We've just entered production on the Inside Self-Storage January issue, the focus of which is self-storage marketing and promotions. If we haven't drilled the importance of this critical business area into your heads by now, we're going to keep harping on it!

But the reason I mention it now is because I've just received an e-mail from one of the winners of the ISS "Best in Self-Storage Marketing Contest," which took place earlier in the year. We received dozens of entries from facility managers and owners all over the country, many of which were incredibly impressive: YouTube videos, print ads, detailed referral programs, creative collateral-delivery methods, TV commercials, radio spots and more. If this is the first you're hearing of the program, check out the following articles, which will bring you up to speed:

Our second-place winner, Andrew Emory, operations analyst for Self Storage Management Co. of California, made us laugh with his "Naked Storage" YouTube video, which delivered marketing punch while appealing to viewers' sense of humor. Today he contacted me to share a link to Ministorage.net's newest commercial, which makes a spoof on Apple iPhone technology. It's called "We've Got Space for That." You can view it on the MiniStorage YouTube channel.

Got a fun marketing piece you're willing to share? Post a comment to the blog with a link to the item, or shoot it to me in an e-mail at [email protected] and I'll post it for you. Also, be sure to watch for the release of our January issue, which contains a feature story about our marketing-contest winners as well as numerous articles about cutting-edge marketing topics.

Want to learn more about self-storage marketing? Join us for the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, March 1-3, and access an entire track of seminars devoted to the topic. You can also register for Tom Litton's Marketing and Sales Boot Camp. See show details at www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.