Is Entering a "Best Daycare" Readers' Choice Award Worth It?

Every fall, your local newspaper's website or a regional parenting magazine runs its "Best of [City]" contest — restaurants, dentists, plumbers, and somewhere in the list, daycare and childcare. A parent in one of your families mentions it, half-joking: "You should get nominated, you'd win easily." You've never entered one of these before, and you're not sure if it's a real marketing opportunity or just a popularity contest that favors whoever has the biggest group text.

It's honestly a bit of both — and knowing which parts are which is what makes it worth a clear-eyed look instead of either skipping it automatically or throwing yourself into it expecting a guaranteed win.

How these contests typically work

Local "Best of" or readers' choice contests are usually run by a community newspaper, a city or regional magazine, or a local news website, and childcare or daycare is often one of dozens of categories alongside restaurants, doctors, and home services. The general shape is similar almost everywhere, even though the exact name, timeline, and platform differ by publication:

A nomination round, where anyone — readers, customers, or the business itself — can submit a name into a category, sometimes online, sometimes by mail-in ballot in the print edition.
A voting round, usually a few weeks long, where the nominees with enough support move on and the public votes for a winner (and sometimes a runner-up or two) in each category.
A results announcement, often alongside a special print or online feature, where winners get a "Best of [City/Year]" badge or logo they're allowed to display.

Entering is typically free or low-cost for a small local business, though some publications charge a modest fee if you want to buy ad space alongside the feature, or offer a paid tier for extra promotion during the voting window — that's optional, not a requirement to compete. Because every publication runs this differently, check the specific rules, deadlines, and any category restrictions (some separate "in-home daycare" from "daycare center," some don't) for the contest in your own area before you commit time to it.

What the badge is actually worth

Think of a "Best of" win the same way you'd think of a strong star rating: it's a fast, recognizable trust signal for someone who doesn't know you yet and is scanning quickly. A parent researching home daycare options in your town, skimming five or six websites and Google Business Profiles in one sitting, isn't going to read deeply into any of them. A small "Best Daycare 2026" badge sitting next to your logo does a lot of quiet work in that scan — it tells her someone local already vetted you, without her having to do the vetting herself.

That's genuinely useful, but it's worth being honest about its ceiling too. A "Best of" badge is a nice-to-have layer on top of your online presence, not a replacement for the fundamentals. It won't do much if your Google Business Profile is thin or outdated, and it won't offset a lack of real Google or Yelp reviews — if anything, a parent who sees the badge is likely to go look you up on Google next, so the two should reinforce each other rather than one standing in for the other. Where you'd actually use the badge is small and specific: on your website header, pinned to your Google Business Profile or Facebook page, in your email signature, maybe printed on a flyer — not a centerpiece of your marketing, just one more small, credible signal in the mix.

Voting isn't the same thing as asking for a review

It's easy to lump "ask families to vote for me" in with "ask families for a Google review," but they're different mechanisms with different rules attached. Asking for a star rating and a written review on a public platform like Google or Yelp carries specific FTC guidance around incentives, authenticity, and what you can and can't offer in exchange — our guide to FTC rules on review solicitation covers where that line sits, and it's worth reading before you ask anyone for anything in either category.

A readers' choice vote is a different kind of ask — you're not generating a permanent public review of your business, just asking someone to click a button during a contest's voting window, often on a page you don't control. That said, some of the same instincts still apply: ask clearly and once, don't offer anything of real value in exchange for a vote, and don't pressure a family who seems uncomfortable with the ask. If the contest's own rules restrict how businesses can solicit votes — some do, to prevent exactly the kind of vote-stuffing that undermines the contest's credibility — follow those rules to the letter, since getting disqualified after mobilizing your families to vote is a worse outcome than not entering at all.

The real tradeoff: this favors reach, not quality

Here's the part worth being honest about before you invest energy in a campaign: winning a readers' choice contest usually depends heavily on how many people you can get to actually vote in a short window, not on how good your program is relative to everyone else's. A provider with a smaller but devoted group of eight families is working with a much smaller pool of possible votes than a larger daycare or a chain with dozens of enrolled families and an email list. That's not a reflection of care quality — it's a reflection of reach, and it's worth knowing that going in so a loss doesn't feel like a verdict on your program.

If you decide to go for it, the honest version of a campaign looks like this: let your current families know the voting window is open, make it easy by sending the direct link, ask once or twice (not daily), and accept that some families simply won't get around to it. Don't buy votes, don't create fake accounts, and don't pressure families who've already said they're busy. A contest win built on genuine, willing participation from your existing families is worth having; one built on badgering people isn't worth the relationship cost.

Not placing isn't a loss worth worrying about

This is the detail that keeps people from entering in the first place, and it shouldn't. Unlike a bad online review, which sits publicly on your profile for anyone to see, not winning or not placing in a readers' choice contest is a neutral outcome — you simply don't get a badge to display, and nothing negative shows up anywhere. No one searching for your daycare six months later will ever know you entered and didn't place unless you tell them. There's no public scoreboard of losers. The downside of entering is bounded at "nothing changes"; the upside, if your families show up to vote, is a free, recognizable trust badge you get to keep using for a year. That asymmetry is most of why it's worth a low-effort entry even if you're not confident you'll win.

Where DaycareFlow fits

DaycareFlow doesn't manage award entries, voting campaigns, or badge displays — that's a local marketing effort that lives entirely outside the product. What it does help with is the groundwork that makes any outside credibility signal land well once a prospective family clicks through to learn more: a current roster of enrolled children, per-child billing and care details kept organized, and a professional, ready-to-share setup that backs up whatever first impression brought the family to you — whether that was a "Best of" badge, a Google review, or a referral from someone they already trust, including the kind of early prenatal referral that can reach a family before almost anyone else does.

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Frequently asked questions

How do local "Best of" daycare awards actually work?

A local newspaper, magazine, or community website typically runs a nomination round followed by a public voting round, usually over a few weeks, with winners announced afterward and given a badge or logo to display. Entry for a small business is usually free or low-cost, though rules, categories, and timelines vary by publication, so check the specific contest in your area.

Is it worth entering a readers' choice daycare contest?

Usually yes, as a low-effort, low-risk addition to your marketing — entering typically costs nothing and a badge, if you win, is a quick trust signal for parents comparing options. Just don't expect it to replace a strong Google Business Profile or real online reviews; it works best as one more credible signal layered on top of those fundamentals.

Does asking families to vote in a "Best of" contest count as asking for a review?

Not exactly — voting in a readers' choice contest is a different mechanism from leaving a public review on Google or Yelp, and doesn't carry the same specific FTC guidance around review incentives. That said, the same basic principles apply: ask clearly, ask once, and never pressure or pay for a vote.

What if I don't win or don't place in the contest?

Nothing happens publicly, which is the point — not placing is a neutral outcome, not a visible loss. No badge appears, but nothing negative appears either, unlike a bad public review. Most families will never know you entered unless you mention it, so there's little real downside to trying.

Why do bigger daycares seem to win these contests more often?

Winning a readers' choice contest usually comes down to how many people vote for you in a short window, which naturally favors businesses with a larger family base or bigger email list — not necessarily better care. It's worth entering anyway since the downside is minimal, but it's not a fair measure of program quality on its own.