Camp Marketing News

Camps: Exhibit Your Programs March 12 and 13 at L.A. Camp Fair 2022

2022-03-05T12:56:00.001-08:00

As you may know I organize the L.A. Camp Fair family of in-person and virtual summer camp events her in Los Angeles.

The usual rush among camps who've waited till the last minute to exhibit their programs at our upcoming events in Calabasas and at UCLA next weekend has begun.

But we only have a few spots left for those camps who'd like to join.

Ask any camp director who's exhibited their programs in the past with us, and they will confirm the following for you:

We consistently host and produce are L.A.'s BIGGEST summer camp expos in the most affluent areas, and our events are the only ones operated by REAL-LIFE CAMP DIRECTORS who know exactly what you want when attending in-person marketing events: a bustling crowd with at least 1000 new camper prospects eager to meet you.

We're going to deliver that next weekend. But if you want to join us, you must sign up now!

We are closing registration on Monday, March 7 at 3pm PST.

Your proof of insurance must be received by Wednesday, March 9.

Once we receive your registration form, we will send you an invoice, participation confirmation, and further instructions including a camp fair "one-sheet" and where to send your insurance details.

Hope to see you next weekend at the Camp Fairs!

SEO and Content Marketing Tip: Google is Invisible to You

2022-02-09T08:40:00.001-08:00

No doubt your realize how beneficial getting your website ranked on the first page of Google could be for your camp.

For one thing, many people look for camps on the internet these days. For another, they don't look past the first page of Google because they're either too lazy, don't have time, or just figure if it's not on page one, it must be lower quality.

In the interest of getting ranked on Google's coveted first page, I've seen camp directors fall prey to the temptation to make their camp's content unnatural to read and flat-out spammy.

Here's an example.

I came across a Dallas-based day camp's website the other day. Here's one of the paragraphs I found on the site:

"We are the best Dallas summer day camp for kids. If you are looking for a summer camp in Dallas, we are the camp for you. Dallas kids will love our Dallas summer camp. Dallas families looking for Dallas summer camps will find our Dallas summer day camp is the best Dallas based camp. By the way, we have Fort Worth day camps, too!"

NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!

I am certified in search engine marketing, optimization, and content marketing.

I can ASSURE you this type of cringe-worthy content is more likely to get you penalized by Google than benefit your site.

How to Do it Right: Pretend Google Doesn't Even Exist

OK, let me repeat what I already said: Avoid spammy content where you're repeating keyword phrases over and over unnecessarily. That's the first point to note.

Remember, people using Google who are searching for camps are Google's customers. Google does not
want to show disgusting content to it's users; that kind of thing would make Google look bad.

Here's my suggestion: The best way to write your content is to pretend search engines don't even exist.

As you write your content, make sure it flows naturally, just the way you'd speak to a friend. This way you will find yourself naturally sprinkling your desired keyword phrases into your content, but you won't be tempted to overdo it.

Here's another tip. Each page of your website should focus on one specific keyphrase.

If you are trying to rank for "Summer Camps in Dallas," stick to that and that alone. Do not try to rank for additional keyphrases on the same page, like "Summer Camps in Fort Worth."

Pick one or the other and stick to it throughout the page. But even though you should focus on one main keyphrase topic per page, don't keep repeating the same keyword. Include two or three SEO variations throughout.

Final point: Limit your desired keyword phrases to no more than 3% - 5% of the total page content for every page you write -- and even less can do the trick.

Free Advertising for Your Summer Camp

2022-02-02T11:37:00.001-08:00

How to Get Free Advertising for Your Summer Camp

From time-to-time we post articles and blog content on lasummercamps.com and campsearch.com as a resource for parents. The content generally highlights camp opportunities available this summer.

If you'd like your camp to be considered for inclusion, please fill out this Google Docs form. It's free.

P.S. Did we mention this is a potentially FREE advertising opportunity for you? We've offered many ways to market your camp for free in the past. Astoundingly, very few camps take advantage. It's up to you...

Marketing Your Camp With Coupons and Offers Gets Prospects in the Door

2022-01-27T19:05:00.004-08:00

I’ve recommended marketing your camp with coupons, offers and discounts before.

It's one of the most efficient ways to get prospects to try your camp and then convert them into loyal customers, in my opinion. High camper return rates is what you want, right?

Other camp marketers disagree with me.

They feel offering discounts cheapens the camp experience.

Or that it attracts cheapskates who’ll try your program once, then disappear.

This kind of thinking causes me to wonder if these people have doubts about the quality of their programs.

If you run a great program – which I assume you do – once you get a camper in the door with a small discount, it’ll be easy as pie to convert them into a full paying customer later. Your program will sell itself.

If you decide marketing your program with discounts and coupons is something you want to do, keep in mind you don’t need to discount your camp tuition specifically.

You can offer a special bonus with sign up – maybe a free t-shirt, discount to your camp store, that kind of thing.

To increase the effectiveness of your coupon campaign, keep in mind your goal is to get prospects to respond to your offers NOW.

Include prominent expiration dates, limited time offers and calls to action so prospects respond to your offers immediately.

In-Person (and Virtual!) Camp Fairs are BACK for 2022

2022-01-26T09:14:00.004-08:00

If getting out in front of 1'000s of Los Angeles & San Diego families is part of your marketing plan, this post is for you

I am involved with a summer camp website and summer camp search engine directory called lasummercamps.com.

In addition to the website, we traditionally host in-person camp fairs in the Los Angeles and San Diego areas.

When COVID hit, we moved our events online starting a virtual camp fair website called vcampfair.com.

This site quickly became Google's highest ranked site in the world for search terms such as "virtual camp fair" and similar queries.

After two years away from in-person events due to the pandemic, things are looking up. Several events are now confirmed, and others very close to being finalized.

We are fortunate to have personal relationships with the venues, otherwise these may not be happening this year!

Confirmed 2022 In-person Camp Fair Events:

Sunday, March 6 at Dodger Stadium 12pm to 3pm

Sunday, March 13 at UCLA 12pm to 3pm

Saturday, April 9 at Balboa Park in San Diego 12pm to 3pm

Confirmed 2022 Virtual Camp Fair

Thursday, March 10, 7pm to 9pm (Online)

General Information and Registration Details

One of the questions we get most often from camps interested in exhibiting at the camp fairs is whether they need to be based in L.A or San Diego.

The answer is absolutely not!

The Camp Fair events (both in-person and virtual) primarily target the Los Angeles and San Diego family markets. But camps from everywhere (United States, Canada, elsewhere) typically sign up to showcase their programs at our events.

That means if you want to get in front of more prospects from the affluent L.A. and San Diego areas (no matter where your camp is located) and exhibiting at camp fairs is part of your marketing plan, you are more than welcome to join us.

Now there's just a few more things we want you to know.

We anticipate adding one or two more in-person events, most likely in Calabasas and perhaps Ventura. We'll hope to have more definitive information in a few days. We'll keep you posted on that.

Next, please note strict COVID protocols will be in place to protect the health and safety of family attendees and camp vendors.

That means we only have room for a limited number of camp exhibitors this year. For example, we accepted 75 camps for the UCLA event in pre-COVID. Now we can only take 50. So if you'd like to participate, signing up sooner rather than later is highly advised so you can avoid the waiting list.

How to Sign Up as a Vendor

If you are interested in exhibiting your camp, here are the registration forms to use:

Leave a comment if you have any questions. Hope to see you at the Camp Fairs!

List Your Summer Camp Open House for Free

2022-01-23T08:39:00.005-08:00

One of the best ways to market your camp is with open houses, tours and like events.

We have a dedicated page on lasummercamps.com where we list events like this for free as a resource for parents.

If you have an upcoming summer camp open house in the L.A. area, or you market your camp to L.A. families and have a virtual event to showcase your camp you want to promote, leave a comment below with the dates and details.

We will put your event on lasummercamps.com so parents can find it for free.

Let's Be Friends, Not Competitors

2022-01-21T14:17:00.008-08:00

Sometimes its hard to share and discuss your best marketing strategies with others you feel your compete with. But what if that's the wrong way of thinking? What if by sharing your marketing plan with others, you can actually help your camp enrollment grow?

Competition is a way of life, and of course many camps are going after the same camper prospect base. At the same time, there's more than enough kids to go around for everyone to have a full registration roster and even a waiting list.

So what's the harm in sharing and discussing what you know about marketing with like-minded camp professionals like yourself?

The fact is, they know something you don't know. You something I don't know. Everyone has knowledge and information you would like to have, and vice versa.

By sharing marketing tips and strategies, all of us benefit.

2022 Summer Camp Marketing Opportunities (Clarified! : )

2021-11-09T13:09:00.004-08:00

We've heard from many camp directors ready to start their 2022 summer camp advertising programs across our multiple platforms. Several want to make payments fore the end of the year.

We recognize we have so much action, it' can be hard to keep track. We wrote this blog post to help clarify what is available with respect to promoting your programs for next year.

Directory Advertising (It's like Google for Summer Camps

lasummercamps.com. This is a highly ranked, hyper-local summer camp search engine directory where you can list your camp in various categories such as day camps, overnight camps, sports camps, and specialty camps as well as by Los Angeles area neighborhoods and zip codes. In addition to category listings, we also publish a comprehensive Camp Guide which debuts February 15, as well as featured content and posts where we will highlight your program in a dedicated article exclusively about you. If your camp's marketing plan includes acquiring campers from the Los Angeles market, adding your camp to lasummercamps.com is must-do marketing you can't afford to miss.

CampSearch.com. CampSearch.com is similar to lasummercamps.com, but with wider reach because not just focused on the Los Angeles market. Camps and programs from all over the world list their camps on CampSearch.com. One of the more convenient features is that you can create and manage your own profiles and listings with no intervention from us. Just create an account and you're ready to go! CampSearch.com is already extremely highly ranked on Google for search terms like "find a summer camp" and others. You can expect to see the site at the top of the search rankings for additional terms such as "summer camps near me" sooner rather than later. With free and paid promotional options (including a 50% discount on all paid plans when you join today!) there's no reason to wait. Join CampSearch.com today.

Finally, In-Person Camp Fairs are Back!

Together with my business partner Megan Cassidy, I operate the L.A. Camp Fair series of in-person and virtual camp fair events as well as the San Diego Camp Fair in Balboa Park. The Camp Fairs are among L.A and San Diego's largest not only in terms of exhibitor participation, but more importantly, family attendee turnout. Our UCLA event alone attracts over 1,000 attendees each year. As camp operators ourselves, we know exactly what you want in a camp fair: Lots of "hustle and bustle" with a huge turnout of many new camper prospects for you. Rest assured we'll go overboard to deliver all this and more for you. CAVEAT: We anticipate strict capacity-reduction mandates due to COVID protocol. It's best to sign up for the Camp Fairs as soon as possible because we expect to sell out of exhibitor space before too long.

Confirmed In-Person Camp Fair Events:

Sunday, March 6: Dodger Stadium (inside the Stadium on Field Level Concourse)
Sunday, March 13: UCLA (inside Pauley Pavilion, main Concourse)
Saturday, April 9: San Diego (outside at President's Way Lawn in Balboa Park

Pending In-Person Camp Fair Events:

Details for the following in-person Camp Fairs will be announced soon. These Camp Fairs will take place in March or April:

Cal State Northridge: (Redwood Hall Activity Center)
Thousand Oaks: (Conejo Creek North Park)
Calabasas: (AC Stelle Middle School)
Ventura: (Ventura County Fairgrounds)

Confirmed Online Camp Fair Events:

This event lasts a full week and takes place on vCampFair.com, the web's #1 site for virtual camp fairs.

Monday, March 7 to Friday, March 11: Virtual Camp Fair Week

We've Tried to Clarify Everything for You Here :)

Hopefully this post helps clarify the various promotional opportunities available to you across our platforms. We realize it's a lot to process. We'll do our very best to help you meet your 2022 summer camp marketing goals, but if you have questions or need something else, please let us know. We're happy to create a customized advertising programs for your specific needs, and always here to help and support you.

Join our Summer Camp Marketing Tips Group on Facebook

2021-10-21T13:40:00.002-07:00

I wanted to make sure everyone who's interested joins our free Summer Camp Marketing Tips group on Facebook where we share and discuss marketing ideas and strategies together to help fill our camps with kids. Currently there's close to 3,000 camp marketers in the group. Join us!

Add Your Camp to the 2022 Los Angeles Summer Camp Guide

2021-10-21T12:48:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I run another website called L.A Summer Camps.com.

It's a search engine directory-type website that helps parents find the best camps for the kids.The site is highly ranked on the first page of Google for search terms like "summer camps los angeles", "los angeles summer camps" and many others

.
If your camp's marketing plan includes targeting families and signing up campers from Los Angeles, you might consider adding your camp to our upcoming 2022 Los Angeles Summer Camp Guide.

Debuting February 15, the L.A. Summer Camp Guide will feature FAQs on different kinds of camps, facilities, camp staff, camper care, how to choose a camp, activity programming, and profiles of top Los Angeles camps plus additional resources parents should consider before sending their kids to camp.

The Guide will be published in PDF form. You get your own full-page website listing, too, where you can add text, video, audio files, anything you want to make your page stand out from the crowd. Here's a live sample on the site right now so you can see what your listing in the Guide could look like.

MORE INFORMATION HERE

Add Your Camp to CampSearch.com for FREE

2021-02-03T09:28:00.002-08:00

Here's a quick summer camp marketing opportunity I wanted to let you know about.

I just developed a new website, CampSearch.com, where you can list your camp for free.

Parents are able to search the CampSearch directory to find a camp that suits them. They can search according to any criteria that's important to them including by type of camp, ages served, programs and activities offerings and more.

If you're looking for an affordable and effective camper acquisition tool for your 2021 summer camp program, CampSearch is it.

Add your camp for free today.

Add your camp to vCampFair.com, the top Virtual Camp Fair website

2020-12-21T11:49:00.004-08:00

Last summer didn't turn out the way most of us hoped, but we've all learned a lot since then. Many of the camp directors I've spoken to are highly optimistic 2021 will be a great summer camp year.

As many of you know I, together with my business partner Megan Cassidy, produced the L.A. Camp Fair family of camp fair events annually in Los Angeles including L.A.'s biggest Camp Fair at UCLA where over 1,000 families attend each year.

Unfortunately, at least for the time being anyway, live events are still on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. If anything changes we'll pull together several live camp fairs quickly.

Meanwhile, kids still need to go to camp, and their parents still need to find suitable programs for their kids. We created vcampfair.com, the 1st-of-its-kind purpose-built online camp fair platform that rivals an in-person event, to solve this probelm.

You already know the importance of meeting families in person so you can earn their trust before they sign up for your camp. Add your camp to vCampFair.com today to enjoy a camp fair that rivals the in-person experience:

Interact with camp fair family attendees in real time via live chat and video
Upload your videos and brochures for sharing
Get a full page profile listing on the site for a full year and so much more

This is NOT one of those boring Zoom or Facebook live events and calling it a camp fair. This is the real deal. $299 for 3 booths at three camp fairs and a fully customizable listing on Google's highest ranked virtual camp fair site. The price goes up soon, so reserve your spot now.

First of three camp fairs goes live March 6.The other two take place April 7 and May 1. Hope to have you with us.

Top 17 Best Marketing Books for Camp Directors

2020-11-27T15:28:00.015-08:00

I hope you're healthy, safe and looking forward to the Holidays. What an incredible year it's been.

Even though many of us weren't able to run camp last summer, I'm hearing lots of optimism from camp directors (even amid the latest coronavirus surge) about reopening in 2021. I hope it happens.

Meanwhile, more good news. Demand for camp is at an all-time high. But that doesn't mean you should stop marketing. From from it. The camps who put their best foot forward, marketing wise, will have a huge leg up on those who to sit back expecting to generate enrollment anyway.

The demand will be there, but camps that put themselves out in front of families stand to gain the most. Prospective campers will be there, but competition for them will be just as fierce if not more so than usual. Now is the time to get your marketing plan in place. Many of the marketing and advertising tools I use today, prior to practice into practice in the real world - I first read about in books. I couldn't come close to telling you how many hundreds of marketing books I've read in my life, but I CAN tell you which ones stood out in terms of providing actionable strategies that actually worked in terms of helping generate awareness for my program and getting actual camper sign-ups.

I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you the Top 17 best marketing books I've read. When I say Top 17, I mean those which I think will be most valuable in terms of providing you with ideas you can easily implement into your current marketing strategy, whether that strategy consists of generating leads, increasing conversions, boosting registrations or all of the above.

DISCLAIMER: I am providing links to the above-referenced books so you can easily them from Amazon. The links are connected to my Amazon Affiliates account, which means if you click on link and by a book, I will get a small commission. I assure you, however, I will only recommend products or services I use myself and which I believe will be beneficial to you. My goal is to share my expertise and provide helpful content while generating a little money the side, if possible, to help make a living for myself. There is no additional cost to you for purchasing any of the books through these links.

1. Guerilla Marketing, by Jay Conrad Levinson

2. Getting Everything You Have Out of All You've Got, by Jay Abraham

3.Street Smart Marketing, by Jeff Slutzky

4. The Ultimate Sales Letter, by Dan Kennedy

5. The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing, by Al Ries and Jack Trout

6. The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Book, by Dee Blick

7. The Referral Engine, by John Jantsch

8. Duct Tape Marketing, by John Jantsch

9. Small Business Marketing Kit for Dummies, by Barbara Schenck

10. Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

11. Marketing to Millennial Moms in a Post-Pandemic World...by Maria T. Bailey

12. What Kids Buy and Why: The Psychology of Marketing to Kids, by Daniel Acuff

13. The Tipping Point...How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference, by Malcom Gladwell

14. Permission Marketing: Turning Strangers into Friends and Friends into Customers, by Seth Godin

15. No B.S. Guide to Maximum Referrals and Customer Retention...by Dan Kennedy

16. Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind, by Al Ries and Jack Trout

17. Social Media Marketing Workbook, by Jason McDonald

If you're like me and your standard practice is to plan your camp's marketing program for the upcoming summer some time in advance -- and you're looking for low cost, high impact marketing ideas that work -- you'll find a goldmine of them inside any of these books you choose to read.

But even if you're only looking to catch up on your reading and you're a marketing nerd like me, pick one out and enjoy it at your leisure. They're all quite interesting, if nothing else.

Happy Holidays and have fun!

Don't Make the Same Marketing Mistake I Did, Otherwise You Could Lose Some Very Hot Prospects!

2020-11-19T12:49:00.006-08:00

I almost made a huge mistake while redesigning my website that I don't want you do make, so here's a quick reminder: Any time you provide information such as a brochure or other promotional or educational material to a prospect, make sure you get their contact info in exchange!

Here's what happened.

In an effort to reduce paper consumption (not to mention printing and distribution costs), we decided to put our brochure online as a PDF this year. We are not producing a traditional printed one.

I worked hard designing the new online brochure, and was proud of my work! In my haste to share it with the world, I put it online for families to download without much thought.

But then, after a few days, I realized I forget to include a form for people to fill out so I could capture their contact info. All anyone had to do was click the PDF logo, and the brochure was theirs. The brochure, in essence was "free" to them!

Here's what it looked like:

How dumb of me! I have no idea who these people are or following up with them later!

Thankfully the "free" version of the brochure was only online a few days, but I know from my website analytics 4 people downloaded the brochure in the three days it was up -- not bad for this time of year and in the middle of a pandemic.

But this also means I missed the opportunity to follow up with at least 4 prospective families who are interested in my program. (Actually it's probably more than four, since some of them probably have siblings and/or friends considering attending camp together.)

Once I realized I was stupidly giving away camp brochures without collecting any information from prospects in exchange, I immediately changed the page on my website to include a mandatory form prospects must complete instead.

Now nobody can get the download without first completing and submitting this form:

Moral/lesson of the story: If you're like me, lead generation is a HUGE part of your camp's marketing plan. Never miss an opportunity to capture a prospect's contact information, especially when providing a free brochure, report, or other information.

If a family initiates contact with you, that means they're hot prospects for you. Don't miss the opportunity to market to them later and eventually sign up them up for camp!

Top 7 Ways to Market Your Virtual Summer Camp

2020-07-05T18:02:00.175-07:00

Summer 2020's turned out differently than any of us could have ever imagined. Thanks to coronavirus, many camps aren't operating or, if they are, don't look the same as before. Many camps have moved their programs online. And many others have been wanting to try to virtual summer camp concept, but haven't been sure where to start.

If you've been meaning to move your camp online but need some initial guidance, the American Camp Association has some helpful tips and guidelines to point you in the right direction.

Anyone Camp Open a Virtual Summer Camp

For better or for worse, starting an online summer camp is available to any person, anywhere, anytime. This means lots of potential competition --even Walmart and YouTube have jumped into the fray -- and market saturation quickly. But there's also many benefits to offering a virtual summer camp. For one thing, it gives day camps -- which are generally limited to their immediate geographic areas from which to draw customers -- worldwide market access. Offering an online camp can be a tremendous opportunity for every camp to gain lots of new online customers now, then convert them into traditional campers later when in-person programming resumes and camp can operate "normally" again.

Just a quick point about competition. Never be afraid or intimidated by what other camps are doing. Differentiate your program as much as possible, stay in frequent touch with current and past customers, and keep providing great service. Do all this, and you should be fine.

Top 7 Virtual Online Marketing Strategies

Once you're virtual summer camp program is ready for customers, it's time to let people know about it. Thankfully, developing a marketing plan for your virtual summer camp isn't as hard as you might think. Many of the same marketing strategies you're already using for your in-person camp are applicable to your virtual program, too. Here's a 7 point marketing plan you can use to start promoting your online camp today.

1. Email your entire customer and prospect bases to let them know about your online programs. Make sure they know this isn't "camp as they know it," but rather a necessary (if only temporary) fun, alternative to your regular program due to the coronavirus pandemic. Impress upon your customers and prospects that your virtual camp is the next best thing to the "real thing," as it offers campers an opportunity to enjoy worthwhile summer activities while staying connected to their counselors and friends with live human contact, even if they can't be together in person in the same physical location.

2. Even if you're charging money for your digital summer camp, offer the first class, activity, or session for free. Your free trial offer could be just the thing to entice families on the fence to try your virtual program, especially if they're comparing it to other virtual camps to make a decision. The "try before you buy" model is a hallmark of internet marketing. Once you start marketing with free trial offers, you'll instantly find out why it's such a successful promotional tool. (I personally am always more willing to consider someone's offer when there's no financial risk.)

3. Implement a camper referral program. If one family refers others who sign up for your program, reward the referring family with cash, a free camp session, or some other valuable gift or prize. Incidentally, referral marketing should be a staple of your camp's marketing program whether you're offering digital summer camps, live in-person camps or both. John Jantsch's book, "The Referral Engine," is one of the top books you can read to get valuable referral marketing ideas to use at your camp right now.

4. Taking your referral marketing efforts even further, I suggest putting in place a few formal joint venture or host beneficiary marketing arrangements with like-minded marketers. Host-beneficiary marketing relationships are like referral marketing programs on steroids. This kind of marketing gets others to do your marketing for you, while helping you reach huge additional new market bases otherwise unavailable to you. I learned how to set up host-beneficiary marketing programs by studying the practices of marketing guru Jay Abraham. In Jay's book, "Getting Everything You Can Out of All You've Got," he dedicates an entire section with a step-by-step instructions for how to set up joint ventures and host-beneficiary marketing relationships. Pick up Jay's book on Amazon.

5. You'll have to spend some money to market your virtual camp, but you'd likely do that anyway to market your traditional programs. Paid online advertising -- so costly when used the wrong way -- can also be an extremely worthwhile investment when executed properly. If you're unfamiliar with Google Ads and Facebook Ads, it's worth taking time to learn more about them. Once you have a basic understanding, try one or both with a small investment, increasing your advertising spend incrementally as you get more comfortable.

6. Don't forget the value of traditional (offline) marketing and advertising when it comes to promoting your virtual camp programs. Direct mail, in the form of a sales letter or postcard, announcing your virtual summer camp could work wonders in getting families to sign up. Display a coupon or discount prominently on your postcard or sales letter as an incentive to sign up.

7. Stay active on social media. There's no reason why you can't still post photos and of your in-person program even though you're operating online. Short of email marketing, your Facebook, Instagram, and other social media accounts are the primary ways you'll stay connected with families during this pandemic. Out of sight, out of mind...so don't stay out of sight!

It's Time to Start Marketing Your Virtual Camp Today

I spoke to a camp owner last week whose camp is closed this summer due to COVID-19. He told me he wants to move his camp online with virtual programming soon. Six days later, he hasn't moved a muscle. It's important to note, more and more camps are coming online each day with new and novel virtual programs. These camps are going after YOUR campers! So it's important to act as quickly as possible to move your camp online and start marketing it right way.

Grab this Golden Opportunity Now

When things get tough, we need to be tough-minded and look for opportunities in the rubble. If you've been waiting for the perfect time to start your online camp while expanding your camp into additional markets, this is your golden opportunity to expand into many new markets and pick up lots of new campers you'd never have reached without coronavirus happening.

Who knows, you might find the online summer camp model so worthwhile you continue operating it as an adjunct to your in-person camps once everything gets back to normal later.

Is Your Camp Operating this Summer?

2020-07-05T09:33:00.002-07:00

With so many camps doing different things this summer due to the coronavirus pandemic I thought I'd ask if you wouldn't mind sharing your status in the comments?

Is your camp operating as usual this summer?
Are you closed this year?
Are you offering virtual programming rather than in-person camp?
Are you offering a combination of traditional, in-person programs plus online programming together?

I'm sure other folks would like to know your status. Please feel free to comment below. We are all pulling for each other. Good luck to all.

Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson: One of the Best Marketing Books You'll Ever Read

2020-07-03T09:12:00.024-07:00

Some of the best marketing strategies I've ever learned I've read in books.

I've probably read over 150 sales and marketing books in my life, maybe more. When I say "best," I mean affordable, effective, understandable,and easy-to-implement marketing strategies that work and have been proven in action.

If you enjoy reading and want to pick up some low-cost yet very effective marketing tools you can start using right way, I suggest Guerilla Marketing by Jay Conrad Levinson.

This book is an all-time classic -- by far one of the top two or three marketing books I've ever read in terms of providing actionable marketing ideas than can be implemented quickly, cheaply, and easily to help you fill your camp with kids.

It's a treasure trove of marketing ideas that will help you learn how to out think and outsmart your competition rather than outspend them.

Even if you've read this book before, it's worth reading again. You'll find applicable marketing tips and strategies you can use whether you're operating a traditional in-person program or you've moved your camp online this year.

Everything you'd ever want to learn about how to market your summer camp and more is in this book, from direct mail tips to referral marketing to internet marketing and so much more. I've read it 4 times and I'm about to read it again.

You can get it on Amazon for less than $2 used, and roughly $11 new. It's well worth the price. Going forward I will share additional sales and marketing books I've read over the years which I think you will find value in. But please get started with Guerilla Marketing -- it will pay off in spades.

How to Market Your Camp on a Budget in the Age of Coronavirus

2020-07-02T14:29:00.012-07:00

Sometimes people ask me what I think the single best way to market a camp is. I honestly don't know a single best way.

In my opinion, marketing works best when you have a number of strategies going at once. When you drop a single line in the ocean, you might catch a fish. When you drop five or six lines in, you have a better chance of catching your dream fish.

Now this doesn't mean you should start indiscriminately spending your money on every marketing idea that comes your way. Doing so could be a very painful financial lesson to learn! It's always nice to allocate a small portion of your marketing budget to good old fashioned experimentation, but a more efficient strategy in my opinion is to constantly test what works and what doesn't while sticking to your budget.

This is more important than ever in today's coronavirus environment. Maybe your camp isn't operating at full capacity right now, if you're even operating at all. In either case, you have virtually no margin for error. Every dollar you spend on marketing your camp must do the work of two.You need to get your marketing plan right the first time.

That's why it's so important to test. What works for one camp might not work as well for another. Various customers and prospects often respond differently to the same marketing message. Testing your marketing will help you determine what works and what doesn't. When you find something that works, double it. When your marketing investment does not produce the results you want, dump it. But there is no way to definitively determine the most effective marketing activities for your camp unless you test. As I have said before, if you're not testing, you're just guessing.

If you're like me, you probably like spending as little as possible on marketing your camp but getting big results from your small investment. The goal is to spend a little but gain a lot. So this might be a good time to revisit a post I wrote some time ago, "What if You Only Had $10 to Market Your Camp?' The post is 8 years old or so, but many of its principles are evergreen. I hope you will find some value in it.

My Camp is Closed. Here's My Marketing Plan Until We Open Again.

2020-06-30T18:08:00.017-07:00

I usually don't cave to fear but I confess the whole COVID-19 has been pretty scary. But not from an, "I hope I don't catch the virus" standpoint -- I've never really been afraid of that. More frightening to me is the fact I can't operate my camp this summer due to the pandemic and the associated financial ramifications, many of which aren't even known to me yet.

We Were Hopeful to Open Camp

I was hopeful to operate in at least some capacity this summer. But given the modifications we'd need to make and virulent way coronavirus is tearing through L.A. County right now, it's highly unlikely (let alone advisable) to open camp this summer at all. From a financial standpoint, it's been a killer. I know many of you are facing your own struggles and hardships due to coronavirus. I hope everything works out for you. But as difficult as all of this has been (and continues to be!), we have to move forward. We owe it to our staff, campers, customer families, and ourselves to make sure our collective programs emerge better and stronger than ever when the pandemic ends.

If your camp is closed this summer, the easy thing to do is lament the situation and sit around waiting for circumstances to change. Why not use this time as an opportunity to improve your administrative efficiencies, and especially your marketing program? Just because your program's closed, you're operating at less than capacity, or camp just doesn't "feel" right, you may as well focus on the things you can control right now to ensure your program's as turnkey as possible when it's time to reopen.

How I'm Marketing My Camp Amid the Pandemic and Camp is Closed

I realize we all deal with unfortunate circumstance in our own way. But I wanted to share my suggestions and the marketing strategies I'm pursuing right now even though my camp is closed amid the pandemic. I want to be in the best shape possible to hit the ground running when it's time to reopen, whether that's later this summer, next year, or whenever.

In general I'm using this time to restructure my marketing plan with the goal of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness. We're still marketing, but our objectives have changed from camper recruitment to lead generation activities. We want to ensure we have a large pool of prospects to draw from when we're ready to open camp. Here are some of the things we're doing and the reasons why we're doing them.

1. I want to make sure our camp stays "top of mind" among customers and prospects,

especially since some of our competitors are open and we have no idea when this pandemic will end. Our customers and prospects need to know we're still here, even if camp's not in session. We're answering the phone, responding to emails, staying active on social media, all that. If you do nothing else, I suggest a weekly Facebook post or two and an email every other week just to stay in touch. Simply expressing to folks you're still here and look forward to serving them again soon when the time is right will pay off in spades later compared to sitting around doing nothing until it's time to reopen again later. Regarding lead generation, even if your camp is closed, you're probably still getting lots of interest from families who'd like to sign up and/or or will the time is right. These leads will be invaluable when you're ready to reopen. But if you’re really desperate for money right now, you can even sell those leads to your competitors who'd likely pay a pretty penny for them now.

2. I'm tweaking our marketing plan to be leaner and more efficient. I'm crafting a few marketing offers (some to current/returning families, others to prospective ones) so I don't miss a beat when it's time to recruit campers again. I generally focus about 70% of my marketing resources (time, money) on customer retention and 30% on new camper acquisition. I suggest spending about 5% to 10% of gross or projected gross revenue on your marketing budget depending on your goals. It's also a good idea to keep testing the kind of marketing that works best for you. Eliminating your under-performing marketing activities and doubling-up on the ones that make money for you is an ideal way to make every dollar you spend on marketing do the work of two.

3. I'm cutting costs wherever I can. From a personal (family budget) standpoint, I cut our Spectrum bill by $80/month just by calling and asking for a better rate plan. I've done that in several places, actually. And from a business standpoint, I've been spending time cleaning up my email list. If you're like me, you might be paying for contacts (with MailChimp, Constant Contact, etc) for old or inactive contacts you don’t use or need. Deleting inactive contacts could potentially save you lots of money by dropping into a lower payment tier or two. I usually keep inquiries and contacts on hand for three years. Anything older, I trash. If someone hasn’t signed up or returned to camp in three years, I figure that's an outdated contact and prefer spending time and money on better prospects.

Can You Apply Any of These Strategies to Your Camp?

So, in a nutshell, these are the things I'm doing. Maybe you can adapt some of these ideas at your own camp. Simply expressing to folks that you're still here and look forward to serving them again soon when when the time is right will pay off in spades compared to just sitting around doing nothing until it's time to reopen again. Meanwhile, let's all have hope that better days are ahead and camp will resume as normal sooner rather than later. Your campers need you!

How My Camp Formed a Partnership with Delta Airlines and You Can Too

2019-01-30T16:14:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, I'm a big fan of getting other people to do my marketing for me and signing up lots of kids at once rather than one at a time. It's a much more efficient way to market a camp, or any business or organization for that matter.

The way you do this is forming partnerships, joint ventures and strategic alliances with like-minded organizations who share the same customer base as you, but with whom you don't compete. Then you each market to each others' customer and prospect bases so everyone wins.

It's the easiest way to reach a ton of new campers quickly and all at the same time.

I'm Not Just Blowing Smoke

I hope you know I'm not just another one of those marketing guys -- frankly, frauds -- who always tell you what to do, but don't have the first clue how to do it themselves. I practice what I preach.

Just to give you an idea for how to get started, I suggest reaching out to an association, employer, membership club, or some other organization who has access to tons of people all at once.

Let's say you want to form a deal with Costco. What you do is, you tell them you have this great camp, and you know their membership will soon be looking for summer programs for their kids.

Then you tell them you'd like to make a some sort of a special offer to their members and employees, maybe 10% off your slowest camp session, a free coupon to your camp store -- something like that.

Once you hammer out the details of your arrangement, Costco turns around and emails all their members about this wonderful summer camp they just partnered with. The email includes a link to a special enrollment form you made just for Costco members -- this way you can keep track of who gets the discount, whether the promotion worked, etc.


Aloha Beach Camp Special Offer Delta Airlines

Does it Really Work?

Is forming an strategic alliance with a big company like this really that easy? Does it really work?

Yes, it can be that easy, which ther times you might have to contact 50 places or more before you strike up your first joint venture. But I can tell you this -- it CAN and DOES work!

The photo above illustrates a joint venture I've been doing with Delta Airlines every year for past 5 years or so. We offer an exclusive discount just for Delta employees, which Delta promotes as an employee benefit. It's been a valuable partnership for both parties, so we decided to renew it again today for another year.

How to Get Started Forming Partnerships and Join Ventures

The main hurdle you'll face in starting your Joint Venture or partnership program will probably be getting over the fear or intimidation of making that first connection to propose an alliance.

Don't worry about it!

Just come up with an offer and start contacting people and places who have access to many other people. It'll work out great for both of you. And once you've established one or two of these, they get easier and easier to set up going forward.

It's a smart summer camp marketing strategy, so don't wait. Start a partnership with someone today. You could sign up a bunch of kids at once rather than plugging along registering one at a time.

How to Market Your Summer Camp for Free

2019-01-28T16:30:00.000-08:00

One of the number one ways to get new campers into your program is to offer a coupon, discount or special promotion.

Some camp directors feel offering a discount "cheapens" your program. I disagree 100%.

The truth is, you need to give parents, kids and families a reason to try your camp over another. Offering a coupon is a smart marketing move. It gives people an incentive to sign up with you especially when money is tight and other camps are not offering the same special deal families can get from you.

The initial cost of offering a coupon is nothing compared to the money you'll make on the back end assuming the camper stays with you for a couple of years.

And by the way, you don't have to offer a financial discount. A coupon often works just as well if you offer a free t-shirt, camp sweatshirt, or something else from your camp store.

The reason I'm mentioning this is because I have just launched (actually, relaunched) my CampCoupons.com website where you can post a coupon for free and families can use your coupon when they sign up for your camp.

How to Use Video to Market Your Camp

2019-01-28T14:29:00.000-08:00

The other day my dishwasher rack got stuck and I couldn't pull it out. So what did I do? I turned to YouTube for help. Bingo! I watched a "How To" video on how to remove a stick dishwasher rack and I was set.

I'll bet you've done tons of internet searches on "how to do" something or "how to find" something, etc., too.

Which brings me to the purpose of this post.

One of the more successful marketing activities I've engaged in lately (well, for the past couple years or so) has been making instructional videos and posting them on my camp's website and YouTube channel. (Your camp does have a YouTube, channel, right?)

Anyway, the thing I like about video marketing is that pictures speak louder than words and videos speak louder than pictures. There's no more engaging social media or content marketing strategy you can find than video marketing, where everyone in the world gets the opportunity to meet your staff, see your program and activities in action, and find out everything else you want them to know about your camp, all from their own location... and all on video!

There's different kinds of video marketing. In this case we're talking about marketing with instructional or "How To" videos. Did you know 80% of people would rather watch a video about something than read about it?

You will definitely be more memorable to people watching your videos than those reading your brochure, too.

One reason I'm such a big fan of instructional videos is because they're often the last "push" your prospect needs before signing up for camp. The person watching the video is already a hot prospect for you. They typically would not be interested in your camp in the first place unless they decided to search on the video in the first place. because your video is a "How To" educational solution for just kind of info they're looking for.

Did you know the Gen-Z folks search on YouTube for "How To"videos in the same way older ones used Google in the past? Crazy!

Let me show you what I mean. I have a beach and surf camp in L.A. Most of the kids who come to my camp want to learn how to surf, but potential campers and their parents are often hesitant or intimidated try us at first because they're concerned the camper doesn't have any prior ocean or surfing experience.

But no matter how many times we tell them in person, on the phone, or in writing that no experience is necessary to enjoy our program -- let alone explain to them verbatim step-by-step exactly what to expect -- nothing's as convincing an illustration than showing them a video of an actual "How to Learn To Surf" video given by our staff to other kids at our camp. Here it is:

When my prospects watch this video, it eases their anxiety and helps them visualize for themselves exactly what their own surf camp experience will be like, not to mention understand why they should pick our camp over another.

Your task now is to start making instructional videos for your camp. If you provide transportation, you can make one showing how your bus program works. If you have a nature program, show people how to properly care for and feed the animals. The possibilities are endless!

Finally, I wouldn't worry to much about budget. I know there's a number of good video production companies out there, but in my opinion, the videos that seem most authentic and down to earth are the ones you make yourself -- very simple, raw and short (around 2 minutes or so is what to shoot for). I'd say authenticity is the number one thing you're going after here -- so don't worry too much about looking like a pro. Just provide the info your audience wants and needs and you'll both be very happy with the results.

The Easy Way to Market Your Camp to Parents and Kids Alike

2018-10-10T08:02:00.001-07:00

As summer camp marketers, sometimes we struggle with how to effectively market our programs to parents and kids alike.

It's imperative we appeal to both groups, but figuring out how isn't always easy. We tend to overthink what we're doing, then get frustrated trying to decide who to tailor our marketing content for, and whether we're doing it the right way.

But it's not as hard as you think.

I have a strategy I use at my own camp that helps me simplify my marketing in this regard, irrespective of whether I'm creating online of offline marketing content: I use pictures, images and video that appeal to kids, and text that appeals to parents.

If you struggle with creating duel marketing messages that effectively target parents and kids together, try this strategy and you'll be fine.

The reason it works is because kids and parents often browse the internet together, but even when they don't, we know the kids will eventually show their parents your cool website (or ads, social media, whatever) since their parents are making the financial decisions anyway.

Moreover, even when kids can read, pictures and videos will always grab their (short!) attention spans faster than text. So your first step is to intrigue your prospective campers with pictures and videos, then they'll be prompted to bring the idea of signing up for your camp to their folks.

Here's two examples you might be interested in.

Last year a teenage girl contacted us on Instagram. See saw a few photos we posted about our Hawaii overnight camp retreat.

We know teens use Instagram like crazy, so once our photos caught her eye, she had her dad email us for more info and to get the conversation going. She eventually signed up for the program, all because 1) she saw a photo of our camp online, and 2) showed it to her parents and influenced them to register her for camp (in that order).

Here's the second example. I've discussed this before but it's worth revisiting.

When I took my car in a while back, the mechanic gave me a Hershey bar with a coupon wrapped around it for a discount on my next visit. One of my boys was with me when we picked up the car. Naturally the text on the coupon (to save money!) is what caught my eye, but the candy appealed to my kid. The mechanic's marketing strategy worked like a charm. My son still talks about the candy bar he got from the car place, and I saved a little money on my next tune-up.

Just one more thing I should mention. It's worth noting there are certainly some exceptions to this "text for parents, images for kids" marketing rule.

For instance, if you're creating a web page direct exclusively at teens, you might want to rethink this (and you also better be sure such content is LEGAL and APPROPRIATE, but that's another story).

In general though, this is an easy-to-follow strategy that will not only make creating your marketing content easier to create, but by employing it, the end result will almost always work in your favor.

How Three Magic Words Can Help You Sell the "Why" of Your Camp Every Time

2017-12-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

Back in May, my friend Travis Allison on his Go Camp Pro blog posted a very interesting and worthwhile article about how families go about choose your camp or, more specifically, the reasons WHY they do it.

As Travis explains, it's all about selling the features, not the benefits, of the camp experience you deliver to kids. That means you're not just selling the camp experience itself, but something deeper.

You're selling the OUTCOME of that experience in terms of personal growth for kids, making new friends, overcoming fears, or whatever else kids TAKE AWAY from the program you deliver.

Selling benefits, outcomes, or, as Travis explains, the reason(s) "WHY" families choose your program over another isn't always easy to convey. But I learned a little trick regarding how to do it, which works every time, and I'm happy to share with you.

Seven years back, I discussed this trick in another blog post. I wanted to recount it here because Travis' excellent post reminded me of it. I've been using this trick for years, and you should too. But remember, this is not intended to "trick" people into signing up for you camp. You never want to do that. It's a trick to make the benefits of participating in your program easier to describe to parents.

So here's the trick.

Basically, each time you mention a feature of your program, you follow it up with these three words: "... and that means..."

And then you go on to explain what the feature actually to in terms of what kids "take away" from attending your camp. The three words, "and that means" will naturally lead you into what the benefit is every time.

Here's a quick example.

I own a beach camp. It's easy for me to mention "a fun beach camp experience for kids" in my marketing materials, and I do that all the time. But it's usually not enough to generate enrollment.

If I really want to grab more enrollment, I need to be more specific about conveying what "a fun beach camp experience" really means in terms of WHY the camper should choose our program.

So what I do is, I use my "...and that means..." marketing strategy to explain the benefits of, and reasons why, kids should sign up for my camp.

Last summer I had a very nervous camper attending my beach camp. He wasn't nervous at first though, when his mom signed him up in March, three months before camp started.

At that time, was really fired up and looking forward to camp and learning how to surf.

His mom was super happy, too because the child had three awful prior experiences at different camps, so he wasn't too thrilled with the idea of camp in general. Just the fact the boy wanted to try our program made the mom giddy.

Then something bad happened. Seeing how excited the child was for the opportunity to learn to surf, the mom signed herself up for private surfing lessons herself with a local company here in L.A.

The boy went with his mom to her first lesson.

As he sat on the beach, he watched his mom fall off her surfboard and brake her ankle -- on her first lesson. Witnessing this unfortunate accident caused the boy to change his mind about coming to camp anymore.

When she called to explain this to me, I assured his mom I understood her son's resistance and how it really must've been scary for him to see her get hurt. We talked a long time, and actually had a few conversations over the course of 2 weeks.

And then I offered the following statement (paraphrasing):

"I really think your son would have a great time with us here at Aloha Beach Camp but certainly understand his apprehension. He'll learn to surf, just like you want him to, and he'll have a blast doing it. And that means he'll overcome his fear of the ocean, fear of surfing, and fear of getting hurt, and best of all we'll help him become open to trying new camps and other camp experiences in the future. That's our promise to you."

BINGO.

Even though learning learn to surf is surely a benefit, in this case it wasn't the most important one for this family. Overcoming his fear of hurting himself and being open to the idea of going to camp again were the principal outcomes the boy would acheive by doing attending our program, and the ones most important to him mom.

Assuring the mom I understood this, an using the words "...and that means" to describe how we'd acheive her desired outcomes, is how I did it.

(Just in case you're interested to know, the boy did end up coming to camp with us. At first it wasn't easy for us get him in the water. After a couple days, he finally tried and was up and going! :)

Pretty cool video of him! He enjoys surfing now and camp itself. I don't think he will come back to my camp this summer because he's looking for a resident camp experience. I am overjoyed to hear it!

And with that I will close this post. But just a quick reminder, any time you find yourself struggling to convey the benfits of your program compared to the features -- or, as Travis says, selling the "why" of your camp -- use the words, "...and that means" immediately after stating the feature.

Those three magic words will naturally lead you into the "why" every time.

Exhibiting at L.A. Camp Fair 2018 Could be Great Way to Fill Your Camp With Kids!

2017-11-30T11:59:00.002-08:00

Years and years ago (we're talking 2005) I organized Camp Fairs for the American Camp Association. Then, not only did I stop promoting them for a period of time, I stopped attending them altogether. My feeling was the internet made Camp Fairs irrelevant. Boy was I wrong. Here's the backstory.

Last year I decided to put on my own camp fair (without ACA) in Calabasas. I called it the L.A. Calabasas Camp Fair. I wanted to see what, if anything, I was missing by not going to Camp Fairs. Aside from the uneasiness I always feel knowing my competitors went to Camp Fairs when I didn't, I wanted to know if Camp Fairs still worked as a summer camp marketing tool.

Things went pretty well last year for the first time out. Over 400 families and 51 camps attended the Calabasas event. Needless to say, I am once again a staunch supporter Camp Fairs for marketing a camp, namely because it's the best way to find so many potential campers all in one place.

We're Expanding to Three (3) LA. Camp Fairs in 2018

Given the nice turnout of last year's Calabasas Camp Fair, my partner Megan McEvoy and I are expanding the L.A. family of Camp Fairs to three locations 2018 with events at UCLA, in Thousand Oaks (in the Conejo Valley) and Calabasas again.

Each event will be located in highly affluent areas of greater Los Angeles and hotbeds for parents with kids on the lookout for new and exciting program opportunities for their kids each summer.

We are expecting a high turnout of parents, families, and many new camper prospects at all the Camp Fairs, so here's a brief description of the various areas where they're are being held in case you're interested in attending one or more:

L.A. Camp Fair #1: Sunday, March 11, 2018 at UCLA

On March 11 we're having a Camp Fair at the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center on the campus of UCLA (I'm a USC fan but couldn't pass up this amazing location!). UCLA is located in the highly desirable area of West Los Angeles consisting of high-end cities and communities such as Westwood, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Bel Air, Beverly Glen, Beverlywood, Pacific Palisades, Miracle-Mile, Pico-Robertson, Century City, Cheviot Hills, Holmby Hills, Hollywood, West Hollywood, and the Fairfax and Melrose Districts of L.A., among others.

Sunset Canyon Recreation Center UCLA

L.A. Camp Fair #2: Saturday, April 22 in the Conejo Valley, Thousand Oaks

The City of Thousand Oaks is located in the Conejo Valley encompassing northwestern Los Angeles County and southeastern Ventura County. This area is loaded with prospective campers and families living not just in Thousand Oaks but the surrounding communities of Westlake Village, Oak Park, Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Simi Valley, Moorpark, and Newbury Park, too. The Conejo Valley Camp Fair will take place at the Lakeside Pavillion inside Conejo Creek North Park

Conejo Creek North Park, Lakeside Pavillion, site of L.A. Camp Fair 2018 in the Conejo Valley

L.A. Camp Fair #3: Sunday, April 22, 2018 at A.C. Stelle Middle School in Calabasas

You may know Calabasas from the Kardashian Family who put it on the map. Located in the western San Fernando Valley and Santa Monica Mountains directly adjacent to the upscale communities of Woodland Hills, West Hills, Hidden Hills, Agoura Hills, and Malibu while also being surrounded by well-to-do areas of Thousand Oaks, Oak Park, Tarzana, Encino, Northridge, Porter Ranch, Studio City, Burbank, Universal City, Sherman Oaks and others, Calabasas is perhaps the most affluent city in the entire San Fernando Valley. Last year over 400 kids and families attended our Calabasas Camp Fair with just as many, if not more, expected for the April 22 event.

[The AC Stelle Calabasas Camp Fair will take place at the outdoor lunch area and grass field plus the adjoining Multi-Purpose Room as show on the videos below.]

How to Sign up for the L.A. Camp Fair 2018

If you're considering attending a Camp Fair or two (or three!) as part of your 2018 summer camp marketing plan, I hope you'll consider the 2018 L.A. Camp Fairs.

We only opened registration for these events a week or two ago and spaces are going fast. We have camps resident camps from New Hampshire attending the Camp Fairs to acting programs in LA. to overnight debate camps in Northern California and every kind of program in between.

We are offering an Early Bird discount for signing up for the Camp Fairs before December 15, plus multi-fair attendance discounts too. Here's the registration form in case you're interested. Hope to see you there!