AVN Online's October "Gaydar" Column

[XXXWriterDude]

I look at attending shows as a cost of doing business-- for me it is really a marketing expense. If you are serious about being in the adult online business, attending a show or two every year should be part of the company budget -- even those companies that are just one or two people. With all the shows now dotting the calendar, there is at least one that is geographically close if you are in North America or EU. [sorry squirt. you chose to live in a former isolated prison colony] The webmaster who is serious about doing business and not just accumulating the most free drinks will find that a $2000 show can reap exponential benefits. The webmaster who goes for the parties will come away thinking that shows are a waste of time and money...

I think trade shows will continue to be an important part of the serious industry member's budget and calendar. The way trade shows function will continue to evolve as the industry itself evolves and matures. For the time being, shows are still a valuable marketing tool for those that adapt and use them properly.

Thanx, Chad, for a well-stated opinion about the continued relevance of the shows. Seems all I ever hear from webmasters about why they don't go is "It's not cost-effective for us."

One of my favorite things said on the panel of the Gay Phoenix Forum this year was what Brian Dunlap had to say about why the shows are important.

Dunlap later emphasized the continued validity of print advertising versus Web advertising (“Don’t overlook the value of offline advertising,” he warned), and spoke at length about the value of attending shows. “Showing up to shows is not always about the return on investment,” he offered. “It’s more of a branding aspect—a return on investment that you will see over the long run. If you’re looking at the numbers as soon as you get home, you’re forcing yourself to be disappointed. There is real value in showing and supporting these things.”

I think that about sums it up for me. Obviously, if you just don't have the money to go, it makes sense that you probably won't go. But for those who have the resources to attend, I think it's a no-brainer. The fact of the matter is that if you want business to get done at the shows, then business WILL get done. Any show is only as good as YOU yourself make it.

Internext 2006 wasn't perfect. Oh well. Let's move on. Everybody stumbles once in a while. It's good to stumble. It makes you reasses and reorganize. I'm confident that Internext 2007 will be a much more relevant show for webmasters -- even the gay ones.

Those who skipped the Florida show because they were disappointed with the Vegas show, however, truly missed out on a fun, productive (emphasis on productive) show that could have been good for business. Oh well. Your loss.

http://www.avnonline.com/index.php?P...tent_ID=277209

[XXXWriterDude]

The only thing I will say about going to shows is that sometimes you'll find that people are more willing to do business with you after a face to face meeting. And I chalk this more up to e-mails getting lost in spam filters than a sense of "I need to see you to trust you" kind of thing. So, sometimes going to show will get you a point of contact that you've been trying to make for months.

Definitely agree with you, Dziner. Nothing takes the place of face-to-face contact, no matter what the situation is. As an example, How many times have any of us seen someone on one of the gay hookup sites who was tentative about meeting up? And then you ran into that person at a bar or something and suddenly everything just fell into place and it was on? That happens to me all the time.

It works the same way when it comes to doing good business. Taking the time and making it a point to personally connect with someone you want to do business with is essential in my book. It's too easy to sit behind the comfort of your office and do business via email and the phone, but that's just not the best way of doing business to me. Good, productive business is handled the old-fashioned way, with a firm handshake and a personal connection. That's the best way to ensure that your partnership will come to something lucrative for both of you. I think it's just too easy to make bad business decisions when you don't have a sense of the person you might be affecting.

That's what I think anyway. For those who feel that they are doing just fine without attending the shows, all the power to you. If it works for you, run with it. But, apart from the fact that AVN throws two of the best shows in the industry, I would definitely attend if I had my own site (which I will).

[gaybucks_chip]

AJ and I constantly discuss the value (or lack thereof) for the shows we attend.

As far as Gay Phoenix Forum, we suspected all along that the first year of the event would, for the most part, have people that had already attended other shows -- with no real track record, it was a risky proposition for a new or smaller webmaster to make the financial commitment -- but both of us did talk to a lot of people who were coming to their first show, and we actually walked away with more new business than at any other show we've been to so far.

I hope that the GayVN summit in San Francisco will have a similar value, though if it's as pricey as other AVN events, it will probably repel a lot of smaller webmasters.

I have to strongly disagree with those who say there isn't real benefit, or a weak cost-benefit ratio. Even smaller affiliates and program owners can meet face-to-face with the people that can grow their businesses, and I can tell you that a large number of the good business relationships we've developed have come from ongoing discussions we've had with people that we got to know at the shows. I doubt seriously that some of the connections and opportunities we have now would have come about if we had not had the opportunity for "face time", and I DON'T agree that many of those situations would have developed from email-only or phone-only introductions.

I guess a lot depends too on your personality. I'm actually really shy in social settings, and so it's a major challenge for me to just walk up randomly to people and say "Hi, I'm Chip with Gaybucks, what do you do?" even though I know that people will be receptive. I've learned to be better about it because it's a necessity if I'm going to go to shows, but if you spend the money to go and can force yourself to do that if it isn't in your nature, it will *definitely* pay off.

Plus, if you choose to do so, you can use the shows as opportunities to convey the "personality" of your company and attract like-minded people to work with you; that's a lot harder to do on the boards or through emails and ads.

Yes, in terms of immediate return, the money might better be spent in the short term on advertising or content or adwords or whatever, but I think at least a major portion of the value of showing up show after show is in letting people know your company is serious about growth, it's around to stay, and creating the branding so that when someone says "I am looking for (whatever you offer)", then your company's name will come to mind immediately.