Yea, almost anything in print .. people don't really read anymore .. always did better with internet searches than any other type of advertising or placement.

Troy

__________________
just looking for our 'forever place' ..

http://selfstoragemgrteam.webs.com/

Actually the worst thing we've done is the company-mandated twice-a-week Craig's List Ad. Since we started it a couple of months ago, we've gone from ZERO spam emails a day to around 40 per day. (we have 3 computers here, all emails are delivered to all 3 computers....120 spam per day to delete)....and then there's the phone calls, some automated, some not.

We have yet to have the first person call or email or come by for a unit or boxes from Craigslist, but between posting the ads twice a week, and wading through the junk emails and the phone calls, it is taking up an ever increasing portion of my time, not to mention that I hope I don't accidentally delete a good email from someone else when I'm clicking delete delete delete

We too get spam from craigslist but fortunately it is not that many. Sorry you haven't had much luck Lisa.
We have been fortunate to have rented to 3 bands and 3 others. The bands have been here for a few months and I have 2 of the 3 others that have been here for close to a year.

__________________
The future depends on what you do in the present.

Lisa, we've gotten a few rentals from Craigslist posts.

We have someone on staff that is good with html, and made the Craigslist post look like an actual website when you click on it. That has gotten good reviews.

As for stuff that hasn't worked for us.. Here's a small list:

As people said, anything in print.
Weekly visits to local apartment complexes, in four years, nothing.
Radio advertising, notta.
Sporting events handing out flyers and water. Nope.
Mailing deals and flyers to scheduled garage sales. Zip.


Honestly, anything that seems "active" seems to have no effect. 70ish percent of all our people come in because they drive by us. 25ish percent are website inquiries, and the rest are a mix of word of mouth and repeat business.

Sometimes it seems like we'd make more money as a company by NOT marketing/advertising, just so we aren't wasting all that money for no effect.

Can't make a mistake if you don't try. At least some of you get to try, be happy, have worked for three facilities these past ten years and watched owners who will tell you that they know what is best, pour thousand of dollars into yellow page ads and superpage ads on the internet with very little return on the dollar. I track where our rentals come from and turn in my findings monthly, only to watch the same thing happen year after year. I get more rentals from my passing out my business cards (which I fund) wherever I go than all the yellow page ads combined.

__________________
The mountains are calling, so I must go.

That's funny that you say that..and shows how things are different from one area to the next...we do visit local apartment complexes about once a month, and we get 3 or 4 move-ins a month (at least) from such visits...just about all the apartment complex employees have storage here...due to our free move-in truck, and they refer their tenants regularly.

Now we do give a cash $25.00 referral bonus to any apartment complex employee who does refer someone to us...so that may have a lot to do with it, But our relationships with the local apartment complex employees is fruitful to us, whereas Craig's List just generates a ton of spam and unwanted phone calls.

Just wondered, those of you who have advertised on Craigslist, are you posting under storage? I was just wondering if you could post under aparments/housing for people who are looking to move....they would run across your ad without actually seeking it out.

Also, has anyone found any freebie promotional items that work, ex. keychains, jar grippers, calendars, etc. that seem to work better than others.....just wondering....

Pat
High Point, NC

I post under Labor & Moving myself. It works for us.

__________________
Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

I'm a BIG fan of your...dots!

People LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bags...I use them myself, for shopping, swim tote, over-nighters....They are FANTASTIC!

__________________
Never put limits on yourself!

Shannon

Good idea, Shae! Why didn't I think of it...everyone uses recycling bags for groceries, etc...(couldn't live without the dots-lol).

I also used an idea from CentexGuys...we ate out last night (a rare occurrence other than fast food), I overtipped somewhat...we had a great waitress and I left my card with just a thanks and my name on the back....networking always seems to pay off.

Pat
High Point, NC