2027 Media Guide

Mission

MSM is a forward-thinking media company and the leading authority in the self-storage industry. Since 1979, we have provided the most comprehensive data, analysis, and expert insights, becoming the single-source solution to empower self-storage professionals.

Our mission is to deliver factual, timely, unbiased content to help self-storage owners, operators, investors, and developers make informed decisions about their businesses. We also regularly introduce self-storage professionals to suppliers and vendors in the industry, highlighting products and services that fuel the industry.

Initially founded by Hardy Good, and originally known as Mini-Storage Messenger, MSM’s products today include the annual Self-Storage Almanac, RV and Boat Storage Development Handbook, Self-Storage Canada, the Development Handbook, and our flagship publication, Messenger magazine. The company also names the highly anticipated Top Operators as well as “Facility of the Year” and “Manager of the Year” winners.

Supported by a team with a combined 120-plus years of experience in the self-storage industry, MSM is committed to providing high-quality content that adds value to its readers. Now under new ownership, MSM has modernized its print and digital publications with new features to upgrade the experience for readers and advertisers while continuing to deliver exclusive breaking news.

Published since 1979, Messenger has become the most respected international business magazine of the self-storage industry. It delivers timely, relevant, informative content that enables owner-operators to improve their businesses. Through its September 2023 redesign, Messenger now offers subscribers a cutting-edge reading experience!

Available in print and a scrolling digital format, the modernized magazine covers a wide variety of self-storage-related topics that are separated into four industry-focused sections: operations, data, development, and investment. Each issue of Messenger offers approximately 100 pages of high-quality content and features regular columns that our readers enjoy, such as “Storage Stats,” “Who’s Who in Self-Storage,” “Chief Executive Opinion,” “Groundbreaking Development,” and “The Last Word.”

A one-year subscription to Messenger consists of 12 issues, delivered monthly, including annual editions of the industry’s highly anticipated Top Operators, Manager of the Year, and Facility of the Year volumes, plus a 13^th bonus edition of the Buyer’s Guide.

Print Subscriptions: $99.95 per year

Digital Subscriptions: $51.95 per year

Combo Subscription: $124.95 per year

Single Copy Price: $7.95

Print for Canada and Mexico: $129.95

All other countries: $199.95

Circulation: 20,000 Paid Circulation, Digital Preview edition sent to 28,000 per month

Frequency: Twelve issues per year plus a bonus 13^thissue of the Buyer’s Guide

Target Audience: Self-storage owners, operators, and other professionals interested in developing, operating, or investing in self-storage facilities

Bonus Circulation: Distributed at industry association meetings and trade shows and through advertiser merchandising and samples to industry newcomers

Self-Storage Canada is the only publication dedicated to the growing Canadian self-storage market and the official publication of the Canadian Self Storage Association. Available in both a print and groundbreaking digital edition, Self-Storage Canada delivers the most relevant content to the people behind the country’s approximately 3,000 facilities.

Newly redesigned in 2024, Self-Storage Canada offers unparalleled marketing opportunities through enhanced advertisements and expanded editorial.

Your ads receive double exposure from CSSA’s vendor and facility members as well as additional paid subscribers. Don’t miss your chance to position your company as a top-level vendor!

Digital Only: $21.95

Print (Shipped to U.S.): $21.95

Print (Shipped to Canada): $29.95

Print (Shipped to Mexico): $64.95

Print (International Shipping): $89.95

Circulation: 3,500 Projected Print & Digital

Frequency: Spring, Summer, Winter

Bonus Distribution: at Trade Shows

Target Audience: The official publication of the Canadian Self Storage Association (CSSA) and the only publication focusing on the growing Canadian self-storage market

Bonus Circulation: Distributed at industry association meetings and trade shows and through advertiser merchandising and samples to industry newcomers

First published in 1992, the annual Self-Storage Almanac is known throughout the industry as the leading self-storage source for data, trends, and in-depth analysis.

With information gathered from Noah Starr and his team at TractIQ, our data provider, the Almanac is continually referenced, cited, and relied on for its current and comprehensive statistics that self-storage owners, operators, investors, developers, and appraisers across the country utilize to make better informed business decisions.

PLEASE NOTE: The digital edition of the Almanac is readable online only. It cannot be printed or downloaded as a PDF.

The Development Handbook for Self-Storage contains a wealth of information from industry experts about developing a new self-storage facility, from choosing the right site, assembling a development team, and navigating the development process to choosing building materials, selecting an appropriate unit mix, and opening your doors for business.

This information is provided as a benchmark, a place to start exploring the development process. Topics include site selec-tion, due diligence, site layout and unit mix, construction financing, building options, marketing prior to opening, insuring your investment, and security for new builds.

January

The Un-Manned Facility Grows Up

Special Editorial: 2026 Manager of the Year

Space Deadline: December 4, 2026

Materials Due: December 10, 2026

February

Guess Who? Today’s Self-Storage Customers

Space Deadline: January 1, 2027

Materials Due: January 7, 2027

March

Development Survival Guide

Special Editorial: Flex Space and Unit Remix

Space Deadline: February 8, 2027

Materials Due: February 11, 2027

April

Your Marketing Arsenal

Special Editorial: Trade Shows and Local Events

Space Deadline: March 5, 2027

Materials Due: March, 16, 2027

May

Profits Per Foot: Making More $ PSF

Space Deadline: April 3, 2027

Materials Due: April 8, 2027

June

Conversion Playbook

Space Deadline: May 3, 2027

Materials Due: May 7, 2027

July

Behind The Scenes

Special Editorial: Company Culture and Leadership Development

Deadline: June 4, 2027

Materials Due: June 15, 2027

August

Data Privacy & Cyber Security

Space Deadline: July 2, 2027

(day before 4th weekend)

Materials Due: July 8, 2027

September

Self-Storage After Dark

Special Editorial: Security in the Age of AI

Space Deadline: July 30, 2027

(show issue)

Materials Due: August 5, 2027

October

2027 Top Operators’ Issue

Space Deadline: September 16, 2027

(late because of Vegas)

Materials Due: September 21, 2027

November

Self-Storage 2030: Planning for the Future

Special Editorial: Infrastructure and Architecture

Space Deadline: October 1, 2027

Materials Due: October 7, 2027

December

2027 Facility of the Year Winners

Space Deadline: November 5, 2027

Materials Due: November 11, 2027

Submit all print and digital ads via email to carlos@modernstoragemedia.com.

Preferred print formats: Press-ready PDFs or 300 DPI JPGs.

All images must be no less than 300 DPI at 100% final size.

Enhanced advertisements require packaged files, or native files including all layers and embedded fonts, images and elements.

Contact your sales representative for specific instructions and acceptable file types.

Ads that do not meet the required specifications will be returned for re-submission. If required, and if possible, graphic design to alter supplied materials to meet the specifications is available for $100 per instance.

MSM offers ad creation, production, ad reprints and bulk subscriptions for its publications. Contact your sales representative for details.

The unique Vertiqul platform expands the capabilities of the printed page, which is limited to a static environment. By taking the elements of a print ad and allowing them to move dynamically, the user experience is greatly enhanced across desktop, tablet, and mobile devices.

Along with standard print design elements, here are just a few examples of “enhancements” that can be implemented. Please work directly with your sales rep to see if there is something else that uniquely fits your brand.

• Embedded video & audio

• Animation

• Photo carousels

• Paralax scrolling

• Multi-edge motion

• Unique specialty actions

To see examples of an enhanced ad, click here to read the September 2026 issue of Messenger.

For a digital reproduction of a story in the issue, our Digital Reprint package includes:

• An email link to a non-listed page on our website that has a preview of the PDF (as it looks in the magazine) and is readable on the page and sharable to lists or sites of your choosing.

• A link to the story in the digital magazine on Vertiqul.

• Three (3) downloadable PDFs:

1) A medium-res PDF with the issue cover modified to include a burst with a callout to the story by page number.

The article pages will be single file, graying out the ads.

2) A web-res PDF that can be emailed.

The article has the layout in spread format with the ads grayed out.

3) A high-resolution PDF with bleeds in single-page format that can be professionally reproduced.

The article pages will be single file, graying out the ads.