Are you proud to hand out your business card?
Do you feel that your card could be a lot better?
Perhaps you know it could be better but your not sure how?
Could it be that you feel that there is no requirement for a business card anymore?
 

I know exactly how you feel, and there’s tonnes of room for improvement with 99.9% of the business cards I come across. There is a real opportunity here for you to really differentiate yourself and turn your business card into a great marketing tool!

I’m always on the look out for cool business cards, and when I find them I keep them, swipe the ideas from them and turn them into my own. The pile of cool business cards is very small, in fact the pile I have at the moment consists of 2 cards, and one of them is my own!

There’s a real opportunity for you to differentiate yourself

I have done quite a lot of networking over the past few months, and met a lot of very interesting small business owners in Fife. It’s been fantastic to meet so many passionate people. However, out of about 80 business cards only one really stands out, and this particular card could do with some improvement too.

There is such a big gap here for you to take advantage of. If you can create a killer business card people are more likely to remember you and what it is that you do. Also, if yours is good enough, your card will hang around in their office or at home, giving your brand an element of omni-presence.

My Business Card

Here are some pictures of my card to give you an idea of what you could be doing.

Here’s a recent competition that I entered my card into. I didn’t win, but I was featured in the top 4 cards. It’s great to get the recognition and the confidence that my card is up there with the best.

If you don’t have one of my business cards, then I’ll send one to you. All you need to do is email me with your name and address.

My cards have really made a buzz in the networking groups in Fife. I love watching people thumbing through it. I’ve even watched people tick off the list of marketing tips. As soon as people read it they know exactly what it is that I do, and they can tell right away if I’m able to help them or not. It’s a no brainer, and there has been a fantastic response. It’s totally different and I’ve never seen one like it here in Fife.

13 Steps to an Awesome Business Card

One key thing to remember is that you’re a small business owner, not an employee in a corporate office (even corporate organisations could do with a few tips to be honest). Get your personality into your card, do something different.

Here is the list of 13 steps to choosing the perfect business card: –

1. Don’t use the free printed cards. They’re cheap and people notice them. You’ve got to make sure your business card projects who you are and you’re not free, and you’re not cheap.
2. Don’t do what everyone else does, do something be different.
3. Be brave, be bold, be unusual.
4. Don’t overload the card. You want people to actually read it.
5. Use your preferred name. Make sure the name that you use is the name that you actually want to be called. It doesn’t have to be your professional or formal name.
6. Say what you do, make sure that’s clear.
7. Put something on the back of your card, it’s a big wasted space, make sure you use it. It’s a little bit of advertising real estate.
8. You could have a call to action on the back of your card, something that encourages people to download something or go somewhere to do something.
9. Make sure it’s easily readable. Give people a reason to contact you.
10. A picture tells a thousand words. I have a picture of me on the front of my card so people know who it was that they actually met, and the picture is the one I use on my website, it’s on all my marketing materials as well.
11. Busy fingers. Give people something to play with. My card is a good example, because it’s a three-fold card, it’s got six sides and there’s a lot to read on there as well.
12. Another option is to consider multiple cards. The card I’ve got is used for networking, and it would be good to have another card for different circumstances or products/services. There’s no rule that says you can only have one business card.
13. Present your card well. Make sure it’s upright when you show it, and your name and your picture facing forward.

Credit to Mike Chance and Nigel Botterill for the tips and the inspiration to create an awesome business card.

If you’ve got any questions or ideas, please leave a comment.

Have a great day,

Chris.