02/09/2023
Martial Arts Summer Camp: Set-Up, Pricing, & Marketing Tips
Picture it: sunshine, BBQs firing up, and the anticipation of days spent by the pool. And of course, school will be out before you know it.
That means NOW IS THE TIME is to kickstart your promotion for your martial arts summer camp!
The earlier you spread the word about your camp, the better your chances of filling every single spot with eager campers. 🙌
With over 30 years of experience, we’ve had the honor of assisting thousands of martial arts schools and membership organizations in creating thriving camps through our guidance and solutions.
So, whether you’re gearing up to launch your very first camp or looking to boost attendance for your existing one, dive into these frequently asked questions (FAQs) and best practices gathered from decades of experience. Let’s make this summer one for the books! 🥋☀️🏕️
How long should I run my summer camp?
The most popular structure is to break your camp up into weeks (either a 6-week, 8-week, or 10-week camp).
Within our client base, an 8-week program is the most common length, but you should set the length that is best for all involved in your camp: you, your staff, your student base, and your community.
How should I price my summer camp?
It’s common to charge per week per child.
Many of our clients encourage families to register their child for the entire camp (all weeks) by offering a deep discount.
For example, if you’re running an 8-week martial arts camp and the price per camper is $175, offer the entire 8-week program for a total of $1,120 ($140 per week). Be sure to highlight the dollar savings when promoting your camp (e.g. “Only $140 per week—a savings of $280!”). To drive urgency, add an expiration date to the offer (e.g. “Save $280 when your register by [Date]”).
Sibling discounts are also an effective way to encourage all family members to partake. The most common sibling discount is offering an additional 10% off each registration should parents register 2 or more children.
What should I charge?
The average price point per week among our client base is $175/week. However, when pricing your own camp, you should take into consideration the specific themes and activities you offer as well as the actual cost to run and staff your individual camp. It’s also a good practice to research the prices of local camps in your area to ensure your camp is competitively-priced.
What marketing message is appropriate?
Most camps promote a blend of martial arts with character development by way of martial arts training, games, activities, crafts, and field trips.
When running a weekly camp, it’s a good idea to create a theme each week to keep campers excited and engaged.
Let parents know that camp is an opportunity for their child to have fun, make friends, learn martial arts AND strengthen character development by way of your weekly lessons.
When should I begin marketing my summer camp?
As with all event marketing, you need to have ample time to build excitement and hype around your event. You want to allow enough time to get the word out through multiple channels, multiple times.
At minimum, begin marketing 3 months ahead of your start date. Ideally, 4 months ahead.
That means if your camp start date is June 15th, you should begin promoting your camp around February 15th.
How do I begin marketing my summer camp?
First, you need to determine your camp basics. Start by establishing the following:
MARTIAL ARTS CAMP BASICS:
✔ The name of your camp
✔ Location of your camp
✔ Number of weeks of your camp
✔ Days and hours of your camp
✔ Promotional description
✔ Your camp fee
Once you have these basics down, create a flyer or brochure as your base marketing piece.
By creating a flyer or brochure, you can then model other marketing pieces—posters, door hangers, Facebook Ads—with the same look and feel for a cohesive presentation.
Member Solutions Clients! Utilize the Summer Camp marketing materials to get your camp marketing out in a flash. The Summer Camp kit includes a fillable 8.5 x 11 inch full-color flyer, a fillable 18 x 24 inch full-color poster, a fillable 3.5 x 8.5 inch 2-sided, full-color door hanger, and a 1200 x 628 px full-color Facebook Ad image. Simply add your details and business contact info—and you’re set!
How should I take payments for my summer camp?
The best way to take payments for your camp is to take them online. Parents are used to paying for goods and services online; the last thing you want to do is create friction in the sign-up process by having parents write out a check and bring the check to your facility.
By accepting payments online 24/7, you make the sign-up and payment process incredibly simple and convenient for parents.
How do I take payments online for my summer camp?
Using event registration software makes it easy to take camp sign-ups and payments online.
Most event registration tools include pricing tools that you’ll want to take advantage of to market your camp, such as promo codes, early-bird registration, and quantity discounts. For example, you could facilitate camp sign-ups by promoting:
✔ Quantity discounts (e.g. Buy one 8-week program, get the second 50% off!)
✔ Limited-time promo codes (e.g. Enter “SUMMERCAMP” by [DATE] to get 25% off your camp registration)
✔ Early-bird registrations with a reduced rate (e.g. Sign up by [DATE] and get $100 off!)
What incentives are effective in driving registrations for a summer camp?
It’s natural for people to wait to sign up until urged to act or given an extra incentive to sign up. That’s why we recommend enhancing your event marketing and your results by adding an incentive.
Four incentives to consider:
✔ Offer special payment plans—To increase the likelihood that multiple weeks or the entire program will be booked, consider offering registrants a payment plan. Payment plans ease financial strain allowing parents to pay the total camp fee over time.
For example, you could set a minimum initial payment, then offer a payment plan where parents pay the remainder of the total camp fee in installments leading up to the start of camp.
✔ Promote pricing discounts for multiple registrations—Adding a 2-for-1 promotion, or “buy one, get the second 50% off” encourages multiple registrations for your camp. Consider a special sibling and/or friend promotion. Tie the discount to an expiration date to create urgency.
✔ Offer a bonus for early sign-up—You’ll see that most events offer an early bird price break for those that register by a certain date. This is an effective tactic used to get people to action early on, rather than waiting to register days before the event.
As an alternative, you could provide a tangible gift—such a camp T-shirt—to those that register for your camp by a specific date.
Either way, an incentive tied to an expiration date is almost guaranteed to give you a nice spike in camp registrations.
✔ Set a capacity and promote limited availability—Often times, when running a camp, you must put a limit on your capacity, so that you can ensure enough staff per child. Advertising how many spots are left will encourage prospective campers to register right away since there’s a good chance that they could miss out on the opportunity if they stall. Post about your number of spots on social media and in email communications to past campers, leads, and students.
What’s the best way to market my summer camp?
Due to its time-sensitive nature, event marketing is most effective when done online. However, don’t limit your efforts to online advertisement only!
The best results are realized when you utilize MULTIPE marketing channels, MULTIPLE times; everything from grassroots efforts (like mentioning summer camp at the end of each class) to running Facebook Ads should be utilized if your budget allows.
The following is good “starter list” of avenues to pursue for marketing your summer camp or any martial arts event:
1. Create an event on Facebook
2. Pass out flyers at the end of each martial arts class
3. Display a poster in the parent’s waiting area
4. Pass out flyers to parents in the waiting area
5. Post an Ad on your website’s home page
7. Submit event information to local online events calendars and websites
8. Post about your event on local sites like NextDoor and Patch
9. Advertise your event in your member newsletter
10. Post about your event on your social media pages
11. Send emails to past event participants to let them know about the upcoming event
12. Add a blurb about your event in your email signature and in your staff’s email signatures
13. Add an announcement to your member app
14. Print a flyer for distribution at your front desk
15. Distribute a flyer throughout your community
16. Display posters around your facility
17. Send push notifications through your member app
18. Ask staff to mention the event at the front desk upon check-in
19. Ask instructors to mention the event to students at the start and at the end of class
20. Partner with local businesses to distribute your flyers to their patrons
Time to soak up the sun and soak up success
No doubt, running a summer camp brings TONS of benefits to your martial arts business.
A summer camp will help you generate a significant amount of additional revenue throughout the summer months.
A summer camp will enable you to engage students during a time when attendance usually runs thin.
And, a summer camp will draw in NEW students.
But that’s not all!
There’s a lot MORE to be gained from running a summer camp. When done right, a summer camp can provide loads of fun, countless teachable moments, new friendships, and lasting memories—not just for your campers, but for you and your staff. It’s the icing on the cake and quite possibly the sweetest benefit of all. 😊
We wish you a fantastic summer season and a successful summer camp!