Creative Ways To Use Business Cards
- Attach a business card to an ad specialty: For example, give business card holders as a thank you gift and place your business card in as the first one.
- If you routinely give out seasonal gifts or specialties, attach your business card. Examples: candy canes at Christmas, heart shaped containers filled with candy for Valentine's Day, or even a sandwich bag of candy with a card stapled to it.
- Tuck them into the product before delivery: If you are a florist, cut a hole in it and tie a ribbon around the flowers and through the business card. If you sell gift baskets, Tuck one inside the basket before delivering it to your customer. The same goes for Mary Kay or Avon Cosmetics - place your card in the bag. You've seen how some restaurants staple a menu to their bags for takeout; if you use bags, staple your card to the outside of the bag.
- Place them in library books as if you used them as bookmarks. Visit bookstores place them in books related to your business.
- Use them as bookmarks so you'll always have some readily available if you meet someone at school, in the library, on the bus, or at the park where you like to read.
- Keep a stack of cards everywhere you might need them - in your car, your jacket pocket, your briefcase, your purse or wallet, in your planner, at home, anywhere you can think of. Then you'll always have some on hand when you meet a prospect. Never leave home without them.
- If you do seminars, have your participants exchange cards with each other. Have them write a compliment about the person on the back before they hand them out. Everyone will have a wealth of contacts; they will remember each other and it will also give participants a boost of confidence.
- Ask neighborhood businesses if you may display your cards near their registers.
- Tack them to bulletin boards at supermarkets, restaurants, retail stores and the library - anyplace that has a bulletin board.
- Give out two cards at a time - one for your prospect or client, and one for her/him to give away.
Key things to remember when creating a business card?
Include all your contact information: name, company, company’s logo, address, e-mail, phone numbers and Web page.
- Name - If your last name is hard to pronounce, consider putting the phonetic spelling in parentheses so that people won’t hesitate to call you for fear of embarrassing themselves.
- Email - Keep your email address professional.
- Phone numbers - Unless you feel it is absolutely necessary a stack of phone numbers is the number one mistake people make on their business cards. Instead of saying “Look how easy I am to reach,” those crowded cards say, “Look how hard you’ll have to work to find me.” Usually a cell number and fax number will suffice.
- Web page
- Always put your slogan, tag line or unique selling proposition on your business card, but try to keep it to 7 words or less.
- If people will be coming to your business and it is hard to find put a landmark or cross streets in parentheses to make it easier to find. i.e. 1234 Main Street (behind the Home Depot)
Use both sides of the business card. Think of the front of the card as a billboard that people are driving by and only put the most important information on the front. Use the back for the address, professional designations and other non-brand information.
Put something of value on the back of the card; feint lines so they are encouraged to write, conversion table, calendar or anything else that will make your card a reference tool.
What to put on the back of business cards
- Print a team's sports schedule on the back. Fans will keep them handy and keep your name in front of them
- Print a special discount offer or coupon on the back. People will keep it because they intend to use the coupon.
- If you do seminars, print key principals on the back. Your attendees will refer to them later and think of you.
- Hand write on the back your "unlisted" 800 number. This adds value to your card, making people keep it longer because they don't want to lose the special number.
- An offer where they can get a free report from your website
- Map/directions to your office
- A coupon
- Benefits from using your service
- A place to write a reminder about their next appointment
- A list of your services
- How to request a free catalog
- Your 30 second introduction
- A calendar
- Put pictures of your products
What not to do on a business card
- DO NOT USE ALL CAPS AS THEY ARE HARD TO READ
- Do not cross out information and write in correct information. Get new business cards instead when information changes.
- Avoid fancy type faces that cannot be read.
- Choose the right size type face for all readers. If your customers are in their 40’s and above many of them will have to pull out reading glasses to read small print so make sure your name and phone number stand out.
To Get started on your business cards visit Zazzle today and use your existing card design or choose from thousands of different templates available.
