Fill your camp fast—5 proven ways to get campers onboard

Oct 31st, 2024

In a second, I am going to give you 5 tips to get more kids to camp

Get to know families personally

Post on LinkedIn - WHAT!? Really? Yes.

Send an editorial newsletter

Thank 10 power families - probably moms

Record a long form interview to chop up

Let's Recruit Some Kids

This is an interesting time of year for camps (almost spooky!). Summer is over, fall is here, and we’re likely still in some decompression mode following a ton of long and tough months.

But you also know the summer cycle spins on, and next Spring will be here before we know it.

More Kids Go To Camp Than Ever - but still not enough

The summer camping world graph is pointing up, from about 14 million campers in 2016 to about 26 million in 2022 (when the spreadsheet folks last took good data).

The tough reality is that some camps still aren’t as full as in past years, thanks in large part to the timing of registrations shifting and competition increasing.

I am hearing more and more that the market is a little softer than the last few years.

Recruiting campers to your camp is an ever-evolving landscape, one that needs monitoring, adjusting, and implementation.

The great, and I mean GREAT, news is that many of the things that have always worked in recruiting campers, still work. And they will continue to work, but like anything it takes time, care, attention, consistency, and a base plan of action.

I’m currently working with a summer camp on building out their recruiting strategy, and I’ll outline some of what we’re working on specifically.

We might not get all of it because being a camp director is busy, but this is what we are shooting for.

The Basics

First, let’s hit the summer camp non-negotiables and things you likely are already doing or thinking about this time of year. I see these as two major things:

Crafting the experience

If you have an incredible camp offering, then selling it to new and returning campers is 100 times easier (rounding down). Great staff, kick butt programming, special events. Again, all of the things you’re coming off a summer doing.

Talking with EVERY past family

Chatting with families doesn’t have to be in the form of phone calls (though it for sure helps). Send them hand-written thank you notes. Ask them about their experience. Tell them something specific about their kid if you can. Show you care.

With these in place, you're already off and running.

Known Not Well Known

Now, before we get the nitty (but not so) gritty, I want to share one thing about running ads. My share is that I am not great at running ads. An overshare? Not really. Accurate? Definitely.

At Stomping Ground, the camp I helped grow from zero to 150 kids a session in seven years, we ran $357 worth of paid advertising. That’s it. Total. In seven years.

Quick math on that is $357/7= $51 per year.

Instead of running ads constantly (which can work, mind you; again, I just wasn’t good at them), we made it a point to make the first conversation with potential families feel like they already knew us.

That meant investing heavily in creating organic Facebook content, making an incredible camp experience, and getting to know camper families.

We wanted to be “known well,” not necessarily “well known.” It was a purposeful distinction.

With this in mind, here are the things we are working on with recruiting this coming summer, strategies that can and will work even in the changing camp registration landscape.

5 Things To Start Doing Now To Recruit Campers

1. Get to know as many families as possible.

There’s a reason this one is listed twice. It’s that important. Call, text, meet for coffee. The bet is the more families know you, the more they trust the camp and the more they refer their friends.

2. Post every day on your personal LinkedIn

Posts like this. Connect with me?

LinkedIn currently has the best ROI for organic reach when it comes to adults, plus it’s way easier than TikTok.

In shorter words, you’ll likely fit in better with your message on LinkedIn than Tiktok. But if you have a different lane, go for it.

3. Send an Editorial Newsletter

Make it a weekly editorial newsletter from you to current families and any potential families. A couple of notes about this strategy:

First, this newsletter can be a version of the one you are reading right now. However, since I am not a parent, it wouldn’t be “Parent Advice.” Instead, it would be my take on youth development.

For example, “I just read this Johnathan Haidt article about phones. (Insert some stats here.) It’s tough being a kid today. I believe our kids need XYZ. Here are a couple of resources that might be helpful. Can’t wait to see you this summer!"

Aim for helpful, not sales-y. And resist the urge to use AI. TBH it isn’t quite ready to take this on. I hate reading AI-generated copy.

Second, the goal isn’t me telling parents how to parent. It is getting parents nodding along because they agree and gain a few interesting insights.

Again, I want the families reading the newsletter to feel like I get them and that camp gets them.

4. Find 10 families who love camp

Make that list because these will be the folks most likely to know more people who could love your camp. Send them a personal care package.

Maybe it is camp stuff, but also a handwritten note. Maybe some Buffalo Bills socks if I know mom loves the Bills. Throw in a bag of local coffee.

Anything that makes them love us more and incentivizes them to tell their friends about the experience. If I could afford to do this for every family, I would, but I probably can’t.

5. Record an hour-long “podcast” video

Go for as high a production value as possible. The goal is to chop it up and use chunks on social media for the next couple of months.

If it’s me, I’m talking with an alumnus getting to know camp or maybe the past camp director—someone who has credibility with the families. If you’ve been at your camp for some time, use an outsider to ask great questions.

This conversation is about you, your take on youth development, and the power of camp.

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This 5-part strategy is built on the idea that you are awesome, and people want to send their kids to a camp with an awesome leader.

Yes, keep running your normal ads and posting random pictures of kids smiling on Instagram. But level up your content marketing, get as much of it on auto-pilot as possible, and watch the results roll in.

Do you want help setting up and executing a plan like this?

Hit reply - “Jack let’s talk marketing”.

Would love to talk about a plan for your camp.

You got this!

Jack

You got this!

Jack