Cardinal Sins
I’m so ashamed of this confession.
But I can no longer conceal my offence.
Hello; I’m Paul. I’m a corporate communications expert.
And my business card is crap.
The Horror
Not only is this card boring, it’s utterly out of sync with my brand.
Because it’s too thin, it curls like fly paper when exposed to board room conditions.
If that’s not enough, it’s two millimetres shorter than a normal card because the printer misaligned the text and I let him trim the batch instead of telling him to redo it!
Pulling it out makes me cringe.
This wasn’t a problem during the GFC. But lately, having met with prospective clients who bill $160 m and $500 m respectively, the mortification is unbearable.
To top it off, I just read Angela den Hollander’s brilliant post, which contains this chilling line:
Cheap business cards are just about the most expensive mistake I see many business owners making.
So, enough already.
Age of Innocence
Of course, it wasn’t always like this.
When I went freelance, I had a beautiful card designed and printed with double-sided cello sheen.
Flitting from desk to desk, I sprinkled these among my former work mates.
The obverse bore a beautiful, Empire-like font, with tiny edge overlaps to show I could think outside boxes – but wasn’t a freak.
The reverse countered this claim by featuring a farting biting cat rampant with trailed fetters (symbolising my joyous release from corporate bondage).
I loved this card.
But then I learnt that love doesn’t conquer all.
So I finally agreed to lose the cat.
Catless in Collateral
Adam, as we saw, did a marvellous job on my logo. He even saved the fancy font.
But turning this artwork into a business card proved problematic. Always impatient with technical challenges, I threw the task in my too-hard basket and ‘designed’ the aforementioned cookie-cutter (with extra cut).
Yesterday, at yet another high level pitch (this time with a BIG government department) I proffered my miserable slip.
The prospect knew me from my agency days. It wasn’t enough that he looked at the card like it belonged closer to his rear than his wallet.
He actually said, ‘What happened to your old card with the cat? I really liked that card!’
Arrrggh!!!
And so I’m in business card hell. I can’t go back. I can’t go forward alone. I need a deus ex machina to resolve my tragic comedy ASAP.
Is your business card any good?
If so, how? Who? And how much?
If not, why not?
Pray lay it on our table.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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We skimp on business cards too, order online from vistaprint every now and then but otherwise I have seen too may start ups go and blow too much on business cards.
Thank you, Hampers. Have you ever had a customer look askance at your card? Or are they far more interested in your quince paste than your calling card?
In an online world I don’t bother keeping people’s cards handy. BUT I certainly get an impression of the ‘position’ of their business, their own ability to present themselves, their pride or otherwise in their company, from the card that they hand me.
I met with a client recently who deliberately didn’t have cards because his view was that if people were interested in contacting him they would find him…..*roll eyes* *slap* It came across to me (and therefore perhaps to people that he meets when seeking business) that not having a card was a sign of a rampant ego and a fair amount of contempt for potential customers.
We want to think that our suppliers, our contacts, will go to a bit of an effort for us – and that extends to making sure that we can easily access them through whatever method best suits us (not them!)
One of the best business cards, ever, is Debra Templar’s. It is so good, and so many customers are so fond of it, taking extra copies to pass on, telling two friends, etc., that when we recently looked at a re-fresh of her web-site decisions were made purely so that things would match her business card.
I love my card too. In particular because though I had a good design I think it was greatly improved by using the main pic from my web-site on the reverse of the card and then having it printed on the most beautiful stock so it feels fantastic. And – that was at the same price as a Vista print – but with a small business printer who really cares about the quality, the service, and the end result (Happy to plug her details here if that is OK Paul?)
And in this day and age I think your business card should provide all of your contact details – so linkedin, twitter, fb, etc. (and if that means updating your card more often, so be it…It is a small investment in a big ‘first impression’).
Great to hear from you, Bambi! Please add all the plugs, links and references you wish. It’s in everyone’s interests to see what you’re talking about.
In fact, I’d love you to scan and send the cards of which you speak so we can put them up and see them. Would that be viable, Naomi?
Thanks for taking the time to present your views, Bambi. You add massive value to our forum.
Meanwhile, here are two links to the famous Debra Templar!
http://www.thetemplargroup.com.au/profile
http://www.thebrew.com.au/_webapp_61325/Debra_Templar,_The_Templar_Group
Can’t wait to see Debra’s card!
That’s great feedback Hampers and Bambi. Thank you!
Paul – Sure thing! It’s always great to show examples and give other businesses some inspiration and ideas.
Obviously, I’m a huge fan of business cards as your primary off-line marketing tool. Small businesses frequently don’t need printed letterhead anymore, a well designed Word template will do nicely. Just make sure you pdf your letters before you send them out or you’re leaving yourself open to legal issues. You lose control of the look of your communications, Word has this cute little trick of referring to the printer it sees on your network and adjusting settings accordingly, so your perfectly arranged letter my end up looking like a dog’s breakfast at the other end.
I would question ‘blow too much’ on business cards. What’s too much if the recipients first impression of your business is favourable? What’s too much if your business is being fully supported in your aims to charge what you’re worth? What’s too much if your cards are helping you attract floods of ideal clients?
Ok, I’m a designer so people expect snazzy biz cards, but I’ve always invested well in order to make them knock-your-socks-off amazing. In fact I’m making them well and truly earn their keep at the moment as they are a 3-fold, hybrid brochure/biz card. Recently for clients I’ve created ones with a flap, die-cut cards with a hole, two page mini-brochures… They all report that people say wow and amazing when they hand out their cards. And best of all, none of those cards cost much more than bog-standard biz cards.
I design cards with a purpose, they have to actually ‘do’ something, often that’s encourage the recipient to visit the business’s website, or connect through social media. With the extra space on 2 or 3 page cards there’s plenty of room to list all your social media contacts.
Like most things in business, your cards are an investment, but great business cards will pay for themselves in no time.
PS. Vista Print isn’t all that cheap once you factor in their really high shipping costs and incredibly slow delivery time.
Wow, Angela! You’ve got me drooling in my soy-based ink bottle. I want some of THAT action!
G’Day Paul,
I suspect that the “digital age” has meant that business cards aren’t as important as they once were. But if you need to use them, see them as a marketing tool. So…..
* it must contain your photo: not “should” or “ought” but “must.”
* it must contain telephone contact, email address, postal and street address. Some may quibble over street address; but it gives your business bricks and mortar legitimacy.
* it must contain your name, title and business name. This sounds rather old fashioned too. But this information means that the reader has a complete picture
* use your logo if you wish; I always remember something I was told years ago. “The only person in love with you logo is you. Unless it means something quite definitive to prospects and clients e.g. IBM, Apple, Nike, Rolls Royce, the clients will be much less impressed than you.
* use a double sized card; often called a tent, that folds over. Use the inside and back of the tent to explain your business focus and if appropriate your major products/services. Don’t try to cram too much in. Judicious use of that space will enable you to explain benefits–not feature- for the reader when they use your services.
This type of card is the same size as a normal card, just thicker. When the reader takes it out, if you have resisted the temptation to use it as a tout, they have valuable information about both you, you business and what you can do for them.
One other thing. Don’t worry about flashy colours and trendy looks. You want the card to be read, not admired for its brilliant design.
The “tent” card can be a great marketing device. Beats the pants off the the old style “name,rank and serial number” type business card with a flashy, arty, 5 colour logo that’s virtually meaningless to the prospect or customer.
alright; I’ll shutup now.
Regards
Leon
I’m very grateful for your detailed list, Leon.
Although, as I compare everyone’s wonderful ideas, I feel like I’m in that Aesop’s fable. Do I ride the donkey, lead it, put my dog on it or carry the damn thing myself?!
Hopefully, as the day progresses, I will see the path my business needs to take on this matter. Best regards and thanks a bunch! P.
Here’s a card from @smiffy, who tweets:
‘I knocked up the design in OpenOffice, exported as PDF, uploaded to print company. Easy!
http://www.smiffysplace.com/files/mss_business_card.pdf
http://www.keystoneprinting.com.au by the way. They’re in Adelaide. Quick, helpful.’
Many thanks, Mate!
This issue is one that I’ve been chewing over since seeing Angela’s article. As a communicator and marketer, I understand the importance of all the intangibles that go into a first impression, including the business card. The design, the stock, the colours, the overall style. The vibe.
But as a geek at heart, I hate squiggles of ink on little bits of paper. I just HATE that stuff. I can’t search it, I can’t access it from anywhere, and the little squiggles of ink are woefully limited in the range of info they can convey.
Basically a business card to me (when I have my geek hat on) does only one thing: it gives me some search terms by which I can look you up. That’s it.
Example: I attended a small-business networking event last week, and while there I got chatting to another attendee. “John” and I exchanged cards and talked for a while before drifting away – you now how those sorts of events go. So I pulled out my Iphone, Googled (his name) + (company name) and saw he was on LinkedIn. I loaded LinkedIn and within seconds I knew John’s role within his company, how long he’d been there, what his previous roles had been, where he went to school, and I saw that while we’d never met before we were only one degree of separation apart – we had a handful of regular business contacts in common – which meant I knew I had some trusted people of whom I could ask “hey does this guy John know what he’s talking about?”. With one click all of his contact details were saved for later, and the next time I bumped into John I had a far more comprehensive mental framework into which I could place him as far as professional credibility was concerned.
Oh yeah, and I stuffed his card into my pocket before doing all that, and I haven’t seen it since. I think I emptied my pockets out into a trash can before getting to my car.
What a fascinatingly fresh take on this topic, Simon. I love how our discussions take us into brand new territory every time. Thank you kindly for sharing your story.
BTW, if you’d like me to bung a link behind your avatar, just sing out.
Ooo, oo, can I chime in on Simon’s comment? And a great one it was. That’s my aim with using the bigger format cards, have room for ’search terms’, be they mobile, address, url, LinkedIn profile…
Not everyone is a tech savvy, iPhone user, so just like great internet marketers provide multiple ways of accessing their information: audio, video, written… A great business card should have all the information a technophobe needs plus the appropriate details for the net-native like you Simon.
My contention is that if the card sucks, neither the ‘phobe nor ‘phile will bother taking the next step.
You sure can, Angela. You wrote that beaut article. You design business cards. So knock yourself out!
Few things please me more than seeing you guys talk among yourselves. 
There is a lot i struggle with in my business and I don’t take compliments well but I can honestly say I love my business card and people always comment on it positively – I find King of Print in Brisbane offer a great service. Very competitive pricing, quick turn around and great quality.
Thank you, Lara. If your card is half as pretty as your site, I’m not surprised it’s so popular!
Awww shucks … A nice compliment. Thanks
Here is my plug for a GREAT printer – not just for cards. Fantastic service. Very quick turnaround. Wonderful quality: http://www.alexandradesign.com.au/
Fantastic, Bambi; thanks! With any luck, we can get a couple of printers to share their views on this topic.
Lately those cards which have really impressed me have scratched an itch for both sides of my personality. The cards which have really grabbed me have:
1. Looked and felt professional, even when I knew they were (in Angela’s terms) “faking it ’til they made it”. Stylish card is stylish! That’s for the marketer in me.
2. For the geek in me: clear legible text that’s easily scanned.
When I get business cards from people I don’t know I use a business-card scanner app on my Iphone – I just take a snap of the card using the Iphone’s built-in camera, and the scanner app adds that person and their details to my address book.
On those occasions when the scanner has a hard time, because the printed font used was artistically frilly or overlayed with eye-catching graphics, I’ve found myself getting annoyed with the CARD, not the scanner.
(Here’s the app I use, if anyone’s interested: http://bit.ly/arHxYG)
Struth, Simon; I would NEVER have considered that parameter in my design. Thanks again (for the link, too)!
Hey Paul,
I feel for you buddy. I’ve been in your shoes. I made my own business card confessions (and printed images) in a post at the Content Marketing Institute called How to Make the Case for Design in Content Marketing. http://www.contentmarketinginstitute.com/2010/09/design-in-content-marketing/
All your questions are answered in that post. I’ve been on the same trail as you.
Please disregard all spelling errors in the previous post. If not, you’re likely to question my intelligence and choice of profession!
Hi, Sarah. It certainly has been a season for confessions. Readers would be well advised to check your link. Those before and after shots are mighty convincing. Thank you for your contribution. I’ve just halved your penance.
Awesome before and after case study Sarah. It is really surprising what you can do with such a limited space isn’t it.
I’m not a fan of hyperbole. I feel that life is terrible enough without forced terribleness. That said, your card does suck. But I don’t get it. Can you just go back to the one you had before? Eat pasta for a week to save money.
Penelope
Thanks so much for dropping by, Penelope. I’d love to go back to the cat card, but we established in an earlier post that it was costing me big bucks by freaking out some potential clients.
While I’m keen to do my own ‘thing’ I also realise I need to keep a fingerhold on commercial reality if I’m to prosper.
So, I’m hoping Angela can do a great card for me that retains my Feisty spirit without sowing doubt seeds in corporate minds.
Thanks again for telling it like it is!
Why can’t you just have the front of the cat card and not the back?
Because everything I’ve read says one’s corporate livery must be consistent across all communication channels.
So, having spent $3K redoing my website, I thought it was mandatory for my business card to reflect that style (i.e. include the red ’sun’).
I’ve been telling my clients this for years. Am I perhaps on the wrong tram?
OOh, I’m waiting for Winston Marsh to add to this debate! He had a great audio spot with Mr Fire, I think, talking about what you have to have on your business card.
I keep hearing that a photo is the way to go. Real Estate agents have known it for years. We do business with people, not with names, so finding my card in your pocket months after the networking event will have you saying ‘oh yes, I remember her’ .. cause you’ll see my face and recognise me
The back of my business card now says:
Do You:
- Know if your computers will be working every Monday morning?
- Know how much your I.T costs will be next month?
- Get paid $100 an hour if your computers stop working?
Ask us about the world’s first No Downtime Guarantee for Small Business!
Great conversation starter
Saying all that, in networking the purpose of a business card is really to GET another person’s business card. As the salesperson, it’s your job to follow up on the contacts you make.
-Sonia
P.S. In another controversial move, we dropped the fax number off our cards years ago.
By jingo, Sonia; you are consistently generous with your contributions.
I LOVE the back of your business card. I’d be sitting there WILLING my PC to crash.
With all these ace ideas stacking up, I’m going to need a dodecahedron to fit them all!
Well, you turn your back for one minute (or half a morning) and what happens? You get mentioned in a blog!
Rather chuffed actually.
I’m going to twitpic my business card for you Paul – so you can then do as you wish (within reason) with it.
I’ve been yapping on about the importance of business cards now for YEARS. They are a necessity – a marketing tool – a means of identification and a revenue generator. Assuming of course that they don’t look like crap.
This is what I see happening: a flimsy business card is handed over, obviously printed on a home ink jet printer, font is way too small – no one over 20 can read it, missing email addresses or key information such as their name or mobile number. They think they’re in business.
I think they’re a home-based business which is in fact a hobby.
And they wonder why I don’t and won’t give them my business?
And, yes,I know this sounds harsh. Good. Fix it. Now. It’s costing you business and $$$.
Whoa, THAT did the trick! At last we can see what everyone’s been talking about. Not bad at all!
Many thanks for that pic, Debra. And your sage advice. And for being so fab that bloggers the world over murmur your name in their sleep.
Whoa!!! My goodness that is a BIG card. I hasten to add that although it looks HUGE it is the same size as a normal card — just a different shape!
I’m looking foward to seeing your new card now Paul. As I laughingly get back to work! Sweet talker
Hee hee. Angela has called my bluff and sent me an extraordinary briefing tool that looks like it could get me onto an alien space ship.
It’s time for me to screw my courage to the sticking place and work ON my business instead of IN it.
Thought I’d check Facebook on my iPhone and first thing I see is the comment from Debra about a blog mentioning her business card. Well I was pretty pleased too because I designed the card. The card has been in circulation for about 8-9 years and we still use it as an example of how a simple piece of design can communicate the professional “WOW” factor.
I always have a funny story to tell about Debra Templar too, when Debra had finished briefing myself on her new branding, I asked for her business card. This was met with, “I’m too embarrassed to give it too you, that is why I’m here, to get a new one”. We had a good laugh about it.
Still to this day I’m amazed how many businesses fail to see the importance of well designed cards. I’ve heard every excuse, “It’s only my contact details”. “It’s just easier for me to print out my cards at home”, “I like printing my cards because when I get sick of them I can change the design”. Oh dear!!!
Some people just don’t get it.
Well, I asked for a printer, and I got THE SOURCE of THE CARD!
Thanks so much for joining us, Rodney. How cool to hear your side of things. And may I say your website has about the coolest interface I’ve ever seen. It’s enchanting! Best regards, P.
Oh Man, and that SHOWREEL!
See? Go to the experts to get good stuff done. And Rodney did an ACE job… in fact I’m about to order some more – they get snavelled up everywhere I go.
*waving to Rodney*
I see what you mean, Debra. Now, for triple bonus points, care to show us your feet of clay by uploading your OLD card?
Certainly not. It got trashed YEARS ago. The minute I got my bag I chucked the others!
People. Did you notice that Rodney did this card 8 to 9 years ago? A great creative execution that adheres to a strategy doesn’t change every couple of years. You may do a little tweak that no one really notices but keeps you looking contemporary. But you don’t get everything re-designed. In those 8 years I know that Deb has had 4 web-site designs. But again, the brand has remained true.
And – don’t you love a supplier relationship in small biz that has lasted a decade. That is how it should be.
Debra may kill me for doing this, but I do have a photo of her old card. It can be viewed on our website at the following link. http://www.brownink.com.au/folio/logo/branding
Please forgive me Debra, but I’m sure only good will come from this.
Well done Rodney. Fantastic. Why on earth did she have the Parthenon on her card? Was it something to do with an affinity with “Old Ruins”. HA
Thank you Rodney. You are resourceful. Beats the crap out of MY card, Debra!
I’m with you, Bambi. I just hope I didn’t trash this beautiful decade-old relationship.
Rodney
Prepare to die
Bambi … it was because there were 3 of us and I had to battle two blokes… one never did convert to the bag.
And Paul
You’re a trouble maker. Winkling information out of people… May have to reassess my feelings toward you now.
Sorry about that, Debra. I didn’t realise Rodney would do a Wikileaks on you. Shall we shut him down with our low orbit ion cannon?
I wonder if you could ever get to 50 comments on one blog post here? That’d be summat. Great topic Paul, and commentary. Close to folks’ hearts. Thanks!
Looks like you can, Ad. Thanks to you! Today’s visitor traffic more than doubled our previous best. This is most exciting.
We haven’t come close to this much interest since the grand old days of ISP bashing, sorry – debating.
At least you can see why I have no memory of such a previously HORRIBLE card. What type of person would keep a client’s old, horrible card – and then know where to put their hands on it 9 years later…
An anally retentive one I’m thinking.
*hunting for my machete*
*finding car keys*
*heading towards Torquay*
Can’t shut him down just yet. I need more cards!! But, I can hurt him…
I’ve just purchased a plane ticket, I’m outer here.
too busy driving to Torquay…
Awesome cards Debra. I bet you don’t begrudge the investment one little bit. It’s all about value at the end of the day. $50 spent on pox business cards that actively drive clients away vs $500 on brilliant cards that make people sit up and take notice, I’m seeing the value in the investment.
Sometime obsessive attempts to save money keeps businesses stuck, can’t get clients because I don’t have the basic tools to market my business. Can’t get the tools to market my business because there’s no money due to no clients. Lather, rinse, repeat and into 2011 we go…
**Blatant sales pitch, turn away now if you’re easily offended** – Which is why I’ve been working on this over the past few weeks, http://www.communic8design.com.au/brandaction/ Think I should dub it ‘anti-glue’ the great unstuck maker.
Guaranteed to fix bad-business-card-itis amongst other sins against branding.
Thank you, Angela. I love your straight talking. And that is one beaut offer you’re making!
This is a great discussion. My thanks to everyone who has chipped in, this has been awesome
Good on you, Simon. It has indeed been a red letter day. I echo your sentiment. Thanks to you, too.
Great discussion, a treat to read! Nothing to add, except I totally agree that money invested in biz cards (and website, and other promo materials) is an essential investment.
Go Paul, love your honesty…
Thank you, Joanna. I went to bed a very happy camper after this discussion. Our readers are so generous!
What a brilliant discussion! Thank you for your honest confession Paul and for your fantastic contributions and links everyone!
And love the card Debra!
I’m actually helping my family’s business with their new business cards (I don’t work in the family business – I’m here at MYOB! – but I hate the current card the family biz uses and this is my chance to get rid of it!), and this discussion will be extremely helpful.
When working on a new business card, as well as taking some feedback onboard and aligning to your brand, don’t just include the standard details – include all your relevant online assets too (website, LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook Page, etc). And if going for a larger folded card – I love the suggestions for including some important key messages about your business.
Good on you, Naomi. Once again, the latitude I enjoy to write straight from the heart, without having to crawl through a raft of corporate filters, has paid handsome dividends.
But the willingness of our community to take the merest thread of an idea and weave it into cloth of gold is the real reason for our success. So, hooray for everybody!
Paul you’ve probably excoted more response than any other subject you’ve discussed. Is the number of responses a record?
Here’s some thoughts on business cards I penned sometime ago. they are probably superfluous in light of the great views already expressed.
In your marketing armoury nothing is more important than your business card. After your smile, greeting and handshake its part of the formalities you exchange on meeting someone that will help determine the first impression they have of you. Yet, to my astonishment, everywhere I go I come across people who either do not carry their business card or have ones that do them a disservice.
So here are some simple rules to observe about business cards:
1. Always carry them with you everywhere- you meet people with whom you may wish to establish a business relationship everywhere you go so just because you’re relaxing by the pool or walking through the supermarket doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be carrying your cards.
2. Make sure everyone in your office has a card- the least expensive marketing material you will ever have is the business cards you give to your team so that whenever they meet people they can pass on a card that may bring them into your business.
3. Train your team so that they know how to use them- they should proffer a card to everyone they meet particularly after they’ve been asked the question “where do you work?” to which they must answer “I work for the best widget dealer in town… let me give you my card.”
4. Proffer cards with a flourish… not an outlandish one… but with some theatre so that people know that your cards are of value. Produce them for a silver card holder, for example, rather than fumbling through your pocket or purse for one.
5. Accept other people’s cards with respect so that they know you are interested in them, their card and value it (even if you are going to dump it later!).
6. Have a card that is memorable- most business cards are boring and bland and they never deserve a second look so it’s important that you incorporate a memorability factor into your card.
And here’s how to have a great looking, memorable business card:
1. Your name should be the most important feature of the card… companies don’t build relationships, people do.
2. That means your company name and logo are secondary to your own name so make sure your name is more prominent in the natural centre of eye gravity of the card.
3. For maximum comprehension your name should printed using a serif typestyle (times roman or bookman, for example) with only the first letter of each element of your name in upper case, never all (like this Theresa Smith not THERESA SMITH).
4. Never use a bland title like Manager, Partner, Consultant or Sales Executive because these rate low on the memorability scale. If you are good at what you do (and, if you’re not, why are you doing the job) you should tell people.
5. So chose a title that uses a word that implies expertise like authority, expert, wizard, doyen, genius, specialist, legend or guru. You could be an insurance expert, a customer service wizard, a mortgage expert or even, dare I say it, a marketing guru!
6. More than half your market probably need glasses to read so don’t use small type that makes them go looking for their glasses because, by the time they’ve found them, they’ll have forgotten why they went for them.
7. That means then next most important elements, your phone number, e-mail & social network addresses and web site, should be in at least 12 point type (and please no difficult e-mail addresses with full stops, underscores and other fiddly, hard to read bits.)
8. When it comes to phone numbers less is more so don’t have business, mobile and after hours. Where possible have one number where people can generally get you or that has a re-direct facility. Forget the fax number unless its vitally important to your business and new prospects have unquenchable urges to fax you immediately.
9. Now you can add that which normally dominates business cards… your company name and logo… preferably down the bottom of the card. Remember, nobody cares about your company until they know what you can do for them.
10. Personally I’m not a big wrap for photos on cards but if you believe that your countenance is irresistible or it will aid their memory go ahead and put it on. Frankly, my photo would not assist me… who would want do deal with someone that looks like me?
11. You may want to have a statement that really succinctly and simply summarises you business. For example, my card reads “Ideas and inspiration to make you say WOW!” frankly, it’s not necessary if you get your title right (see 5 above).
12. If it’s appropriate you can have a free offer on the reverse of the card. For example, a bar may offer “The first drink is on us when you produce this card any evening.”
13. Now give it to your designer and get them to make it look pretty without breaking these rules. Remember we want our card to help us feed families not egos.
14. Resist the urge to design and print your own card on your computer. They always look like they’ve been done on the cheap and create a negative perception of you. Keep our artists and printers employed… use their skills and talents!
So there we are then. A few simple ideas that will make your business card work gangbusters for you. That’s assuming, of course, that you have one to give to every one you meet because business cards stuck in desk drawers or left on the bedside table guarantee that you’ll have skinny kids.
Thank you, Winston. I see what Sonia was on about when she expressed hope that you’d table your expertise.
I now feel I’ve collected full boxed set of business card tips. It’ll be fascinating to see how my new one turns out.
With regard to comments, our Naming Rights post pulled 183. But many of those were born of frustration and suffering. I like this discussion much better.
With best regards and MANY thanks for sharing your wisdom.
There are some very valid points raised by several commenters about the pros and cons regarding business cards.
In my opinion business cards are still one of the keystones in other’s impression of you and your business. Even though I am an IT and design geek I still like to have a business card in my hand when I meet someone for the first time.
Business cards are like handshakes and body language – send the wrong message and you will never have another opportunity to make a good one.
My business cards are printed on 300gsm, it’s cello-glazed with metallic ink accents. They are thick, they are rugged and they stand out in a stack with other peoples cards. When I present my card to others they spend no small amount of time turning it over and over simply gazing at it. Sometimes double-checking that they didn’t get two cards instead of one, and when they do work it out they only received one the look of satisfaction is simply priceless. The first impression is definitely worth the $.25 each card is worth in dollars and cents.
My next batch of cards will start to include a QR Code (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_Code#Use_in_marketing) for those with smart phones. QR codes will enable the insertion of contact details with very little manual input. QR codes will solve the problem with Simon’s complaint of un-scannable cards.
My business card cup was full; but now it runneth over, soaketh the beer mat and dribbleth onto the floor.
Thank you, Zoe, for even more ace ideas. Angela, I want metallic ink accents! Heaps of ‘em! Make it so!
Never heard of a QR code, but maybe it’ll let me watch my business card after Blue Heelers. The stuff I learn in here blows my mind.
Many thanks, Zoe!
Wow! What a great subject, and a great response!
I haven’t read all the comments, but I have to say I love Debra’s card, I like your ‘rising sun’ design Paul, and I personally agree with Sonia getting rid of the fax number (but it might not work for everyone).
I think that having easy to scan text is a great idea. I use a product for the iPhone called Scanaroo. I also think the QR Codes are a great idea, if you’re appealing to a ‘geeky’ crowd.
This may buck the trend a little, but I kind of like cards that don’t have too much information on them. I recently saw a card that only contained the persons Twitter handle. That is maybe a bit extreme for most people, but I do like the minimalism, and the chance to direct people to the communication lines I am most effective and active in.
Hiya, Stephen. We sure have had a galaxy of stars this week. It has been incredible to see so many different takes on a tiny bit of paper.
I’m delighted you’ve seen fit to stop by. Many thanks for adding your voice to our choir. Best regards, P.
Great post and commentary here.
I recently had this debacle for my own Company’s image. I confess my first logo was outsourced to someone overseas with very little thought given to it. Was a matter of ‘need a logo’ not a matter of ‘what do I want this logo to say about my Company’. Wearing multiple hats in one’s business does that to you (or it did to me).
Anyway, one year later I finally decided to upgrade to something I actually feel proud of on my business cards and letterheads.
Graphic designer #1 was recommended to me by a colleague. After a quick check of their portfolio I thought it was a great match. But alas, it was not meant to be. In hindsight, very little brief or questioning was exchanged. Can’t really imagine a successful match when the designer doesn’t really know you or your business and does very little to find out.
Anyways, I learned.
Moving on to graphic designer #2. Very in depth questioning and three rounds of ideas/samples (visually as I have no imagination to ”imagine or suggest concepts”) before we finally cracked a mutual vision and goal. And the rest is history! Now I can proudly give out my business cards and use my matching letterheads.
Some tips (in hindsight):
1/ Shop around for a graphic designer
2/ Don’t settle with a concept until you’re happy, even if it means extra cost or a new graphic designer
3/ Cheap does not equal quality
4/ Great printer + great graphic designer = great combo!
Great to hear from you, Janna. I love real-world stories like this. Thanks so much for sharing yours with such clarity and detail. And for spreading the word on Twitter. Best regards, P.
Excellent points Janna. I’m frequently stunned by clients who partially or just plain don’t fill out my BrandReady briefing system. How can I create something that brilliantly represents them, their business and is magnetically appealing to their ideal clients if I don’t know anything about them?
Maybe clients that don’t or won’t fill it out should be give the url of 99 Designs and told to go and find a generic logo that could represent them or any other company equally well (or badly)?
The common theme through the comments seems to be ‘you get what you pay for’, funny that
Funny you should say that, Angela. For the last decade, I’ve been giving my job ad clients a list of 50 questions to ensure I can give them a perfect result.
It was only after getting your amazing briefing tool that I realised what they’ve been going through all these years!
I look forward to doing the process properly with you, for a rip-snorting result.
Thank you kindly, Leon, for sending me your business card by mail.
Did you want me to scan it and present it here so others may look and learn?