There are probably a million things you are thinking about if you are possibly going to be affected by Hurricane Issaac. Safe and secure boat storage & RV storage is one thing you may want to consider now (if you will be affected by Isaac) or at anytime if you live in an area that can be affected by natural disaster.
Finding a storage unit is easy and can save you a ton of money, headache and hassle if you do it now. You have invested a lot into getting the recreational vehicle, boat or personal watercraft of your dreams. Depending on where you live you can make sure that you have a safe place to store your big-boy toys for anywhere between $1 and $3 per day. Think about that vs. the thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars you have invested into your boat or RV.
There are many places to find storage quickly and easily. Of course you can always do a google search to find what is closest to you. Or you can use a storage directory. There are a few out there that make the job easy. The best and largest is USstoragesearch.com. This site has been around for almost 10 years now and claims to represent more than 14,000 storage locations in the US - the most of any of the directory type sites that I have found.
It may be too late for some to secure their items before Isaac. If you aren't affected it is still a good time to think about what would happen if a hurricane, tornado, hail storm or some other natural disaster were to hit your area.
Monday, August 27, 2012
Monday, November 7, 2011
Get Your Garage Ready For Winter
Garages are great storage areas but once winter comes around you are going to want to make sure you have room left for your vehicles too. Garages are supposed to be a place for people to store their cars, lawn care items, and tools & should stay well organized easily and be completely functional. Both things are naturally true in a dream land or fantasy but can be true in reality if you put a little work into it. Having an organized garage is completely possible and you can make room for all of the other stuff that inevitably overflows into your garage.
First, to get a little organization, invest in a few simple things. To get your ultimate storage experience, first purchase sheets of peg board, hooks to go in the board of various sizes, empty baby food jars, empty sauce jars, small and large pipe clamps, small picture frame hooks, several 2X4s, plastic bins, and plastic stacking shelves. Your walls offer you so much storage space and very few people use them properly. Save your precious floor space for indoor car storage or items like your lawnmower that can't easily be hung. To maximize space even more, look up. Your ceiling can offer more space than you thought and it is possible to work around your garage opener.
Now that you've purchased some stuff to get you started, now it is time to start using them. You should make a map of where you want to place everything. Do you want your shelves near the door to the house because you'll access it frequently? Or do you need them closer the opening of the large door for gardening tools and gear? Plan out where you want your pegboards and what you want to hang on them. Remember to leave space for long items like brooms and mops to hang. Lastly, for your ceiling storage, figure out where you want to place sliding beams for your overhead storage bins.
Now that you're plan is in place, it is time to get to work. Hanging your peg board is easy as long as you take your time to do it properly. You need to use some of your 2X4s to create a platform of sorts for your peg boards since they cannot attach flat to the wall. Once you put together the platform, find your wall studs and mount the platform. Screw on your pegboard sheets. Now is the time to paint the pegboard different colors to create the perfect sports themed "man cave" or to have your garage match the aesthetics of the rest of your home. After you have it mounted and painted, start placing your hooks and hanging your items. Remember, heavier items like hammers require bigger, stronger hooks. Hang like items together for easy finding. To go above and beyond, label on the pegboard what goes on that hook that way you can always keep it organized and quickly know what is missing.
Near your pegboard, or possibly on it, you can create great storage jars for all of those little things you have. Use your empty food jars and pipe clamps to create simple storage for nuts, bolts, seeds, nails, screws, and whatever else you might have. Using different size jars allows for you to store items of different sizes easily. For heavier items, we suggest you hot glue or super glue the clamps onto the jars. Again, we recommend you organize out everything as much as possible, like sorting out all of your nails by size, and put them into specifically label jars. Once you have your jars filled and label, put the pipe clamps around them tightly. From there, you can hang the jars using the clamps onto your pegboard, work bench, or just about anything else using your picture frame holders.
For the trickier part of your garage makeover, it is time to go to the ceiling. Many people have tried various types of ceiling storage systems, but they can be unstable and expensive. We have cheap and safe (if you do it properly) way to storage stuff using 2X4s, a variety of nails, and plastic storage bins of any size. You can put holiday decorations, seasonal gear, and just about anything in bins on the ceiling. You can use bins of any size since you are creating the holders. Family Hand Man is a site that shows you step by step how to complete this project.
These few steps are here to get you started. If you still aren't finding you have enough space in your garage, you may find that you need storage greater than what you have available in your home, in which case you could try using a mini storage unit. You can keep all of your garage items and extra stuff in a convenient storage facility that is just down the road. You're items will be safely tucked away nearby and you can finally keep everything in your garage that you need! Let's face it, most of us don't get to use everything in our garages as often as we would like, so use a self storage unit and get that clutter out of your way.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Ways Self Storage Facilities Can Give Back
Want to make more money? Want to draw positive attention to your self storage facility? Want to increase your profits and book every self storage unit in your facility? Then be nice. True story—being nice does not always mean you finish last. Being nice at your business comes in so many different forms and you don't have to even take money into consideration in the whole process (except for the part where your sales increase and you start making more money). Giving to the community doesn't mean shelling out a lot of money to sponsor a sports team or something along those lines.
You can give back to your community by leaving boxes throughout the facility for people to donate unwanted clothes, books and other items. Think about how many people have been displaced by the horrendous state of the current economy. Think how many of the people that rent from you are storing their household goods because they've been forced out of their homes. If you set up a box for gently used clothes and books, others can greatly reap the benefits and you won't have to be bothered at all. You've now helped somebody and helped to create loyalty with a customer.
You can give back to the community by participating in a one of the hundreds of races, runs, and walks that take place every month to raise money for charities. Have people sponsor you. Wear your self storage facility t-shirts or something during the event to show your brand. Again, you are creating loyalty with people who like that you are taking time to help others and you are doing something nice for the community.
During the fall and winter, giving back is on the minds of so many people. Since it's October, you could do something for Breast Cancer Awareness month. Put up pink balloons, wrap pink paper around your main door, put up posters shows people ways to get involved. For Thanksgiving, put a box out in the office for a canned food drive. Promote an offer like 1 can = 1 % off next month's rent up to a certain amount to help raise food for a local food bank. Your company gets attention and the community receives resources. Work with the United States Marine Corps and have a Toys-for-Tots box at your storage facility. Again, promote that people can receive a small discount for donating. Have a crafty spouse make something like candles and set up a stand at one of the hundreds holiday crafts fairs that take place this time of year and say your company is donating the profits to charity.
Year round you can donate a small storage unit to a charitable organization to boost exposure and give back. Create a gift basket for a silent auction full of moving supplies for a local high school. The possibilities are truly endless. Think about what you could do to get your company's name out in the community and give back at the same time.
As we all know, most of our customers come from local markets and quite often from word of mouth; so make sure what people are saying is good and remember your storage facility's name when their friends and family mention they need self storage. Make sure that people have positive connotations of your company so that they will want to trust you to harbor their items. Instead of customers thinking, "Oh, right. I think I've heard of that storage place down the road, I guess I'll look into it." Have them think, "I'll go book with this storage facility because they came out and supported the March of Dimes last spring." Go out and do some positive promotion, give back, and complete random acts of kindness. It'll be good for your business, you as a person, and the community.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
USstoragesearch.com Announces New Network Partners
The USstoragesearch.com network of partner websites continues to grow. We are proud to welcome the following sites to our self storage network:
Thursday, September 29, 2011
USstoragesearch.com Named “Best Website” by Inside Self Storage Readers
USstoragesearch.com, the leading self storage marketing website for the last seven years, was named "Best Website" in the 2011 Best of Business choice-opinion poll conducted by Inside Self Storage. Voting by Inside Self Storage readers took place on the Inside Self Storage website between May 31st & June 30th of this year.
Michael Kucera, President & Founder of USstoragesearch.com said "USstoragesearch.com couldn't be more excited to have our members and others within the storage community cast a vote for our website. We work extremely hard to continually improve our website while retaining the core components that have made USstoragesearch.com such an integral piece of so many storage operators' overall marketing plan. We are proud and extremely grateful for the industry's recognition of USstoragesearch.com."
USstoragesearch.com was one of the first online self storage directories and has grown to have more members than any other website in the storage industry. Originally started as a lead-generating website for self storage operators, USstoragesearch.com continues to provide its members with quality phone calls, e-mail leads and quote requests. In addition USstoragesearch.com recently launched its Self Storage Network and now powers many other leading storage domains like www.storage.com and www.StorageUnit.com. The USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network allows storage facilities to secure tenants through online storage reservations. These reservations are secured by a credit-card deposit and lead to new tenant move-in rates of more than 90%.
For more than 20 years, Inside Self Storage has provided informational resources to self-storage owners, managers, developers and investors. Its educational offerings include a monthly magazine, bi-annual tradeshows, an extensive website, an education institute and Self-Storage Talk, the industry's largest online community. The Best of Business choice-opinion poll is conducted annually by Inside Self Storage and this year's winners will also be honored in a ceremony at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, March 14-16, 2012.
About USstoragesearch.com
USstoragesearch.com is a trusted storage partner; serving the storage industry with aggressive and cost-effective online Self Storage Marketing. Established in 2004, USstoragesearch.com is the self storage industry leader with the largest and longest standing storage directory with the largest member base, featuring over 18,000 member facilities. Storage customers using the USstoragesearch.com online reservation network, which includes high-quality partner sites like storageunit.com, www.findselfstorage.com, & storage.com, search real-time available storage units by facility location, unit size, property features and specials. Customers have an easy way to find, compare and securely reserve storage by credit card in minutes. These real-time reservations have been proven to convert to paying rentals for member facilities more than 90% of the time.
About Inside Self-Storage
Inside Self-Storage (ISS) is the leading critical information source for self-storage owners, managers, investors and developers. The ISS brand includes publications, e-media, a discussion forum, tradeshows and educational resources. Established 1991, ISS provides solutions to the challenges operators face in a competitive and economically challenging environment, and covers topics essential to every self-storage professional: day-to-day management, facility marketing, legal issues, construction and development, finance, real estate, staffing and more. The ISS family includes Inside Self-Storage magazine, now in print nearly 20 years; Inside Self-Storage World Expo, the industry's largest conference and tradeshow; SelfStorageTalk.com, a rich, interactive online community; and the Self-Storage Training Institute, which offers certification through its Qualified Storage Manager Program.
Friday, September 16, 2011
USstoragesearch.com Featured Self Storage Listings Enhance Standard Storage Listings
USstoragesearch.com provides all members with an opportunity to feature their self storage facility on a quarterly basis through a Featured Listing auction process. USstoragesearch.com members with Featured Listings, on average, see a 91% increase in click-through-rate, 56% increase in customer contacts and a 38% overall increase in self storage unit reservations.
The largest and longest standing self storage directory, USstoragesearch.com, began offering Featured Self Storage Listings to members last year and these Featured Listings continue to further enhance the performance of standard self storage facility listings on the USstoragesearch.com website. The current Featured Listing auction for USstoragesearch.com members, ending Thursday, September 15th at 3 p.m., gives self storage operators with another way to increase their online visibility.
USstoragesearch.com launched the new "Featured Listings" product in June of 2010 in response to member's requests to gain increased visibility on the largest self storage directory, featuring more than 18,000 storage locations across the US. The Featured Listings give self storage operators the opportunity to be found at the top of storage searches performed on the site for the city and/or zip code their facility is located in.
Nick Bilava, USstoragesearch.com's Director of Sales & Marketing, explaining how Featured Self Storage Listings work stated that "a unique feature of the Featured Listing product is that it is available to all members on a totally level playing field. Featured Listings are available once each quarter on an auction basis. We felt this manner of offering Featured Listings was most fair to all self storage operators. It is great that the smallest operator in the biggest market has the same opportunity to be the first self storage facility found as the largest operator.
Bilava also shared how "the results for smaller self storage operators have been just as amazing as the results seen by larger operators. We have seen savvy smaller self storage operators actively bidding in the auctions and as a result obtain the Featured Listing in larger markets where obtaining good visibility through any marketing medium can be difficult. In several cases, due to their acquisition of the Featured Listing, their facility's listing was viewed as much as six times more often and they saw more than four times the customer contacts as they did without a Featured Listing, truly demonstrating the value of the Featured Self Storage Listings on USstoragesearch.com ".
Mike Jones, Vice President of Operations for USstoragesearch, stated "since the launch of the USstoragesearch.com Featured Listings in 2010 we have continued to optimize the product so our members see the best possible results from the Featured Listings they obtain. The results have been amazing for our clients taking advantage of the Featured Listing product".
Jones continued, "In addition, all of our members have benefited from 12 straight months of double digit month-over-month increases in both site traffic and on-site conversions. USstoragesearch.com continues to grow in virtually every metric over the last 12 months including membership, site traffic, call center clients, call volume, the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network, leads, quotes and most importantly storage unit reservations for our clients".
USstoragesearch.com is currently running their 4th quarter Featured Listing Auction, which ends on Thursday, September 15th at 3 p.m. CST. USstoragesearch.com members can log-in to their USstoragesearch.com member account and bid for the featured listings for as little as $10 per month and the auction fees are reimbursed from each self storage reservation secured through the Featured Listing.
About USstoragesearch.com
USstoragesearch.com is a trusted storage partner; serving the storage industry with aggressive and cost-effective online Self Storage Marketing. Established in 2004, USstoragesearch.com is the self storage industry leader with the largest and longest standing storage directory with the largest member base, featuring over 18,000 member facilities. Storage customers using the USstoragesearch.com online reservation network, which includes high-quality partner sites like www.storageunit.com, www.findselfstorage.com, & storage.com, search real-time available storage units by facility location, unit size, property features and specials. Customers have an easy way to find, compare and securely reserve storage by credit card in minutes. These real-time reservations have been proven to convert to paying rentals for member facilities more than 90% of the time.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
More Storage Facilities Choose the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network
More than 50% of all USstoragesearch.com members have joined the network since the launch of the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network in March of 2011. The USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network provides members with an opportunity to be found on hundreds of partner sites directly related to self storage and get self storage reservations secured by a credit card.
USstoragesearch.com initiated the development of the "USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network" during the 3rd quarter of 2010. The USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network is an affiliation of storage related websites that allow self storage renters to search, compare and rent self storage online.
USstoragesearch.com was originally built and designed as a lead generation website for the self storage industry. Since its launch in 2004 USstoragesearch.com has grown into the storage industry's largest and most trusted online storage directory and has proven to be the leader in online marketing for the self storage industry.
With the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network, USstoragesearch.com members are given an opportunity to continue to generate leads from USstoragesearch.com while also utilizing marketing outlets on partner sites that generate credit-card secured self storage reservations. In addition, the network of sites allows new self storage facility operators who want to be found on the partner sites to join the USstoragesearch.com Storage Network and pay only for each credit card secured reservation they receive.
Storage.com was launched March 2011 and was the first partner site fully powered by USstoragesearch.com. Not only is Storage.com the ultimate "storage" related domain name providing all members with additional visibility it also allowed new members and current USstoragesearch.com members to become acquainted with the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network.
Nick Bilava, Director of Sales and Marketing at USstoragesearch.com shared that "for the last 15 months we have been working to fully develop, test and optimize the USstoragesearch.com Self Storage Network & for the last 5 months we have been working to keep up with the demand from members to join the network. We were pleasantly surprised at how many members wanted to join immediately. The network has generated more and more rentals for the participating member and, I guess it is no surprise that, as a result more and more members have been jumping on board as quickly as they can".
Mike Jones, Vice President of Operations for USstoragesearch, said that "USstoragesearch.com will be attending the SSA's Fall Trade show in Las Vegas September 6th through the 8th. We think the show's title "Positioning for the Future" is perfect. We will have some exciting announcements at the show about our growing Self Storage Network that we can't wait to share with our members who are already in the Self Storage Network and all of our members that will be participating soon."
USstoragesearch will be attending the Self Storage Association's Annual Fall Conference and Trade Show in Las Vegas at Caesar's Palace on September 6, 7, 8 and 9. Representatives will be at booths 632, 634 & 636 to meet with current and new members. Nick Bilava will also be leading a roundtable discussion at the SSA Trade Show on September 7th and 8th at table 19 titled "Generating More Real Estate for Your Facility Online". This discussion will center around how to expand your visibility online and optimize your existing online marketing efforts.
About USstoragesearch.com
USstoragesearch.com is a trusted storage partner; serving the storage industry with aggressive and cost-effective online Self Storage Marketing. Established in 2004, USstoragesearch.com is the self storage industry leader with the largest and longest standing storage directory with the largest member base, featuring over 18,000 member facilities. Storage customers using the USstoragesearch.com online reservation network, which includes high-quality partner sites like www.storage.com & www.storageunit.com, search real-time available storage units by facility location, unit size, property features and specials. Customers have an easy way to find, compare and securely reserve storage by credit card in minutes. These real-time reservations have been proven to convert to paying rentals for member facilities more than 90% of the time.
Originally Released at: http://www.prweb.com/releases/USstoragesearch/self-storage/prweb8759171.htm
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