advertising help

[Linda/NE]

I'm sure you're all aware of the on going competition I have with the other preschool in town (where I used to work and the boss was impossible).

Yesterday I heard that she is down on numbers and is really struggling to get enrollment. (Yippee for me!! ) I already have 2- two day/wk classes set up (m-W Am and t-TH AM)

Today in the paper she has an ad introducing a new teacher there with a Bachelor's Degree (like I have) and a Master's Degree in Reading and 3 years experience.

This new teacher is no one I've heard of before and most likely from out of town. Since I've left she has always hired people from out of town. Thinking back on my experience with her, hearing about the experience of the teacher who was there before me, and the experience of the gal who replaced me, I can't see her letting this new teacher have the run of things. With the 3 of us she was sure to have her foot in the door and wanted things done her way even though it was not beneficial to the children or the program. She is only offering classes 3 days a week and I think it's one- 2 day class and one- 1 day class. So, realistically why would she need to hire someone to teach for her? Those of us who know the inside scoop of the preschool, know it's because she's not qualified to do it and compete with my program.

So, my dilemma is--how do I advertise in next week's paper? I want to focus on the facts that I have 10 + years of experience teaching and working in a variety of early childhood settings (daycare Center, private preschools, elementary school, head start, family daycare home and my preschool and afterschool program), I offer before and afterschool care, and I focus on kindergarten readiness.

This town is already so focused on choosing preschool (and most anything else) based on social status, I just feel at such a disadvantage. The gal who replaced me (who now brings her son to me for summer and afterschool care on occasion) told me not to sell myself short. That I'm actually teaching the kids something and all she does is send home cutesy art projects that all look the same. I haven't had a chance to talk to her though about this new teacher.

All my strong points seem too much to put in an ad. I do have a free web hosted website. Should I include something about :for more information check out our website??

I'll include the website addy for you to check out and give me pointers. (please edit this out if this is not acceptable on the forum)

http://www.geocities.com/lindaavonne...preschool.html

thanks!!

[AnnW]

I read this yesterday am (at 4 before work!!!) and wanted to reply but it was just to early too think straight!!! LOL


I wouldn't focus your ad on how you are better than your comp. Look at people's reaction to negative political ads. Focus on YOUR strong suits.
I like this part on your web page..

The Discovery Center is not your typical Daycare. In fact we don't really care to use the term "daycare."
At the Discovery Center children will :
* explore their world
* socialize with other children
* choose activities of interest to them


So maybe you could title you ad
"Not your typical day care"

After more than 10 years of working in early childhood developement, I have learned that parents and children want so much more than just a daycare. That is why we are called the Discovery Center. At the Discovery Center children will :
* explore their world
* socialize with other children
* choose activities of interest to them

then maybe briefly talk about your hours and then link to the webpage for more info.

Hope this helps!!!

(also, next time give people a chance!)

[vea29]

I would also maybe mention the family style atmosphere....because those big places are so uninviting.

[littlesista06]

Nicely done already! I wouldn't know the first thing about starting a web page, myself.

I like the suggestions you already have; the only thing that stands out to me, isn't advertising related actually. I'm surprised at how low your cost is. For a four day, three hour a day program for our four year olds we charge $150 a month and ask for some supplies on top of that. Have you thought of charging any more? You sure have a LOT to offer those kiddies.

[MaryL]

I love your website!!!

[angie r]

I'm glad you got some responses! I am terrible at this sort of thing. Neat site!

[JAK]

Ann gave you some great ideas. As far as the website, yes, I would include the address in your advertisement. That way people can see it and know a little bit more about what the program entails. Your prices are VERY low, but maybe that's the going rate for your area, I'm not sure. I have no clue how to make a website, but there are a few places where wors overlap each other and it was hard to read.

Good luck getting your enrollment up!

[Diane]

It sounds like you already have gotten a lot of great advice from everyone. I also agree with JAK about the words running together, makes it impossible to read. I myself know nothing about putting a web site together so... no help from me here, but wanted to wish you luck!

Diane...

[BevJ]

I am a little confused as to the cost(s). Preschool is $45/month? That's it? What are the hours? What are the drop off/pick up times? When ds was in preschool we paid almost $500/month and that was 10 years ago!

[vea29]

Ann gave you some great ideas. As far as the website, yes, I would include the address in your advertisement. That way people can see it and know a little bit more about what the program entails. Your prices are VERY low, but maybe that's the going rate for your area, I'm not sure. I have no clue how to make a website, but there are a few places where wors overlap each other and it was hard to read.

Good luck getting your enrollment up!

I believe at the center I was at Preschool was $180 a week. discounts for siblings.

Ialso agree that at times the web page was alittle buzy, making it hard to read.....Maybe you could Stop the scrolling picture/word. But I think it's a great site.

[Linda/NE]

Thanks for your suggestions!!
The web site is a free web hosting site where you have to wait for the page builder thingy to load and then use their tools to set it up. I can have it looking just right but when I go to the actual page it's messed up. That's probably why the words overlap.

As for my rates-- my preschool classes are 2 1/2 hr classes 1 or 2 days a week. 1 day a week is $25 and 2 days a week are $45. Anytime a child is there before or after their class they are charged $2/hr.

When I started it was $50/ month for the 2 day class. My competitor was $44/month. Last year I actually went down to $45/m because some people told me that the competitor was getting kids because she was cheaper--it had nothing to do with quality at all. I recently found out that the competitor had raised her rates to 48/mo at the same time I lowered mine. As for the daycare rate, I think I am the highest in the area. Most are between $1.50 and $1.85/hr.
Right now all children enrolled for daycare will also be in preschool. I don't have any children that are just strictly daycare.
Here is our daily schedule for Fall (maybe this is what I should put on the website)
6:30 Am--open
6:30- 8:45- breakfast; quiet activities
8:45-9- preschool children arrive-- arrival activity on table
9-9:30-finish arrival activity and have Circle time
9:30-10:00- Center/work time
10-10:15- clean up, wash hands for snack
10:15-10:35 snack
10:35-10:45-check out library books
10:35-11:00- art/ creative time
11-11:20- outside play
11:20-11:30 ending story- dismissal
11:30-1145- daycare children wash hands for lunch
11:45-12:30- lunch time
12:30-1:00- free play activities while getting ready for rest time
1-3- rest time -usually includes a movie
3-4- afternoon snack (school age children arrive during this time
4-4:30- home work for those who need it
4-6- outside play/ free play until picked up by parents

One thing that has really bothered me is that people say our name wrong--Linda's Daycare and Discovery Center--that's redundant the Discovery Center IS the daycare.

Should I refer to the preschool program as a Pre-k program to make it sound more professional and academic?

Thanks again for your suggestions!

[AnnW]

Well, on your webpage doesn't it refer to both the day care and discovery center as two different things? Maybe just shorten your whole name to Linda's Discovery Center.
I have always thought of PreK as the year right before Kindergarten so it might be confusing to potential clients if you call it that.

[littlesista06]

I have always thought of PreK as the year right before Kindergarten so it might be confusing to potential clients if you call it that.

I was thinking the same thing.

[JAK]

I started posting last night, but had to get off the computer. What I had suggested was the same as Ann- change your center's name to "Linda's Discovery Center", but I guess that might be hard if you have a bunch of stuff printed already with the Center's name on it.

I would add the daily schedule to your website. Some parents really like knowing that kind of thing. The one thing I would leave off is the movie at rest time. Personally I don't know that I'd want my kid watching a movie every day. Maybe change it to "quiet activities available during rest time".
Instead of "PreK" you can say you focus on Kindergarten readiness skills, which you say you already do anyway. Just market your program that way.

Another thing with the schedule, the afternoon looks like a lot of "freeplay" which I agree children need, but do you also have planned/structured activities during this time. (Does snack actually last a whole hour?) If you do, I'd add that to your schedule. Parents like to see in writing what their kids are "doing" or at least what their choices are. (Not all parents care, but for some this really makes a difference because they want quality care and don't care about the price.) I'm going to try and attach my old "schedule" to see if that helps you understand what I'm trying to say. Right now I am just doing infant/toddler care. Our days are about the same as they were before the activities are just different.

I can't imagine $2 an hour being the highest in the area. That's crazy to me. It must just be the area. I have always lived in higher cost areas I guess. CA and AK probably being some of the most expensive when it comes to preschoool and childcare.

Good Luck!

[Linda/NE]

Another thing with the schedule, the afternoon looks like a lot of "freeplay" which I agree children need, but do you also have planned/structured activities during this time. (Does snack actually last a whole hour?) If you do, I'd add that to your schedule. Parents like to see in writing what their kids are "doing" or at least what their choices are. (Not all parents care, but for some this really makes a difference because they want quality care and don't care about the price.) I'm going to try and attach my old "schedule" to see if that helps you understand what I'm trying to say. Right now I am just doing infant/toddler care. Our days are about the same as they were before the activities are just different.

I can't imagine $2 an hour being the highest in the area. That's crazy to me. It must just be the area. I have always lived in higher cost areas I guess. CA and AK probably being some of the most expensive when it comes to preschoool and childcare.

Good Luck!

It is extremely hard to have structured activities in the afternoon during the school year , such an art project or cooking project. Once we have lunch and rest time it takes us up to snack time. Depending on the kids' schedules and the numbers our afternoon snack is done in 2 shifts. The preschool age children have snack while I am picking up the school age kids from school. The younger ones are about finished when the older ones arrive. I almost always have to make 2 trips to pick up kids, sometimes 3. By the time we get all the kids through snack it does take an hour. We don't wait until they are all there usually because some kids go home before that time and the parents want them to have the snack there. The school age kids either want to just veg ( just take it easy and not do much of anything) or they want to run and get their energy out of their system. To try and get them involved in an organized activity just doesn't work.
So yes, there is a lot of free choice. They have the options of puzzles, games, playdough, coloring, toys, etc. Since I don't have babies I can allow the kids to do more messy kinds of things anytime they choose. Thanks for posting the schedule, it's helpful to see how others so things.

As for the name, I'm just not sure. In our area we have daycares and we have preschools. Basically parents take their kids to daycare when they have to go to work. They take their kids to preschool when they want to prepare them for kindergarten. The past couple years we had an afterschool program for older kids 4th grade and up in our community. In bigger cities, like Kearney they have big centers where they do preschool activities like I posted in my schedule. They were not a preschool, but a daycare that did preschool activities. Stay at home parents that wanted their children in preschool could not send the children there --just during the preschool activities. They sent their children to a facility that only had preschool classes and not extra hours care. This I think is where the confusion lies with my business. I see my business as first and foremost a preschool. I offer the before and after school care as an added convenience to the families and a way to make the business cash flow. I'm afraid just saying the "Discovery Center" will lead people to think of me as just a daycare.
Dh and I have thought about just being "Linda's" and then putting " a preschool and afterschool program"

I was just talking with my sister from Grand Island last night and we were discussing rates. There is a big difference between here and there even. We don't have any big employers in our area. We have a lot of low income, state paid families in the area. Very few of my families are even on salary. Most are paid per hour. They don't get much for paid vacations and many live paycheck to paycheck. The economic status of our community just doesn't allow for much higher rates. I have no doubt that I could run the same business in a bigger place, probably almost double my rates and be full. Early childhood is such a difficult profession to conform into a typical business structure.
thanks again. I'll keep working on my ads.