You’re going to a conference so you need to get ready:
- Hotel room booked – check!
- New shoes – check!
- Lunch appointment made with top client – check!
- Business Cards – Oh no!
Business cards are ESSENTIAL to for a business, especially if you’re attending conferences, trade shows, and other networking events. There can be a lot of pressure to make your card stand out from the crowd and be memorable. The creativity of your business card needs to be balanced against its functionality – does it have all the necessary contact information your new contacts need to follow up with you? The point of a business card is to lead to business and follow-up later.
Having worked as both a creative person looking to work with brands and as a brand representative looking for creative businesses to partner with, I have seen all kinds of business cards in literally all shapes and sizes. Here is a collection of my best tips for your to consider when ordering and handing out your cards, whether it’s at a conference, craft fair, or just in general.
- Include all of your contact information – your name, phone, email, website
- Include your logo but also type out your business name
- Include all of your social media information – your handle (@hydrangeahippo for example) or the links spelled out. Don’t just use icons alone – no one can “click” on the icons on your card to find you on Facebook.
- Include your address or location
- Consider matte cards, cards with one matte side, or cards with an area for notes. Slick cards are difficult to write on because ink smears – make it easy for the recipient to add notes about you and your conversation.
- Think hard about add-ons. These are bags of candy, goodies, kits, samples, and any other doodads you have attached to your card. I appreciate the work that goes into making a fancy add-on happen. As a business owner or customer, I find it distracting. If you want to give an add-on as a gift, do it separately from your card.
- Consider your audience. You may have a different set of cards to hand out at conferences than the cards you use at a craft fair to promote your online store because the purpose and content of those should be different for each audience.
- Use color! A colorful card will stand out from the crowd.
- Make sure you share about what your business does. A tagline and images showing what you do are ideal.
- Stick to the classic shape and size. Consider how convenient the size and shape of your card is to the recipient.
- Stick to classic materials. I have received a number of cards in recent years made from delicate materials that get damaged in the bottom of my bag. Card stock or some other rigged material is good and affordable.
I recently attended the SNAP! Conference and these are some real-world examples of business cards I collected there. The organizers of SNAP made networking a key focus of the conference.
One of the cleverest things I’ve ever seen was this business card organizer they passed out at registration:
The organizer consists of these components:
- Single hole punch
- 3” Binder Ring
- Laminated Divider for “Business Contacts”
- Laminated Divider for “Bloggers I Met”
At the end of the conference, my ring was filled with business cards from everyone I met. This is a genius idea that you can replicate and use at any conference you attend. Add more dividers to categorize the different contacts you make, using categories such as “publishers” or “advertisers”.
A few cards did not make it onto my ring. That’s because they were:
- Too thick to punch
- Too bulky – the cards had stuff wrapped around them, like fabric, or they had layers of paper
- Too much stuff or doodads attached
- Too pretty – I did not want to punch a hole in them
There were many of great cards at SNAP Conference but here are some of the ones that best illustrate the points I made above:
- Clean and to the point: I can easily find the contact info and logo on this card. Plus, it has her photo on it so I can identify and reconnect with her during the conference later.
- Colorful communication: This card is from a graphic designer and social media consultant – I can tell her aesthetic immediately and the color really stands out. This is a great way to show your work if you are a graphic designer. Conveys quality and elegance: This simple card is elegant, chic, and on trend. The paper has a shimmer to it. I know when I touch this card and look at it that I am going to get quality work with lots of attention to detail when I work with the owner of this card. The materials and colors you choose for your card
- Conveys quality and elegance: This simple card is elegant, chic, and on trend. The paper has a shimmer to it. I know when I touch this card and look at it that I am going to get quality work with lots of attention to detail when I work with the owner of this card. The materials and colors you choose for your card.
- Shows samples of work. I can tell from this card exactly what this blogger does – sewing, recipes, parties.
- Place for notes on the back: This was genius! I think she could have used some of this space to show her work but the idea is very thoughtful and strategic.
- Unique Yet Convenient Shape: I love this shape and it is memorable, yet this card is still about the same size as a traditional card, making it easy to manage. I also like how she included her photo.
- A Practical DieCut Card: Cricut is in the business of cutting so it makes sense that their business card would have diecut shapes. It folds into a box with the head of their logo popping out 3D style. I appreciated the thought that went into this design – it can be a box but it folds back down to a traditional business card.
Please excuse the holes in the cards – I had all of these on my card ring at the conference!
Next time you’re ready to order new business cards, consider these points. And for your next conference, make a handy dandy cardholder like this one I shared from the SNAP Conference!
By: Jennifer Priest from Hydrangea Hippo
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