5 Business Card Tips

The death of paper was announced prematurely; love 'em or hate 'em, business cards are here to stay.  

Business card mistakes are abound. In your quest to create an unusual business card or a green business card, be sure not to overlook these five business card tips.

LOOK DIFFERENT.  Basic marketing commands that your product stands out of a crowd, but at the same time, appeals to a broad audience.  That's perhaps your greatest challenge when designing a business card to promote yourself.  This advice is not unique; recent cards have undergone a color and size transformation.  In fact, if you want to stick out, ironically, you might want to consider sporting an old school, standard-size, plain white business card!

DON'T JUST SAY WHAT YOU DO.  Your business card should clearly state what it is you do.  (Andrew Rosen, Pro Blogger)  But that's not enough.  When someone is thumbing through a stack of business cards 10 months from now, there needs to be a tagline that supports what you do.  (Award winning posts, 8M page views...and counting)

MORE IS LESS.  Think of your own reading habits.  A business card holds your attention for a mere second.  Not only does your information need to be presented in a clear and concise matter, but you better make sure the important info - strike that - ALL of the info can be read and comprehended on the first pass.  Also, two-sided cards are swell, but if you're going to detract from your main message (getting business/contacts), skip it.

DISTRIBUTION PLAN.  The greatest cost associated with business cards is the initial set up and printing.  That means 1,000 cards won't cost you much more than 500.  But the best business card in the world is useless if it's sitting in a box with 999 others like it.  Devise a plan on how you will distribute your biz cards. (more on that soon; subscribe now)  I also find it helpful to set a distribution quota and hold yourself accountable.

COLOR COORDINATE.  As the paper business card continues to thrive in a digital world, more and more people are scanning cards into a digital repository.  Keep in mind that certain colors (green? purple?) do not scan as well as others.

If you end up leaving a job or shifting gears and find that you have a bunch of useless business cards sitting around, consider recycling them.

If you have an image of your business card or any business card advice, feel free to share in the comments section below.   

Comments

[MSMgr]

Or, you could just help the movement to e-business cards by taking the lead. At least there won't be a chance that you ruin them in the washing machine or lose them.

Try the MS Office solution: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/create-electronic-business-cards-HA010068636.aspx or sites like: http://ebusinesscard.net/. There are plenty of them out there!

[Andrew G. Rosen]

I'm still not sold on e-biz cards. I've tried several tools and try to utilize apps like Bump when possible. But I still find that the paper way is what is expected in several of my business circles - even blogging.

[J D Sonice]

I think paper business cards are still the best tool for initial contact. My business cards have blank lines on the back to allow the recipient to make notes if needed. I noticed one thing - if the receiver of your card makes notes they tend to keep it longer and those blank lines on the back beg to be used.

[Gainesville Jobs]

Try finding "your name" as a web domain to build a website about yourself is important. This will be good for promoting yourself. Business cards are good, but not good enough.
The job markets are flooded with unemployed people looking for work. There are things you can do to
<a href="http://gainesvillejobmarket.com/" title="On-line classified with over 4,500 available jobs">find a job</a>.

[Will Johnson]

eBusinessCards.net is great because it allows you to add a thumbnail photo to your electronic businesscards. Especially for people in sales, consulting, entertainment, real estate, etc. etc., it is good to put a picture in there to add a touch of personality to emails.

[Jeremy]

Our company, All Business Cards, also offers design services for cards, as well as great prices. We even have magnetic or metallic cards!

[Ben]

Great tips. I can add one more advice - it is important to create a slogan or unique selling proposition.

[Jennifer Lynn]

I've gone to QR codes with a smattering of readable information. I did this to cut down on the 'Read and Throw away' syndrome. They can scan the card, THEN throw it away.

//Jenn @ Integrated Creative Agency (http://www.integraphix.com)

[Lauren]

I thinl the ones with normal paper background are the best because you can take notes on the back easily if you on the phone or in the car.

Lauren :)

[Tim Sajt]

This Business Card Tips really help me to start make my new business card. Thank you.

[Joe Ryan]

There's a service that lets you add virtual business cards to your email at
ebusinesscard.net. You contacts can then download your virtual business card if
they wish and keep it in their computers until they need it. Pretty cool.

[Creative Pile]

A business card makes as much of an impression as your personal appearance. Its Important to get your business cards designed and printed professionally. We at http://www.creativepile.com have had most of our customers request the QR code to be designed onto their business cards. Clients can save your contact information by scanning the QR code with their smartphone.

Thanks for the tips!