Tip 21: Public Relations Tips

• That your show exists is not newsworthy. What will get press attention are the specific issues/problems it will address.
  
• In most cases, handle the PR function in house. If you need outside help, hire a PR firm that knows (is connected to) the industry covered by the show, not one that is a generalist. Then get out of the way.
  
• Determine (or better yet, create) this year's sound bite for your industry, which then also becomes the push line for your show. For example, the sound bite might be "widget producers are moving to the internet." Push this massively in your show promotion, with the tag line "producers click at Widget Expo."
  
• For a b-to-b show, the local weekly business journal is usually a better resource to generate attendees than the daily newspaper. And cable outperforms the regular network affiliates.