Using Craigslist to Promote Your Business

Craigslist is the largest free online classified service in the country, now available in most metropolitan areas.

It is a place where parents look for a child care provider, and family child care providers place ads looking for parents to enroll in their program.

On the day I wrote this article, over 80 child care providers were advertising their program on Craigslist for Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Are you advertising on Craigslist?

It's easy to do. You can post a lot of information about the benefits of your program. Here's one example: "A safe and fun place to experiment and learn through play. I encourage each child to share experiences, honor diversity, respect each others feelings, and discover the beauty and importance of nature and life that surrounds them."

You can re-post your ad often; weekly is a common practice. Most child care providers don’t include their name, address, phone number, or other contact information in their ad. Instead, they use an email address created by Craigslist that allows interested parents to send their reply to the ad through Craigslist. This helps child care providers protect their privacy and allow them to respond to serious inquiries only.

Not all child care providers like Craigslist. Despite these privacy protections, some child care providers are reluctant to use this service. Other child care providers use Craigslist to fill their spaces on a regular basis.

I suggest you try using Craigslist to see what parents are looking for in your area. This can help you in your marketing efforts.

To make your ad stand out, there is a service called Vflyer. It allows you to create a professional design and layout for your ad.If you do communicate with a parent interested in your program, follow these simple rules:

* Don’t allow anyone to come to your home for the first time when you are alone or with children.

* Get the parent’s phone number and call to verify their identity before you conduct an interview. Also ask for their address and place of work.

* As with any client, ask for the first week payment in advance.

What has been your experience using Craigslist?

Tom Copeland – www.tomcopelandblog.com

Image credit: https://techreader.com/tech/craigslist-get-upgrade-now-allows-users-to-hide-flagged-posts/

For more information on marketing your business, see my book Family Child Care Marketing Guide.