A monthly newsletter for a child care center, done well, will return your investment in time with increased client retention, engagement, and satisfaction.
The very essence of a newsletter is its ability to provide relevant information on a schedule that allows parents and children to look forward to its publication.
You can place any content you like in a newsletter, but the most successful ones are careful to balance promotional content and information and news of benefit and interest to readers. If your goal is to nurture relationships with your customers, a monthly newsletter is one of the better tools you can use.
Why You Should Send a Newsletter For Your Child Care Center
Newsletters provide a vital source of communication between staff and parents. When caregivers are dropping off or picking up their kids from your facility, they might not always have time to stop and have a detailed conversation about how their child is doing.
Engaging newsletters helps parents feel more in touch with their children. By showing photographs and articles, they have more to talk about when their children come home. They can even try to build on the lessons they've learned during your program, offering supplemental activities at home.
It also gives them peace of mind, knowing their children are safe and happy while they work. Seeing pictures and reading articles go a long way to helping parents feel comfortable leaving their offspring with you.
It can also build brand loyalty. When you communicate with your customers, you'll build stronger bonds and keep parents coming back for more. When it's time for them to enroll their younger children in an educational program, they'll be more likely to choose a business that has kept them in the loop previously.
What You Should Include in a Newsletter
A newsletter is the perfect place to let people know about the goings-on at your establishment. You should include details on recent activities that took place within your setting. You could include photographs and a short article on everything from a field trip to a finger painting class!
Introduce new staff in your newsletter. If a new person has been recruited, run a short announcement including their name, picture, and some details about their background. This will help parents have a better idea of who is taking care of their children. It improves their confidence in the people taking care of their children.
You should also let parents know about upcoming developments. Changes to classes, menus, and anything else are all information parents should know about. It's also a good idea to let them know about developments in the company that could be relevant, like a change in company ownership or new branches opening.
It's all about striking a balance. You want to show off your setting's achievements but you also need to give parents the information they need and find interesting. Think carefully about your audience when producing a preschool newsletter and you'll enjoy better engagement.
The Benefits of a Monthly Newsletter
A newsletter is a great way to share multiple pieces of news in a single publication. Instead of spending lots of time producing multiple announcements or making individual calls to parents, you can summarize news in one handy publication.
By communicating with parents, you have the potential to build deeper bonds with your core client base. They'll feel greater loyalty to your business when you keep them in the loop with regular communication. It also allows you to draw focus to the good things you're doing and the investments you're making to provide a great service.
Child care center newsletters are also convenient. If you're changing drop-off time or making an addition to the lesson plan, it pays to let parents know in writing. A good newsletter should be easy to read and accessible whenever a parent wishes, so it's a great way to save time when communicating.
Finally, newsletters for child care centers make your business seem more professional. A well-produced, official means of communication coming out of your business shows you have support staff and infrastructure backing up the core elements of your company.
Newsletter Metrics
Once you've prepared a quality newsletter, it's important to measure its effectiveness. A newsletter can take up a decent chunk of your time, so it's important to ensure it's doing its job correctly.
We can help you research accurate metrics for your newsletter, including:
- Bounce rate
- Delivery rate
- Spam complaint rates
- Open rate
- Unsubscribe rates
If your metrics are poor, it doesn't mean you should stop producing a newsletter. You just need to think up some new newsletter engagement ideas to appeal to your customer base better.
Remember not to flood your customers with a deluge of updates. One newsletter every month or so should be enough. Sending out constant newsletters will waste time and can also make parents feel as if they're being spammed.
Improve Communication Today
In the modern world, communication is more important than ever. And it's crucial in a childcare program, where parents need as much information about your setting as possible.
Early Learning Ventures helps you to manage the administrative side of childcare, so you can get on with caring for children and building relationships with families.
From the production of a newsletter for your child care center to invoicing and attendance tracking, there's so much we can do to help your business run smoothly. Schedule a demo today to find out how we can take your childcare business to the next level.
Are you looking for more child care management information? Check out our Ultimate Guide to Child Care Management.
Our child care management system makes running your child care program simple and efficient. Get back to what's most important. You shouldn't have to spend more time on the administrative tasks than you do with children and staff.
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Or schedule a demo with us to learn more about how our child care management system, Alliance Core, can streamline your administrative processes.
Do you run an early childhood association made up of child care providers? If so, check out our Ultimate Guide to Shared Service Alliance.
Header image courtesy of Jumpstory.