market your business through word of mouth.
Chiropractors, fitness trainers, and physical therapists are key individuals to include in your network, but don’t limit yourself to the obvious. Be creative. Include health food stores, specialty gift shops, bridal shops, and counseling centers. Focus on the type of clients you hope to attract. Do you specialize in pregnancy massage? Network with family planning centers and local health clinics. Sports massage? Partner with local gyms, yoga centers, and sports chiropractors. Massage for the elderly? Connect with home health care workers, senior centers, and nursing homes.
On the flip side, word of mouth can also work against you if your massage practice offers less than clients expect. The foundation of any massage business plan must include a professional atmosphere and relaxing environment. If you try to scrape by with threadbare sheets and oil-dotted walls or neglect to clean the restrooms, your clients will notice and tell their friends. Clients are more likely to become regulars if they perceive that you care about their health, their time, and their comfort.
While word of mouth is your core strategy for long-term clients, there are plenty of other massage marketing ideas that can give your appointment schedule a boost. Chair massage is one of the most effective. It’s also an excellent introduction to massage therapy for potential clients. Chair massage allows clients to sample the power of healing touch before experimenting with the deeper benefits of full body massage.
Offer chair massage sessions at community and social events, health fairs, business expos, farmers markets, athletic events, country clubs, coffee houses, bookstores, or universities. Bring your appointment book to schedule office sessions on the spot for interested clients.
Some therapists offer chair massage for free as a marketing promotion, but clients looking for a handout are less likely to become regular clients. Most massage therapists charge one dollar per minute for seated massage. Individuals who are willing to pay for seated massage will be more willing to invest in your services for full body massage.
Business cards should also be an important part of your massage therapy business plan. Give extra business cards to friends and family members who are willing to refer your services. Keep a stack of business cards at the appointment desk, where clients can pick up a few on their way out if they know of people who may be interested in your services. Don’t hesitate to pass out business cards on your own as well.
Building up your massage business takes planning and hard work, but the results are worth the effort. Your business and your clients will benefit from your efforts to reach individuals who can find hope and healing through massage therapy.
Marketing to the Extreme with Your Window Washing Business!
For those of you know who know me, you know that I’m a huge fan of using a multitude of marketing angles to attract prospects to our window washing businesses.
I guess it stems from never putting all of our eggs into one basket, so my belief is that it’s important to spread yourself out. And the most successful window washers I know are people who do the same.
This means incorporating flyers, postcards, business organizations, networking, targeting service businesses, yellow pages, and more into the marketing mix on a regular basis.
I know there are folks out there who own window washing businesses who only want to do a house or two a week, or maybe they love their full time job so much, that they don’t want to leave it yet and do window washing full time, so this article focuses mostly on window washers who want to grow, grow, grow!
Due to the “time factor”, I realize it can be difficult to juggle so many different marketing avenues but the results truly are phenominal.
I spoke to a window washer the other day who gets 2 to 4 phone calls PER DAY from interested prospects due to the many different marketing techniques he employs, so the pay-off is certainly well worth the initial effort of hustle and bustle.
Here’s the recommended marketing attack:
Flyers–Yeah, I know. Not very exciting. And they can take a whole bunch of time, but if you do it correctly and consistently, they will pay off for you. And like I wrote in an email to someone yesterday, when the monies start rolling in from flyer distribution, then pay someone to do it for you.
Postcards–Once my cards were designed and the system was set up with my local direct mail house (described in my manual How to Start Your Own Residential Window Washing Business), it took a grand total of 5 minutes every couple of weeks to set the wheels in motion for a postcard delivery. Here was my phone call: “Hey Dick, what do you say we get out a mailing to route 46?” Boom…done.
Yes postcards are more costly than flyers, but once the calls and business come in from a mailing or two, simply reinvest back into
more mailings. To be successful, repeat mailings are a must, but I also advocate constantly repeating flyer distribution over and over again. That’s the key to getting the maximum number of calls.
To tie the postcards and flyers together-if you pick two or three of your desired neighborhoods to focus your postcard and flyer efforts on, you’ll soon be well known within those areas. People will see you giving estimates, doing jobs, etc, (Get magnetic signs for your vehicle and a yard sign to stick in customer’s
and prospect’s lawns) PLUS they’ll still be exposed to your constant barrage of flyers and postcards. This works!
Service businesses–No cost here, just a little effort to get out there and press the flesh and introduce you and your company to them. Pass out business cards. Easy to do. The rewards are not instant because it takes time to establish the relationship and get the service businesses to trust you enough to feed you business, but greasing the wheels now will result in a regular stream of referrals coming your way.
Business organization–The last thing I wanted to do on a Friday morning was wake up at 5AM and go to a business function/breakfast, but man ‘o man was it lucrative.
This is another marketing angle that isn’t instant though. When I first joined, I expected all this window cleaning business to be thrown my way, but again, it takes time to establish the relationships and get folks to trust you and your company. Over
time though, whew! And as far as cost, we’re talking just the dues to join and maybe a weekly stipend. For example, it cost me 7 bucks a week for the breakfast. What an investment!
If you’re having trouble finding a small business organization like that, visit http://www.bni.com and see if they have a chapter in your area.
Yellow pages–not my favorite form of marketing, but it does bring in business. The quality of customers tend to be lower and of course you’ll get more price shoppers, but I received 3 to 5 calls per month from a little 1/4″ display ad. 2 to 3 of those calls converted into customers. And the cost was only $32 a month.
Do you know of anything else that you can do?
How ’bout contacting subdivisions where your target market lives to see if they publish a monthly or quarterly newsletter? Put an ad in there if they do.
One window washer up in Michigan put a little ad in his local Pennysaver type paper and is getting great returns from it. The last time we spoke, he said he made around $1,500 for a $40 investment.
Although these types of ads were not winners for me in my area, hey…it’s worth 40 bucks to try it in your area, right?
If you incorporate the above marketing angles into your business routine on a regular business, how many calls do you think you’ll get? How much business do you think you’ll wind up with?
It’s definitely not a hard business. It just requires a consistent plan of action using the above techniques and anything else you can think of (and can afford).
Keep your marketing wheels turning constantly.
One window washer I know has a “Take one” box attached to his yard sign, so as neighbors take their daily walks, they can mosey up to the yard sign and take a flyer. Or if someone is driving by, they see the fact that they can take a flyer, so they stop and take one. You’re in the back of the house or inside cleaning windows and your marketing is working for you.
Another window washer sponsors a little league baseball team, and all the little tykes wear shirts with his company name on them.
This list literally goes on and on. Window washers who are marketing oriented, are the window washers who are raking in the bucks. After all, as we all know, anyone can wash a window.
So…Happy marketing!
Best Wishes,
Steve
