← The Doula Darcy Podcast
The Doula Darcy Podcast
What to Put on Your Table at a Baby Expo (So You Actually Get Leads)
00:25:25
What should you actually bring and set up at your table if you're exhibiting at a Baby Expo, Baby Fair, or community event? If you’ve ever found yourself wondering how to stand out in a room full of vendors (without spending a fortune), this episode...
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Welcome to the Doula Darcy Podcast. I'm your host, Darcy, a business coach for Doulas and I love helping my fellow doulas master the art of marketing so that they can grow their businesses and help more families. On the podcast, I combine my decade of experience in Advertising with 14 years as a doula to empower other doulas with the marketing strategies and mindset shifts they need to attract more clients and create successful, fulfilling doula careers. Whether you're just starting out as a doula or you're looking to take your doula business to the next level, you're in the right place. Let's go. Hey everyone. I'm really excited about today's topic because I'm going to dive into talking about what to do put on your table if you're having a table at a Baby Fair Baby Expo community event. This is something that comes up so often I see in the Doula Marketing Group, my free Facebook group. If you're PS if you're not in there, go join that group. People ask this question all the time and something you might not know about me is that for several years this is what I did. I produced mom and Baby Expos in the New England area and I'll share more about that in a minute. But first I want to say you are invited to the Birth Worker Retreat in January, Clearwater, Florida. This is the event I put on with Jody Condon of Hip to Heart and Caitlin and JD from Be Her Village. It's so much fun at this point. It's on our calendars. This is just what I do. In January I go to Florida. We're we host the Birth Worker Retreat. This is for any doula, sleep consultant, lactation consultant, any perinatal fitness, anyone working with perinatal families that, you know, pregnancy, birth and postpartum year. This is a chance for you to hang out with us, walk on the beach, get a little Florida sunshine in the middle of winter. We just get through the holidays and it's so nice to have this to look forward to after that, like slump of the holidays and we just kick off the new Year together. There's so many great sessions. We have a great lineup of speakers. So to get all the details, head to thebirthworkerretreat.com It's January 20th through 22nd, 2026 in Clearwater, Florida. I hope to see you there. It's always just a great time. It's somehow relaxing and rejuvenating and just the best. When, let's see, when I first Started my postpartum doula business. I was a few months in and I was realizing, wow, I really have to market myself. These clients don't just start knocking on my door. And you all know I had that marketing background, so I was here for it. But there wasn't anything, you know, I was from my media buyer, media director background day. Those days, if you look at the target audience you're trying to reach and then you're like, okay, what magazines do they read? What TV shows do they watch, what websites do they go to? That's where we're going to put our ads. But I lived in a smaller town and there were no magazines for the pregnant women in Dover, New Hampshire. There were no TV shows just for pregnant people in Dover, New Hampshire. So I was like, where do I market my stuff? And then all of a sudden, local yoga studio I saw was putting on a Mom and Baby Wellness Sampler. So I put up the money to have a little six foot table there. And it was a really sweet event and I was so excited because it was for pregnant and new moms and it was, I don't know, 50 bucks, 60 bucks to have a table. And I had so many great conversations. I met all the other vendors and I was so excited. I thought, okay, this is what I'm gonna do to get new clients. I'll come to this event every year. It'll be great. And I went over to the owner of the yoga studio and I was like, thanks for having me. This was so great. And she's, oh, gosh, yeah, I'm not doing it anymore. She said, this is the last one. It's just too much work for me. She's trying to run her yoga studio. And I said, you can't. This is the only thing that I have to promote my business. So to make a long story short, at the time I was married to my husband and he was a big. He worked for this big trade association and ran their trade shows, huge trade shows. So I was like, listen, this lady doesn't want to run this mom and Baby Wellness Sampler. Will you help me? He was like, yeah, I could do that with my eyes closed. So he and I took over this mom and Baby Wellness Sampler. Turned it into eventually what we called the Seacoast mom and Baby Expo. We grew it to this big annual event nearby. And people came, started coming from other cities nearby, in other states, and we need this. So over the course of a couple years, we expanded to Portland, Maine, Worcester, Mass. Somewhere else in Massachusetts. I can't even remember we had four or five of these going. And this was, honestly, this was my very first go at creating a business that gave me location and time freedom. I thought, wait, if we just run all these events and actually then my husband lost his job. So I was like, this is going to be our business. We're going to have multiple mom and baby expos. We could take this model anywhere. So anyway, then a little thing called Covid happened. So that just put an end to all of that. But I learned so much from, first of all, producing these events. Some of them were really big and seeing so many tables, booths, setups, all the things. So I want to use this episode to give you my tips on what I learned about what to do and what not to do at, let's call them baby expos. But any community event, whether, you know, if it's the local craft fair or if hopefully there is some kind of family wellness, community, baby shower, baby expo, baby fair, something like that in your area, if there is one for pregnancy and baby stuff, go for it. You know me, I say you don't need to really spend a lot of money promoting your business. But this is a great. It's so targeted that if you have an event where there's going to be pregnant people walking by, you want to be there. And the biggest advice I have for you is I tell this story. This happened at the Portland mom and Baby Expo in Portland, Maine. We had, I think we had close to 100 vendors. We had the whole pipe and drape. Like Everybody had a 10 by 1010 area. It was a big thing. And we would accept two or three businesses from the same industry. So we had two different, I think financial planners from two different companies. And we, we put them on opposite sides of the floor. So one came. He had the whole table drape. He had this like prize wheel that people could stop and spin and get a prize. He was outstanding in the aisle, saying hi to everybody, shaking hands, holding babies, like just working the crowd. And he was having fun. Like, he, he was just loving it. He. You could tell he liked what he did. He liked talking to these new parents about the fact that they needed to start financially planning. So he had people all around the booth. He was having so many conversations. And then I would, I. Cause I was just spending the days walking around the floor. And so I noticed him. And then I noticed this other financial planner that was a couple rows away at the same event, same audience. And he was just sitting in the back behind his table and his Table was super boring. There was just a couple of like brochures out there and some free pens. And the brochures were like, plan for your future. Like, it's just so boring. And he was sitting in the back, not engaging on his phone, just boom. So at the end of this event, I think it might have been a two day event, the first guy that was out in the aisle talking to everybody came up to me and he was like, here's my deposit for next year. He said this was the best event. He said, I got so many new leads, had so many great conversations. I can't wait to go home and follow up on all these new clients. Thank you. This event was so great. Fifteen minutes later, I'm walking by the other financial planner who, who does the same. They worked at different companies but offered the same services. They were again, same event, same day, same audience. They were just each in a different aisle. That. So same variables is what I'm trying to say. The only thing different was that second guy sat in the back and he came up to me and he's, yeah, this event wasn't very good. I'm, I'll, I won't be back. I won't be recommending this. He was like mad at me and I just laughed because I was like, buddy, I didn't say this, but I was like, your competitor over here was just got a hundred new leads and wouldn't put any effort in to, to engaging with your potential clients. Like, I can't hand them to you. So anyway, that story stuck with me or that experience for me stuck with me. And I share that story all the time with doulas that, and I saw it over and over again at these baby expos that the doulas or whoever, chiropractors and the exhibitors who were meek and shy and would just stand there, didn't get the engagement that the people did who said hi, asked questions, smiled, had fun snacks or a giveaway at their table that was engaging. You have to, when you do these events, first of all, people are walking by. You have five seconds to get their attention as they walk by their. Your table. So you need to have something that is eye catching, but also you need to just say, hey, hi, how are you? Oh my gosh. Do you have any questions about being a doula? Or do you have any questions about do you know what a doula is? Or I would say, hey, great to see you, thanks for coming. Oh my God. Right here. You can enter to win a free spot in my upcoming Prenatal yoga class series and they'd be like, oh wow. And then they stop and then you start chit chatting and you make a connection. Okay, so I have a list of 10 things to do if you are exhibiting at an event. And number one is to keep it simple. It is so tempting. And I did this the first time I did an event. I had handouts about every aspect of my postpartum doula services and every prenatal yoga class that I taught and every. I brought all the books that I had ever read. I just, my table was, I had a six foot table. Every single inch of it was covered with information because I wanted to just prove I knew what I was doing. But like I said, people are just strolling by and they're not going to stop and read all your worksheets that you've printed out. You need to keep it simple. White space on your table and something that is eye catching and I'll get into that later. Just have maybe one pile of your rack cards and a couple other little things. So really resist the urge to go overboard and have every piece of paper that you might possibly need out on that table. Number two, and this is huge is use this as a chance to build your email list because again you are, you only have seconds to possibly make a connection and hopefully start a conversation. But if you can gather as many people's email addresses as possible, you can continue the conversation for the next few weeks and months via email. So the best way to do this is to number three, acknowledge that email address is valuable. Collect emails as a. Because you're raffling off a prize. So like they're, they have the chance to win something or everybody who signs up gets a 10% coupon code to use on your website or something. Give them something in exchange. Don't just be like, oh, sign up for my newsletter. No. Sign up here to enter to win something. So when I taught prenatal yoga I would give away a spot in my prenatal yoga series that was valued at whatever 100 bucks or something and it was no skin off my back. I was already going to teach the class. So if I had someone coming for free, that didn't really affect me. I, the first year I did this, I gave I don't know, $100 off a postpartum doula package and, or I might have done a free postpartum visit and that just, that was me giving four hours of my time away. So give away something that doesn't really cost you much to Time or energy. So if you don't teach any classes or have anything like that, I love to do $100 gift card to a local restaurant. Have a baby moon date. Go on a date at a great local restaurant before you have your baby or after. So something like that. Something of value. So this also is a great way to make that connection. As people are walking by your table, say, hey, enter here to win a free date night at Latelo's downtown. And then as they stop and then they're filling out the form, you can say, yeah, I'm a postpartum doula, and I love this. And it's important to me that my clients are staying connected. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, so number four is back to that story I just told you. Be proactive and open. If you are sitting down in the behind your table, just looking at your phone the whole time, that's not being proactive. You want to stand up so you're. Because everybody's walking by. You want to be at their eye level. You want to smile. You want to look friendly. You want to say hi to people. Be very careful of asking when people are due. I would always joke, like, you had to be nine months pregnant walking by, and I'd say, oh, how? And filling out the form to win a spot in my prenatal yoga class before I said, oh, when are you due? And I'd always make a little joke. I feel like it's safe to ask that at a baby expo. But anyway, don't. You don't want to put your foot in your mouth. But say, hi. Be friendly, be open. And then number five is that it's not about you. Make it not about you. Make it about them. Yes, I know you stayed up all night printing rack cards. You were ironing your tablecloth and making freebies goodies to give away. And you're. You want to make your money back on investing in this table. I could see myself and people that are, like, at this table just, like, talking to everybody, like, going overboard with the proactive talking to people like, hey, I'm Darcy. I'm a doula. Oh, my gosh, have you hired a doula yet? Be friendly and proactive. But say, hey, how are you feeling? Oh, my gosh, look at this little cutie baby you're pushing by. Ask them questions about, oh, once you know they're pregnant, oh, where are you planning to give birth? Don't just start by going on and on about you ask about them first. And you might have heard me say this I say this all the time. In terms of the copy on your website, it's the same thing. We think we get a table at a baby fair or we get a table at a baby fair or we make our website and we think like we come out with this proving energy. I have to prove that I am the best doula in the world. And so I see this all the time on websites like I'm this, I'm that, I'm certified in this. Duh. So same thing at a baby fair and on your website, lead with how you can help them. Lead with making it clear that you know what they're going through. Okay, and then number six, before the event, practice your elevator pitch. Before you even get there, polish up your 1 minute spiel about what it is that you do. You want to describe your services in a very succinct and exciting way. And you're going to say this over and over because you only have those 20 seconds that they're walking by to make a good impression. And there's nothing like a baby expo to help you nail down that elevator pitch because you are going to say it over and over again throughout that day. And number seven is don't miss out on the opportunity to connect with all the other exhibitors and vendors at the event. Sometimes these events are a bust because they don't. They're not produced by someone that is really good at marketing. So attendance might be a little low. The families buy. But sometimes it's even more valuable to connect with and network with every single other exhibitor there. Like chat with all the acupuncturists and chiropractors and photographers. Everybody else is there. You can make some really good connections and use this as a chance to build out your referral network. I noticed at doing all these various expos is that the doulas who paid if this was a legit event that costs a few hundred dollars to have a table at the doulas who paid for that, that's like instant credibility with the attendees, but also with the other vendors. There's going to be a lot of doulas who don't believe in themselves enough. Don't take the leap, don't take the risk, don't put the money forward to have that table. So again, if there is an event in your area, go for it. Here's another idea. Tip number eight is to ditch the table. So you're going to have a, you're going to have a like marked off amount of space that you can have and everybody's going to put a table. But maybe you, to be eye catching, you have some birth balls. You have a nice comfy chair where a mom could sit down and breastfeed. You have a table and chairs for toddlers to come and color or a lot of people. One great thing I saw was people would bring a little kiddie pool, fill it up with those plastic balls, and then you are a toddler magnet. And while the kids play in the ball pit, you get to talk to the parents. And that can be a really great strategy. That's a really great way to break up the monotony of table after table if you create some kind of fun space within the space that you're allowed to have. And number nine goes along with that of entertaining the toddlers, having things in your space. So again, the ball pit, coloring sheets, snacks. One year I, this was really a great draw. I had just a little water bubbler. So, you know, everybody had chocolates on their table, Everybody had little snacks, but everybody was thirsty walking around that hall. So I put like a couple cucumber, cucumbers and lemons in this water bubbler. And that was how I ended up meeting all the other vendors because they were thirsty too, from talking. So they were all coming over and refilling their water bottles. So things like that draw people in so they stay there for a second so you can give them your elevator pitch. And then my last tip is self care. These days are long when you're at an event and it's a lot of work to drag all your stuff in there and drag it all out and then be on all day or for however long the event is. So dress for comfort. This is not a day to wear high heels because you're going to be standing for a long period of time. So wear very comfortable shoes, drink lots of water, eat really healthy, clean, high protein meals and snacks. Resist the urge to run on coffee and sugar because you will get that sugar low, crash halfway through the event and miss out on talking to all the people that go by. So you want to keep your energy levels solid and then pack some mints. You're doing so much talking, you want to make sure you have fresh breath. And if you're someone who loses their voice, if you do a lot of talking, excuse me, Bring some cough drops, whatever you need, honey, tea, things like that. And then keep some healthy snacks in your booth. I would have a bag of almonds so I could just, I'd feel my energy levels crashing. I could eat a couple handfuls of nuts to get myself going again. So I hope these have helped you. The other thing you can do months in advance, weeks in advance is do a little shopping locally or Vistaprint. Find out areas where you can print up the postcards that you'll need if you need more business cards, if you want to invest in a tablecloth with your logo if you know you're going to be doing some of these events. I used Vistaprint print for all that for the table runner for those pop up signage that rolls down into a little roll. There's so many things like that you can do, but if this is your first, you don't have to have that. But I hope that this is helpful and get out there and get active in your community. I can't tell you the human connections that you can make again with the attendees and the other exhibitors will go really far in your doula business. Thank you for tuning in to the Doula Darcy Podcast. I hope you found this episode valuable and I'd love for you to join me on the next one. Let's keep the conversation going. Shoot me a DM on Instagram Hedula Darcy or join my free Facebook community, the Doula Marketing Group, where we dive deeper into growing your doula business. If you enjoyed the episode of, please take a moment to rate and review the podcast on your favorite platform. Your feedback will help more doulas discover the show, which in turn helps more families find the doula support that they need. And I believe that that is how we save the world.