I LOVE business card marketing. If you are anti-business card, this post is probably not for you, but if you want to find out how to use business card marketing in new and exciting ways, listen up!

Plain Jane Business Card Marketing

I am a proponent of plain jane business cards most of the time. Since I speak at so many events and attend networking A LOT, I need something that I can buy in bulk and hand out like they are free. For these types of cards I use Vistaprint. Oftentimes I will order non-glossy but pretty designed cards hundreds at a time so that I do not have to worry about running out.

What your work horse business cards should have on them

• Your Name – Duh
• A Picture – I like a business card with a picture or a cute logo on it. I use the business people across my branding efforts so they have become synonymous with Marketing Artfully. Some people like to put their picture on the cards. I am split over that one, I like when there is a picture since it helps me to remember the person BUT feel that it is a little less professional than I am shooting for.
• Phone Number – if you want to encourage people to visit your website rather than calling, make your website big and you phone number small!
• Email Address – I KNOW, you get too many emails as it is BUT you do not want to miss opportunities because someone cannot get ahold of you. Many databases need an email to even enter your info!
• Website Address – Make sure people can find you on the internet! Your website address should be www.YourSite.com with caps on the middle words for ease of reading.
• Social Media Links – I WANT people to find me on Facebook and Twitter so that I do not have go find them!
• Your Title – Now this does not have to be your “official” title (mine is officially owner), it should be what your chosen profession is. If you do multiple things, you can add bullets at the bottom, but you should have ONE primary title.
• Bullets – I like to have bullets at the bottom where I can list some other things that our company does.

Fun Business Card Ideas

Okay, now that we have your standard business card out of the way, here are some super fun business card ideas that you can use for special occasion!

Die Cut Business Cards

When I need to do some printing that is a little weird size-wise or shapes, I use uPrinting.com. They are super easy to work with and have some neat products AND they have graciously offered to let me have a contest! WHOO WHOO! Sign up for my newsletter for a chance to win 250 FREE (including the shipping) die-cut business cards! We are giving two sets away on October 4, 2010 to two lucky readers!

Die Cut Business Cards are a fun way to stand out from the crowd. They are a little different shape and can make a big impression for not that much money. Make sure to keep the look and feel similar to your current branding efforts, but HOW COOL would it be to have a round business card to hand out to people? Make sure to have fun with it, for my client with a sanddollar logo, this would be a BRILLIANT idea.

Unique Business Card Uses

Baseball Business Cards

Trinity Realtor, Lori Crawford, called with a GREAT idea! What about using a baseball card format for business cards that she could give to her home sellers to hand out to their friends and family? We looked at a number of different size options for this, but decided that quantity was the most important factor and went with business cards formatted to like like trading cards!

It is this out of the box thinking that can turn a lowly business card into something really special!

QR Code Business Cards

You may not know it but there are some really fun bar codes out there now called QR Codes which let you link a square bar code to any web address you like. When my pal, Cyndee Haydon, was going to a convention recently, she had a code printed on her cards that went to a special page on her site welcoming people who she had met. I LOVE that I have marketing friends!

I like to use scandots.com to make my bar codes because it was super easy and free, but there are many places out there who will take a URL and convert it to a code that smart phones like iPhone, Android and Blackberry can read.

GIANT Business Card Pet Peeve

Well, hopefully you have enjoyed our take on business card marketing! Now for my final word on the subject…DO NOT CARRY AROUND three or four different business cards for all the different things you do. If one more person pulls out a stack of different cards and then says “I wonder which card I should give you”, I am going to scream. It is unprofessional and makes the other person think that you are unsure of what business you are in!

No related posts.

So I got my marketing materials in yesterday – YAY! I feel like a real marketer again now!

I have a very distinctive look and feel to the items so that they “all look like my stuff” and I really like the one photo that I used as the focal point of the pieces (it is a group of realtor looking people, from diverse backgrounds, who are dressed professional casual – I know too much information BUT this is the only time I am going to make you listen so bear with me!) The color scheme is neon green and black and is very distinctive and will be easy to use in numerous pieces.

When you have your logo and marketing materials designed you should LOVE them! You should also ask other people what they think since you are trying to appeal to humans in general. I had one person (Pam, our closing coordinator) who didn’t like my realtor group, but in general everyone else either liked them or was neutral. I can live with that! While I DO care about what people think I also have to take into consideration that personal taste does come into play sometimes and what I like will not be what everyone likes.

That having been said…. I used a different picture on the front of my tri-fold brochure that has caused SEVERAL people to recoil in horror and say they don’t like how the one person looks. That is not good AT ALL. She doesn’t offend me, but my message is getting lost in general reaction (who knew!). Anyways, she has got to go!

I will be resending the file with a new picture. It will cost about $10 to change it since I ordered only 25 copies to start. That is one of my big tips, order small quantities to make sure you like how things turn out. Imagine if I had ordered 10,000 of them!!! I would be hesitant to send them out so they would last even LONGER. I would develop a reply to people who hated her, “well she isn’t that bad and I have 10,000 to use so please try to get past it”.

Public opinion will never be 100% on your side, BUT if you hear something more than a couple of times (we would have liked more communication, our flyer box is always empty, my clients liked it but there was too much wallpaper) that is something you need to fix TODAY!

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1. Not just a pretty face!

What is the one thing you can do to give yourself instant credibility? Have some FABULOUS collateral made!

When I started as a realtor the one thing that I did which helped me most was to design some really impressive marketing materials. When I went on a listing appointment I could feel confident that my materials would be a great representation of my level of committment and professionalism. That committment included providing great representation to my clients and to spending all my time learning my real estate skills, not dealing with the fact that I was a new agent.

What kinds of collateral do you need? The most basic answer is you MUST have a great business card. I am not a fan of the head shot cards, enough said. What you need to make sure you have is enough contact information that someone could reach you by whatever means they prefer (mail, phone or email). Having 3 or 4 ways to reach you via phone means that they may have to have to chase you down and that is never a good sign!

Tri-fold Brochure – Whether you are a small business owner or a realtor this one HUGE. It allows you to give a comprehensive look at your background and credentials as well as all the products and services you can offer your clients. It is great for leaving behind after a sales appointment, listing presentation or a buyer appointment. It is also good for networking events and for open houses where you might want to have something more than a sales sheet to leave behind. I prefer to have my Tri-folds act as a mailer also so that if I want to send them I do not have to put them in an envelope when mailing.

Presentation Cover – On any sales call you make you need to have a professionally designed cover that matches your marketing materials. Use it for sales proposals, RFPs, listing presentations and buyer appointment books.

Oversized Postcard – Last but certainly not least you should have a postcard that you can pop into the mail. I recommend having a BUNCH of different ones depending on the situation that you encounter, BUT to start, get one good solid postcard that covers most of your products and services. He

How much of each should you order? This is a tough one since ordering larger quantities can reduce the per piece price BUT with the new color print shops online I would not order terribly expensive or large quantities of any one item. Your services may change and if you have thousands of pieces you will have to throw them out. Also I have done jobs in the past for clients who ordered REALLY top of the line materials and then were hesitant to send them out – if you have to think for one moment whether you can afford to send a prospect a card or brochure you have spent too much!

If you can’t tell I am a HUGE fan of having professional marketing materials and think EVERYONE in business should have them also!

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1. Popular Opinion – When To Change!