Know How to Promote Your Babysitting Service
You won’t make much money from babysitting if no one knows you provide the service. If you want parents to entrust their children to you, you’ll need to spread the word that you’re a capable and trustworthy childcare provider. A little strategic self-promotion will quickly increase your client list.
Flyers and Cards
Print some flyers and business cards to hand out to parents in your area. Use online tools like PhotoADKing which has 100+ customizable babysitting flyer templates. Include information about how long you’ve been babysitting, where you’re willing to travel to and whether you can care for children in your own home, your contact information, and any first aid or childcare courses you’ve taken. Distribute your flyers and cards to places where parents of young children frequently shop, such as children’s clothing stores, toy stores, daycare centers, and grocery stores.
Listings of Businesses
Advertise in your local business listings or buy ad space in your local newspaper or regional magazine. You can also try to get your babysitting services mentioned in any catalogs, leaflets, or pamphlets distributed by local businesses. Again, concentrate your efforts on businesses that are likely to attract a large number of parents with school-aged children, such as theme parks or family-friendly restaurants.
Social Media
Request that your current customers recommend your services to their friends. Parents of young children are likely to know many people who have children of a similar age to their own. If you consistently do a good job, there’s no reason why your clients shouldn’t be happy to recommend you to their friends who need someone to watch their children. You could also ask friends and family to inform local schools and kindergartens about your babysitting services.
Online
Get your contact information from services like Sittercity, Care.com, and Sitters.com. Parents looking for childcare providers can use these websites to find sitters in their area by simply entering their zip code into a search box. Once you’ve received positive feedback and testimonials on these sites, you’ll usually get more work.
Interview with parents who are interested in hiring you
Before hiring you to care for their children, parents will usually want to meet with you or at least speak with you on the phone. In order to demonstrate your babysitting skills and knowledge, ask questions to help you understand their children’s needs and answer any questions they have about you and your experience.
- If you are under the age of 18, always notify your parents of your plans to attend an interview and provide them with the name, phone number, and address of any potential clients, even if they are people you know.
- If the child you will be babysitting is present at the interview, make an effort to interact with them so the parents can see how well you get along.
- It’s perfectly fine to turn down a job if you don’t like the way it sounds. The interview process is bidirectional, with the goal of finding a good fit for everyone.
Volunteer to look after the children you know
Begin by asking your parents, relatives, family friends, and social circle members to recommend you to people in need of a babysitter or to let you watch their children. Offer your services for free at first to gain babysitting experience for your resume.
If you have any young cousins, for example, you can ask your aunts and uncles to watch them while they run errands or go out on a date night. When they see that you can care for their children without an issue, they may recommend you to other people they know, and you can begin charging for your services.
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