How did ADA increase its sponsorship revenue opportunities, as well as the number of sponsors and their spend? Through an integrated sales approach that includes direct mail, e-mail, telemarketing, and face-to-face meetings with top accounts. Instead of hiring additional staff to handle editorial, design and production, marketing and sales, ADA worked with an outside company, TriStar Publishing, to handle all of these functions.

But you don't have to outsource to be successful. Here are seven proven strategies for creating trade show publications that add value for your attendees and exhibitors - and a revenue stream for your organization.

1. Know your objectives and start small.
Determine what you are trying to accomplish - beyond generating revenue. Are you looking to improve your on-site communications? Make them more user-friendly? Enhance your pre-show attendance promotion campaign? Build your brand to members and prospects by proving the value of your event? Test the waters by starting with one publication the first year, and developing relationships with advertisers and prospects that you can build for next year's event.

2. Focus on reader-friendly content and design.
Follow some tried-and-true publication design principles. Does the information flow? Is it well organized for the user? Does the publication create visual stimulation without over-stimulating? Does the front page of the show daily entice readers by telling them what's inside? Are captions and photos compelling?

 3. Sell marketing opportunities, not ads.
Today's savvy exhibitors need to be educated on the value of new marketing opportunities. Develop relationships with sponsors to determine which publication opportunities best suit their objectives. For example, if the company wants to promote a new product at the show, then recommend a single-sponsor publication. Start your sales efforts early. Consider sending rate cards about two months after the show.

 4. Don't skimp on marketing.
Budget for an integrated campaign to reach prospects - including direct mail, online, face-to-face sales, and telemarketing. Include rate cards in exhibitor kits and on your association's Web site. Send sales reps to shows to personally meet clients and prospects. Use e-mail to remind prospects about deadlines. Follow up direct mail and e-mail promotions with telemarketing. Typically, it takes about six to 10 contacts to turn a prospect into a sponsor. And remember to send thank-you notes to advertisers.

5. Price publications competitively.
Review other industry publications - including journals, magazines, show publications, and sponsorships - to determine what rates the market will bear. Offer package buys and frequency discounts if you sell multiple products, but don't discount off your rate card if sales aren't meeting expectations (you won't be able to get advertisers to pay the full amount next year).

6. Find out what readers want, need, and use.
In addition to print publications, offer electronic versions for attendees, prospects, and members. Track and measure what they click on, and how long they spend viewing. Use research to not only determine content needs, but also how well publications are performing for advertisers. For example, one advertiser wanted to know if attendees recognized its single-sponsorship of a daily, so readers were asked to identify the sponsor among a list of major players in the industry. More than 90 percent of respondents named the company as the sponsor, which certainly helped during the renewal process.

7. Make sure you have enough staff.
In order to maximize revenue, sales, marketing, and editorial functions should be in full swing three to five months out from your event. Can your current staff handle the additional workload? Evaluate the expertise of your staff and estimate the number of hours necessary to produce content, design layouts, sell advertising, write and design promotions. Will you need to hire additional staff? If you hire additional staff, will you have enough work for them in the off season? Also, trade show publications require on-site production, so staff may not be able to participate in other show-related activities. For these reasons, outsourcing may be a good option.

° Robin Boss is chief operating officer of TriStar Publishing Inc., a company that specializes in producing trade show publications and specialty marketing materials for medical and other associations (www.tristarpub.com). A 12-year publishing veteran, she's also a member of PCMA and the Health Care Exhibitors Association (HCEA).

Show Publications: The Basics

When it comes to trade show publications, there are plenty of options. Beyond creating an additional source of revenue, trade show publications can help your association offset the costs of pre-show promotions; increase attendance by informing prospects about educational programs, networking opportunities, and new products at the show; and provide exhibitors with additional exposure. Here's a sampling of the trade show publications you can offer, their content, and distribution.

PRE-SHOW PUBLICATIONS

• offers a sneak peak at educational sessions
• mails to attendee prospects six to seven months before the event
• typically single-sponsored.

Advance program

• offers complete program information
• mails to attendee prospects three to four months before the event
• includes housing, and registration information
• typically single-sponsored
• promotes early registration deadlines.

Preview newspaper

• mails to pre-registered list (and prospects if desired) four to eight weeks before the event
•  typically multiple sponsors
• can feature articles on sessions, interviews with speakers, board members and executives
• ]offers information on things to do in the host city.

ON-SITE PUBLICATIONS
CONVENTION DAILY NEWSPAPER

• typically multiple sponsors, including premiums such as bellybands, inserts, tabs
• usually produced overnight during the event
• features live coverage of the event, industry news, networking events, photos
• includes exhibit hall map and list of exhibitors
• can be room-dropped to attendees' hotels, distributed on shuttle busses, literature racks at the facility, and/or handed out by greeters.

Program guide

• typically multiple sponsors
• offers program information, including session titles, descriptions, speakers, and schedules
•  distributed to attendees in registration bags.

City scene and hotel key card sponsorship

•  typically single sponsored
• city and restaurants information, as well as a schedule-at-a-glance
• distributed to attendees at hotel check-in
• pocket-size folder with hotel key card

Exhibit guide/directory

• typically multiple sponsors
• lists exhibitors in alphabetical order, sorted by product category
• detailed information about exhibiting companies
• exhibit hall map
• distributed to attendees in registration bags.

POST-SHOW PUBLICATIONS NEWSPAPER POST EDITION

• typically multiple sponsors
• features highlights from meeting and photos
• may include preview information about future events
• mailed to attendees, as well as members who did not attend, two weeks after the event.