Business Cards Land

On this blog, it should come as no surprise that we’ve time and again featured some of the most insane business cards you’ll most likely ever come across.  I mean honestly, a business card made of meat?!  Saying that, the thing we’ve always strived to be most about, is business card designs that are striking and more than anything, memorable and effective.  Sometimes that means crazy, sometimes, it means simple.

My colleague Diana has long been a proponent of the simple and effective business card, chosing wisely that sometimes less is more, and sometimes if you do that “less” right, you’ll hit the nail on the head and create a business card that not only stands out in its simple power, but is memorable and inspirational.  I just found this sample above, of a business card that does exactly that.

The business card belongs to Maria Hegouaburu, a journalist and apparently it was designed by a graphic, web and new media designer.  They did an amazing job as it requires very little space, uses only one color, and even has a simple graphic that gives the appearence that a tab can be removed with her information.  Genius.  Amazing what a little shadow can do.

The bottom line is, you don’t always have to blow people away with creativity.  Sometimes the most difficult thing to do, is the most simple.  Remember, one of the greatest gifts artists used to give, was a drawing of a perfect circle, the most simple design ever.  Keep that in mind as you design your next business card!

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On Wednesday we went over arguably the coolest, and most fun business card holder we’ve ever seen.  The mini briefcase is sure to raise a few eyebrows when you pop it out and open it up to reveal your cards, but today we’re going to show you a video that will make you re-think the importance of not only having cool and unique business cards, but a creative and unique business card holder.  This one we just found satisfies both of those needs perfectly.

That’s right, we found a “magic” business card holder that uses some impressive design and some old-school technique to create an effect that your business card is magically sinking below the tab, and the business card you receive from your contacts is ‘magically’ being secured underneath two more tabs.  A quick movement of your hand and a flip over and viola, you have your business cards magically being secured.  Guaranteed that you will impress anyone and everyone who is within eyeshot of you.

SO check out the video below, get some tips, and then remember, you still need business cards to fill them!  The good news, and we’re going to keep reminding you of this fact, you actually have a chance to win FREE Business Cards for LIFE if you just enter the ongoing contest at OvernightPrints.com.  If your winning design is chosen, you will receive a lifetime supply of our high quality business cards.  Imagine the possibilities!

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Tyler’s post yesterday about the cool business card holder shaped like a briefcase (and yes, I have one of those!) gave me an idea.

People store business cards in all sorts of locations  and all types of containers.  But there’s one place you should NEVER store your business cards, and I feel that this warning warrants its own post.

Business Card Folder - Plastic Pages

You see these quite often.  It’s a business card holder with plastic pages, sometimes referred to as a business card folder – there are also business card pages you can buy to put into binders to hold your cards.

These are terrific for keeping business cards clean and organized but are NOT suitable for long-term storage of business cards.

Why?

Most of these pages are made of vinyl – and many business cards stick to them.

The reason has to do with the common printing process called “thermography” in which plastic pellets are dusted onto wet ink during printing.  Heat is applied, the pellets melt, and voila! – you have raised print.

The problem is that the plastic from your business card ink and the plastic (vinyl) from the business card page can react with one another and cause the card to stick to the vinyl.

You may not have this problem if you don’t store cards in these plastic pages for long periods of time – it’s not as if this is an overnight process, usually – but it’s safer to look for plastic business card pages made of polypropylene instead of vinyl.  (If you don’t see the word polypropylene on the label, look for the words “archival safe.”)

Coming soon – MORE tips about storing and organizing business cards!  I think these little beauties multiply when I’m not lookin’… it’s hard to keep track of them sometimes!

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We all know the importance of a great business card.  We’ve gone over the in’s and the out’s of great business card design, and by now you should all know that the most important thing, is finding a business card that suits you, your business and your personality.  One thing we haven’t touched much on, what to keep those business cards in.  That’s right, today I’m going to show you arguably the coolest business card holder we’ve ever seen.

Yes, it might not be for everyone, yes it’s a bit silly, but still, I think if you have to carry your business cards, and you want to do it with a bit of style and a bit of humor, you’re not going to do much better than sticking them all inside a miniature version of a briefcase.  After all, half of the battle when it comes to being remembered, and having your business cards be remembered is that first impression, and when you pull out a tiny little briefcase, pop open the locks and take out one of your creative and unique business cards, I guarantee you’ll be remembered.

Speaking of, now we want to hear from you:  What do you carry your business cards in?  How do you keep them safe and straight while you travel?  Do you have a special case or do you just throw them into your jacket or pants pockets?  We want to know YOUR methods, and if you have any photos of your business card holders, we’d love to see them!  Sound off, we want to hear from you!

Also, don’t forget we’re still running our Free Business Cards for Life contest over at OvernightPrints.com, start submitting your entries right now, and remember there is no limit to the number of designs you can submit!

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One of the smartest ways to use your business card is as a referral-generating tool. While many business people scramble for new business and new customers, savvy marketers turn to previous and existing customers for repeat and referred business.

Why are referrals so important?

Besides the obvious (why would ANYONE ignore a source of business?) – referred customers spend more, gripe less, stay longer and are just easier to deal with than customers acquired in other ways.

Your business card can function BEAUTIFULLY as a referral tool, if planned properly!

Here’s the back of one of my business cards:

Back Side Referral Card

I didn’t pull any punches. After giving a brief statement of a benefit of working with me, I stated in no uncertain terms that referrals are important to my business – in fact, they’re my “lifeblood.”  I directly asked for whoever reads the back of my business card to tell their friends and colleagues about me.

Of course, you can phrase this in other ways – you can even offer a reward for referrals if you’d like.  The point is that using the back side of your business card to solicit referrals is an incredibly effective use of space that is often wasted.

Does it work? Yes! Especially when I explain that the more referrals I get, the less time and energy I need to devote to marketing my business – and that’s more time I can spend on providing good customer service and doing what they’re paying me to do.

It’s not hard to find a printer who offers back side business card printing; OverNightPrints.com is one I’ve used before, they do good work and very inexpensively.

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The simple fact that you’re here, browsing this blog and reading up on the latest, greatest and most interesting business cards around, means that you are into business cards, and into figuring out how to make yours even more impressive, important and noticeable.  Well I have good news for you, what if you had a chance at winning free business cards for the rest of your life?!  Yes, you read that correct…Free Business Cards for LIFE.

At OvernightPrints.com, we’re running a contest where you, the loyal reader, are given a chance to design the business card that Jeremy Schoemaker, Mr. ShoeMoney, carries with him in his travels throughout the blogosphere , both in the real world and online.  The winning design, as we mentioned, will indeed win a lifetime supply of business cards printed for you!  Here are some more details:

YOU can be the designer of the business card that Jeremy Schoemaker, Mr. ShoeMoney, carries with him in his travels throughout the blogosphere – real world and virtual! This contest will be all about card design – get creative! The best design wins a lifetime supply of business cards from OvernightPrints.com, the online retail industry’s top provider of great quality custom printed business products.

*Your Shoemoney business card should include the following:*
Shoemoney logo
123 South Street, Lincoln, NE 68516
Jeremy Shoemaker
President/Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
123.123.1234
jeremy@shoemoney.com
www.twitter.com/shoemoney
www.shoemoney.com

Contest starts on Thursday, May 28, 2009 and ends on Thursday, June 25, 2009, so HURRY and submit your design today! Submit as many designs as you want! Contest is open to legal residents of the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and Continental Europe.

We’ve included links to ShoeMoney’s logo for use in your card design. You can also visit www.shoemoney.com to get inspired!

On June 26, Jeremy will select one winner, who will receive a Lifetime Supply of business cards from OvernightPrints.com.

Submit your design today!

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A few times on this blog, in the midst of mentioning some of the most creative business card designs we’ve ever seen, the idea of giving out business card magnets has popped up as a great way to stand out, and stick on, to your prospective clients.  By using a magnet, not only will your business card be less likely to get thrown away, it’s more likely to end up on someone’s fridge or wall and therefore get seen a lot more often.

Luckily for you, OvernightPrints.com actually has an amazingly simple way to print out business card magnets for your business and considering you can get 100 of them for only $44.95, price is no longer an excuse for not ordering at least 100 to give out to some of your prospective clients or great customers.  The best news, the process is extremely simple and in 5 minutes you’ll be ready to order your first batch.  They come in two different sizes, 2″ x 3.5″ or 4″ x 6″ and they even support completely custom designs that you’ve already created!

So when you’re putting together your new business cards at OvernightPrints.com, why not add a batch of 100 magnet business cards?  They are always a great way to impress people and remember, they get thrown away a whole heck of a lot less!

Enjoy your weekend and we’ll see you bright and early Monday morning!

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I have a cookie jar collection. My mother-in-law collects cardinals (no, not LIVE ones…) Her next-door neighbor collects owls and frogs. My best friend collects elephants. My son used to collect Pokemon cards (anybody remember those?)

LOTS of people collect things – and believe it or not, quite a few people collect business cards!

Meet “Cardeologist” and graphic designer Steve Patterson. According to his website, he now has 155,400 business cards, which he’s been collecting since 1996. He’s been featured in multiple magazines, newspapers, on the radio and even on TV. If Steve doesn’t have the largest business card collection in the world, he’s got to be close!

My own business card collection – less than 1000 – is much more modest. I look for unusual cards and cards that are good illustrations of the marketing potential of business cards. I collect cards with “rats” (mice) on them because of my last name, RATliff. I like die-cut cards and cards of unusual materials. I have a couple of pop-up cards.

I have several business cards from famous people – Donald Trump, Bill and Hillary Clinton and yes, I even have Santa’s business card. (By the way – the Clinton’s cards were both larger than standard cards.)

Hillary Clinton Business Card

It’s really quite a fun hobby and you can specialize any way you want. Some people collect cards from tattoo parlors, or hotels, or folded cards, or cards from different countries.

Do YOU have a business card that’s worthy of collecting? Let everybody know by sharing YOUR comment, below.

International Business Card Collecting Club

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Monday we talked about how you don’t always have to get crazy or intensely creative when it comes to your business card, that sometimes the best bet is to just stay simple and let the power of your creative design on a normal business card do the talking.  Sometimes, however, if you really want to make an impact and you really want to stand out, you have no choice but to bring out your “big guns” and show off your “special” business cards.

That said, we don’t advise giving these out to just anyone, they should be used for special occasions or those big-time prospective clients that need a little extra incentive to be woo’d.  Here are two more designs that seriously impressed us. 

First up we have a business card design that would fit in perfectly for any and all companies that had anything to do with clothing, sewing, or even if you just wanted to give them a little something extra to remember you by.  The card itself looks like a tiny envelope and the outside of it holds all of your information.  Inside however, is a patch with your initials on it that they can keep.  What a genius idea and it guarantees you will be remembered.

Second, and this one really impresses us for anyone having anything to do with the coffee industry, we have the old coffee bag business card.  While the card itself, and your information, is held inside, the outside of the bag resembles that of an antique coffee bag that is used to hold coffee beans that are freshly gathered.  Open it up and they will learn all they need to know about you, and can even use the little bag in the future.  How genius.

So next time you’re trying to figure out a new design, let these be of some inspiration.  Remember, sometimes simple is best, but sometimes, getting wildly creative will help you stand out.  Way out.

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No typical blog post today… WATCH THIS VIDEO instead.  The gentleman talking is Joel Bauer, author of “How to Persuade People Who Don’t Want to Be Persuaded.”

Then share your comments, and I’ll add MY perspective in a couple of days!

Joel Bauer Business Card Advice

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