Don't view trade shows only as a chance to schmooze with potential customers, collect boxes of business cards and impress everybody with a glitzy booth. If you do your publicity homework as carefully as you plan your displays, you can be well on your way to creating thousands of dollars in free print space and air time at the next show.

Too many businesses exhibiting at trade shows wait patiently until they spot a reporter coming down the aisle. Then, if the reporter stops at their booth, the person inside the booth moves in with the same tired sales pitch used on everybody else who walks by. Unfortunately, by the time the show begins, it may already be too late to capture the media's attention. That's because the smart companies work weeks and sometimes even months ahead, establishing strong media relationships that can pay off big long before the show is under way. To learn what you can do before a trade show starts to increase publicity see Special Report #24 "How to Create Media Publicity at Trade Shows and Conferences"