7 Ideas to Promote Summer Music Camps
With camp season just around the corner, I thought it would be a good time to talk about ways to promote summer music camps.
Not holding summer camps? No worries. You can use these ideas for promoting any group programs in your studio!
1. Partner with a school teacher
If your potential student network is small, partner with a local school teacher to offer a camp together. With a co-leader, you can open your camp to more students and offer some creative topics that capitalize on both of your skills and interests. A music teacher might be the obvious choice, but think about the interesting (and original!) things you could do if you partnered with an art, history, science, or PE teacher!
2. Tap into pre-existing groups
Find a group of kids or families that already do things together. These could be playdate groups, homeschool groups, scout troops, swim teams…the list goes on. Offer to host a free 30-60 min interactive, camp-style event at the group’s regular get-together in exchange for the opportunity to pass out flyers to promote your upcoming programs.
3. Offer “travel agent” style discounts for your raving fans
When travel agents arrange custom tours for groups, the group organizer (and primary promoter) often gets a discounted rate on their own travel when a certain number of people register for the trip. If you have a parent who is great at rallying their friends, offer to hold an exclusive camp for their group and give the organizer’s child free tuition when they meet the minimum camp capacity.
4. Show rather than tell
Get video footage and pics from a sample class so potential students and parents can “experience” what a day at your camp will look like. If you haven’t held a camp before, stage a sample camp day (with real kids) and get some video and pictures. Share the video all over social media and create a sense of urgency to register by offering a promotional price that expires after a few days.
5. Use Facebook Ads to reach local families
There is a learning curve to using Facebook ads, but for as little as $5, you can promote your camp to parents of kids in your geographic region that have an interest in the type of camp you are offering.
6. Plug in to other programming
Talk to area schools and community centers to see if they offer summer camps and ask if you can offer a camp on-site as part of their lineup. If they don’t have summer programs but they do have a large reach of potential campers, offer to host a camp at their location and give them a percentage of your revenue in exchange for them promoting the event to their families.
7. Make it a fundraiser
Parent-Teacher Associations are always looking for fresh fundraising ideas. Give your local PTAs the opportunity to promote your camps and reward them with a “finder’s fee” for every camper they send your way.