How much does it cost to do a trade show?
October 30th, 2007
I’ve been getting a lot of questions about whether it’s worth it do the trade shows (KIDShow, MAGIC, ABC) and how much it really costs to do the trade shows. Which works out perfect, because I’ve been wanting to feature some of the great blogs out there, and Jamie at JPD design just happened to write a post answering all of those questions.
In my previous post, I mentioned that trade shows are not part of our marketing plan for year two. It’s hard to measure exposure, but if all you’re getting is exposure and a few new accounts, then it makes sense to invest in PR instead. It was a great experience to jump in and do the trade shows, and I think part of the pull is just “being there”. We’re trying to run a smarter and tighter business in year two, so for the first quarter at least, we’ve decided trade shows are out.
Jamie writes an open and honest blog, and she’s been in the business a few more years than I have, so she has a somewhat different perspective to bring to running a business in the children’s industry. Bookmark her blog, it’s a good read!
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4 Comments Add your own
1. Jamie Lentzner | October 30th, 2007 at 2:24 pm
Hey Amber - thanks for the super nice words. It does bum me out that Trade Shows are such a huge suck on finances. We are coming up on our lease this Feb ‘08 (been out of the house for two years woo hoo) and we KNOW here in California they will raise our rent. We got more PR the years we did not do shows then this one when we did. I do think it is a right of passage, it’s like you have to find out for yourself - and just do it. But, do go in with your eyes wide open and realize the amount of money you will spend. Hope things are going well! I was worried you were close to the fires…all okay I hope!
2. Robin | November 1st, 2007 at 8:34 am
I realized I posted in your prior post instead. Thanks for your insight. I am in year 2 as well and I find that even getting a feature on-line is better than an ad. One, you have someone people seem to believe in review your product and talk about it in their own words (great for credibility), and second, the feature with your link stays in their archives and helps your google ranking.
3. amber | November 2nd, 2007 at 7:06 am
Hi Robin! YES! I agree, getting reviews is one of the best things you can do to build credibility for your company. We’ve been lucky to have a lot of people approach us for reviews! It does cost the cost of a sample, but like you said, the payoff, in both the praise and live links -is VERY much worth it. No to mention all the new traffic you get from their reader-base.
4. Lisa NYC | November 2nd, 2007 at 6:29 pm
Amber…thanks for turning me onto Jamie’s blog…love it!!! I’ve already added it to my blog.
The more and more I think about this whole tradeshow business being such a big expense, the more I’m wondering if I even want to do more than one yearly.
I definitely agree on having your items reviewed…people tend to give more value to a reviewer than a printed ad.
With friendship,
Lisa
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