Childcare.co.uk- no replies

[bluechair84]

Hi everyone,

Recently I've had quite a few parents view my profile on childcare.co.uk. As they have shown an interest I've emailed back to say I have a space etc, but I get no replies back, not even to say they are no longer interested. Is this the same for everyone else? If someone emails me even if it's nothing to do with childminding out of politeness I reply. It's very frustrating isn't it?

amo x

[rosebud]

I had about 3 replies out of 10 sent. I think that if they're not interested for whatever reason they don't think to message and let you know. Sometimes there are contact details on their profile you could always try texting, phoning or emailing them direct.

[nipper]

I think if they have not activated or visited their account for 6 months or longer, they should be de-registered or forced to re-register, because whenever I do a 'nearest first' search for parents, the first two pages are full of members who haven't been on in the last 12 months or more.
Sorry I know this wasn't to do with your original post, but yes I do agree with you, especially when we can see when they have opened their messages. I even have parents who have put in an advert, I reply to it and they don't even open the message I send them back...bizarre or what?

[rickysmiths]

Personally I'm not impressed with the web site or the quality of the parents.

I have wasted hours giving info, interviewing several families who have all said they want to sign a contract and how relieved they had found good quality care only to back out at the last min. Only one of five was polite enough to call and say they had gone to a nursery instead the others I have heard about and one I bumped into at toddlers, she did go very red and hasn't been back!! Basically very rude and arrogant.

[rachelle]

I've got one of my full timers from there and had a lot of interest from parents too. I always message first as I think parents can't initiate contact or view your numbers so I send a message with my website address and my contact numbers. My full timer wouldn't have found me if it wasn't for the site as she lives about 15 miles away (mum works local to me though)

There will be some parents on there keeping their options open or not knowing what they are doing and maybe I've jsut been lucky but out of the ones I've contacted I've only had 2 not open the message. If I did a letter box drop of adverts I would have a far larger percentage not reply to the advert. i find the site really good value for what I've got from it. I do make sure I log in daily though and I do get parents to leave me reviews.

[JCrakers]

I too think that if you haven't logged in for a certain length of time then your profile should be deleted. When I search for nearest parents some date back over a year.

I have never had a reply to any emails sent . Spent £20 back in march and just spent another £10 as there are 2 parents close by. Wonder if they will reply?
I just feel its downright rude not to reply to someone who's taken time to write. It goes to show that a lot of people think that we are not worth replying to and basically we are better off without these people

[Richard]

You can use the Advanced Search to search for the newest or most recently logged in members within a smaller search radius eg. as little as 1 mile.

Parents usually receive lots of interest in their profile from several childcare providers so it is important to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

The quality of some messages that I see from childcare providers could be significantly improved as often you can tell they have been written in a hurry and are contain grammatical and spelling errors which can be off putting for some parents.

My advice would be to put a lot of though into your message before you send it. Rather than asking people to read your profile, you should sell yourself in the message. Mention your experience and what makes you different from your competitors.

Don't forget you can also include your contact details in your message if you wish.

Good luck

Richard

[JCrakers]

Hi Richard,

Would it be a good idea to delete profiles if they have not logged in for a while? If I put a radius of my area they are mostly months old and if I do a search for newest they are too far away

[Richard]

Hi Richard,

Would it be a good idea to delete profiles if they have not logged in for a while? If I put a radius of my area they are mostly months old and if I do a search for newest they are too far away

You can use the Advanced Search to search for the newest or most recently logged in members in a smaller search area.

Some parents are looking for ongoing childcare eg. regular babysitters etc.

[bluechair84]

Thanks everyone,

i was getting a bit worried it was just me! My dh is also self employed and has told me to 'get used to it' and that people will only contact you back if they want something.

Thanks Richard, yes I had put quite a bit about myself (not too long mind) and qualifications etc, I have lots of experience but still nothing. Yes I suppose there will be those who will notcie one day....aggghhh I need more mindees! Just getting a little worried as things seem to be quiet.

Thanks again

amo x

[crazyhazy]

I think the parents that are interested call themselves, certainly I know I have parents who got my number from the website originally but I have also emailled loads of parents on there and only ever had one reply and that came to nothing.

[jane5]

I have had 3 mindee's from the web site and I have another settling in on Wednesday and starting after christmas so for me it has been worth the cost.

I have messaged loads of people on there and maybe 30% have answered but that is human nature and will happen however you advertise.

I do like the fact that I am not just sat waiting for the phone to ring, I have been put in contact with people who need childcare and I have then been able to sell my self.

[Becci26]

You can use the Advanced Search to search for the newest or most recently logged in members within a smaller search radius eg. as little as 1 mile.

Parents usually receive lots of interest in their profile from several childcare providers so it is important to make yourself stand out from the crowd.

The quality of some messages that I see from childcare providers could be significantly improved as often you can tell they have been written in a hurry and are contain grammatical and spelling errors which can be off putting for some parents.

My advice would be to put a lot of though into your message before you send it. Rather than asking people to read your profile, you should sell yourself in the message. Mention your experience and what makes you different from your competitors.

Don't forget you can also include your contact details in your message if you wish.

Good luck

Richard

Hi Richard,

Can I just mention that if I narrow the search to a 1mile radius it still brings up parents over 10 miles away (just less of them), it does say they are less than one mile away but when you look at their location that is not the case at all.

Becci

[nipper]

Er yes and I have just done a one mile search of parents within one mile of me and it came up with 43 hits dating back to October 2009. Not really very helpful!

Why not just ditch the ones who haven't activated their details recently?

[marnieb]

Hi Richard,

Can I just mention that if I narrow the search to a 1mile radius it still brings up parents over 10 miles away (just less of them), it does say they are less than one mile away but when you look at their location that is not the case at all.

Becci

I have this problem too - yes, I know they use some fancy software to locate parents by distance, but it NEVER works properly, it keeps giving me details of parents who are, according to them, less than a mile or so away from me. BUT they are actually a good 15 minute drive, not at all local or walkable!!!!

I live in a very highly populted area with 4 schools nearby, but i never get details of parents nearby, yet my friend who is a 10 min walk away and has a different postcode gets loads of enquiries from people who are as near to me as to her, iyswim.

[appleblossom]

Personally I'm not impressed with the web site or the quality of the parents.

I have wasted hours giving info, interviewing several families who have all said they want to sign a contract and how relieved they had found good quality care only to back out at the last min. Only one of five was polite enough to call and say they had gone to a nursery instead the others I have heard about and one I bumped into at toddlers, she did go very red and hasn't been back!! Basically very rude and arrogant.

I have found exactly the same regarding lack of replies if I have sent an email to somebody nearby who has viewed my profile.
I haven't had any enquiries at all through the site. So I decided last week to cancel my subscription payments, although I may as well stay on as a free member.

[EmmaReed84]

I have to say I have found the complete opposite. Just as I was going through my pre-reg I went on and paid for 3 months. I messaged afew people and got a few replies, one in particular was two siblings under 5, 50 hours per week... Result! I have also had a lot of messages from parents looking for care one which resulted in another over 5.

I am now unable to take on any more children, and have had to turn away 3 sets of parents two looking for full time. The only issue I ever had with the site was the automatic debit for another 3 months subscription however that was delt with, with the utmost professionalism. (my email was a bit snotty sorry lol)

[Richard]

Hi Becci

The postcode and location name and independent.

A user might live in a small village with a particular postcode but sometimes they might choose to enter the name of their nearest main town or city. The postcode is more accurate than the location name.

Richard

Hi Richard,

Can I just mention that if I narrow the search to a 1mile radius it still brings up parents over 10 miles away (just less of them), it does say they are less than one mile away but when you look at their location that is not the case at all.

Becci

[mummyMia]

I have been messaging all the new families within my area for about 3 months now. The vast majority don't ever reply. Some reply weeks later. It has taken a while but I have justed signed on a mindee from there so I think you just need to be persistent

[JCrakers]

I emailed two parents last night , they read their messages about 10-15mins after I wrote them.....wonder if they will reply even if its to say no thanks....probably not
I was very polite and all my spelling was perfect (believe it or not, I am a childminder and I have good English and spelling too )

I introduced myself, told them of my qualifications, my website, my experience, my vacancies.... and even said thank you at the end...lol

Im not holding out for any replies though