Whether you’re a school trying to get the word out (here are some daycare advertising ideas, by the way), or a preschool looking to keep parents engaged, a daycare newsletter is one of the most cost-effective ways to stay connected with your community.
You can curate any content you like in your newsletter, but it’s important to remember that readers want a variety of content, not just promotional material. The most successful daycare newsletters for parents make every effort to strike a balance between selling and informational content. These kinds of newsletters are best if your goal is customer relationship retention.
In this article, we will take a deep dive into the benefits and different strategies for your daycare center to implement newsletters into their regime, along with some helpful childcare newsletter ideas. If the end of the school year is coming up, check out our blog on end of year letters to parents!
- Why Should You Create Daycare Newsletters for Parents
- What Should be Included in a Daycare Newsletter
- Childcare Newsletter Ideas
- How to Distribute a Childcare Newsletter
- Free, Printable Daycare Newsletter Templates
Why Should You Create Daycare Newsletters for Parents
Monthly newsletters are an excellent way for you to stay in touch with parents far away. As a provider of high-quality, safe, and secure child care services, you and your staff know that every moment outside of work is precious. That kind of sentiment is likely shared by at least some of your parents.
A newsletter is a great way to inform your parents about the most recent activities and events happening at your daycare. By sending them a weekly newsletter, you are staying connected to them and can create a positive relationship.
Newsletters contain a variety of content for parents to read, from upcoming event notifications to event calendars. They are an easy way for parents to see what’s going on around the daycare.
Here’s why you should start sending a newsletter out to your parents (hint: it can do wonders for your center!)
- Newsletters provide news on upcoming events, fundraising opportunities, and academic accomplishments.
- Newsletters can keep parents up to date on school news, classroom news, and can even welcome new students to the school.
- Newsletters can inform parents about what their children are learning in school. This informative content can strengthen the parent's connection to their child's classroom.
What Should be Included in a Daycare Newsletter
You should use a type of newsletter that works for you and your school. The best option is one that lets you send the newsletter on your own time, which is the best way to be sure that it is sent to everyone.
Here are all the components within a daycare newsletter that your center could incorporate into your awesome newsletter!
1. Pick a Platform. You can choose how you want to distribute your preschool newsletter. You can send out a printed copy or email it to all parents each day. The important thing is that you keep your preschoolers’ families informed and up to date with the latest happenings. If you’re choosing to send a newsletter via email, there’s an array of email services that offer templates and email list management.
2. Choose a Cadence. To be effective, make sure you’re keeping parents updated with news and information in your newsletter. Parents need updates but they don’t want to be bombarded with too much information at once. For young preschoolers, try one update a month. Older kids can handle more frequent updates. If you choose daily updates, you can opt into a platform where parents can create a portal, and you can easily communicate daily or even hourly.
3. Pinpoint Talking Points. Focus your daycare newsletter on a few key things. Include holidays or upcoming events, and then promote one or two of the most important aspects of your business. Always include a call to action at the bottom of your newsletter: check out our website; like us on Facebook; follow us on Twitter, etc.
4. Proofread, Proofread, Proofread. Proofreading is a must. If you have resources, try to get multiple eyes on your newsletter before sending or handing out. Having multiple eyes on your newsletter will help catch grammatical errors and make sure you aren’t leaving anything out.
5. Be Consistent. Set your default day of the week or month, if you don’t have one set already. Do this now, before your first school newsletter. Call for feedback once a month for the first three months to test what works and to improve on it. Consistency is key!
Childcare Newsletter Ideas
Good communication is important with parents—which is why a newsletter can be helpful. Below, we’ve listed the top reasons why a daycare newsletter is essential, as well as how to create and distribute your own. A newsletter is a great way to stay connected with your parents, and can be used for all of the following purposes:
Request Reviews
Along with daycare newsletters, reviews are also important for the success of any business with a digital presence. They’re especially important for industries built on trust like child care as they help build your reputation and business.
You want to only ask for reviews in one specific way: by email. Email newsletters are the easiest way to reach parents and an effective way to ask for a review without being pushy.
The more you ask for reviews, the more likely satisfied parents are to leave you one. Make it easy for them. Mobile-friendliness is important for busy families. Make sure your emails look okay on small screens and the links you share are easy to click with a thumb.
For your daycare to start receiving reviews on Google, you first have to set up your Google My Business account. Here are the steps to get your daycare listed on Google:
- Create a Google Business Account
- Visit the Google Business Profile Gateway
- Add your business name and category
- Add your daycare’s location(s)
- Add your business hours
- Add contact details
- Add photos
- Verify your business
Learn how to receive reviews to Facebook:
- Create a business Facebook account
- Display the Reviews tab on your Facebook page
- Promote your page on other social media platforms
- Send email invitations to review to new parents
Daycare News & Updates
Believe it or not, but parents want to hear about news and updates that are happening with your daycare. Use your daycare newsletter to share the latest information about your children: how much they’ve grown this week, what their best improvement is, and so on. The newsletter also helps them to feel involved in your daycare; it’s a great way for them to stay connected. Make consistent communication to parents a top priority.
Seasonal Activities/Ideas/Information
A newsletter is a great place to announce any events you’re hosting like an open house, in-service days, or other monthly events.
Also, every month there is a holiday or observance that is celebrated. During this time, you could remind your parents of those events with a newsletter thematically related to those events. For example, you could remind people to send good wishes on Valentine’s Day.
You can also use this type of newsletter to inform parents of changes in schedules and calendar updates.
Health and Wellness Topics
With what has been happening in recent years, staying on top of health and wellness is more important than ever. Keep your parents up to date with Health and Wellness by creating a Health and Wellness newsletter. The newsletter can be sent out quarterly and keep parents informed about new policies, laws, grants, funding opportunities, and free resources.
Child Development Information
A child development monthly newsletter will help parents understand their child—why he does certain things at certain times, what they’re learning by doing them, and what you can do to help them develop.
Each monthly issue could keep parents informed about what to expect at each stage of their child’s development, and how to deal with each month’s changes and challenges.
Learning Objectives and Lesson Plans for the Month
Put the finishing touches on your plans for the month by creating a daycare newsletter featuring the curriculum and its learning objectives. You can include a list of activities you propose for parents to complete with their children at home, based on the concepts you teach in class.
Allow people to respond and exchange ideas with other parents and learn how to support your child’s development. Teach parents about fun activities they can do with their children without leaving home.
You could also offer additional reading for parents to help get more involved in their child’s development. This can include links to articles you’ve enjoyed or think will be helpful. Personalized recommendations are a great way to add value to your custom newsletter, and to boost engagement with parents.
Reminders for Parents
In the always-dynamic world of communication, keeping parents informed is important. An editable newsletter is a great way to get that information out there and to have families engaged in your school year and send them updates and reminders.
Make sure parents have everything they need to make decisions for their family. Create a weekly newsletter that includes all the dates and details that are important for their family and planning. Send them quick instructions on how to sign up at the bottom of an email. You could also include calendar invites that they could add to their Google calendar as quick reminders.
Here is how to insert a Google calendar, Apple calendar, and Outlook event invites into your daycare emails:
- Create a new event
- Set up all of your details in the invite
- Save and send your invite to your list of parents
- Include link in your newsletter
A Menu for Lunch or Snacks
When it comes to our children’s health and happiness, it’s essential to serve nutritious foods that contribute to the well-being and healthy growth of young children.
If you’re serving meals in your daycare, it’s important to inform the parents on what you’re serving. Do that by using a daycare newsletter!
A Quick Review of Your School’s Policies
One of the best things about newsletters is that they contain lots of information. The most common things included in a newsletter are school policies and procedures, special announcements, news, upcoming events, weather or holiday wishes, staff recognition, and birthdays. For example, if a student is running late to class, a parent can read the newsletter to know what time a student must be in their seat. When parents know school policies and procedures, they will be able to help their children follow the rules and be good students.
The Link to Your Online Payment Portal
If you’re working with a daycare management platform, you can use your daycare monthly newsletter to guide parents to sign up and log into their portal.
These cohesive platforms are used to manage one or multi-site child care centers and they support better communication between staff and parents.
Parent Feedback and Involvement
Your daycare newsletter is a great avenue for soliciting parental input. Use open-ended prompts, feedback forms, or interactive surveys to find out what parents think about your school operations.
Likewise, you can use your school newsletter to generate more involvement within the classroom. For example, you can use the monthly newsletter to encourage parents to sign-up to host parties or to handle other volunteer shifts.
Staff Spotlights
Build familiarity between parents and staff members. One way to do so is by including staff spotlights in each monthly newsletter. Highlight the achievements and contributions of each employee, along with some fun facts about them.
Educational Resources
Your newsletter is also a great place to equip parents with the resources they need to enrich and enhance their child's education. Consider sharing book recommendations, at-home activities, and links to articles that parents might find useful.
How to Distribute a Childcare Newsletter
There are different ways to build a daycare newsletter. Some send out postcards as kids are picked up. Some also mail physical newsletters directly to a home address. But one modern newsletter method growing in popularity is email. An email is a great way to reach parents who are already checking their email regularly.
If you’re looking to create a newsletter, there are many ways to do so. But first, it’s crucial you think about distribution as this will help you reach as many people as possible. They may not be able to receive digital newsletters.
You may also consider having a few copies of newsletters printed. While this option may have an upfront cost, you are likely to reach a greater number of parents as they will be able to pick up a copy on their own time and at their own convenience.
Here are descriptions and examples of different ways to distribute your daycare newsletter for parents.
Let’s face it. An email newsletter is an excellent way to connect with parents and future families. Even if they have tons of emails to sort through every day and even if they don’t know who you are, the fact that your brand shows up in their inboxes on the regular is still an opportunity to be taken seriously.
Best practices for sending them through email.
Provide Value
Parents are busy. They don’t have time to sift through crowded inboxes to find important information. Make sure your newsletter content is beneficial to families.
Show some personality
People think about their future long before it becomes a reality. A newsletter does not have to be stuffy and boring. Bring your personality into the newsletters.
Keep it short:
Don’t make them hunt for it. And don’t bury your most important message at the bottom of the page on some other page where they have to scroll through all of your content.
Pay attention to your email newsletter design
A good layout of your newsletter will help get your message across. Working from a template can be essential for the creation process.
Watch your email frequency and timing
If you send too many emails, your subscribers will stop opening them. If you send too few, they’ll forget about you.
How to Build an Email Newsletter
1. Prepare Your Email Newsletter Strategy
Before setting out to create a newsletter, you should define your objectives. Successful newsletters are goal-oriented, audience-specific, and support a larger marketing strategy.
2. Choose A Newsletter Software
There are several email software programs to choose from that will help you from ideation and building to sending your daycare newsletter. Companies like MailChimp, provide an array of template designs to choose from and help manage your contact lists.
3. Set up Your Newsletter Email Lists
With companies like MailChimp, you’re able to download an excel sheet with all of your family contacts and enter it into their database. You are even able to organize your lists from contacts who have left, are present, or future families, to be able to send each category the proper messaging.
4. Create Your First Newsletter Campaign
Now this is where it gets fun. Choose a template that best represents your daycare and the content theme you are sending. Plugin your content and organize it accordingly!
5. Preview and Send a Test Email
We recommend adding yourself as a contact and sending your newsletter to yourself and accessing it on different devices to see what it looks like before sending it to parents.
6. Send Your Newsletter
Once you’ve proofread your email, check your test sends and you’re ready to send to your parents! Make sure you keep tabs on your newsletter metrics, including open rates. These data points can help you refine and improve your newsletter publication and newsletter push strategies.
Free, Printable Daycare Newsletter Templates
Another great option for distributing compelling daycare newsletters is the printed route. You’ll be able to physically hand these out to parents or keep them by the front door so parents can pick them up at check-in.
- Pick a template design that best represents your daycare to use for all or most newsletters to keep your brand image consistent.
- Insert quality pictures (you’re able to incorporate your smartphone images).
- Make sure the template used is aesthetically pleasing. We recommend using free services to help with the design like Canva.
- Use color to attract the reader’s eye.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread.
- Print!
If you’re looking for free daycare newsletter templates, we have a dozen of them for you to choose from (one for each month). Simply download the templates and adjust the text to fit your needs!
How to Create Engaging Newsletters
To engage parents in your daycare newsletter content, it's important to be mindful of both your written content and your design.
Writing Tips
When it comes to your writing, the main takeaway is to be friendly but also professional in your tone. Aim for brevity and clarity, remembering the your main goal is to impart meaningful information to busy parents.
Design Tips
Make your newsletter easy on the eyes, ensuring plenty of white space to break up your text. Headings and subheadings can be helpful, as can embedded graphics and video content. You don't want your newsletter to look too cluttered or busy, but neither do you want just a bland, boring wall of text.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the main benefits of daycare newsletters?
Daycare newsletters can keep parents informed, foster engagement between parents and the school, and also help parents feel more satisfied about their school experience.
How often should you send newsletters to parents?
For most daycares, it makes sense to distribute a parent newsletter once a month.
What content should be included in daycare newsletters?
Daycare newsletter content might include a calendar of events, upcoming parties/activities, staff spotlights, at-home activities for learning enrichment, and beyond.
How can you make your newsletters more engaging?
Writing in a friendly and professional tone, while conveying meaningful information in a succinct format, is crucial. It's also worth considering the use of interactive elements, such as polls or surveys.
Are there any free tools for creating daycare newsletters?
Yes! We are thrilled to provide a full library of school newsletter templates, including some daycare newsletter templates for every month of the year.
How can we encourage parents to read our newsletters?
Focus on an eye-catching design, on engaging content, and on a consistent newsletter push schedule. Including opportunities for interaction, as well as contests and incentives, may also help.
