Business Cards Land

Next time you’re face with the decision of where to order business cards, think twice before heading across town to the local print shop.  There are some compelling reasons to try an online business card printer.

~ Online printers are accessible from any location with a computer and an Internet connection, at any time, day or night.  And your completed business card order is shipped right to your door.  The convenience can’t be beat!

~ You can find some truly competitive business card prices online – and lots of sales, too.  With many traditional brick-and-mortar printers, business cards are not printed in-house at all – orders are actually processed by specialty printing companies.  Business card printing requires expensive, personalized equipment.  If your business card order is going to be sent to a company that specializes in business card printing anyway, it’s usually cheaper to buy direct.

~ The selection is truly outstanding, especially if you don’t require custom artwork (although most online business card printers allow you to upload your own properly-formatted files.)  Many online business card printers offer thousands of business card backgrounds that you can use as starting points for your own custom card.  These high-quality images are designed specifically for business cards – they look good and add to your marketing  message.

Why not try an online business card printer for your next set of cards?  If you’re not sure about a printer, you can often order small amounts, there may be free card options, or you can create a personal card that isn’t as critical to your business success.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Colorful business cards
• Loyalty Business Cards- a cheap and effective marketing idea!
• What Should People Notice?
• Who Are You, Anyway?
• The Perfect Cutout Makes The Perfect Business Card

Monday we talked about simple, but today is Wednesday and as such we’re going to go away from the simple and talk about those business cards that randomly turn up that are far from simple, and in this case even require die cutting to pull off.  That’s right, simple is good but sometimes, yes sometimes, you have to break the rectangular mold and really go for it.  That’s exactly what these business cards aimed to do, and directly hit the target. 

These beautiful cards belong to a company called State Systems Radio Inc. and they look to be a company that sells radios and portable communication devices and as such, they hit the nail directly on the head with their business card design.  They figured, we sell radios, why not make OUR business card a radio that we just might sell!  Perfect.  If you notice, the number on the radio’s “channel” selector just so happens to be their phone number.  Can you get more genius than that?  Maybe, but we don’t know how.

That said, it’s something to keep in mind as you go forth on your business card designs.  Is there a way you can implement and show off what your business is about with your business cards?  You don’t necessarily have to go the die-cut route, but if you can make your card represent you and your business, you’re on the exact right track.

Head over to OvernightPrints.com and start designing yours today.  When you do, send them in, we’d love to see what you come up with!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards
• Great Spot UV Card Examples

Money is tight for most people I know, yet the need to market your business effectively is more important than ever.  Which, given the versatility, portability and popularity of business cards, means that they can be more important to you than ever – IF you don’t have to spend a great deal on them!

And fortunately, you don’t.  Business cards are economical to begin with.  When you can hand a marketing piece, in person, to 1000 different prospects for less than $40, that’s a bargain!

But here are some ways to squeeze even more value out of your next business card order.

~ Business card prices vary quite a bit, so be sure to shop around.  Make sure you’re comparing “apples to apples” when you do.  You want sturdy (at least 12pt.), quality cards with no ads on the back!  Some of the cheapest (I’m talking price, not quality) prices I’ve found for business cards is at OvernightPrints.com – you get 1000 business cards for $39.95, and they’re 15-pt stock!

~ Order in bulk.  It’s cheaper to order 5000 cards at once than 500 cards 10 times.

~ Print blank or generic cards that can be customized by your salespeople as they use them.  Be wary of adding photos or information that may change.

~ Order from a company than offers matching letterhead, envelopes and postcards.

~ Use a printer that offers pre-designed business card backgrounds instead of paying for custom artwork.  If you haven’t browsed the selection at OvernightPrints.com, take a few minutes to do so.  You’ll be amazed at how beautiful and professional these backgrounds look.  And in my opinion, who cares if some other accountant orders the same design?  It’s highly unlikely that your prospect is going to meet him!

And remember – your business card does you absolutely no good if it’s stashed somewhere in your desk.  It’s a false economy to order business cards and subsequently hoard them.

Keep a stack with you, use an attractive business card case to keep them clean and crisp, and get them circulating for you!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Colorful business cards
• Loyalty Business Cards- a cheap and effective marketing idea!
• What Should People Notice?
• Who Are You, Anyway?
• The Perfect Cutout Makes The Perfect Business Card

On this site there have been many, many times we’ve talked about just how important it is to stay simple with your business card design.  While that remains true, here’s an idea we hadn’t covered before:  What if you stayed simple on one side of the card while getting wildly creative and unique on the other?  That way you are getting the best of both worlds, the simple luxury of a card that says very little and the creative force of a card that fits your personality exactly.  Two birds, one stone…or card.

That’s exactly what the business card we found today did.  They combined the extremely simple design that included just a tiny graphic of an elephant with only two words in a very monochromatic scheme.  The text and elephant are in pink while the entire rest of the front side of the card is just gray.  You really can’t get much more simple than that.  However…flip that same card over and on the back you’re greeted by a powerhouse of beautiful text design and all of the contact information you could possibly need.  Literally the ‘best of both worlds’ is at your finger tips and you can have two completely different feels simply by flipping the card over.  Perfect.

So, as you design your next round and batch of business cards, keep one thing in mind:  Business cards have TWO sides despite the fact that the vast majority of designs only employ one.  Why not put both sides to work for you and show off just how creative, and just how classic you can be.  Two sides, two designs, two aspects of YOUR business’ personality.  Perfect.

Popularity: 10% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards

It’s Friday and as you have probably come to learn by now, Friday’s usually mean we want to re-iterate a very simple, very important tip to you.  Today is no different and we want to end this chilly October week with a tip that we’ve offered up a thousand times, but we’ll offer it up a thousand more when we find a perfect example of that tip in action.

Today, we did just that…we found an example of a business card that took our tip about keeping things simple and blew it out of the water.  The card belongs to Enrique Serrano and is such a brilliant example of how simple you can go with a business card and still have it look, well, perfect.  He combined a blue/black square background with only 2 lines of text, his name and his web address and to be honest, that’s all he needed.

Remember that next time you design a business card, you don’t have to be flashy or loud or over the top, all you have to do is convey a simple idea in a way that everyone, everywhere can relate.  The only question left to ask, is what are you waiting for?  Head over and start designing your business cards today, keep our tips in mind and I have no doubt that every person you hand one out to will remember you for exactly what you are!

Popularity: 5% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards

Last column I talked about the importance of making sure that the text on your business card is readable.

Generally speaking, serif (with “little feet”) fonts such as Times Roman or Goudy are easier to read, so they should be used for most text.  Sans serif (without “little feet”) fonts such as Arial or Helvetica are better suited for headlines and accents.

However, type size matters too – serifs become difficult to see when type is very small, and letters such as “a” or “e” become clogged when the little spaces fill with ink.  Don’t overcrowd your card!

But also consider the personality and associations of different type styles – it should suit the mood of your business and your industry.  For example, “Comic Sans MS” is too informal for an attorney’s card but might work well for an artist.

More tips:

~ Using too many different type styles on a card is confusing – choose no more than two or three.

~ Script fonts (fonts that imitate handwriting or calligraphy) are difficult to read, especially in upper case.  Use them sparingly.

~ Experiment with using the same font family (Goudy, Goudy Oldstyle, Goudy Handtooled) and employing bold or italics for emphasis.

~ Play around with upper- and lower-case letters too.  The look and feel is completely different if a name or line of text is in all upper case or all lower case.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Hand made business cards
• Great Spot UV Card Examples
• Glossy Business Cards versus Matte Business Cards

How many business cards have you seen in the last few years, and be honest here, that are the standard horizontal business cards.  That traditional rectangle look has been around for years and years but don’t you think that every now and again it’s appropriate to completely blow that idea out of the water and go the opposite direction…literally?

That’s right, we’re talking about switching things up and literally doing the opposite of the traditional horizontal rectangular business card…tilt it on it’s side and go vertical!  That’s right, check out the business cards above that belong to Erick Uresti and they show just how simple it can be to create a business card that looks completely original, just by changing it’s orientation.  Look how the vertical design coupled with the string of vertical text makes the card look larger, cooler and more inventive.

Add onto that the great watermark text behind the logo and the target shaped lines on the back and you have a card that no one, anywhere will forget.  I think my colleague Diana and I have said it a million times, but each time we say it, it gets a little more true: Sometimes the most impressive way to change things up is also the most simple.  By tilting that business card on its side you’re creating a brand new look, design and feel.  Can’t get any easier than that!

Think about it when you are designing your next batch of business cards.  Remember, simple = true.  Stay true.

Popularity: 5% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards

In addition to the images and symbols used on business cards, the type (font) choice and placement can make a big difference, too.  There’s actually quite a bit of research on this topic – most of it was done on longer bodies of text than are possible on business cards, but some of the research is still relevant.

First, research demonstrates that comprehension suffers when sans serif fonts are used (at least in PRINT – on a computer, it’s a different story.).

This sentence is typed in a sans serif font, Arial.

This sentence is typed in a font with a serif, Times Roman.

Second, reverse type – that is, light letters printed on a dark background – is also hard to read.

So you should save sans serif fonts and reverse type for accents – use them sparingly.   And yes, this means that having a business card with a black background isn’t really a good idea!

You also have to be conscious of font SIZE – if print is too small to read, most people will NOT get out a magnifying glass.  They’ll simply pitch your card!

A 6 pt. font is too small for most people – and it’s also hard for business card scanners to read, too.  (I try to keep everything 10 pt. or larger on my business cards. )

According to business card printers, the most common design mistake they see is overcrowding the card.  It IS difficult to prune business card text (which is one reason I suggest using both sides of a business card) but resist the temptation to say on your CARD what you can easily and more fully explain in a phone call or on your website.

When people can’t read your business card, they won’t call.  It’s that simple.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Hand made business cards
• Great Spot UV Card Examples
• Glossy Business Cards versus Matte Business Cards

Welcome back to the work week!  As sorry as I am that you’re actually back at work, the one thing I am excited about is offering up some new tips, designs and ideas that can help elevate your business marketing from ordinary to extraordinary with very little effort.  Today’s idea is a bit different and actually jumps a bit laterally from the business card designs, ideas and helpful little hints and offer up another idea that was actually inspired by OvernightPrints.com and all the amazing things they do with printing.

Today’s tip:  To really think outside the box and come up with inventive, fresh and original ideas to market your business.  For starters, why not try a few bookmarks?  I know you’re thinking, “Bookmarks?!”  But really, they are so multi-purpose, you’d be shocked how much use you can get out of a single order of business cards.  Check out what OvernightPrints.com has to say about them and some of their uses:

See!  There are TONS of ways that simply ordering a few bookmarks on top of your next business card can market YOUR business.  The only way to really get yourself ahead in this crazy world of business, finance and insane marketing ideas is to think outside the box.  Coming at your potential clients and customers with an array of ideas is the best way to insure that one of them sticks!

Head over, design a few, try it out…what do you have to lose?!

Popularity: 4% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• The Conversational Business Card
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards

Just about every single post we’ve ever done on this site has been aimed at everyone out there.  We haven’t had any male or female specific posts before and we decided that since it’s Friday and since it’s officially October now, we should aim this post directly at all of our female readers out there.  We all know how effective business cards can be at building your brand, expanding your business, making new clients and maintaining and impressing your current ones.  What you might not know, however, is that they can also be used as makeup tools.  Yes, a makeup tool.

To fully explain this premise, you’re going to need to watch this:

Basically it involves drawing a small line on the bottom of a spare business card, cutting it out and then using it as a backdrop of sorts to apply the mascara, all without leaving any of the makeup behind on your eyes, eyelids, eyebrows or even big thick clumps of it in the actual eyelashes.  I’m no expert, but I’m fairly sure if you were in a pinch, this is a brilliant and very MacGyver-esque way to make sure you do a great job without all the fancy tools.

Think of the practical applications of this for all of you on a business trip!  Nevertheless, it just goes to show that with a little creativity and ingenuity, a simple business card can be transformational and amazingly helpful.  Why don’t you head over to OvernightPrints.com right now and start ordering up your new business cards…who knows, you might just need them for your makeup some day!

Popularity: 2% [?]

Possibly Related Posts:

• Holiday Business Cards
• Colorful business cards
• Business Networking Cards
• Hand made business cards
• Great Spot UV Card Examples