Business Cards for Beginners
Business cards are a must-have for every entrepreneur!
Business cards say more than just who you are and how to get hold of you. They are a tangible asset that is vital for promoting your image and business, and leaving a memorable footprint on those that receive it. They need to be taken very seriously, with a lot of thought behind them.
I want to provide you all with some basics for business cards and some finer details.
The Basics
Business cards must have some basic standard information:
- Full name
- Company Name
- Position / Occupation
- Contact Information including your office number, mobile number, email address, postal address, fax number, and direct line
- Beeper / Pager number if you have one – this makes it easier for your client to contact you
- Company Logo
- Company website
Some Finer Details
As mentioned earlier, your business card says a lot about you and your business. Make sure that the overall impression of your business card is one that people will remember and be able to identify you with.
Creative Design
It is also important that the business card design follows through with your other marketing collateral, and especially your website. These days, your website is often the first place a person will go when receiving your business card, so make sure they match and are easily identifiable. Design your business card in full colour and double sided as this will only add to the impact that your business card makes. The shape, size, and cut are also other factors that need to be considered when designing your business card, as they all have different effects on the business cards presentation and impression.
Quality
Another important finer detail is the quality of paper of your business card. It is worth spending the extra money to make it a smooth, solid business card. After all, first impressions count, and your business card is a first impression that a prospective client, potential business partner or prospective networked is walking away with.
Content
Only put information that is relevant and that sums you and your business up in a nice concise way. Don’t overload the business with irrelevant information just to fill the space. Make sure there is just enough information so that a person looking at your business card will understand what you are all about, but be enticed to want to find out more.
Just remember, your business card is one of the greatest promoters, and influencers of your business. Make sure it leaves the impression you are talking or pitching about.
Check out my post on ‘Networking with Business Cards’. It’s a must read!
September 27th, 2007 at 10:40 pm
I like the business cards you can get from Moo via flickr http://www.moo.com/flickr/ and I also like the gaping void business cards in a “the person who gave you this must be either incredibly famous or a total knob” kind of way - http://gapingvoid.streetcards.com/. As you say, your business card is a four square inch representation of you, and it has about ten seconds to deliver its pitch
October 1st, 2007 at 4:36 pm
[...] week I wrote an article titled, ‘Business Cards for Beginners’. Following from that, I give you, ‘Networking with Business [...]
October 1st, 2007 at 6:01 pm
Hi Mark,
Thank you for your comment. I had a look at those sites - very interesting and cool.
If you have any others, feel free to post them up, so that everyone can gain from them.
I would be interested to hear your thoughts on my post: Networking with Business Cards.
Have a great day.
Cheers
Josh