How often does a new idea come along to help genealogy businesses reach new customers? My friend, Lee Everton, came up with an idea a while back that I think can be of benefit to genealogy-related businesses – and I’m encouraging those in the business to support the idea.
A while back, I talked with Lee Everton about the Genealogy Trade Mission project. It’s designed to help genealogy businesses reach more people. I found it interesting for two reasons:
- He is doing this to help businesses in such a way that they can afford to do it.
- He is doing this at a time when genealogy companies need the most help in reaching new people, and at a time when spending a lot of money is not an option.
Lee has been looking at a project like this for a number of years because of the feedback that he has received from business owners like himself. However, he told me that the
final decision was made at the FGS Conference in Philadelphia, after talking to a number of the business owners in the booths. They said that they enjoyed being at the genealogy conferences to meet with their friends and genealogists who lived around the area, but they really needed to get their business in front of people who did not know about them. They needed to increase their customer base.
He decided right there to set up the Genealogy Trade Mission to help genealogy-related businesses get in front of large groups of people at consumer shows where they would not normally attend. In fact his mission statement is:
“Promote Genealogy and Family History to the general population with the purpose of increasing interest in genealogy and your company at the grass roots level.”
I am excited about it, because it is different from anything else out there. I am trying this out myself (for Family Roots Publishing & GenealogyBlog) because I know that I could not afford to do it at one of these large consumer shows. Booth space alone at one of these shows is around $1200. By the time I add in the travel, hotel, shipping (remember Philadelphia), etc. the actual cost to attend may be near $4,000. And, I think that’s on the cheap side.
I, for one, am going to support this effort. There are just a very few people who could represent genealogy to such a large group of people – and I think Lee is one of them. As a rep for the industry, there might be one or two other people out there who have a love for genealogy and the desire to see it grow, but as I have watched Lee work over the past 20 years, I think he has each of our interests in mind. He wants to see interest grow for the industry.
Lee has a show in March with a planned attendance of 25,000. In my opinion, I think it is a great idea and a way to reach new people. If you want information, you can download a short information sheet from:
http://www.askagenie.com/GTM/ (Right in the middle of the page.)
Once in a while something new comes along to help genealogists do their research better. I think the Genealogy Trade Mission project is something new and a better way to help genealogy businesses reach new people.
My disclaimer – I have no financial interest in Lee’s Genealogy Trade Mission, other than the use of his services, just like others can do. I just think it’s a great idea – and one that most any small genealogy-related businesses can afford. Believe it or not, the cost for a business is as little as $200. Check it out.