Tips to Remember When Designing & Printing Your Business Cards

* If you're serious about your business be serious about your business cards. Don't focus on the money, focus on the quality. Business cards not only provide contact details, they represent you and your organization. People you give your card to will form a first impression within seconds of receiving your business card (oftentimes before even reading it), and you want that impression to be a good one. Make it appeal to the senses.

1. Have someone in house create a catchy logo and/or design and layout for your card. If you don't have anyone to do that, hire someone.
2. Get high-quality, thick card stock that feels nice to the touch.
3. Apply foil or glossy finishes it applicable to catch their eye.

Make your card stand out. If you spend enough time and quality on your card people will believe you put that same amount of effort into your business.

* Make the most out of your cards. Don't be afraid to use them as a marketing tool. Give them to everyone you meet. In fact, give everyone you meet two or three, so that they can give them out if the opportunity arises.

* Give your business card additional value. If you wish, you can usually create a useable backing for your business card—a calendar, appointment card, coupon, referral discount —give it value and decrease the chance that it will disappear into the trash bin.

* Be creative...but not too creative. It is important to design a visually-pleasing layout for your business card. But there are times when you can take creativity too far. Nobody likes to receive business cards of odd shapes and sizes that wont fit into their Rolodex or other business card holder. Make the text big and dark/light enough to read. Don't use 'wacky' colors or fonts.

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Permalink Reply by e2Mars on January 29, 2009 at 4:58am: Iam Manju representing e2Mars.We are into providing Graphic, Multimedia and Application Development services to our clients in India and all around the world.If you have any requirent please feel to contact me.

Regards
Manju
bdexecutive@e2mars.net; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Todd Davis on January 29, 2009 at 8:21pm: Hey group,

Great comments, and a fantastic, eye opening article! Couple of quick suggestions:

1) Can you read it? Better yet, can the people who get it, read it? I had an insurance agent in my training class with Gold Star Referral Clubs. When I asked that question, he picked up his card, put on his reading glasses, held the card at arm length and brought it real close, and exclaimed, "I have had this same card for 20 years, and I can't even read it!"

2) Can someone write on your card? If the front and the back are glossy, it’s pretty hard to do.

3) Does your card say what you do? Go on...Read your card right now. If it’s not on your card, it isn't in their mind! How many times have you read the card, and it was John Smith, John Smith, LLC – got home and had no idea who they were, what they did, and why on earth did you get their card?

4) If you have a "tag line" or slogan, is it there?

5) Please don't use print-at-home cards. Everyone who gets one will know you're either new to business, or you're too cheap to get them done professionally. I've found www.gotprint.com does a good job, inexpensively.

Sure didn't mean to run on... this is a great site.

Todd Davis
National Director
Gold Star Referral Clubs
www.goldstarclubs.com
"Business Made Easy"; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Craig Deane on February 4, 2009 at 2:18pm: Good tips, definitely something to think about.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by eric on February 5, 2009 at 4:57am: Great tips. Especially at this time of bad economy. Business is becoming more competitive.

And the world is changing dramatically. We must take action

to face it. Don't you agree? The solution can be found in my blog -

http://ericthitaporn.wordpress.com/2009/02/04/33/

Best wishes.

Eric.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kim DiBrito on February 5, 2009 at 2:22pm

Great post. Readability is very important. Thanks for sharing.

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Permalink Reply by Nishit Kumar on February 9, 2009 at 10:24pm: I agree with the comments. Apart from design, the eco friendliness of your card - do you use recycled paper for instance, the choice of font- does it jell with the name and activvity and profile of your organisation or individual personality, all are important. While travelling internationally, I take care to ensure that one side of the card carries the information in the local language.
By the way, I am a designer, a brand and srategy consultant a trainer and a writer. I run my own consulting firm, am based out of Pune in India, and am reachable at nishitnk@yahoo.com.
Nishit Kumar; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Earl Weldon on February 6, 2009 at 7:58am: Some good points here. If anyone out there needs help on business cards, we design and print them. Check our website at WeldonStudio.com. Especially if you're in or near Philadelphia, we can help you, but we also ship across America. We've done work for clients in Florida, Texas and California.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lesly Federici RN, CWC on February 13, 2009 at 5:39pm

Informative article. I've seen some pretty nice biz cards lately. One was not the usual biz card size, the person was an architech. I am always at a loss of what to put on them - especially when I do so many things.

So, here's a question: If you do a lot of things, what do you say on the card? List them all, keep it simple?

What do you think?

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Permalink Reply by Todd Davis on February 13, 2009 at 9:15pm: Hey Lesly,

Say what they do...not everything they do.

Resist the temptation of filling the back up with a list of "we can do" these things too! It will tend to be confusing the those that haven't met the architect. If they get a card at say a Chamber Event, by the time they get home, they won't remember WHY they kept the card, or really what the best referral would be.

In a Gold Star Club meeting, we had a visitor from a skin care company. The very nice lady stood up and said, "The best referral for me is anyone with skin." How can you refer to that? Totally no clarity of a good referral.

Just imagine if she had said, "A good referral for me is someone that works outside in their garden, and has a wonderful green thumb. They should be sure to protect themselves from the sun, and should consider giving my super-duper sunscreen a try, its great."

Simple, clear, and it could result in referrals/dollars.

Regards!
Todd Davis
National Director
Gold Star Referral Clubs
www.goldstarclubs.com
"Business Made Easy"
Start a referral clubs where you are...We make it simple, and profitable!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Cathy Hanck on April 16, 2009 at 11:51am: Dear Lesly: As a graphic designer, I can say I have done a lot of business cards in my time. I am really a KISS person. (keep it simple) But, sometimes a company will need to put more information on a card so, I would recommend the front be simple with the contact information and the back can be additional information - services provided, distributor information, things specific to their industry. I am not sure how I feel about doing a laundry list of things - if you are a hardware store owner (for example) you don't have to list kinds of hardware you sell - people will assume you sell - hammers, saws, nails, etc. In other words, as a graphics designer that designs websites, I give my website address but not others I have designed because I want to have people visit my site and I like to change the links of sites I have designed from time to time. So, I guess to answer your question: I like to keep it simple.

Best regards,

Cathy Hanck
C. A. Hanck Graphics; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by sandra (Sandy) naultsmithson on March 4, 2009 at 5:35pm: Hi Everybody for the great advice. Has any one tried to go to staples and get their cards there?
Sandy; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Kevin Doyle on March 14, 2009 at 9:33am: excellent! very useful tips.

business cards are an investment that must be managed for returns.; ▶ Reply to This