Did you open this email?

Jan 23rd, 2025

You know what keeps me up at night besides sweating out the Buffalo Bills march to the Super Bowl? (oh, btw, Go Bills!)

Not the usual camp director stuff - not the rain plan for Camp Olympics, not having enough life guards, or whether we ordered enough chalk for color war.

Nope. I’m sitting around thinking about all these camp websites with gorgeous photos of smiling kids… and no way to actually connect with the parents looking at them.

Cue some horror movie music

Look, I love me a good camp photo. That perfectly timed snapshot of pure joy when a kid scales the rope course for the first time? Magic.

But are we all so focused on creating “good vibes” content that we’re missing the actual point?

The One Thing That Matters

Want to know what successful camps and successful businesses do differently? They’re quasi-obsessed with one thing:

Getting emails.

That’s it. That’s the whole game. (Or at least it’s the half of the game. Again, Go Bills!)

Everything else - the perfect photos, the witty Instagram captions, the TikTok dances (okay, maybe have to skip those now) - it all comes second to securing a direct line of communication with parents.

Having the opportunity to message them consistenly, clearly, and with real value. That’s where the signups happen.

Why We Miss This

Here’s the weird part, and I have definitely been guilty of this (hence the practice-in-public nature of these newsletters), for a long time we (as camps) haven’t maybe totally understood the value of parent emails because we don’t email consistently in the first place.

It’s like having a camp megaphone, never turning it on, then wondering why nobody’s listening.

Or, you might be saying, parents already don’t read the emails I send, now you want me to send more?

Yes. I also don’t read the chore emails about what I have to do, but I love reading the fun emails that make me feel smart.

Quick sidenote: I was talking with my friend Doug about this exact thing.

He works with all kinds of businesses (even wrote a newsletter a few back about camp marketing), and he’s noticed something wild - his clients (and the industry in general) make roughly $30 for every dollar they spend on email marketing.

Let that sink in. Even if he’s rounding up by a lot (he’s a writer after all), the numbers are still pretty clear.

Your camp’s email list really should be a camper signup (read: money) machine.

Math time: you know the cost of a camper week. Just think about your own equation. How much do you need to spend (time and money) to make it “worth it” to message consistently?

The System Before the Collection

But here’s where I knew I’d been thinking about this backwards:

You need the system BEFORE you start collecting emails like crazy. Otherwise, you’re just collecting digital dust.

The negative feedback loop looks something like this:

Don’t send email updates so no reason to collect emails in the first place

Start collecting emails, but don’t have a system for keeping consistent

Stay inconsistent and lose the connection to parents

Think emails “don’t work” for your camp

Stop sending email updates or collecting emails

Have you found yourself (or do you currently find yourself) somewhere in this cycle?

Yeah, I definitely get it.

Making It Actually Work

Camp (or any business) marketing and messaging is all about having systems in place to make sure new initiatives are always “worth it”.

I want to know when I write a new email series about summer camp staff training or the one we are just finishing up about camps building confidence (very, very pumped about this, coming soon), that what happens next will make it all worth it.

Here’s what’s working for me right now:

Valuable Content First Not just “here’s what we do at camp” but actual helpful stuff for parents. Think child development insights, summer planning tips, or how to think about what kids need these days.

Regular Cadence Pick a schedule you can actually keep. Weekly? Monthly? Just stick to it. (Confession: I had to put “write newsletter” in my calendar with a loud reminder or it wouldn’t happen.)

Clear Next Steps Every piece of content needs an easy way to join your email list. Make it obvious. Make it valuable. Make it happen.

If these three things are in place, it won’t feel overwhelming or worse, like a “waste” to start collecting parent emails.

Your Next Move

Before you post another smiling camper photo (I know, they’re irresistible), ask yourself:

How am I collecting emails from people who see this?

What value am I offering in exchange for their email?

Do I have a system ready to nurture these connections?

Because here’s the truth: That perfect camp photo might get a like, but an email address? That’s your ticket to actually filling cabin bunks.

Start with the system. Build the relationship. The rest will follow.

And maybe get some sleep tonight knowing you’re focused on what actually matters. Oh, and Go Bills!

You got this,

Jack