It’s Thanksgiving week, so it’s a good time to stop overcomplicating things.
I got an email from Donald Miller (via Doug) a few days ago that made me realize I might have been thinking just a little/ way too hard about camp messaging.
Miller’s the StoryBrand guy. He sends marketing emails about why businesses succeed and fail.
This one was about how most companies get ignored, not because they have bad products, but because their message makes people think.
And when people have to think (even for a nanosecond) they move on.
His example: He helped a pet store company increase sales by 99% with three words.
Kids Love Aquariums.
That’s it. No features. No benefits. No explanation of what makes their aquarium special or different.
Just a simple truth parents already believe.
He’s worked with thousands of businesses and insists the pattern never changes:
Confusing message → low sales.
Clear message → way better sales.
Reading that, and knowing what kind of newsletter this is (oh, and reading this email’s subject line), you know what’s coming next.
Last week, I sent a newsletter calculating that kids have roughly 600 days of summer in their childhood.
Complete with math showing 75 days per summer times 8 summers equals this urgent, finite resource we need to protect.
That’s me doing the complicated thing.
Making summer feel like a countdown. Adding weight, stakes, and scarcity.
Not saying it’s wrong at all. More admitting it might be a little confusing.
Happens all the time.
Spend so much time trying to explain camp.
The programs. The staff training. The philosophy. Why getting bug bites is a “good” thing for kids.
Talk about resilience, independence, and social-emotional learning.
Reference research and developmental psychology.
All of that matters. It def does.
But then drill it all the way down to its basic truth, and all that’s left is:
Kids love camp.
Parents already know this.
They’ve seen it. Understand it. Can just feel that it’s right, often if they haven’t even been to camp.
Need to convince parents their kids will love camp? Nah, just remind them of what we all already believe and know.
Sometimes it gets made “complicated” because complicated feels serious. Like we’re doing important work that requires important language and frameworks.
But the truth is simple.
Kids love camp.
What This Actually Means
If “Kids Love Camp” is the core message, everything else becomes supporting evidence.
Not the main story. Just the proof.
Parents aren’t starting inner-convos with “I wonder if camp teaches executive function?”
They start with “Will my kid be happy?”
Kids Love Camp does so much work.
Everything else supports that truth.
And then it’s just, “Your kid’s going to love it here. Here’s why.”
At that point, no need to lead with features. It’s leading with the outcome parents actually want. Their kid being happy, engaged, fully alive.
Donald Miller’s point: when your message is confusing, you lose attention. And attention is the front door to revenue.
Camp messaging isn’t confusing because we don’t know what to say. It only might get confusing when saying too much too soon.
So I’m trying to keep it easy.
Not some new insight or revolutionary framework. Just remembering what’s 110% true.
Parents know it. We know it. The data proves it. Every pickup day proves it.
The simplicity is honestly pretty freeing.
No need to outsmart anyone, construct elaborate messaging architectures or get into 1,000 word mission statements.
Just say the damn thing.
Kids love camp.
Everything else is details.
You got this,
Jack
PS - For real final call on Write For Camp Early Bird pricing.
I know we said it was Monday, but making today the last day.