Trade shows can be great sources of sales leads, contacts and subscribers for your company's email newsletters. That doesn't mean, however, that you can start blasting out mass emails to every address you collect.

When somebody hands you a business card or lets you scan his badge, he's agreeing to a follow-up phone, letter or email message. He's not giving you explicit permission to add him to your email list. You still need to get that extra confirmation and documentation for the request, just as you would if your prospects signed up online.

The best way is to get the email address and permission right in the booth during the show. Otherwise, you must follow up by phone or email after the show.

The busiest season in the trade show year is gearing up now; so, it's time to get your email plan in place.

Capturing and Confirming

In a perfect world, your booth would have Internet access, a desktop or laptop, a booth attendant who can input your visitor's information right into your regular opt-in form, and lots of time to do it.

In reality, booth visitors don't usually have the time or attention span for detailed data collection. You probably don't have the personnel for it, either. So, you must streamline your efforts.

You can capture a visitor's email address and permission in one or more of the following scenarios:

1. You scan in coded information on the visitor's badge with a handheld reader. Many but not all trade shows now include email addresses. If yours doesn't, or if you can't customize the data to include an opt-in request, you'll have to get the email address and permission separately. (See below.)

2. The visitor hands you his business card with a request either for a sales call or follow-up information. Ask him if he also wants to subscribe. If he does, note it on the card.

3. The visitor dictates his information to you, and you either record it on one of your own business cards or input his data into a handheld device like a Blackberry or PalmPilot. Again, ask him to sign up for your newsletter and note it in your information you've collected.

4. The visitor fills out a paper information-request form or attaches a business card to it and either hands it to you or drops it into a box or bowl. The form should ask for only a minimum of information: name, company, phone number and email address. Include a checkbox labeled "Add me to your email newsletter list."

Confirming the Request

Enter the contact information for the trade booth visitors into your email database immediately after the show. Then send those that requested to receive your email newsletter a confirmation email as soon as possible . Create an automated thank-you/confirmation email personalized with the subscriber's name, in which you thank him for subscribing and provide a link for him to confirm it.

If you didn't collect email addresses in the booth, or if you got the email address but not the permission to add to a mailing list, you can try to get that information during your regular show follow-up contacts.

After your sales reps mail or email the requested information, they should invite their prospects to subscribe to your email publications.

If the follow-up contact is done by phone, you can have them enter the prospect's information right onto your regular registration page in order to get the process going and a confirmation sent out promptly. If they follow up via email, create a text or HTML for them or provide them with a link to your registration page along with a brief statement explaining the benefit and your privacy policy.

Important: Retain all business cards and forms to document the permission, in case a recipient sends you a spam complaint or an outside agency audits your permission and subscription policies.

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