Business Cards Land

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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(Besides the obvious one – not having a business card at all!)

While business card experts disagree on some aspects of business card design and marketing (such as whether or not putting an address on your card is absolutely essential), there’s no disagreement on this point.

A business card that’s overcrowded is a waste of money.

Overcrowding a business card is the single biggest business card design mistake according to business card printers who were surveyed, too.

Why?  Because in your desire to put every contact method known to man on your card, every business location, your slogan, your logo, your photo, your certifications and oh yes, your store hours – your business card becomes confusing and illegible.

There’s no way to put all that information on a card without resorting to a very small font and removing most of the white space, right?  Which means it’s going to be hard to read.  Which means it’s likely to be tossed rather than used.

Your business card is not a brochure.  Your business card, instead, is an entry point to your business.  It should be strategically planned to help people quickly and easily get additional information they need, not provide that information itself.

If you want them to call, focus on providing a single phone number that’s answered promptly and professionally.  If you want them to visit your website, make sure your URL is prominently displayed on the card – and maybe give them a compelling reason to do so (such as “Visit our website for our free report on How to Choose a Health Club.”)

Put your focus on your customers, think about the information that is most important to them, and put that on your card.  Anything else is fluff.

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