Operator math, campaign insights, and hard-won lessons from running self-storage facilities and filling them with paid ads.
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Self-storage has posted positive NOI growth in every major recession since 2000. The same life events that fill units get more common when the economy turns. The risk in a downturn isn't demand drying up. It's you cutting marketing right when demand shows up.
Storage demand follows the moving season: it builds in spring, peaks in summer, and cools in winter. If you spend the same on marketing every month, you're overpaying in the slow season and underfunded when the renters actually show up.
There's no magic percentage, but there is a way to size it. Start from what an empty unit costs you per month, work back to what a move-in is worth, and spend up to that. Here's the operator math for setting a marketing budget that actually pays.