Hey reader, quick question!
Do you have a business card?
If the answer is yes, how often do you have a business card on hand? How many business cards do you carry with you at once? How often do you hand them out? Where do you hand them out?
These may seem like a series of weird questions, but you’d be surprised how often the answer is no.
That being said, if you answered no to the above question and you have a business, start designing and ordering your business cards as soon as possible.
While not as crucial as your marketing website or your marketing email outreach, business cards are an important marketing tool for your business, even in a mostly digital world.
The key to marketing your business is letting as many people as possible know that you exist. A business card is another way to do that.
Here’s why you need to get a business card, why you should keep several on you at all times, and where and when to give them out.
Why Business Cards Are an Important Piece of the Marketing Puzzle
A business card is another piece of the marketing puzzle. It’s a portable and effective tool that lets people know you exist wherever you are in the world. It’s also another part of your professional branding.
Custom merch sites such as VistaPrint offer great design tools that make business cards easy to create, plus they’re cheap to order and arrive quickly. You can design other marketing materials or custom merch such as business stickers, T-shirts, and coffee mugs on these sites as well.
Best Practices for Designing Your Business Card
You can customize your business card to reflect your brand’s colors, and logo if you have one (more on that eventually), provide contact info, social media accounts, and a way to direct folks to your marketing website by either notating your URL or via Q/R code.
For my voiceover business card, I utilize the Q/R code because it’s quick and easy, plus nobody has to enter the info if they’re on the go. People see a Q/R code and they’re conditioned by the internet to visit the page right away.
Also, when designing your business card, make sure to provide lots of white space so that people can jot notes on your business card. Leave the back blank if you can (frees up more note space).
When designing your business card, be careful about straying from your brand image as inconsistency across your marketing materials creates confusion and looks amateur to serious business professionals.
For example, if the main colors on your marketing site are red and blue, you should incorporate those colors into your business card (how loud or subtle you want to be is up to you). If you have a logo, put it on the business card, too.
Make sure your contact info matches that on your site (don’t put the Yahoo email you send your junk mail to on your business card, put your business email on it. If you don’t have a business email, get one. It helps your legitimacy as a business owner).
Keep your business card design simple. Don’t overthink the color scheme or layout. Don’t put too much text. Leave plenty of whitespace for notes. Make it easy for someone to access you.
Best Places to Hand Out Your Business Cards
The purpose of carrying your business card is to get rid of them. However many business cards you have, make it a game to get rid of all of them by said date. You never know who can help you at any given time, so always keep your business cards on you.
This is on-the-go networking in a barebones way. Your traveling salesman genes should always be on.
For example, if a coffee shop you pop into has a board to tack business cards and fliers onto, throw your business card on there. Know a spot where prospective clients hang out? Ask the bartender, front desk person, or clerk if you can leave your business cards on the counter. Most places won’t care, and you never know who’s going to pick them up.
Another awesome place to bring your business cards and get rid of a ton are conventions, conferences, meetup groups, industry events, and networking events. These places bring together loads of people who might be interested in your goods and services.
TLDR: The best place to hand out a business card is everywhere. The best time to hand out a business card is all the time. Consider every time you meet someone new an opportunity to hand out a business card and you're on your way to thinking like an entrepreneur.
Why You Should Take Advantage of Every Opportunity to Hand Out Your Business Cards
People are coming to conventions, conferences, meetup groups, industry events, and networking events to meet people.
You’re a person. Go meet them. Give them your business card, even if you don’t think they’ll do business with you.
You don’t know who they are, what they do, or who they know, so make like Gambit and pick a card. They might give you a business card in return. If that happens, be sure to follow up with them when you get home.
They might also pass your information on to someone in their circles who might need your services.
Remember, there is no risk involved in handing out a business card. In the best-case scenario, you’ll meet a client. Worst-case scenario, nothing happens. If nothing else, maybe you’ll make a friend. Life goes on.
When approaching someone you’d like to give a business card to, do not walk up to them and give them your business card without introducing yourself (it’s rude). Start up a conversation. Ask questions about them (it’s not about you). Make it meaningful. Learn from them. Laugh.
Sow the seeds of the relationship you want to have with this person. Don’t give anyone your business card until the end of the conversation.
How a Business Card Showcases Your Professionalism and Helps You Stand Out From the Crowd
Your business card not only showcases your professionalism, it will help folks remember you, too.
For example, how many times have you gone into your wallet and found a business card or Post-it note and either looked up the business or did what the Post-it note said because you forgot to do something you were supposed to do three weeks ago?
Business cards are a constant physical reminder that you exist and help boost your credibility in your industry to your peers, clients, and prospects. They are also a great tool for someone to follow up with you down the road. They encourage communication, make you memorable, and boost your perception among industry professionals.
Prospects are more likely to hire you because a business card helps present you as the real deal (and you are).
10 Quick Stats About Business Cards
The more digital and virtual our lives get, the easier it is for us to forget about our business cards, and makes running into someone with a business card less common.
You want to stand out, be memorable, and be remarkable with your business cards but don’t take it from me. Here are 10 quick stats about business cards, according to ProfileTree and Aura Print:
82% of customers think it’s important to make your business card stand out in a stack of cards.
78% of recipients find a colored card more memorable.
72% of people judge a business based on the quality of their business card.
57% of business owners still consider business cards to be a crucial marketing tool.
Business cards carry a 12% conversion rate, about 5x higher than your average website.
10 billion business cards are printed per year.
The business card market is projected to reach USD 242.3 million by 2027.
Digital business cards with QR codes and instant syncing have been rising as opposed to traditional business cards.
Eco-friendly options for business cards like wheat, rag, and cotton paper are emerging.
In Japan, you’re expected to carry at least 100 business cards for a 1-week business trip. You're also expected to hand out 3-4 cards at small meetings and 10-12 cards at a larger ones. If you're at a trade show, you're expected to distribute over 100.
Why You Need to Carry Your Business Card at All Times
Business cards are a cheap and reliable marketing tool you can use to introduce your services to new clients and prospects wherever you go. They’re a small, yet effective piece of the marketing puzzle for your business and can be customized to suit your brand.
Bring your business cards to networking events, conferences, industry events, conventions, meetup groups, or even your local bars and coffee shops. They’ll help you look professional and stand out from other business owners, plus they can be another way to wind up in someone’s contacts without a cold call or cold email.
You never know where a business card is going to take you, so be sure to make them look professional and carry them on you at all times.
Looking for a professional voice actor with a snazzy business card? Fill out my project contact form or shoot me an email to get in touch today!