Winter Release! New Self-Storage Educational Products on Tap Provide Holiday Cheers

I don’t like to think of myself as a beer snob, but I probably fit the bill. When there’s finally a chill in the air, my taste buds start craving a seasonal ale. Once falls hits, I gradually start mixing pumpkin ale, winter-spice ale and a favorite stout into my usual warm-weather rotation of IPAs and hazy IPAs. The craft-beer industry has become a 12-month marketing juggernaut with seasonal releases, but the fall and winter, in particular, always bring a deluge of new products to market.

Here at Inside Self-Storage, the ISS Store master brewers also have been working hard to produce our annual winter releases, which tend to be among our best sellers each year. Here’s a quick overview of what’s on tap this season:

Self-Storage Maintenance Package

Last week, we released our “Self-Storage Maintenance Package 2022: Monthly Task Calendars and Guide.” This is the seventh year we’ve produced the annual Self-Storage Maintenance Package, which is designed specifically for facility managers. It includes detailed, customizable monthly calendars outlining tasks by day, week and season, with items color-coded based on frequency. Each page also features a handy daily checklist.

The 2022 package also includes a 97-page digital book of expert maintenance advice, with several new articles added this year. New material addresses general site maintenance, roof care, security components, digital assets, site sanitation and more.

Package contents are available through a downloadable zip file, which includes 12 individual calendars in PDF and Microsoft Word formats. The customizable Word templates allow users to accommodate their particular schedule and needs. A no-fuss, PDF calendar is also included for those who wish to print the entire year without having to access individual files.

ISS 2022 Guidebook Series

It’s hard to believe this month will mark the 12th release of our annual Guidebook Series, which has steadily increased in popularity since we first introduced the article anthologies in 2011. In fact, we sold out of our initial softcover allotment this year and needed an emergency short print run to hold us over until we could get the 2022 Guidebooks through production. Available in digital and softcover formats, the Facility-Operation and Building/Investing Guidebooks offer critical information and tips on self-storage ownership, facility management, marketing, building, investing, technology, add-on products and services, and so much more.

Next week will see the official release of the 2022 series. As always, the beefy Facility-Operation Guidebook offers a bevy of management and ownership insight via 11 categorical sections ranging from revenue management, sales, marketing and technology to staffing, career development, outsourcing and more. The very popular Building/Investing Guidebook, designed for those who want to establish or expand an operation, covers investing and real estate, finance, planning and development, and design and construction. Both thematic Guidebooks are the largest we’ve produced. A series package will offer a nice discount vs. buying both books individually.

As I’m sure you’re aware, there are supply-chain issues affecting every industry and sector imaginable. Publishing isn’t immune. We’re working with our printer to secure as quick a delivery date for the printed books as possible, but paper shortages could force us to push back softcover delivery dates to customers later than originally planned. Please keep an eye out for our email promotion, news release and store product pages, which (if necessary) will outline when we expect first shipments to mail. As always, we appreciate your patience with any delays.

Holiday Break

In addition to finalizing our final product releases for the year, the ISS team has been busily planning the 2022 ISS World Expo, which will take place April 19-22 in Las Vegas. The show is coming together nicely, and I think you’ll be thrilled with the full slate of education seminars and workshops that we’ll have on tap, including a few new wrinkles.

With this year’s event held in July due to the pandemic, planning for the 2022 expo has been condensed from its usual timeline and wedged in at the same time as working on all the expo education video from the 2021 event, the new products outlined above, new initiatives to roll out in the new year, and our usual, continuous flow of content through the print magazine and online resources.

It’s been a heavy workload, so to catch our breaths, find some much needed rest and spend quality time with our loved ones, the team is shutting itself down during the last two weeks of December. As websites do, the ISS Store will remain open. All digital products will continue to be delivered automatically into your account library immediately upon purchase. Of course, this also means there will be delays in responses to customer-service inquiries as well as shipping for any hard-copy product that requires mail delivery. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this causes and greatly appreciate your understanding and patience.

We look forward to providing more stellar products and service to you in 2022. I sincerely hope all of you have a joyous and enriching holiday season as well as a fantastically prosperous and healthy New Year! Please stay safe and be well. Cheers!