Getting Your Trade Show Communication Just Right

July 26, 2013

Lisa Apolinski

Lisa Apolinski is a professional speaker, blogger, and digital strategist. With her company, 3DogWrite.com, she works with event managers to get their message to attendees, particularly through digital channels, on and off the show floor.

I think we can all agree that trade show communication (pre, during and post) is vital to increase booth traffic and lead generation.

So, how do you work to get that necessary trade show communication just right (or write, as the case may be)? This is important whether you are developing the copy yourself or using the services of the professional writer, as you can use these tips for your own work or to review someone else’s work.

Get your thoughts in order. You need to work on getting your thoughts down and organized. When you are doing this, think of the ‘what’ as well as the ‘why’ (as in why the intended audience should care). Work on developing no more than three points to your email and make sure the thought process works all the way through. Make your points simple and concise as well.

Read it out loud. A great way to see if what you wrote makes sense (and reads well) is to read it aloud. Sometimes when we are writing, we move either too fast or change our thought process mid-sentence, and reading your work out loud will help you quickly identify that, (as well as identify grammatical errors spellcheck does not always catch, such as the difference between you and your).

Have a cold read. This is a trick of professional writers. Leave your work for at least a couple of days and then pick it back up for a read. If you do not have that kind of time, ask someone who has not been tied to the project to read your communication. This is also a great test if you are not sure if your communication makes the most sense. Do not give any background to the tester, and see if the communication needs further clarification. Letting the email sit or using a neutral party is a great way to check your work when all is said and done.

It is important to leverage your trade show communication, and you can easily use these tips to get that communication strong and just right.

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