Preschool Website Copywriting for a Tampa Bay Early Education Center

Drive through the Tampa Bay area, and you’ll see a lot of restaurants, carwashes (seriously, one per area resident- I exaggerate, but it’s a lot!), and preschools. In some areas of town, you can walk from one preschool to another in minutes.  And with approximately 1,000 people moving to the Sunshine State daily, the business of private preschool education has nowhere to go but up! Custom preschool website copywriting is one way to ensure early education centers are seen by their hopeful audiences.

A desirable Florida neighborhood that has seen consistent growth since its start is FishHawk Ranch. A planned community, this little town within a town was designed for families who like the idea of a traditional neighborhood blended with modern amenities like an Aquatic Club, dog parks, and a roller hockey court. Head out to Park Square, and you’ll see a central gathering space where kids can enjoy a scoop of Superman ice cream, and parents can grab a glass of wine and meet up with neighbors. You’ll quickly see who lives here— families with school-aged children who enjoy a close-knit community with grocery stores, restaurants, and schools only a bike ride away. 

Apart from the Pleasantville (I say that in the most endearing way, as I’m from a town called Niceville- yep, it exists in Florida) quality of this Tampa Bay community, a big draw for many military and other families relocating to East Hillsborough County is the top-rated public schools. But excellent education in FishHawk doesn’t begin in kindergarten: It starts with the neighborhood’s preschool options. Two non-franchised, locally-owned preschools that have been in the community almost as long as FishHawk Ranch has been on the map are Fishhawk Early Learning Center and FishHawk Early Learning Preschool. In this blog, we’ll look at the preschool website copywriting for FishHawk Early Learning Preschool (located beside FishHawk Creek Elementary School).

A Growing Population Brings Growing Competition for Tampa Bay Private Preschool Businesses

When FishHawk Early Learning Preschool was the only or closest option in their neighborhoods for about a decade, marketing was simple. Offer a safe and nurturing program at a convenient location, and the families will come. But now, with over eight preschools and daycares in a 5-7 mile radius, this well-loved program needed to find new ways to shine amongst its competition.

Mary Lou Hewitt, a 30-year educator in Hillsborough County Public Schools who last served as principal of Nelson Elementary before retiring from the district, took ownership of FishHawk Early Learning Center in late 2021. She also owns another preschool, Walden Lake Early Learning Center in Plant City (we’ll explore that website’s project another day!). Realizing the competition in the area but also knowing the rich early education tradition of her FishHawk preschool for over two decades, Mary Lou knew a fresh website would modernize the brand while retaining the values and story that make the school unique. 

To say I jumped the gun at the chance to write this website is an understatement. This project was a truly special one, as it brought all my professional worlds together. In my career as a speech-language pathologist, I have provided services to this school’s children for seven years. I know every corner of this school, its dedicated staff, and many of the families who have sent their children through its doors.

The Core Values, Target Audience, Children, and Program Aspirations Guided the Preschool Website Copywriting

When Mary Lou and I had our deep-dive planning call, she lent me a phrase to become the mantra for both of her schools— Believing in every child—every day. It was a little piece of word magic that lit the way forward for me. As someone who has worked in this school with children with developmental communication delays, it’s a phrase that resonated with how I’ve always felt- that every day is a new day for better choices and new learning opportunities. Maybe more importantly, I loved that this owner wants her school culture to project that every child deserves a team who believes in them. 

And then there are the kids- the most important inspiration!

What I’ve always loved about working with the preschool population is that young children know better than any of us how to celebrate life. A new Paw Patrol backpack- yes- let’s talk about it! You went potty and remembered to wash your hands- I’ll high-five that (after the handwashing)! 

This thought of the celebratory spirit within the preschool-aged child sparked my inspiration for some of the words that filled the website pages. 

The values I identified for the brand that needed to shine through the writing were: 

• Community– In the heart of FishHawk for over 20 years, community is deeply entrenched in this brand. Many siblings and neighbors have started their school journeys at this beloved preschool. 
• Creativity– Paints, puppet shows, sensory stations, and fun holiday and seasonal themes aren’t just fun for kids. The staff at this school fully embraces any opportunity to dress up and play, too! 
• Education– Fun and excellent education certainly go together at FishHawk Early Learning Preschool. Many of the VPK teachers are state-certified early childhood or elementary education teachers: Others have years of experience or have surpassed minimum requirements. The school places great attention on school readiness through age-appropriate, child-centered instructional practices across its programs, from toddlers to VPK. Extracurricular enrichment and intervention services are also offered on-site for full-time children, providing additional educational opportunities through sports, dance, and speech-language therapy services. The Programs website page delivers to parents all of the information to get a good overview of the programs and to know that setting the stage for future flourishment is the goal for each child.

The Importance of Your Call to Action Buttons (CTAs)

Too many times, when I review websites, I see something critically needing improvement or almost missing altogether – CTAs. If you’re considering a website refresh or creating a new site, you’ll want to what actions you’d like your audience to take on each page. And then, you must give them enough opportunities to choose for you! One CTA at the top of the page or a hyperlink to your contact page doesn’t make your prospective clients’ journey easy. If people have to scroll far to learn more or contact you, well… they won’t do either. 

We determined that “Book a Tour” was the most important CTA for this site. Parents that tour this school often sign up. Knowing that fact, I knew the most important action to encourage was for a parent to book a tour. FishHawk’s parents are busy with their work, family, and social obligations. So offering an online solution to what many of the school’s inbound phone calls were trying to accomplish, made a lot of sense.

Other CTA buttons invite families to learn more or hook into the school’s story to meander them through the website.   

The Marriage of Copy and Design 

Once the final pixie dust hit the website’s pages, our friends at  The Mug Creative pulled the brand message into an engaging, colorful, aesthetically pleasing, organized, and informative design for families looking for the right place for their child’s first educational steps. Small animations, color transitions, photography, and text boxes make the text easy to skim and keep the reader engaged and scrolling. We did this project through our collaborative VIP Experience– a 2-day wordsmithing to website launch that gets your message and site up and running, so you can start booking those clients faster!

Are You Loving This Process + Project? Need Preschool Website Copywriting?

Are you a private preschool owner needing to uplevel your marketing with a website that reflects your school’s values, mission, and vision through preschool website copywriting? 

Custom messaging can tip prospective clients in your direction and help your site get all the Google love and rank. Contact us today to book your project, or follow us on Instagram for copy tips and inspiration. 

About Geneva Maresma, Tampa-based copywriter and content writer

Geneva Maresma is a speech-language pathologist turned copywriter who loves words, wine, beaches, and cats- but not particularly in that order. As a writer with a behavioral health background, she loves helping businesses develop emotionally intelligent messaging that moves minds and invites audiences into brand stories.