50 Surefire Business Card Tips
by: Mario Sanchez
Business cards are one of the most powerful and inexpensive marketing tools
you can use. Here are 50 surefire tips to make the most out of your business
cards:
- Your business card must communicate more than just your contact
information. Make sure that your card includes a tag line that explains what
you or your company do.
- Order them in large numbers. By ordering 1000 your cost per card will be
significantly lower than if you ordered 500.
- Even if you can produce your business cards at home using an inkjet
printer, have your business cards professionally made by a printing company.
Your business card will be the first impression your prospects receive of your
business, so let them convey the best possible one.
- Avoid using standard clip art as your business logo. A logo brings
credibility and brand awareness, so before you invest in business cards have a
logo professionally made for your business. Nowadays, there are online
companies that can produce a professional logo for as little as $25, so there
is no excuse for not having one made.
- Put up a website and use the URL in your business cards. If you don't have
a website, people will notice the absence of a web address in your business
card and, depending on the business you are in, it may make you lose
credibility.
- Keep all the information in your business card current. If you changed
address or phone number, don't scratch the old number and write down the new
one by hand; get new business cards.
- Keep your business card simple. Don't use too many fonts or try to cram
too much information in it. Try to use a pleasant layout and make sure that
your main message (your tagline or your unique selling proposition) doesn't
get lost.
- If you live in the US, limit your business card size to 3.5" x 2".
Anything bigger will not fit in standard card holders and your card may end up
in the trash. Business cards in Europe tend to be larger, but so are the
wallets and card holders.
- Make sure that your business card reflects your image. If you are an
artist or a graphic designer, it is OK to use trendy colors and fonts. If you
are an investment banker, a sober layout and colors such as blue or gray work
better.
- Your business card is an integral part of your brand or corporate identity
strategy. It should follow the same graphics standards as the rest of your
communications material (stationary, brochures, letterheads, etc.).
- Find a way to make your business cards stand out. I've seen business cards
with one of its corners cut in an angle, or with an interesting texture, all
of which makes your business card stand out of the crowd. The best one I've
seen is from an interior designer, who used a hologram to show a room before
and after a redesign.
- Make your business card easy to read: use high contrast between the
background and the type. Light background with dark type works better.
- After your logo, your name should be the largest piece of information on
your card.
- Make sure that all the information on your card is printed in a large
enough typeface to be easily readable.
- Run your business card copy through a spell checker and double-check your
contact information.
- Keep your business cards with you at all times. Keep a stack in your car,
in your house, in your office, and in your wallet.
- Leave your business cards in billboards at supermarkets, schools, stores,
libraries, etc.
- When giving away your card, give two or three at a time, so that your
contacts can in turn distribute them to other people. This will not only help
you distribute them faster, but will generate a beneficial "endorsing effect".
- Include a business card with all your correspondence. People may throw
away the letter, but will usually keep the business card.
- Make your business card go the extra mile: use the back of the card to
print more information: special offers, checklists, schedules, etc.
- Throw in a business card in every product you ship.
- Send a business card with any gift you send, instead of just a card with
your name.
- Scan your card and use it as an attachment to emails.
- Use your business cards as name tags. Get a transparent plastic cover with
a pin, and attach it to your lapel. Wearing it on your right side tends to
make it more noticeable.
- Use your business card as a name tag on your briefcase. Make sure that
your company logo and tagline are visible. This way, your business card will
turn into a "conversation piece" during plane rides, which may help you meet
interesting people and good business contacts.
- Use your business card as an ad: many publications offer "business card
size" classified ads. If you design your business card properly, it can double
up as an ad in those publications.
- Don't give your business card too quickly. It may be perceived as pushy.
Try to establish a conversation with your prospect first. For example, ask
them what do they do. That will usually prompt them to give you their card.
That is the perfect moment to give them yours.
- Don't try to give your card in situations where many people are giving
them to your prospect. Wait for a moment when you can capture your prospect's
attention span.
- Another tactic you can try when your prospect is overwhelmed and can't pay
you enough attention is to send your card by mail. Pretend you ran out of
business cards and ask for theirs. Then, mail them your card and take the
opportunity to drop a follow up note.
- If you have a mobile phone number or a direct phone number that is not
listed in your business card, write it at the back of your card before handing
it out, and tell your prospect that you are giving them your direct number.
This will make your card more important, and less likely to be lost or thrown
out.
- Another way of increasing the chances that your prospect will keep your
card is by printing valuable information on the back, for example important
phone numbers (local police, hospitals, etc), a calendar, or a football
schedule.
- Offer to hand out cards of complementary (non-competitive) business people
in exchange for them distributing yours. An example of non-competitive
businesses is real estate brokers and mortgage brokers.
- If somebody gives you their business card, you should give them yours in
return.
- Always give your business card face up.
- Take a cue from Far East business people, who hand out business cards with
both hands. It helps give the impression that your business card is something
very important.
- If you conduct business internationally, use the back of your card to
print a translated version of your business card in your customers' language.
Even if they have no problem reading English, it will be a classy touch and
they will appreciate it.
- If you sell different product brands and want to put their logos on your
business card, print them in only one color. Using each logo's brand colors
could make your business card look chaotic and busy.
- Create a business card in magnet form. Magnets are widely used, to hold
important papers on the refrigerator door at home and on file cabinets at work.
They are always visible and always get read.
- When receiving somebody else's business card, don't put it away
immediately. Instead, keep it in your hand for a while you talk to your
prospect, or place it neatly over the table, and try to develop a conversation
based on the information on the card.
- Use the back of the cards you receive to write down important facts about
the persons who handed them to you. It will help you enormously when you
follow up with them.
- If you are in a profession where relationship selling is important, it may
be a good idea to include your picture in your business card (i.e. real estate
brokers).
- Even if your business is a sole proprietorship, you can still use "account
manager" as your title instead of "owner" or "president". If you do sales (and
we all do) "account manager" is a perfectly appropriate title, and it will
give the impression that you work for a larger company.
- Use logos of organizations that you or your business belong to in your
business cards. They are an easy way to provide instant credibility to your
business. For example, if you operate a repair shop you can display the logo
of the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence (ASE) or the
Triple A (AAA). (Check with them first about the terms of use).
- If you participate in affiliate programs online, you can still use
business cards to promote your affiliate links. Use the name of the affiliate
company as the company name, use 'partner' or 'associate' as your title, and
the URL of the directory or web page where you have placed your affiliate
links as your web address. Just because affiliate programs are online doesn't
mean that you can't use off-line marketing methods to promote them.
- If you need to give cards to different kinds of prospects (for example if
you are a student looking for work), make business cards with just your name
and contact information, and attach custom made self-adhesive labels at the
back with information of interest to each specific prospect.
- Include an information email address (for example: info@yourdomain.com)
that is set in autoresponder mode, that automatically triggers an email
message with full information about your product, service or company. This
will increase the effectiveness of your business card since you will give your
prospect much more information that you can fit in a card.
- Take good care of your business cards. Keep them clean and crisp in a
cardholder. Don't give away cards that are bent or damaged.
- Try to get a cardholder with two pockets. That way, you can use one for
your business cards and the other one for the business cards you receive.
- Keep all the business cards you receive neatly organized in a rolodex. It
will save you time and will provide you with a database of contacts with whom
to build positive business relationships.
- Collect all the business cards you can find, even if you don't need them.
Together, they will act as an "idea file" that will provide you with valuable
tips that you can use to design your business cards.
For more business card tips, visit Free Business Cards:
http://www.accordmarketing.com/businesscards/
Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (http://www.theinternetdigest.net
) an online collection of tips and resources on Internet Marketing and Web
Design. You can also visit his Business Card Tips page at:
http://www.accordmarketing.com/businesscards/ .