A resource for NCAA coaches, camp directors, athletic directors and staff to build, market and grow their sports camp program. Created by Jacob Kingdon for ABC Sports Camps, LLC, a leader in online payments, registration, software and website design for sports camps, clinics and events.

1. Last Updated on: 4/6/20
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ABCSPORTSCAMPS.COM
COACHES PLAYBOOK
Best practices for marketing and growing your camps

2. 1. Know Your Market
2. Tips for Building a Camp Website
3. Online Registration & Payment
4. Promoting Camps through Social Media
TABLE OF CONTENTS
5. Marketing Camps through Email & Text
6. Using Coupon Codes & Discounts
7. Partnerships & Sponsorships

3. KNOW YOUR MARKET
DEMOGRAPHICS
Education, age, income and even
internet connectivity in your area can
impact camp participation and may
affect your camp prices.
The Census Bureau has a great tool to
see demographic info in your city, state
or zip code:
https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact
/table/US/PST045219
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
In 2019, over 90% of Americans regularly used
the internet** and 81% of Americans owned a
smart phone.***
In 2019, more than 50% of ABC Sports Camps
registrations were completed on a smart phone.
Most parents do not want the hassle of
completing/mailing a paper registration form or
paying by check. To maximize registrations, you
need to offer an easy way for customers to
register and pay online.
COMPETITION
There are more than 14,000 summer camp
programs in the United States, with over 14
million children and young adults attending
at least one camp each year.*
In more heavily populated areas,
competition is fierce. Camps that open
registration early (at least 6 months before
camp) have a significant advantage.
With tools like ABC’s Find a Camp site, you
can quickly see which camps in your area
are already taking registrations.
CUSTOMER NEEDS
Your camps may appeal to different types of
customers based on the type of camp, time of
the year and price. Make sure your camps,
clinics, and showcases are aligned with the
needs of your customers.
For example, a week-long youth camp offered
from 8am - 5pm during school breaks may
appeal to parents who are looking for
alternatives to temporary childcare, whereas a
prospect camp may focus only on top-tier
athletes looking to gain a spot on the roster.
* https://www.acacamps.org/press-room/aca-facts-trends *** https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/mobile/** https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/fact-sheet/internet-broadband/

4. TIPS FOR BUILDING
A CAMP WEBSITE
• Single-page, mobile-friendly websites are quick to
load, easy to navigate, and provide the best
experience for your customers.
• Utilize a platform or company (like ABC) to keep your
content and events up to date.
• Have a clear call to action (CTA) button on your site,
such as “Register” or “Find a Camp.”
• Integrate registration forms and payment processing
into your site to improve sales. Avoid linking out to a
Google form or PayPal, which creates extra steps for
your customers.
• Consider buying a custom domain to help market
your camp and brand. For around $25/year, it is a
minor investment to attract more customers.
• If your camp is affiliated with a university, college or
high school, link out to your camp website from the
institution’s website. Links from high-traffic sites help
with SEO and move your website to the top of online
search results.
• ABC Sports Camps builds your custom site utilizing
the best practices above for FREE when you sign up.
Duquesne Soccer Camps Website built by ABC Sports Camps:
https://info.abcsportscamps.com/duquesne-w-soccer
Get Started Today

5. ONLINE REGISTRATION & PAYMENT
In our highly-connected world, where most purchases are made on computers and cell phones, ABC Sports Camps makes online registration and payment easy for your customers.
For today’s parents, the burden of filling out a paper registration form and mailing in a check can cause you to lose business.
• Post your event registration on your camp website at least 8 weeks before your event. In highly competitive areas, posting camps as early as 6 months before the
event date will provide an advantage over the competition.
• Collect payment immediately at the time of registration. For more expensive events, allow customers to make a deposit at the time of registration with auto-payment
of the balance a couple weeks before the event date.
• Make add-ons available for purchase at the time of registration (ex: video analysis, 1 on 1 coaching, transportation from airport, etc.). These are value adds for customers
and increase your revenue.
• Allow customers to sign waivers/releases online, provide clear cancellation and refund policies, and offer cancellation protection for peace of mind and added revenue.

6. PROMOTING CAMPS
THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA
• Create social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram,
YouTube, etc. for your camp program.
• Use a tool like Hootsuite, Later, or Buffer to manage all your social
media posts in one place and schedule posts for the future. Stick to
a schedule and post regularly.
• If you work for a college/university, follow your athletic department’s
social media accounts and repost/comment on relevant content.
• If you work for a college/university, ask your athletic department to
post about your camps on their social media accounts (link directly
to website or registration page).
• Have a student, intern, volunteer or parent film your camps, clinics
and other events. Video is a powerful marketing tool.
• Budget the cost of one registration to run a Facebook Look-A-Like
Campaign. Some of our clients report that a single Look-A-Like
Campaign can bring in more than 10 additional registrations.
WATCH OUR WEBINAR
TO LEARN MORE

7. MARKETING CAMPS THROUGH EMAIL & TEXT
AUDIENCE
To market your camps through email or
text, you first need an audience. If you
already have a large list of potential
campers, great!
If you are just getting started, begin
compiling a list of past campers,
families and friends, local youth
athletes, other coaches, or local parks
& rec/youth sports programs.
MESSAGING
Keep your messaging short and sweet. If sending an
email, keep it to 4-6 sentences and use short bullet
points to list camp features. Provide a link to your
camp website or online registration.
Email is a great way to reach large groups for free,
but emails may go unread due to high volume.
Text messaging ensures your message will be
viewed, but you must be concise! Providing a
coupon code and a registration link will drive traffic.
SEGMENTATION
As your list grows, you will want to
send different messages to different
audiences. You may want to segment
by age, past campers vs. new leads,
geographic regions, athletic ability,
etc.
You may send different messages,
promote different camps and provide
different discounts to each group.
A/B TESTING
Some messages resonate better than others.
A/B testing takes a little extra time but will
ensure the most powerful message is reaching
most of your audience.
Start by writing two emails or two text
messages. Send one message to 5% of your
list and another message to a different 5% of
the list. See which message results in more
registrations. Send that message to the
remaining 90%.

8. USING COUPON CODES AND
DISCOUNTS TO INCREASE SALES
Everyone loves a good discount, but how do you use
discounts and coupon codes effectively?
• Coupon Codes vs. Discounts:
• Coupon Codes require the customer to type in a specific code at checkout
(Ex. EARLY2020 for 20% off total price).
• Discounts do not require a specific code and are triggered automatically
when the customer meets certain criteria (Ex. 10% discount for registering
2+ children or $50 off when registering for more than 3 camps at once).
• Coupon Codes are a great way to reward past campers for their loyalty, provide a
“friends and family” discount or entice new customers to check out your camps.
Coupon codes are typically kept private and provided only to certain audiences.
Coupon codes sent through text messaging tend to perform very well.
• Discounts are a great way to increase the average sale per customer. A customer
that comes to your site to register one kid for one camp, may decide to register
multiple kids after seeing a multi-kid discount. Adding multi-camp or multi-camper
discounts is easy using a system like ABC Sports Camps and can drastically
increase your average sale size.

9. Partnerships & Sponsorships (schools, clubs, YMCA/gyms, com. Center)
USING PARTNERSHIPS & SPONSORSHIPS
TO PROMOTE YOUR PROGRAM
PARTNERSHIPS
Partnerships are mutually beneficial relationships with similar
organizations that will help build your audience and promote
your program.
EXAMPLES
• A collegiate soccer camp program partners with local middle
schools to run a team camp during the summer. Middle school
coaches and athletes gain exposure to an NCAA program,
receive collegiate level instruction and get to perform in game
settings in front of collegiate coaches and athletes. The collegiate
program receives revenue for the camp as well as relationships
with coaches and athletes for recruiting purposes.
• A private lacrosse program wants to host camps but doesn’t have
a dedicated facility. They partner with their local YMCA to use
their facilities. The lacrosse program can now host camps using
the facilities and can market to YMCA members, while the YMCA
benefits financially from new memberships and facility rentals.
SPONSORSHIPS
Sponsorships are when businesses provide funds,
resources or services to a camp in return for some form of
marketing and/or association that helps promote business.
EXAMPLES
• An NCAA Division I basketball program runs a youth camp each
summer. They ask Jimmy Johns, Powerade and Dick’s Sporting
Goods to sponsor the camp. Jimmy Johns provides lunch for all
campers, Powerade provides refreshments, and Dick’s provides
every camper with a camp t-shirt. In return, the businesses are
featured on the camp website, on all camp communication and on
physical banners at the camp venue. Marketing flyers or coupon
books may be provided at check-in.
• Anytime Fitness agrees to sponsor a college development
baseball program by providing strength and agility assessments
for all new players and monthly training workshops in return for
their logo on the player’s uniforms.