Launching a new community is exciting. You have fresh renderings, big expectations, and a lot riding on opening day. What often gets overlooked is the marketing foundation that determines whether your lease-up opens with momentum or starts playing catch-up from day one.

Yet somehow, lease-ups still fall into the same traps. Ads go live before the website works. Leads come in before the team is ready. Budgets get locked too early or blown too late. Everyone panics. Occupancy suffers.

The good news is that lease-up success is not about luck or vibes. It is about sequencing, speed, and making sure your marketing is ready before the doors open. Digible’s Ultimate Lease-Up Marketing Roadmap lays this out clearly, and below is how to actually apply it in the real world.

Phase 0: Build the Foundation Before Anyone Is Googling You

Six to nine months out, your building might still be dirt, but your digital presence should not be.

This is where most lease-ups quietly fail. If your website domain is not secured, your Google Business Profile is not claimed, or your brand details are still “TBD,” you are already behind. Early groundwork online creates SEO momentum, avoids brand confusion, and ensures you are discoverable the moment renters start searching.

At this stage, the goal is boring but powerful. Lock in your brand identity, confirm property details, gather creative assets, and launch a coming soon landing page that actually captures leads. Tracking needs to be set up now, not later.

This phase is not flashy, but it is the difference between opening strong and scrambling later.

Phase 1: Awareness Without Wasted Spend

Two to three months before you’re able to start leasing, it is time to warm the market with purpose, not panic.

This phase is about awareness with intention. Organic social launches, early SEO work, and low-budget paid campaigns introduce your community to the neighborhood. You are not trying to lease units yet. You are trying to make sure renters recognize your name when it matters.

Creative quality matters here more than volume. Stock photos and generic messaging attract unqualified traffic and inflate costs. Property-specific visuals and hyper-local content bring in renters who are actually a fit.

The win in this phase is a growing waitlist, clean data, and retargeting audiences that will convert later.

Phase 2: Pre-Leasing Is Where Momentum Is Won or Lost

One month before leasing starts, things get real.

Your website should be fully live and search engine optimized. Tour booking should work flawlessly. Email campaigns should activate to re-engage early leads. Paid social and display budgets should increase with a clear conversion goal.

This is where many lease-ups stumble. They collect interest but give prospects nowhere to go. No tours. No follow-up. No urgency. Renters move on.

Pre-leasing marketing bridges that gap. It turns curiosity into scheduled tours and keeps your property top of mind right up until opening day.

Phase 3: Active Leasing Is About Conversion, Not Traffic

Once doors open, urgency takes over.

At this stage, more traffic is not the answer. Better traffic is. Paid search, optimized landing pages, and strong local SEO ensure renters can find you and take action quickly.

This is also where agility matters. Budgets should be reviewed bi-weekly. Creatives should refresh every 30 to 45 days. Channels that underperform should be paused.

The goal is simple. Fill tours. Close leases. Reduce friction everywhere.

Phase 4 and 5: Optimize, Stabilize, Then Breathe

As occupancy climbs, your strategy should evolve.

Regular reporting and optimization ensure every dollar works harder as competition shifts. Once stabilized, marketing moves into maintenance mode with a focus on retention, renewals, and reputation management.

Lease-up marketing does not end at stabilization. It just grows up.

Why Most Lease-Up Properties Still Struggle

The biggest issue is not effort. It is timing.

Marketing that launches too late creates panic. Marketing that launches too early without structure creates waste. Digible’s Ultimate Lease-Up Marketing Roadmap exists to remove that chaos by aligning strategy, execution, and speed from day one.

We move fast because lease-ups demand it. Creative launches in days, not weeks. Budgets flex based on performance, not guesswork. And everything is measured by calls, tours, and leases, not vanity metrics.

Ready to Go From Dirt to Fully Leased?

If your next lease-up needs to hit occupancy fast without the usual headaches, let’s talk.

Book your free lease-up strategy call and we will walk you through exactly how to apply this roadmap to your property and your market.

Your doors will open either way. The question is whether renters are already waiting outside.