I love Rent and Retain magazine. For under $7 a month, there's really no excuse that any site should go without Mindy William's great ideas and inspirations!
I received my September/October issue back in July (which is when I actually wrote this entry and post dated it for later) and read that October is National Popcorn Popping Month. There are a TON of ways you can go with this from some time tested favorites that we keep using because they keep working in our industry, to some newer ideas that might create some great buzz not only with your future residents but with your current residents as well! How will you make things POP with your residents this fall?
- Switch out your usual budget for Otis Spukmyer this month and bring in a small popcorn popper cart. You might be able to save some money on how much you would usually order from Otis, since popcorn is notoriously cheap. Better yet, since everyone else is doing cookies, handing out popcorn can make your property stand out from the crowd and give a prospective resident a reason to remember you! On the bags, take the time to write a note of thanks, or even a great reason that your community is somewhere to call home.
- Try doing flavored popcorn - Some flavors that people love are Cheddar, White Cheddar, Ranch, Sour Cream and Onion, Carmel and Kettle Corn. Many places carry bottles of flavoring that you can sprinkle over your popcorn to give it an extra kick!
- When I go to Home Depot, I find it irresistible to not buy a bag of the fresh kettle corn that they're making out in front. What about having a local civic organization do a fundrasier or a charity drive using the power of your resident's stomachs by bringing the Kettle Corn cookers to your property one weekend when you run a "Fall in to Home" leasing special?
- Take a Saturday and run a movie marathon complete with the comforts of the theater and without the $15 a ticket entry fee! Movie marathon suggestions: Star Wars, Star Trek, Harry Potter, Batman, Superman, Land Before Time, World of Disney, Rodgers and Hammerstein Musicals, Lord of the Rings
- The Sunday before Halloween, how about running a short kids cooking class to teach how to make popcorn balls with that awesome orange gelatin flavoring? You can find a recipe HERE
What would you like to see your on site teams do? How about what's worked in the past? I love to hear new ideas from my readers!