You can reach trade fair exhibitors without attending by treating the fair's exhibitor list as a sales list: choose the companies that match your target markets and sector, write short personal messages timed around the fair date, and continue the conversation remotely with those who reply. It needs no stand or travel budget, only a plan.
This guide is for manufacturers and suppliers selling abroad who cannot justify a stand or a trip this season. It covers which companies to pick, when to write, what to say, how to follow up and how to measure the result honestly.
Is not attending a real disadvantage?
Partly. No email replaces a conversation at the stand or a buyer handling your product. But much of a fair's value lies in the fact that the active companies of a sector are in one place, in the same week, and open to new contacts. An exhibitor list carries a good part of that value to your desk: a company that pays for a stand is active in its market, buys and sells, and sets time aside for new suppliers around the fair.
Working remotely also has an upside: you are not tied to one fair. You can contact the exhibitors of three fairs you could never attend in the same quarter, see which market replies best, and put next year's stand budget there.
How do the costs compare with exhibiting?
Exact figures would mislead, because stand rates, host city, hotel prices in fair week and team size vary widely from fair to fair. Setting the cost items side by side still makes the decision clearer:
| Exhibiting with a stand | Reaching exhibitors remotely |
|---|---|
| Stand rental, registration and mandatory service fees | List price (shown before you open the list) |
| Stand design, build and shipping samples | Sending costs (pay for what you use) |
| Flights, hotels and subsistence; hotel prices rise in fair week | No travel |
| Staff days before, during and after the fair | Hours spent writing the message and answering replies |
| Reach: the visitors who stop at your stand | Reach: the exhibitors on the list who fit your target |
This is a rough framework, not a measured cost calculation. Put your own stand and travel quotes next to the list and sending costs on the pricing page.
The two routes are not mutually exclusive. If you do go, the list is how you book meetings in advance; if you cannot, the list is the contact itself.
How do you choose the right companies?
Writing to every company on the list is the most common mistake. Choose the fair first, then the companies:
- Pick the fair by sector and market. Filter the trade fair directory by country, city, sector and month, and look for the fair where your buyers exhibit.
- Check the coverage. Each fair page shows the number of companies on the list and the share with an email address. All fairs with a ready list are on the exhibitor lists page.
- Filter by country. Once the list is in your account, you can filter companies by country and by whether they have an email address. Start with the markets you can sell to and ship to.
- Separate the roles. Manufacturers, distributors and service firms exhibit side by side. Mark buyers, competitors and potential partners separately.
Among fairs with a ready list, the largest ones currently cluster in Construction / Building, Plastics, Health / Medical, Packaging, Glass and Electrical / Electronics. Each sector page lists every upcoming fair in that field.
When should you write: before, during or after the fair?
The fair date is the most natural reason for your message. Build your timetable around it even if you stay at home:
- Four to six weeks before: first message. Exhibitors are preparing and open to new products and suppliers. Do not hide that you will not be there; offer a short video call before or after the fair.
- One to two weeks before: one short reminder to those who have not replied. Add something new, such as a price list or a sample offer, rather than repeating the text.
- Fair week: send nothing new. Exhibitors are on their stands and their inboxes are full; answer replies only.
- One to two weeks after: follow up with “we did not get the chance to meet at the fair”. Many companies are reviewing the suppliers they met, which makes this a good moment.
These time frames are rough practical guidance, not measured figures.
In Expomatik, campaigns are scheduled around the fair date and sending is spread across the working day. For first-message templates, see Trade Fair Meeting Request Emails; for the after-fair stage, see following up with trade fair contacts.
What should the message say?
Short, plain text and one concrete offer. A supplier who is not at the fair needs a message clear enough to stand in for a stand visit:
- Context
- Say in the first sentence which fair's exhibitors you are writing to. It shows the message is not random.
- Who you are
- Company, country and what you make, in one sentence. The longer introduction can wait for the second message.
- One offer
- A price list, a sample or a 15-minute video call. Several options make a reply harder.
- Legal footer
- Sender identity, postal address and an unsubscribe link. Expomatik adds these to every message; a campaign does not start without them.
Example opening
“Hello, we are writing to [sector] companies exhibiting at [fair name]. We are a [product] manufacturer based in [city]. We will not have a stand this year, so we wanted to share our catalogue and price list ahead of the fair. If useful, we could arrange a 15-minute video call before or after the event.”
Campaigns go to the company's general business address, not to a named person, so write clearly enough for the message to be forwarded to purchasing or the right department. Images and heavy HTML raise the risk of landing in spam; the reasons are in Why Are My Emails Going to Spam?
How should you follow up?
One first message and at most two follow-ups are enough. Companies that reply leave the sequence and the conversation continues person to person. Anyone who unsubscribes is never written to again, which is both a legal requirement and protection for your domain's reputation.
Sort replies into three groups: interested (call or sample), not now (try again next season) and not relevant (remove). The second group is the most valuable list for the next edition.
How do you measure the result?
| Metric | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Delivered | The message reached the recipient's server. A low rate points to address quality or domain set-up. |
| Bounced | The address is invalid. A high bounce rate pauses the campaign, and bounced addresses are not written to again. |
| Replied | The real result. How many companies replied, and how many turned into calls, shows what the campaign was worth. |
Opens are not measured. The only way to measure them is an invisible tracking pixel, which attracts spam filters and gives unreliable numbers because many email apps load images automatically. Expomatik adds no pixel; your account shows sent, delivered, bounced and replied messages.
What are the legal points to check?
The rules of the recipient's country apply. In the UK, PECR allows marketing emails to corporate subscribers without prior consent if you identify yourself and offer an easy opt-out, but sole traders and some partnerships are treated like individuals. Several EU countries, Germany among them, generally require prior consent even for business recipients. Read Is It Legal to Email Trade Fair Exhibitors? before your first campaign. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Which fairs could you start with?
Some upcoming fairs with a ready list and many exhibitors (the number is the count of companies on the list we compiled):
- MEDICA 2026, 4,395 companies
- Ambiente, 3,015 companies
- EuroTier 2026, 2,310 companies
- electronica 2026, 1,939 companies
- BAU, 1,694 companies
- Heimtextil 2027, 1,576 companies
The full ranking is in Largest Trade Fairs by Number of Exhibitors. For how to judge a list, see How to Get a Trade Fair Exhibitor List; to compare with other channels, see How to Find International B2B Customers. You can review lists with a free account.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I contact trade fair exhibitors if I am not exhibiting or visiting?
- Yes. An exhibitor list tells you which companies are active in a sector; you do not need a stand or a ticket to contact them. What matters is that your message is relevant, honest about the fact that you will not be at the fair, and compliant with the email rules in the recipient's country.
- When is the best time to contact exhibitors before a fair?
- Four to six weeks before the fair is a good moment for the first message, with one short reminder a week or two before. Avoid the fair week itself, and follow up one to two weeks after the fair. These are rough practical guidelines, not measured figures.
- Why are email opens not measured?
- Measuring opens requires an invisible tracking pixel in every message. Pixels attract spam filters, and many email apps now load images automatically, so the figure is unreliable. Expomatik adds no pixel and reports sent, delivered, bounced and replied messages instead.
- Is reaching exhibitors remotely cheaper than exhibiting?
- Usually, because there is no stand, travel or time out of the office. The two are not the same, though: a stand gives you face-to-face meetings, remote outreach gives you reach across several fairs. Compare your own stand and travel quotes with the list and sending costs on the pricing page.