Business cards have been around for a while now, but there have been significant changes in how people approach them. It’s so absurd that I know what my friends would say: “I don’t know how to use those things! What should I do? How am I supposed to use those things?!” They make it seem like 14pt vs 16pt business card are easy to do, but they actually take some time and effort when done right.
1. Keep it Simple
This is a big mistake business cards make.
I know there are all these awesome designs out there that people want to do, but the most important part of them is how easy they are to understand and read. People don’t always want to read a huge amount of information on their business cards, so keep it simple. A good rule of thumb is: the simpler, the better. Here’s a quick example:
If you want your name and phone number, I’d say this is too complicated. This one may be easier to read and understand because it has just one thing on it:
2. Make It Look Cool!
You will get a lot of business cards from people, so make sure that you make it look cool. This is another mistake most companies make: they make their business cards look like something ordinary and boring. After you’ve decided what font to use and what design to choose, think about how you want your business card to look. Are you looking for a super simple design (see step 1)? Well, maybe something like this could work for you:
Now it doesn’t look quite as great as the first one, but is way better than just the regular boring black and white card.
3. Be Unique!
This is the most important part. Who cares if your card looks exactly the same as every other one? Now that you’ve decided how you want to approach it, make sure that you’re unique. This will also lower the likelihood of people sending their business cards back to you!
I would like to make an example out of this one:
It may look cool looking, but on closer inspection, it’s not too unique. Everybody has a similar design (no matter how many variations there are), so why make yours a lot cooler? If people are sending you business cards and they’re all going to look like this … well, they’ll end up just throwing them out.
4. Keep It Lightweight
To keep business cards lightweight and easy to use, you can create them yourself. I would suggest that you don’t use a ton of different colors and designs for your business cards. Don’t go overboard with photos or the design of your company website either; these will only make it more difficult for people to read your card.
5. Be Creative!
If you have nothing else to do, here’s something else you can do to make your business cards more creative. This doesn’t mean that you should go with the most creative design possible, but think about how to make it unique:
Business cards are one of the most important tools that a company has; they’re the first thing new customers come in contact with. If people see your business card and want to throw it out or just not use it, then I would ask myself why I’m even bothering making them in the first place!
6. Always Have Business Cards!
This is for everyone who is making a business card, and this is something I don’t understand. I know it may seem like a no-brainer, but if a person is running his or her own business, then why wouldn’t he or she have business cards? Most of the time when someone needs a business card, they’re out of them!
Every time you meet a new client , you should make sure that you have your business cards with you at all times; this will show how professional and organized you are. Not only that, but it will also show how much of an effort you’re putting into your business.
7. Make it Attractive!
Now that you’ve decided how you want to approach your business card, make sure that you make it attractive. There are a lot of ways to do this, but the most important thing is that people want to use them. If they’re fun and good-looking, then people are more likely to keep them.
8. Have a Good Contact Page!
This should be the last thing on your mind when dealing with business cards, but it’s something that will determine whether or not you act on the cards later on. By having a good contact page, I mean having useless information like why their website is cool isn’t going to help them if they’re trying to call you.
I hope this gave you some useful information on how to approach making your own business cards. Business cards are a great marketing tool for your company, so make sure that you take the time to make them awesome!
Good luck!
