Online Entreprenuers and Bloggers: Five Things You Need to Have Printed for Your First Trade Show

Face-to-face marketing and networking can be critical, even in cases where your business is totally online, and trade shows and consumer expos can play a large role in helping you make face-to-face connections. However, at a show, you need a range of printed materials so you can spread the word about your online company. Here's what you need for your first show as well as any subsequent shows you do:

1. Business Cards

At the very least, you need a stack of business cards. You can opt for sparse looking cards that just show your url on them, or you can choose cards that contain a bevy of information including your website, name, personal contact details, logo, QR code linking to your blog or whatever else you like. Always have a card ready to share with attendees at the show, but also remember to exchange cards with other exhibitors, especially if they have a complementary company as sharing leads and referrals in the future may prove to be mutually beneficial.

2. Brochures

If you want to give prospective clients, readers or customers more information about your online business, also have a few brochures printed up. Remember that your brochures may be the first point of contact some people have with your business. As a result, it's critical to use quality images, well written text and professional digital printing.

3. Banners and Banner Stands

Of course, giving business cards and brochures to people is only part of the point of having a booth at a trade show. Your booth itself should also be treated as a four-dimensional advertisement for your company. To that end, invest in signage. Banners are great to hang from the pipe and drape of your booth, and you may also want to consider banner stands, banners that roll up with a stand featuring telescoping poles for easy transit.

4. Balloons

When attendees are looking down the show floor, they cannot see most booths, as they are all the same height. However, if you can rise above that level, you will increase your visibility and hopefully the number of people who come into your booth. Balloons are a cheap and easy way to boost the height of your booth. Have a digital printer pop your name, logo or website onto the balloons, and attach them to the corner of your booth.

Talk with the show producer before bringing helium balloons—unfortunately, while many expos welcome them, some conference centres ban balloons as they can be hard to remove from the rafters of the room. The additional advantage of balloons is that if there are kids at the event, balloons almost guarantee that the kids will drag their parents into your booth.

5. Swag

Finally, consider branding your company at the expo by giving away swag. Digital printers can print almost anything you want on almost surface. Add your logo and web address to tennis balls, backpacks, T-shirts, aprons, keychains, thumb drives or whatever you like. As those items get passed around, you're almost sure to see extra traffic on your site.


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