A trade show takes two pieces of writing: the booth line your staff say to people walking past, and the follow-up sequence that goes to the badges you scan. It is a Workflow, and both pieces take about an afternoon before the show, with a short sorting session after it. You write one brief, paste it into the AI you already pay for, and ask for the line first and the emails second, in the same chat. The AI writes both. You stand at the booth, scan the badges and decide who gets which email.
- Shape
- Workflow
- Sitting
- an afternoon
The shape: Workflow
This job is a Workflow because the two pieces are linked. The booth line makes a promise to the visitor in about five seconds. The follow-up has to pick up that same promise a few days later, in an inbox full of other exhibitors. If the two are written in separate chats, the visitor meets one business at the booth and a different one in the email.
It also splits across time. The brief, the line and the emails come before the show, when you have a quiet afternoon. The sorting comes after, when you have a pile of scans and a tired brain. That is why the emails get written before the show. On the Monday after the show, the only thing left is to put each scan in a group and send.
Most of the value sits in the second piece. A booth conversation is warm for a few days, then it is gone. The follow-up is what turns a scan into a reply.
What you give the AI
The brief is the whole job. A thin brief gets a booth line that could hang over any booth in the hall. Write these down before you open the chat:
- The show. Its name, dates, city, and who walks the floor: buyers, owners, installers, students, the general public.
- Who you want to meet. One line naming the visitor worth stopping, such as "owners of restaurants with one to three locations" or "facilities managers at schools".
- Who you do not need. The visitors who will take the free pen and never buy, so the line can let them walk on.
- What you sell, in one sentence. The plain version, the one you would say to a neighbor.
- The problem it solves. In the words your customers use when they first call you.
- The show offer, if any. A show price, a demo slot, a sample, a free consultation. Write the exact terms and when it ends.
- The one next step you want. A call booked, a quote requested, a sample shipped, a visit to your showroom.
- The booking link, phone number or reply address. Exactly as written.
- Three questions visitors usually ask. From the last show, or from your inbox.
- Your lead groups. Two or three, decided now: for example "ready to buy", "interested later" and "not a fit but worth staying in touch with".
- What you can send each group. A price sheet, a case example you can share, a short video, a calendar link.
What comes back
A booth line with two follow-up questions, a one-line version for a banner, and three short emails for each lead group. Here is the brief to paste first, with your answers filled in:
Act as the writer for a trade show booth.
Below is the brief.
Use only the facts in this brief.
If something is missing, ask before you invent it.
Show name, dates and city:
Who walks the floor:
Who we want to meet:
Who we do not need:
What we sell, in one sentence:
The problem it solves, in customer words:
Show offer and its exact terms:
The one next step we want:
Booking link, phone or reply address:
Three questions visitors usually ask:
Lead groups:
What we can send each group:
Step 1: Write the booth line.
Give me five options.
Each one is a single sentence of under 15 words, said out loud to a stranger walking past.
Each one names who we help and ends with a question the visitor can answer in one word.
Then give me two follow-up questions for a visitor who says yes, to find out which lead group they belong in.
Then give me a banner version of under 8 words.
Stop after step 1 and wait for my pick.Pick the line you can say without thinking, edit it, and then ask for the emails in the same chat:
Step 2: Write the follow-up sequence.
The booth line we picked, as edited: [paste it here]. Use it, so the first email picks up the same promise.
For each lead group, write three emails.
Email 1 goes two working days after the show.
It opens by naming the show and what we talked about, under 100 words, one link.
Email 2 goes five working days later.
It answers one of the three common questions, under 120 words, one link.
Email 3 goes a week after that.
It is a short last note that makes the next step easy and says we will not keep writing.
Give each email a subject line under 50 characters.
Leave a marked blank in email 1 for one line about the conversation.
No hype, no countdown, no fake urgency.You get back five booth lines, two sorting questions, a banner line and three short emails per lead group, each with a subject line. The blank in email 1 is on purpose. It is where you write one real line per hot lead after the show, such as "You asked about the larger unit for the second kitchen."
How to judge it
You can reject a bad draft in a minute. Look for these:
- A line you cannot say out loud. Read each booth line aloud once. If you stumble, run out of breath or feel silly, it fails.
- A question that sorts no one. "Are you interested in saving money?" gets a yes from everyone and tells you nothing. The question should sort people, not flatter them.
- Invented facts. A discount you did not offer, a deadline you did not set, a client name, a number of years in business. Anything not in your brief comes out.
- A cold pitch in disguise. An email 1 that never mentions the show or the booth reads like spam to someone who met you two days ago.
- The same email three times. If emails 2 and 3 repeat email 1 with new adjectives, ask again and name the question email 2 should answer.
- Fake urgency. "Only three spots left" when there is no limit. Visitors met many other exhibitors that week and can tell.
- Too many links. One link per email, pointing to the one next step.
If two of these show up, fix the brief rather than the drafts. A sharper "who we want to meet" line fixes the booth line and every email after it.
What stays with you
The AI writes words. The show is yours, and so are these parts:
- Scanning the badges. The scanner, the show app or a business card gives you names and email addresses, so ask every real conversation for a scan before they walk on.
- The notes at the booth. Write two or three words on each scan, in the app or on the back of their card, while you still remember the face. "Second kitchen, larger unit" is enough. Without notes, every lead lands in the wrong group.
- Sorting the scans. After the show, put each lead in a group. This is judgment about people you met, and it takes about a minute per hot lead.
- The one real line. The blank in email 1 is yours to fill for every hot lead. It is the line that tells them a person wrote back.
- The rules on contact. Check the show's terms on lead use and your email tool's terms on imported contacts. Send only the follow-up the visitor agreed to, with a clear way to stop hearing from you.
- The offer. Confirm the show price and its end date before the first email goes out. A wrong price in writing is hard to walk back.
- Saying the line. Practice it ten times before the doors open. Then say it to everyone who slows down.
- The send button. You decide who gets which sequence and when it starts.
A worked example
This is an editorial example with an invented business. Say you make commercial ice machines and take a booth at a regional restaurant show.
The brief names the visitor worth stopping as owners of restaurants with one to three locations who run their own equipment. Who you do not need: sales reps from other suppliers and students collecting brochures. The show offer is a free on-site sizing visit booked before the end of the month. The lead groups are "replacing a machine this year", "opening a new location" and "just looking".
The booth line the owner picks is "We size ice machines for small restaurants. Running short on busy nights?" A yes leads to the two sorting questions: how many locations, and how old the current machine is. Each scan gets three words in the app, such as "two sites, ten years". On the Monday after, the owner sorts the scans into the three groups, writes one line into each hot lead's first email, and starts the sequences. The "just looking" group gets no sizing visit pitch until email 3.
Where this fits
A trade show uses the same one-brief method as an event you host yourself; the events page walks that version. The banner and table sign come from the same brief, and the signage page covers how to write them. The card you hand over should match the booth line, which the business cards page handles. For the five or six visitors who matter most, a short handwritten note beats a fourth email; see thank-you notes. The full list of jobs like this one is on the DIY marketing hub.
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