Time to party!  If you’re mingling tonight with people you barely know (or people you know all-too-well) – here are a couple of tips to keep in mind.

First – if it’s a purely social occasion, leave the business cards at home.  (Well, maybe in the car.  But you should ALWAYS have extra cards in the car.)  It’s just poor etiquette to be pushing your business card at others when you’re supposed to be having fun, not working.  Does that mean you shouldn’t be open to  making connections?  Of course not – but think “market research” instead of “close the deal” and make arrangements for another time.

In other words – keep it light, keep it brief.  Ask for a business card or permission to call at work, then steer the conversation back to appropriate party topics.

Second – and even more important – be the guest that hosts love to invite and attendees are happy to see.  That means being friendly and approachable to everyone (not just the bigwigs.)  It means being a good listener instead of always talking about yourself.  It means taking a few moments BEFORE the party to think of something you can add to the conversation – a great book you read, a new restaurant you tried – something likely to be of interest to the people you’re likely to meet.

Honest – you DON’T have to be about business ALL the time – it’s perfectly okay to crack a smile every once in a while, even if you are the boss!

Talk to you next year – have a fun (AND SAFE) time this evening!

Popularity: 5% [?]

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Welcome back to the world of the working, the living and the non-holiday celebrating…at least for a day or two until New Year’s Eve strikes!  I hope this finds each and every one of you filled up with food, love and a great deal of holiday cheer!  That said, back to business!

Today we stumbled on one of the coolest ideas ever put into practice and being a photographer, I can particularly appreciate not only that idea, but the method that was employed to actually make this work.  The photographer in question, Jelle Akkernan, actually snapped a photo of his information, everything he needed to convey his business, what they do, where they do it and how to contact him and then developed the film of that photo to use as little business cards.  One photo snapped, a bunch of film developed and viola, you’re left with tons of business cards ready to be handed out at your whim.  What’s even more impressive, is that because they are printed on film, they are completely water resistant and won’t bleed or smudge or anything else.  And they are cheap.  Can’t do much better than that, now can you?

Remember, it’s not always the most expensive business card, using the most expensive paper and the most elaborate design that takes the cake.  Sometimes a little creativity, a little do-it-yourself ingenuity and a little elbow grease and you’re left with a business card that everyone will want, everyone will think is amazingly creative, and everyone will talk about and pass around.  In the world of business cards, that’s what we call perfect.

Popularity: 65% [?]

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It’s here!  Merry Christmas!  As you well know, it’s Friday AND it’s Christmas which means every single one of you is probably spending time with loved ones right now.  That said, we won’t keep you but a moment, and just want to wish, from all of us here at BusinessCardsLand.com a very Merry Christmas!

However you celebrate it, or if you don’t celebrate it at all, have a wonderful day, a wonderful weekend and a very Happy Holiday season!

So, again, from all of us here at BusinessCardsLand:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Popularity: 10% [?]

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Wow, it’s Christmas Eve already!  I just heard Santa on the local radio station, inviting the local children to call in and talk to him.  It’s probably his busiest day of the year, and yet the “Big Man” has enough time free to do guest radio appearances!  Santa must have a GREAT bunch of elves working for him.

What about YOUR elves – the behind-the-scenes employees who make sure things get done?  The receptionist and the I.T. guy and the bookkeeper and the customer service reps and the legal team and so on?

Do THEY have business cards?

If not, I encourage you to order some for them.  You don’t need personal cards for each one – aalthough when you can get 25 cards for less than $2 at OvernightPrints.com, there’s really no excuse NOT to.

But why not see what happens when you give business cards to ALL your employees, not just the salespeople or those you expect to have public contact.

ALL of your employees know people outside of their jobs; they know people from church or Little League or their neighborhood or their kids’ schools.  It’s certainly within the realm of possibility that they’ll occasionally run across someone who’s a good prospect or referral source for your business, isn’t it?

So why not give them an easy and professional way to connect their friend to your company, through a business card?  You might even reward them for doing so.

Popularity: 9% [?]

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While you’re thinking about end-of-the-year business purchases, and whether or not to take advantage of sales on business cards (sign up for the email list at OvernightPrints.com to be notified of special sales), consider this idea.

Hello Name Badge Business Card

I’ve really gotten a lot of mileage out of this business card.  I use it as a “generic” card when I don’t want to hand out my formal business card, or in personal situations.

It’s also great as a stand-in for a nametag.  You can stick it inside one of those clear plastic name badge holders or business card holders that either pin to your clothing or hang from a lanyard – and it’s a LOT easier to read than a standard business card.  Some double-sided tape will stick it to your jacket for a few hours, too!

Another nice feature about this business card is that because it IS generic, people often ask what I do when I hand it out, or comment that it’s a good idea.  I customarily leave the back side blank so that I can write my phone number or contact info on it.

This business card background is available at OvernightPrints.com – it’s in the “Misc” category of their business card templates.

Popularity: 14% [?]

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Going with a plain white business card can be an extremely tricky thing to do.  We’ve all seen the hundreds of thousands of plain white business cards that do little to impress, little to impart any sense of style and little to make you actually want to hang on to it.  If, however, that plain white business card has a bit of flair on it, and perhaps some letterpressing like the amazingly detail oriented business card we found today, well that’s another story.

That’s right, if you’re going to go plain white, there ARE things you can do to make your card stand out from the pack and end up being kept a lot more often than not.  The business card above chose to add some picture perfect letterpressing that includes embossed icons of their main logo.  The entire top 3/4 of the business card is this effect and it absolutely works.  On top of that, the use of only two colors in their fonts make it work even better, and pop even more.

So what lesson can we take from this?  If you’re going to stick with a plain white business card, first make sure the paper is of top quality.  Second, if you want to try dabbling in letterpressed cards, do, but if it’s a bit out of your price range or style, think about going with a watermarked image, whitewashed background, or something similar to show that while the card is white, there is some depth to the background.

Sometimes it’s the simplest, smallest additions that make the biggest, boldest improvements.  The simple letterpressing on this business card elevates it from plain to perfect.

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Honest.

Now I didn’t get it from Jolly Old St. Nick in person – rather, from one of his assistants – but I’m SURE it was the real deal.  I mean, it had a North Pole address – why would anyone use that address if they didn’t really live there?

Seriously – it got me to thinking about seasonal cards, clever cards, celebrity-related cards.  There’s a lot to learn from a business card like that – most notably the concept that if somebody as well known as Santa needs a business card, you probably do too.

So are there ways YOU can play around with a card like that and create something memorable?  Maybe you play Santa at the Hospital or in a local theater production – create business cards, have some fun and generate a little publicity.

There are all sorts of celebrity and even storybook fictional figures you could use as a starting point for a clever take on a business card – not only Santa and the elves, but the Grinch.  Think Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Mother Earth, Father Time.  (Just check any copyright restrictions.)  How could any of those figures, or the stories associated with them, tie in to your business?

You could capitalize on some sort of seasonal card as well.

Say you own a lawn care business and during the winter months, you do snow removal.  Why not make a business card like this one?

You can whip up something like that in 5 minutes with the Express Design tool at OvernightPrints.com.

Remember – you don’t have to use a single business card, or some generic company card – business cards are such affordable and versatile like tools that you can be a bit fun and innovative without overwhelming your budget.

Popularity: 10% [?]

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If you haven’t glanced at a calendar lately, you might want to do so.  We’re officially into the 12 Days of Christmas, if you choose to celebrate that kind of thing, and the countdown ha begun for one of the biggest holiday’s of year.  No matter what you celebrate this time of year, there’s a pretty good chance your customers are expecting a holiday card of some sort, and being in the business card business, we thought you could use a few hints and tips on what to do, and what not to do this time around.

Obviously there’s some sort of guidelines as to what should be avoided, and what should be highlighted.  We just so happened to find an article packed with tips on all the things you should know when it comes to handing out, sending out and giving out holiday cards to your customers this tricky time of year.  Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. “Send only business Christmas cards of high quality. Quality shows and the quality of the Christmas card reflects on the sender. Sending cheap Christmas cards will make you look cheap. Buy the best Christmas cards you can afford.
2. You should only send handmade Christmas cards if you are an artist. For the rest of us, sending handmade business Christmas cards only makes us look inept or too cheap to buy Christmas cards.
3. Send only business Christmas cards that are tasteful. You may think the Christmas card with a naked Santa is hilarious, but this is not the time to try and find out whether your client has a sense of humour. Stick with traditional themes and messages to make the best impression.
4. Be aware of your clients’ religious beliefs. Not everyone celebrates Christmas. If you know that a client or customer has different religious beliefs, choose and send a holiday card appropriate to the client’s beliefs, or choose and send a holiday card with a more generic holiday theme and message, such as “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”.
5. Besides signing your name inside the business Christmas card, hand-write a brief personal message. Don’t just write something such as “Happy Holidays” or “Merry Christmas” above your signature; try to extend and personalize the message. For instance, you might write, “Hope 2006 is the best year ever for you and your family, Joe!” “

Five great ideas, five things to keep in mind!  The countdown has begun, if you need any help finding the right cards, business or holiday, head over to OvernightPrints.com and you’ll be out in no time, with money to spare!

Popularity: 10% [?]

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It’s Friday, we’re tired, we’re ready for the weekend and if you’re within one-hundred miles of my location, you’re freezing.  That said, when all those factors combine it’s extremely easy to make mistakes and in the world of business cards, that’s an extremely easy thing to do.  The good news is, if you’re aware of the mistakes that are always being made, you’re going to be much more equipped to actually avoid those.  The bad news is, these top 5 business card blunders are beyond common, and they are made almost every day by someone designing their own business cards.

Just how common are these business card blunders?  How about common enough that Entrepreneur Magazine actually published this article.  Think they are trying to give people a head’s up about avoiding the pitfalls of poor design?  We think so, and we wholeheartedly agree.  You Can avoid these issues and it’s not hard to do.  Check out the Top 5 Business Card Blunders, according to Entrepreneur Magazine:

1. “Choosing low-quality paper stock. Inexpensive paper stock may save you money, but it often leaves you with a card that feels cheap. Touch is an important sense and plays a role in memory recall. How you appeal to this sense depends on your company’s image. For example, B2B companies wanting to convey reliability should use a substantial, mid-weight stock.
2. Using a design template that does not match the logo. Assuming you want a business card to be taken seriously and help brand your company, you need a design that works with your logo. In other words, be extremely careful with template-based designs. If the templates weren’t developed specifically to match your logo–and most aren’t–they probably won’t. Many entrepreneurs fall in love with an over-designed template that distracts from their logo, or one that features an unrelated photograph. Photographs work well in marketing brochures, but if they appear on a business card, they will distract from your logo.
3. Adding too much color to the card. When you want to get someone’s attention, do you scream? Probably not, if you want to avoid scaring them. So why scare potential customers with a super-bright, rainbow-colored card? Color is your biggest asset in branding your company. Research indicates that color is the most important factor in memory recall. Tie your business to one or two specific colors; this color should also appear in your logo.
4. Making the card too unique. You want your card to stand out, certainly, but not so much that its difference makes people uncomfortable. Complex dye-cuts, extremely oversized cards, and odd card stocks (like metal) should be used only by companies engaged in highly customized or creative endeavors. Custom embossing, rounded corners, or varnishes are better touches for most companies. While it’s tempting to create an oversized card, keep in mind that many people still use Rolodexes or tuck cards into their wallets–both difficult to do with unusually sized cards. Function overrides form.
5. Making the logo gigantic. In general, the bigger the company, the smaller its logo appears on business cards. If you want to look like a Fortune 500, size your logo appropriately. Instead of enlarging your logo for emphasis, employ white space to bring attention to it.”

See!  Easy to spot, easy to avoid, easy to steer clear of.  A helpful tip is to use templates provided by the company you’re ordering your business cards from.  In general they provide a way to make a spot-on business card that avoids the mistakes and gives you some great results.  Check out the ones over at OvernightPrints.com, they have some spectacular, mistake-free templates that will get you on the right track!

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On Tuesday I warned you to be careful and compare “apples to apples” before you take advantage of some of the business card and printing offers that are floating around this time of year.  (OvernightPrints.com has had some good ones, like free shipping on a $75 order – be sure to sign up for their Exclusive Offers via email when you visit the site.)

But maybe you’re thinking of passing up one of these deals, because you simply don’t need more cards, or are happy with the ones you have.

That’s like saying you don’t need more CHOCOLATE, or that you’re happy with a Hershey Bar when so many other yummy kinds are available!

This blog is filled with lots of ideas for creative ways to use business cards – and when you can get a deal, that’s a good time to try something new.

You could:

• Put a “call to action” (e.g. Visit our website for a free report) on the back of a batch of business cards.
• Make business cards for employees who don’t normally need them, but who do occasionally encounter prospects.
• Try a full-color business card.
• Put product photos on a batch of card and see what happens.
• If your existing card has your photo on it, try a card without it – or vice versa.
• Make some eye-catching business cards to tack on bulletin boards or other public displays.
• Think ahead – do you have a tradeshow coming up, a conference or seminar?  Make some business cards that are specific to THAT SHOW.
• Create personal cards for you or family members.

There are all sorts of reasons to order business cards, and all sorts of ways to use them – why not take advantage of lower prices when they’re available?

Popularity: 2% [?]

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