The Fundamentals of Business Cards

5 hints for making a professional business card that makes a long lasting impression.

Lots of people disregard the worth of using a professional business card that accurately reflects your brand image, yet this small sheet of paper is often an important element of your collateral package. It is usually the initial item prospects receive of your stuff; therefore it is your initial possibility to produce a strong, positive impression to them.

The preponderance of do-it-yourself online business-card printing companies is definitely an intriguing, notable and somewhat troubling phenomenon. With limited exceptions, it's simple enough to recognize and inexpensively produced card. If you select to "economical" on your own cards, what message does that send to people that you would like to conduct business? Are you currently really doing yourself any favors by missing out on the chance to begin to build an optimistic brand image immediately?

Cheaper might not be better with regards to first impressions. Give clients an excellent first impression using these tips and tactics:

Tip #1:Design Tips 

Enlist the assistance of an expert designer if you don't hold the requisite skills to create your organization card yourself.

Ideally, this person's also given the job of designing other collateral (letterhead, brochures, website, etc.), so it will likely be intuitive to transport your brand image through from those pieces towards your card.

Tip #2: Make it simple.

Business card printings are generally just 3.5" x 2" (except when they are not--see below), which means you don't possess an excessive amount of space that to be effective. Don't you could make your logo too big, don't result in the type they cannot be comfortably read, and never be worried to utilize white space.

  

Tip #3: Continue with the standard card size--unless you are the adventurous type.

You will find steps you can take to some 3.5" x 2" card to distinguish yourself (e.g., rounded corners), but choosing a unique shape could be tricky. A round card, for example, is very memorable; however it certainly won't easily fit in standard business-card holder devices. You've got to be prepared to trade convenience for memo ability when you purchase an unconventional size or shape.

Content Tips

Tip #4: Be deliberate when choosing the data to look on your own card.

What's most significant? Your company name certainly must be there, combined with the name of your respective company (via your logo), your telephone number as well as your e-mail address. Space permitting, you can include your home address, fax number, cell-phone number and company website address, if desired. Don't clutter some misconception too much--as using the design, simpler and cleaner is definitely better.

Tip #5: Keep your back blank, or utilize it for non-critical information.

How frequently will people see the rear of your card? Traditional card storage modes think that side is blank. Should you choose need to put copy about it, make sure the details are of the supplemental nature: e.g., your company's mission or tagline. While business cards should advertise your brand identity, they really should not be mistaken for advertising.

The Final Outcome

Consider the way you use others cards whenever you decide with regards to your own. Would you get frustrated once you can't easily discover the data you'll need? Or perhaps the type is simply too promising small to read? Or printed inside a font that's difficult to decipher? Do cheaply produced cards cause you to think a smaller amount of the individual or company represented? Will it require some time to understand whose card it's, or what company that individual works best for?

Don't make those self same mistakes when making your organization card. Ensure it's really a positive reflection of you and your company; also it mirrors your well-defined brand identity.