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Growing Your EnrollmentFour strategies to increase admissions at private schools

Why this guide?To help you grow your school’s enrollment. Here are the three strategies we provide:• The Open House Strategy• The Website Strategy• The Inbound Marketing Strategy

Plus, we’re including some best practices on personal tours and follow-ups.

Before we get started there are a few things you should know about this guide. As of this writing, Gradelink works with over 1,300 private schools all over the United States. So when it comes to private school enrollment, we feel as though we have a useful perspective on what works and what doesn’t.

Over the years, we’ve noticed a trend of enrollment pat-terns that confirm our suspicions: while Gradelink includes terrific digital recruitment features, technology is only half the battle. You need a strategy, too. Or several.

Perhaps you have tried some of these strategies already; our hope is that this guide will help you improve on them and ensure that you’re on the right track.

There’s something else we’ve been noticing (and you prob-ably have too): the traditional strategies, including the open house, need an update.

Why?Well, we dig into the answer in this guide, but in short:

because our world is changing – and fast. The parents and students in your community are a part of that world, which means that some enrollment tactics that worked 20 years ago might fall flat today.

By the way, is there anything worse than a throwing a party that no one shows up to? We want to make sure that doesn’t happen to you at your next open house!

This guide brings together time-tested recruitment strategies with new, innovative ideas. Many of these ideas capitalize on digital approaches, such as Facebook Live. And some of them use good old-fashioned approaches, such as

School Success Software

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postcards or door hangers. But all of our ideas have a few things in common: • They are based on evidence of what works and what doesn’t. • They use real people and real stories.• They combine in-person recruiting approaches with

digital ones.

So without further ado, we’re going to jump right into our re-imagination of the hallmark of private school recruiting, the all-important open house.

The Open House StrategyAs we mentioned in the introduction, who wants to be the host of a party that hardly anyone shows up to? For that matter, who would even want to be a guest at a party like that? It would be awkward, uncomfortable, and not a good look for your enrollment efforts.

Solving that problem starts with generating buzz –inter-est, curiosity, excitement, whatever you want to call it. Instead of pleading with parents to attend your open house, make them want to ask, “Hey, can you let us know when your next open house is? We want to be sure to make it!”

Read on for details.

1. Open House Advertising

A. Creating a buzz around your open house

What does it mean to create a buzz?Have you ever been in a movie theatre on opening night of a blockbuster movie? The kind that’s predicted to win an Oscar, yet still has mass-market appeal, and every theater is sold out?

Well, buzz is that feeling you experience when everyone around you is “buzzing” with anticipation while standing in line or taking their seats.

That’s our goal for your open house. Sure, there’s no need to fill a big movie theater, but we’d still like everyone in your community to be aware of it and excited about it.

Why you should use itWhen push comes to shove, people get busy, especially parents of young children. And especially on the optimal days to hold an open house: warm weather Spring and Fall days. Beach excursions, pool parties, and lots of other activ-ities beckon.

So you want each member of the family excited and buzzing about your open house, so they’re not lured away at the last minute.

Expert tips• Don’t just invite prospective new families: target your board

members and parents who you know are raving fans of your school. Make open houses a key part of their social calendar and you both win. By the way, what do we mean by “raving fans”? Download the free PDF at gradelink.com/raving to find out.

• Make sure your open house marketing materials are about the event itself and not the school in general.

• Publicize your open house using a Facebook event.• Timing is everything. And a timeline is also important; we

suggest a timeline approach to generating open house buzz.

Let’s put that all together and look at an example of a Facebook-oriented publicity timeline for an open house in mid-March:1. January: Launch a Facebook event and ask parents to

RSVP and invite their Facebook friends.2. Mid-February: Place banners on busy intersections (as

many as the city will allow). Put a “Find us on Facebook” message on your banners.

3. Mid-February: Ask parents to “share” your Facebook Live tours with their friends on social media.

4. Mid-February: Send direct mail and launch a door-hanger campaign.

5. Early-March: Launch a series of Facebook boosted posts.

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6. Early-March: Hold a paint-your-car rally. Ask parents to paint the name of your school and open house dates on their cars.

7. Day-of: Parents wear open-house-themed T-shirts to work!

B. Create a Facebook event for your open house in minutes

What is this?In Facebook, you can create something called an event. People can RSVP to the event and invite their own Facebook friends.

Why you should do thisIt makes it easy for your current families to share the invite with their friends who are not yet attending your school. It also helps you manage your open house guest list.

Not only that, it adds your event to your school’s Face-book Event Calendar, making it easy to find for anyone checking out your Facebook page.

Getting startedFollow Facebook’s instructions on creating events at gradelink.com/facebook-events

C. Amplify open house buzz using Facebook boosted posts

What is a Facebook boosted post?It’s a regular Facebook post but it appears to people who are not yet following your page. When you create an event, it’s announced as a post.

A boosted post isn’t an actual banner ad but you do pay for it to show up in people’s news feed. What’s great is that you can use Facebook’s advanced advertising tools. For exam-ple, you can choose who to target with the post.• Ensure your post targets everyone within a given zip code

or list of zip codes. • Ensure your post is displayed not just to those who follow

your page, but to their friends.• Ensure your post is displayed to a given age group (and you

can select other demographic targeting).

The idea is to combine the natural feeling of an event announcement post with sophisticated advertising targeting, so the right people see your event. That way you get the most bang for your buck.

Why you should use itFacebook boosted posts are an inexpensive way to get the word out to your community about your open house events.

Getting startedOnce you have created a post for your event, click the “Boost Post” button in the bottom right corner. Then, as described above, choose the audience you want to reach. You can select to boost the post to the news feeds of people who like your page, as well as their friends, or choose a specific audience through targeting.

Expert tip• To get people to follow your Facebook page (including your

existing families), boost a post about your open house event and then immediately afterward boost your school’s page. This makes it very easy for people to like and/or follow your page since it shows up in their feed back-to-back.

• By increasing the number of people who “like” your page due to boosted posts, the Facebook “likes” you pay for will increase the visibility of your event, thus generating more “likes” and free publicity.

WarningsBe sure to refine your audience when boosting a Facebook post – otherwise you will burn through your budget quickly. We recommend targeting married people who live in your zip code and are between 30-50 years old.

D. Make your own open house “movie trailer” with a Facebook Live video

What is Facebook Live?Facebook Live is an app that runs on your phone which allows you to stream live video to your school’s Facebook

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account. You can use Facebook Live to make a movie trailer for your open house. You can also film specific grade-level school tours.

Why you should do thisParents are busy. If your open house is during the work week, parents need to take time off to attend, which can be difficult. If a parent can see that your school is exactly what they’re looking for from watching a two-minute Facebook Live video then they will be more likely to book a tour or at least attend your open house to learn more.

Plus• Facebook Live is free. And Facebook promotes your Live

videos for you! Why? Because Facebook knows that video, especially live video, has high engagement rates.

• Facebook Live makes it easier for your current parents to invite a friend to check out your school. They just need to like or share your video when they see it online.

• Short time commitment. You can make the tour one to two minutes long. This makes it easy for someone to watch on a lunch break because there’s not a lot of commitment on their side.

• Schools who use Facebook Live for grade-level tours find that the Live videos reach a larger audience. Schools that use Facebook Live for school tours have views in the hun-dreds, while non-Facebook Live posts have views only in the double digits.

Getting started1. In Facebook, go to the News Feed, and tap the “Live”

option denoted by the camcorder icon.2. Give Facebook access to your camera and microphone

when prompted. 3. Choose your privacy setting.4. Write a compelling description. (Hint: convey to parents

what’s in it for them by watching your live video.)

Expert tips1. Tell people ahead of time when you’re going to broadcast

and ask them to join you. You can even make it a Facebook Event, as we described earlier.

2. Make a promo video for your open house that parents can share.

3. Make grade-level specific tours.4. Include a link to your schedule-a-tour page in the descrip-

tion so that interested people can book a tour right from

your Facebook Live video. This is great spot to use a scheduling app, such as Acuity.

WarningsKeep your tours short – one to two minutes long. Remem-ber, this is a trailer. Your goal is to get prospective families interested enough to book a live tour with you or attend your open house – not to give away the whole story.

E. Mount banners or signs at large intersections

What is this?Put up your banners and signs in the busiest intersections of your city. The signs don’t even need to be right next to the school – it should be on the intersections that get the most traffic.

Why you should do thisMany people drive through your area on their commute to work and may not realize there is a school nearby.

Getting started• Contact your city hall. Most cities have limits on the number

of signs any one organization can put up. Whatever the limit is, take advantage and post the maximum signs allowed.

• Make sure your sign has a clear call-to-action (CTA), which is an easy-to-read and easy-to-use piece of content that asks viewers to take a specific action. In this case, it would be something like, “Come to our open house this Saturday at 10:00 AM!”

Expert tips• Make the open house the

focus, not the school. • Make the open house

date and time very large.• Add a link to your

Facebook page or school website.

F. Direct mail + Door Hangers

What are they?Direct mail is made out of that substance called “paper.” Remember paper?

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It’s great, it never even runs out of batteries! A door hanger is a card that hangs on people’s front door knob, so it’s impossi-ble to miss when they come home.

Why you should do thisWe’re all for cutting-edge digital marketing, but make sure you include good ’ol direct mail as part of your open house promotional campaigns. Also, mail delivered right to a mailbox impacts people differently than materials placed on a doorstep, which is why it’s better to use both if you can afford to.

Getting startedFirst of all, for the sake of economy, we recommend conduct-ing direct mail with postcards. Unlike an enveloped letter, a postcard doesn’t have to be opened for your parents to under-stand what it is. And it’s easier to consume. The chances are high that parents will at least skim your postcard and thus be made aware of your open house.

Be sure to include the following in your postcard• Your school logo should be large.• Your CTA should be simple to understand and front and

center. If nothing else comes to mind, you can’t go wrong with, “Attend our open house!”

• Be sure to include a time, date, and location.• Bonus points if you include a picture of someone who will

greet attendees at the open house.• An RSVP web address. Note about RSVP tracking: this

is where we mix traditional promotion with digital tech-niques: include a special website address on your postcard that allows parents to RSVP. This also functions as a track-ing method. We discuss this in more detail under “Website Strategy,” later in this guide. To do this, we recommend a “landing page” dedicated to your mailer. For example, your RSVP web address might read www.exampleschool.edu/open-house-RSVP. This will allow you to use your website analytics to track the number of visitors to that page.

Why do all this “tracking” work, anyway? • First of all, it helps you determine the size of your guest list

with less effort on your part.• Secondly, it helps build your permanent list of prospec-

tive families (whether or not they attend this particular open house).

• Last but not least, it tells you how effective your mailing was at convincing people to come.

Expert tipBecause door hangers can be expensive to produce and distribute, we suggest you mobilize school volunteers to distribute them. Here’s how to make that happen:1. Segment your city into zones of about 100 houses each

where your ideal family is likely to live. Evaluate neighbor-hoods where your school’s current families live and focus on similar ones. If you prefer a more data-driven approach, you can use Zillow.com to filter by different data points, such as median price, housing type (for example, families with school-age children tend to live in homes with two or more bedrooms), etc.

2. Assign a number to each zone.3. Make a sign-up sheet so that volunteers can sign them-

selves up to distribute door hangers to a specific zone. 4. Next to the sign-up sheet, have the door hangers in bun-

dles of approximately 100.5. Send them on their merry way and have them let you

know when they are all finished. That’s it!

G. Paint your car rally

What is this?In short, it’s free, voluntary advertising. It promotes your open house by advertising it on the cars of volunteer parents – using window paint markers which you can purchase at craft, party or office supply stores.

Why you should do thisFirstly, to get attention – people don’t typically decorate and write on their cars. Secondly, it’s a way to build camarade-rie and school spirit among your families. It gives them an opportunity to tell the world about the very special school community that they belong to.

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Getting started• Purchase the window paint markers

and supplies, and hold a car win-dow painting rally at your school. Make sure the paint is easy to wash off – you don’t want to leave permanent marks!

• Ask your school community to paint an invitation to the open house on their vehicles. Be sure to include the dates of the open house and website address as the “painted” CTA.

Expert tips• Clean the windows before you paint them. • Be sure to include the dates of your open house.• This is an ideal place for your raving fan club to lead the

way. (Remember to get the PDF at gradelink.com/raving.) Don’t forget to take photographs!

2. Reminder campaigns: reminding people to attend your open house

Now that we’ve provided examples of how to create buzz – and RSVPs – we want you to make sure you’re not wasting all that effort. Prospective attendees need to be reminded in many different ways.

What is this?It’s pretty straightforward: Send prospective attendees an email, text, or Facebook message to remind them to attend the open house. Or, you could even give them a call.

The key here is to treat this activity as an essential part of your open house strategy. For each open house, think of this as your “reminder campaign.”

Why you should do thisBecause people are human and they simply forget or their calendars get mixed up and “unsynced” (it happens to the

best of us). But the biggest reason is that people may lose that initial excitement over time. When they see the Face-book Live video, or their friend’s decorated car at the grocery store, they’ll feel the buzz.

Reminders stoke that buzz again and build enthusiasm.

Getting startedFirst, choose your approach: old-fashioned “manual”

reminders or automated tech-based reminders. Here’s a useful rule-of-thumb: If you have 50

attendees or less on your list, use a manual approach or a mix of the two. More than 50? Save time and resources

with technology.

Automated email remindersWe recommend MailChimp’s Forever Free plan for email

marketing or an appointment-scheduling app. Simply upload your list of RSVP attendees, write a reminder email, and schedule it to be sent.

Another great tool for event communications is Eventbrite. However, it only makes sense if you create your open house event as an Eventbrite event. If you do, it auto-matically collects email addresses when people RSVP and then sends out reminders for you.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to promote an event on both Facebook and Eventbrite.

Automated Text/SMS remindersThese days you can send text reminders to busy parents on the go. This is a great way to communicate with RSVP’d guests who you know (from your analytics tracking) signed up to attend your open house via a mobile device. SMS marketing services, like SimpleTexting, work just like MailChimp: upload your list, write your message, and sched-ule the time and date to send to multiple recipients.

Tip: Send text message reminders the day before OR on the day of your event.

Manual remindersThe benefit of manual reminders is that they are easier to set up than the automated options. We recommend:• Sending emails with a templated approach that personal-

izes the greeting. E.g., “Dear Collins family.”• A quick phone call reminder, but make sure you have a script

ready – no “umms and uhhs” on your voicemail recordings.

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Tip: Use a free shared spreadsheet on Google docs (sheets.google.com) to track your manual reminder campaign efforts. You can also use Google Voice to send text messages from a school texting number that people can reply to just like a normal message.

Expert tipInvite board members and raving fan parents to attend as well – and include them in your reminders. Let them know that they can answer questions from new parents and it also improves the atmosphere of the open house by making it better attended.

3. Making a great first impression

OK, you created buzz and then you followed up on it with a great reminder campaign. Good job!

Next step? Make sure you follow through on the day of the event.

Getting startedImagine this: you pull into the parking lot for an event, any event. You think you’re in the right place but you’re not 100% sure. Maybe it’s dark and you don’t see any signs, or your GPS isn’t working. So you feel a little lost, a little uncertain, and are not even sure which direction to walk in.

Solution? Greet your guests right away! Good first impressions are as good as gold. And they should start right as your guests pull into the parking lot.

We recommend the following to make your guest feel welcome: • Recruit older students or staff to “patrol” the parking lot

and make it a warm, welcoming place. Their job is very simple: say, “Welcome to the open house!” and point guests towards the reception area.

• Provide ample, convenient parking for your open house guests the day of your open house by asking your staff and current families to leave the best spots for your guests.

• Make signs that direct parents from the parking lot to the location of the open house. Directions reduce people’s anx-iety when they are in an unfamiliar location. Think about the number of signs real estate agents use to direct people to their open houses.

When people arrive, make the most out of your first meeting:

• Have people check in as they arrive and give them a name tag. This is for the sake of security and it’s also so that you know who showed up. And best of all, it makes introduc-tions easier. Don’t forget to wear your own name tags.

• Greet guests as they enter the premises. Have a group of people such as your board members or raving fan team members introduce themselves and get to know them. Make them feel welcome.

• Please, don’t sell your school. This is the time to talk about them and their kids. You don’t want to come across as a pack of desperate salespeople.

• As they check in, have someone give them a gift such as a tote bag with your informational folder in it, a mug – or anything with your school name and logo. This is a nice icebreaker and it can contain information about how to sign up for a personal tour of the school.

Make it feel warm and bustling:• If you have a choice of two rooms for your primary

reception area, pick the smaller one. You want the room you pick to be filled to capacity. You don’t want your open house to feel empty; rather, you want to create a convivial, bustling party atmosphere.

• If you only have one large room, consider setting up some portable walls to close off a portion of it.

Tip: You get bonus points if you have a contingency strategy for “opening up” your room – if you have unexpectedly large attendance – by having a plan to quickly and easily remove portable walls. Just make sure the newly opened space is prearranged to be welcoming!

Expert tipOffer refreshments. Wherever you go in the world, the foun-dation of hospitality is offering your guests food and drink. Have you ever been to an event or a party with nothing to snack on and left early because you were hungry? Yeah, so have we. Don’t be that host.

In fact, we suggest going one step further with some kind of hot food or snack. Why? Because there is nothing more inviting than the smell of good food. You can’t go wrong with fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies.

Your food doesn’t have to be fancy but here are some considerations:

HELLOMY NAME IS

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• Consider high-quality food options without going overboard.• Serve “non-complicated” things that can be eaten with your

fingers (cookies, finger sandwiches, cheese and crackers, etc.). No barbecued ribs or chocolate fondue.

• Include something “homemade,” such as fresh-baked cookies.• Make your portions generous enough to feed everybody –

you don’t want to run out!• Provide popular drink options (water, soda, coffee, lemonade).

4. Have an outstanding presentation

What is this?We humans may be capable of logic, but emotions play a big role in our decision making. A great presentation will make people feel raw emotion. If you see the audience laughing or crying then you are probably doing a good job.

Why you should do thisOpen houses can create excitement and at the same time be a low-pressure way for a prospective parent to get to know your school. It’s also very cost-effective to get everyone who is interested in one room at the same time.

Getting startedBelow are suggestions for making a powerful open house presentation: Sample schedule• Welcome• Promo video• Students sing first song • First set of speakers• Students sign second song • Second set of speakers

Expert tipBy having your students perform, it makes those students and their parents very likely to attend. We can’t think of a better way to ensure attendance.

So, involve as many students as possible in your schedule of open house activities. And make sure you include the children of your busy board members and raving fan parents, so they are sure to put in an appearance.

Great speakers• We suggest you assemble a panel of speakers ranging from

current partners, teachers, the curriculum director, board members, and successful alumni, to the head of the “next

school.” What is the next school? If you’re a K-8, then the next school is a high school. So you might ask the principal of a nearby high school to attend. If you’re a high school, then ask a representative from a local college to attend.

• Your admissions director and/or head of school can be the MC for the event but they don’t need to be the main speaker.

• If you have an excellent video for your school that high-lights the reasons why someone should attend your school, then show that.

• Your speakers should tell engaging stories; some should even make people laugh and cry. They should be as moving as speeches that bridesmaids give at weddings.

• Don’t let your speakers “wing it.” You should review what they plan to say. These should be rehearsed.

What should your speakers say? Structure their speeches by student type, so you speak to everyone’s concerns. Here are some specific ideas:• Successful alumni. Where are you now? How did this

school help you get here? For example, here’s a straightfor-ward alumnus testimonial: “I’m at the local high school. I’m student president and on the basketball team. I was so well prepared by my 8th grade teacher. She told us that we would have lots of tests in high school so she prepped us well. When I got to high school, I did have times when there were four to five tests in one day. And while my peers were falling apart, I was cool as a cucumber thanks to my teacher. Still, I miss my K-8 school and I’m so grateful for my experiences here.”

Follow this kind of straightforward testimonial with a whimsical and heartwarming interlude. For example, one school played video vignettes of surprise visits of former students to teachers in a studio space – the footage showed the students stepping out from behind a curtain, hugging their teacher, and reading a letter about the impact they had. Many of the teachers were genuinely emotional, which is exactly the kind of thing prospective families want to see: a teaching staff that will really care about their children.

• Parent of a formerly-struggling student. Here the parent describes the problems their child was grappling with and how the school helped solve those problems. For example: “Some kids are very academically-driven – my son isn’t that kid. He enjoys socializing but not studying. At the school he was attending his grades were getting lower and lower. He was also getting picked on and that’s when we realized we needed to do something. When we found this school we felt safe and cared for.

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William’s teacher set up weekly meetings with us to help him get on track academically and he has moved from a D student to a B student. That’s HUGE for him. “One time at a school concert, he had a solo and he froze in front of everyone. But the student body sang the song with him. That just shows how much this school cares. What would have been a crushing experience at the other school was a positive experience at this school.”

• Academic success. The principal of the next school should be invited to speak to how students are successful and pre-pared, both academically and socially. For example: “The students who came from your school rank in the top 50% of our school. And in every club, one of the leaders is a former student from your school.”

What time is best for an open house Timing is everything. Generally speaking, the evidence shows that the best-attended open houses are held on week-ends during warm spring and fall days. Here are some extra details to consider.

Mid-week morningPro: Great if you want to do a classroom tour at the end of the event. Cons: Very inconvenient for working parents to attend and it also interrupts your day.

Saturday morningPro: More accessible for most working parents. Cons: You’ll need to consider providing childcare or expect that one spouse will stay home with the children. There won’t be any students in the classrooms during the tour.

Friday eveningPros: More accessible for working parents; more festive atmosphere.Cons: You’ll need to consider providing childcare or expect that one spouse will stay home with the children. There won’t be any students in the classrooms during the tour.

5. Use the open house to book personal tours

What do we mean by that?If a school has a great presentation, we have noticed that prospective parents tend to be very excited about the school

right afterward. So what this means is: Take advantage of the opportunity that the successfully-executed open house presents! This is the time to book personal tours because if you let people leave without doing so, most of them never will.

After allowing enough time to sign up interested parents for personal tours, use the remaining time to conduct a group tour of your campus.

Why you should do itThe open house is when parents decide if they want to book a personal tour – and they are much more likely to sign up if they get a personal invitation. This method will increase the number of personal tours you book very efficiently.

Getting startedSample schedule: 1. 30 minutes: Open house presentation.2. 5-10 minutes: Sign up for personal tours. (The head

of school will let everyone know they can sign up for a personal tour for the next 5-10 minutes. The grade-level tour guides can book tours for families, including date and time).

3. 15 minutes: Group tours.

Expert tipsUse an appointment scheduling tool, such as Acuity, to make it easy for people to book times that work for your staff.• Allow older students to conduct ad-hoc personal tours

during open house activities. After a performance, for example, you could announce that “any of these students are available to conduct you on a tour, just ask!”

• Another idea: Designate selected older students to conduct tours by putting “Tour Guide” on their names tags.

• Worried about safety? Only allow students to conduct tours in pairs and make sure one student is at least 12 years or older.

The Website StrategyDesign your website to maximize booked tours and enrollments

You’ve probably read or even authored every word on your site. However, studies show that a first-time visitor is going to give your site a few seconds at most. So what do you want your prospective families to experience in those precious few seconds?

The opportunity to take action.

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If your website isn’t getting visitors to take action, it’s either not attracting the right people or, more likely, it’s not conveying the right messages and ask-ing people to take action in the right way. We created the website strategy to help you improve websites that aren’t getting visitors to take action.

In fact, below is a checklist of things to do to optimize your website for booking personal tours.

1. Add call-to-action buttons on your site

What kind of CTA?In this case, it’s going to be a “Book a Tour” button, an “Apply” button or even a “Download a Guide” link. There’s another type of CTA for existing parents we’ll discuss: “Enroll,” which is essentially a variant of Apply.

Why you should use theseUse CTAs to transform your web-site into an effective recruitment and enrollment tool, and not just a place to read information.

Getting started1. Add a direct CTA on the homep-

age of your website. “Apply” is likely your primary CTA and “Schedule a Tour” is your second-ary one. A third type you can add would be offering visitors some-thing in exchange for contact infor-mation. For example, “Download a School Guide.”

2. Add at least one CTA on every page of your site.

3. The color you use for your main CTA button needs to stand out.

Tips• Keep the color of your CTA buttons

consistent throughout your website.

• Additional CTAs should also be visually distinct.

Take a look at the two examples below, Figures A and B. One follows best practices, and the other does not. Can you tell which is which?

If you guessed A, good job! While the design of B is beautiful and memo-rable, and it includes a schedule-a-tour CTA, it doesn’t stand out by using a

color that differs from the design. As a result, it is less likely to get visitors to take action.

You know what’s even worse? Not including an “apply” CTA at all. Look at Figure C. Our recommen-dation would be to insert a bright orange “apply” button at the top of the web page.

Figure D does an excellent job with its CTA by using a color that stands

Figure A

Figure B

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out. It’s easy for visitors to see how to complete the application process.

2. Add an Apply and/or Enroll Here button

What is this?A button on your site that prompts parents to apply or enroll. “Enroll” is a special CTA for existing parents, who don’t need to apply.

As with other CTAs, these should be obvious and ubiquitous – on every page of your site.

Ideally, when someone clicks these buttons they will be able to apply or enroll online. However, if you don’t have that in place, at least make these buttons link to a PDF that they can complete (ideally, they can fill out the PDF online). Making this process easier will be much appreciated by your families.

Why you should have themApply: Because we want it to be as easy as possible for new parents to get the application process started. Remember, it’s OK if parents don’t complete the application process online. What matters is that you collect their data, so that even if the applica-tion isn’t completed, you can follow up with them until it is. Enroll: As you may have noticed, many parents simply forget to enroll their children. Or they push it to the back of their minds and are too busy to take initiative until it’s almost too late. To reduce the common logjams of last-minute enrollments (or worse, losing a currently enrolled student alto-gether), the enroll CTA makes re-en-rollment as frictionless as possible.

Getting startedAsk your webmaster to add a button that says “Apply Now.” You want this button to be clear and obvious.

Expert tip• Get your web developer to show the

“Apply” CTA to prospective parents, and the “Enroll” CTA to existing ones. But if that’s too complicated, simply distinguish using the right messaging. For example: Apply | Already a Student? Enroll.

3. Book personal tours from your website using a scheduling app

What is this?This is an efficient way for prospective parents to book a personal tour right from your website without needing to email you. It prevents dou-ble-booked appointments and won’t allow people to book tours when you are not available.

Figure C

Figure D

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Why you should use it• It will increase the number of per-

sonal tours you book because you are reducing the number of steps a prospect must take to book a tour.

• You will save time booking tours by automating the process.

Expert tips• Place the “Schedule a Tour” button

front and center on your website. It needs to be the second most obvious button to press.

• We recommend using a tool like Acuity Scheduling.

• See Figure E for an example. Click-ing on the “Schedule a Demo” button on Gradelink.com leads directly to the schedule, which allows visitors to select their preferred date and time.

Getting startedGet an Acuity account (by the way, if your school uses Google calendar through its G-Suite, you can synchro-nize it with Acuity.)

WarningsDon’t go live without testing on desk-top and mobile devices. Also, be sure to set up the follow-up emails so that when someone schedules a tour, both they and your school’s recruiting staff get a confirmation in their inbox.

4. Use Facebook Messenger on your website for live chat

What is Facebook Messenger?Facebook Messenger is a free chat tool that comes with your Facebook account. The guest chatting with you doesn’t need a Facebook account to use it, so it works for everybody.

Why you should use itBy providing a channel of easy com-munication with live chat, prospects will be more likely to engage with your website, leading to more tours booked. As the stats reveal, people are commu-nicating this way more and more: • 63% of people are messaging more

than they did two years ago.• 80% of adults and 91% of teens use

messaging apps every day.• 53% of people are more likely to shop

with a business they can message.

Getting startedFacebook Messenger has a plug-in for WordPress and other Content Man-agement Systems (CMS). If you have this type of website, have your webmaster search the plug-in directory of your CMS and follow the instructions.

Even if you are not using WordPress or a similar CMS, you can add Facebook Messenger to your site using a script. This is a little more

involved, so you may need help from your webmaster.

Expert tipsBe sure Facebook Messenger is staffed on a regular basis because people will be expecting a response. If you don’t anticipate being able to reply quickly, set your response time to say, “Typically replies within a day.”

5. Make sure your website is “modern”

What is this?Use this checklist to make sure your site is on track with best practices for booking tours with first-time website visitors:

Your website includes the appro-priate CTAs, as described earlier in this guide.

Your website is mobile friendly. Your phone number is clickable for mobile users. Go to

Figure E

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gradelink.com/clickable for instructions on making your phone number clickable.

You have an inquiry form available. This should be on the contact page as well as in the admission area.

You have images of happy students on your website that show how families will feel once they attend your school.

Why you should do thisProspective families typically view your site before deciding to book a tour. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that your website is designed to convert website visitors into prospective families.

Also, a modern website will convey to new and existing parents an image of competence, credibility, and authority.

Getting startedHave your web developer read this section of the guide and make sure they put the Website Strategy into place.

If you still need help or if that’s not an option, contact Gradelink. We can help you create or redesign your website based on these best practices. In fact, all Gradelink websites provide CTAs, an inquiry form, and are mobile-friendly.

6. Perfect your online enrollment

At Gradelink, we passionately believe that enrollment isn’t nearly as easy as it ought be at most schools.

If you’re an admissions director, we figure you are on board with easy admissions. So what do we mean by making enrolling easy?

Well, we live in a consumer-driven society in which the average person makes decisions according to dollars and cents. And even though your current parents may feel more like a family than a customer, we all tend to put on our savvy shopper hat when we buy – especially when we are online. One way to make enrollment easy is to present your school as a wise investment. Your website is the perfect place to remind existing families why re-enrolling is a wise financial decision.

But it’s not enough to make a convincing argument. If something takes two seconds longer than it should, we get impatient. And if something isn’t “click, click, buy,” we may just move on. So make it easy and frictionless to complete the application and enrollment processes online.

What concerns us is that many school websites seem to make enrolling difficult. Either the “enroll here” link is buried

under menus or it’s just a link at the end of a very long page listing every prerequisite to attend the school.

So, while we’re talking about Website Strategy, let’s look at three more things you can do to make enrollment easy and enjoyable for both new and re-enrolling families.

What is online enrollment?Gone are the days of applying on paper. Online enrollment moves the application process to the internet with forms filled out online.

Why you should do this“If you ask a parent if an online form makes a difference they’ll probably say no, but subconsciously, it really does,” principal Jeff Sell explains. “If a parent feels better about another school because they don’t use paper forms, then you just lost a potential student. If we had lost even one student’s papers, we would have lost more than it cost to use Grade-link for an entire year.”

Getting started1. If you have a full-featured student information system like

Gradelink, you can link your “apply” button to your online enrollment account so new families can apply and return-ing ones can re-enroll directly.

2. If you don’t have Gradelink, you can try using an online form tool, like JotForm.com, to allow parents to enroll or re-enroll online.

3. Another option is to link your “apply” button to a fillable PDF version of your admissions form. Parents can then download and email or print the PDF to bring in to your office. Tip: use PDFescape.com to make free fillable PDFs.

7. Include an inquiry form

What is this?An easy way for people to ask questions. Not everyone will want to apply or do a tour right away. Some people will want to just ask you a question or two first, so include a form where people can email you. Or, as we suggested ear-lier, include a Facebook Messenger window right on your web page.

We recommend that you include the inquiry form on your “contact us” page as well as your admissions page(s). Ideally, your form will integrate with your systems and organize submitted information automatically – so you don’t forget to call anyone.

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Why should I do this?Simply put, it makes it easier for prospective families to reach you and easier for your staff to respond.

Common questions“I included the name and email of my admissions director on the admissions page, isn’t that enough?”

No. That’s an important first step but you also need to include an inquiry form to streamline the workload of your admissions director.

“We have our email addresses listed on the contact page, is that enough?”

Not really, and we actually advise against that practice for a few reasons:• It forces your website visitors to copy and paste the email

address into their email clients, like Gmail or Outlook. • Even if you make it a link, that might not always automat-

ically “load up” the visitor’s email client when they click it (and some don’t even know they are supposed to click it).

• When you allow people to contact you by their email client, you may not be able to collect as much useful information about them, like their first and last name, or phone number.

Expert tipIntegrate your inquiry form with your school’s contact management system. For example, Gradelink offers an embeddable inquiry form that allows your staff to include notes, follow-up dates and more, ensuring that you contact everyone on time. Schools have reporting saving about 60 to 90 minutes per applicant by integrating inquiry forms with their contact management system.

8. Enrollment day!

What is this?It’s a concept we advise you to instill in the minds of your parents. What if 90% of your current families all re-enrolled on a single day? That’s enrollment day. A successful one typically looks like this:1. Parents drop off their kids at school.2. While they’re on campus, they complete all the re-enroll-

ment forms.3. Then they pick up new login info, uniforms, books,

supplies etc.

Why you should do itIt will save you time and you will have less stress. Need we say more?

Getting startedSince you are moving lots of people through a few stations, you will want to think of the flow of traffic. It needs to be easy for a parent to start at the beginning and then move through all the stations without missing one. You know when you’re on the freeway and you come to a tollbooth? Make your parents feel like they’re driving right through the E-Z Pass lane. (No fumbling for change and no stopping!)• Set aside a full day for parents to re-enroll their child(ren)

after dropping them off or picking them up from school. • Start school 30 minutes later than normal to give parents

extra time. Provide free before-care for that 30 minutes. • Station 1: Parents will complete re-enrollment forms. If you

use an online enrollment system, parents can skip this line and go straight to the registrar’s desk to confirm that the enrollment docs have been properly completed.

• Station 2: Pick up school supplies for next year, such as textbooks, and Chromebooks or iPads.

• Station 3: Uniform pickup. Clear an area for parents to purchase uniforms. If you already do a uniform swap, you can work it in here.

• Station 4: Spirit wear store. Make it easy for parents to get a new bumper sticker, license plate holder or whatever else you have available to show school spirit.

Make it convenient to enroll new students or re-enroll existing

ones with a computer or tablet set up on site.

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Expert tips• Remember to make this fun. You don’t want to recreate the

DMV experience here. Consider a theme, like Form Fiesta! You can have some live music, tacos and complete your enroll-ment forms at the same time. If you can get your families to take selfies at your enrollment day then you know you’re doing a great job. (Please, no DMV-themed enrollment days.)

• To encourage parents to use the online enrollment forms, have an iPad set up next to the line for filling out enroll-ment forms. This presents parents with the choice of doing paper or online enrollment forms. If you do this, be sure to have your browser clear cookies automatically so that parents don’t accidentally log into other parent’s accounts.

Luckily, EnrollMe, Gradelink’s online enrollment tool, has a free kiosk setting that takes care of these security details.

The Inbound Marketing StrategyThis strategy is essentially creating a piece of digital content, usually an eBook or guide, and then giving it away for free when someone adds themselves to your email mailing list. Each email you send them thereafter provides you with an opportunity to book a tour.

The great thing about this is you’ll build a list of people interested in your school. Once it’s set up, it virtually runs itself. Don’t be discouraged if only a few of them attend a tour at this point – that’s not the goal here. What’s import-ant is that you are building awareness so that people in your community know you exist and what you are all about.

1. Create one or more pieces of digital content

What should I use for digital content?A PDF, eBook or guide that a prospective family would be interested in.

Why you should use itIf done correctly, this can be very effective and costs little to nothing to get started or maintain.

Getting started1. Create something that prospective families would be inter-

ested in and turn it into digital content they can download.

2. Drive traffic to your digital content by advertising it on your website, your blog, social media, etc.

Examples of digital content: • Your school’s brochure• Your school’s approach to curriculum• Your school’s position on the value of private education

Want to be more creative? Capture the school’s attitude on any of the following topics so that parents can become informed with a “how to” for their own family, and also understand the school’s position on the same matter. • Discipline: How to be in charge without creating a war in

your home. • Spiritual growth: How to teach your kids to grow spiritually.• Academics: How to teach your kids to read.• Community: How to raise socially-aware kids.• To see a real-world example of a PDF guide (“11 Ques-

tions to Ask When Considering a Private School,” created by Whitby private school), go to gradelink.com/whitby.

2. Create an email campaign to deliver the digital content to prospective families

What is an email campaign?What we’re talking about here is when you email some-one the content they just requested, followed by a series of emails with equally valuable content along with an ad for your school. These automated emails are sent to prospective families – not current ones – so they should not include your typical school news. They should only include content that a prospective family would be interested in.

Why you should use itOnce you set this up, it virtually runs itself. Email mar-keting continues to be one of the most effective forms of inbound marketing.

Getting started1. Sign up for an email marketing tool, like MailChimp or

Constant Contact. MailChimp’s free plan includes a mar-keting automation tool called a “welcome email,” which allows you to automatically send an eBook after someone signs up and even provide an auto follow up afterward.

2. Send your subscribers subsequent emails that do the following:

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• Provide valuable content. • Invite them to attend an open house.• Remind them when “time is running out” to register. • Contain a CTA, just as we discussed under Website

Strategy. For example, “Book a Tour” or “Apply Now.”

3. Get the word out about your school by participating in community events

What is this?Here’s an example: Set up a booth at your next city or public event and give away something for free. This could be a July 4th celebration, a city festival – anywhere you might expect to see families out with their children.

Why you should do thisTo bring public awareness to your school and meet families you might never otherwise connect with. It’s also a great way to promote your open house.

Getting startedContact your city to see if you can exhibit at a city event. There may also be non-city events, like a 5k race. A great example: Christ Lutheran School provides free popcorn and a photo opportunity with their knight mascot, and free miniature train rides to kids (compliments of a local model railroad club).

Expert tip• A funny photo booth is an easy way to draw a crowd. One

school provided a free baby changing station at a city event and that went well for them.

• If people are interested in what you offer, be prepared to give them a flyer on your open house or send them your eBook.

• Have an iPad? Collect prospective parents’ information right on site in exchange for emailing them your eBook or guide.

Closing thoughts: Can you coordinate multiple strategies?

Here’s why we ask that question. What we’re seeing over and over is that schools that are able to execute these strategies simultaneously have the most success.

Each of these strategies makes the others more effective. A door hanging strategy will yield more open house attendees if you have a website strategy in place that lets them easily RSVP. A website strategy will be greatly improved by an inbound marketing strategy offering useful, free materials. And

then, of course, the more people your community inbound marketing strategy reaches, the more likely your direct mail postcards are to make prospective families remember who you are. Full circle, from online to offline, and back again.

So consider ways you can implement each of these strate-gies together and all at the same time.

And one final thought – don’t be afraid to reach out and ask for help.

We created Gradelink to help private schools fulfill their mission – we believe children deserve a great educa-tion. Meanwhile, we recognize that in order to make that happen, schools like yours also have to find ways to tackle modern recruiting challenges.

We think we have a powerful solution for those challenges. And coupled with the strategies and tactics in this guide, a resource like Gradelink becomes an even more effective way to meet recruitment goals. It lets you spend less time reinventing the wheel each year when it comes to recruitment, and more time fulfilling your vital educational mission.

So don’t be a stranger. Drop us a line and let us know how your recruitment efforts are doing. And let us know if there’s anything we can do to help!

We have too much good stuff

for one guide!Go to gradelink.com/raving and

download strategy #4 today – for free.

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Start a Raving Fan ClubLetting Parent Ambassadors Ignite Your Enrollment

The Fan Club Strategy

The fourth strategy is the Fan Club (“brand ambassadors,” in

marketing lingo). As you may have noticed in the rest of the

guide, the “ravings fans” created by your Fan Club strategy

are an important asset. And they’re not crazy, don’t worry,

they’re just passionate about your school!

So let’s get started.

1. Develop an official Fan Club for your school

What is this?

A fan club is a group of parents and community members

who believe in the mission of your school and want to share

it with others. These people will be your hands and feet help-

ing you carry out your mission to your community.

Why you should do this

You may be thinking, “I have a group of dedicated parents at

my school already. Why should I go through the trouble of

making them officially part of the fan club?” Great question.

The reason is that the club will attract more fans. There could

be people who love your school but haven’t ever said any-

thing to you about it. Having an official group you can call

on for support is a strategic move.

Getting Started

Growth isn’t easy. All schools want to grow, but at times

it can feel like nothing works. Don’t make the mistake of

thinking that you have to go it alone; most schools are sitting

on an incredibly powerful but all-too-often overlooked

resource: their parent community.

As a matter of fact, we interviewed over 100 school

principals and senior administrators and noticed a trend in

their responses: the parent community can be one of the top

sources of enrollment referrals. Why is that?

Well, parents are directly invested in the success of the

school; they’d much rather see you succeed than have to go

through the struggle of finding other options. One of the

easiest methods that you can use to give your parents the

opportunity to help spur growth is by creating a ‘fan club’.

The idea is simple: regularly bring enthusiastic parents

together, let them share positive experiences, and cultivate

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