On the Back:
1. Print a team's sports schedule on the back. Fans will keep
them handy and keep your name in front of them.
2. Print a special discount offer
or coupon on the back. People will keep it because they intend to use the coupon.
3. If you do seminars, print key
principals on the back. Your attendees will refer to them later and think of you.
4. Hand write on the back your "unlisted"
800 number. This adds value to your card, making people keep it longer because they don't want to lose the special number.
Ad Specialties:
5. Make the business card the ad
specialty: Print your company information on letter openers, CD openers, magnets, pens, highlighters, keychains, mousepads,
mugs, luggage tags, and other items that people will keep because they are useful.
6. Attach a business card to an
ad specialty: For example, give business card holders as a thank you gift and place your business card in as the first one.
Or, have your card designed as a Rolodex card
7. Give out seasonal gifts or specialties
and attach your business card. Examples: candy canes at Christmas, heart shaped containers filled with candy for Valentine's
Day, or even a sandwich bag of candy with a card stapled to it.
Unique Places to Put
Them:
8. Tuck them into the product before
delivery: If you are a florist, cut a hole in it and tie a ribbon around the flowers and through the business card. If you
sell gift baskets, Tuck one inside the basket before delivering it to your customer. The same goes for Mary Kay or Avon Cosmetics
- place your card in the bag. You've seen how some restaurants staple a menu to their bags for takeout; if you use bags, staple
your card to the outside of the bag.
9. Send a business card in every
piece of correspondence - letters, invoices, even your electric bill. Sooner or later, those cards will be used.
10. If you are crafty, incorporate
them into your designs: embellish them with rubber stamps, or blend them with other art projects. You can also mount them
to greeting cards you create and send to customers and prospects.
11. When mailing out information:
Take a number 10 envelope, facing you and upside down. Fold the envelope in thirds. When you turn it around, there is a little
pocket to tuck your card in. Include it in the mailing. Using a colored envelope makes the presentation even more dramatic.
12. Scan your card in and use it
as a graphic for when you exchange links with other websites. The other site can use your graphic as the link.
13. Place them in library books
as if you used them as bookmarks. Visit bookstores place them in books related to your business.
Keeping Them Handy:
14. Use them as bookmarks so you'll
always have some readily available if you meet someone at school, in the library, on the bus, or at the park where you like
to read.
15. Have your spouse, family, and
friends carry some of your cards with them in case they meet someone who might be interested in your product or service.
16. Wear them! Use them as nametags
at meetings and conferences instead of the "Hello, my name is ..." type of tags.
17. Keep a stack of cards everywhere
you might need them - in your car, your jacket pocket, your briefcase, your purse or wallet, in your planner, at home, anywhere
you can think of. Then you'll always have some on hand when you meet a prospect.
When to Use Them:
18. Give them out during your personal
meetings when you meet someone new: at your church, your children's soccer games, at lunch with your friends when someone
brings a guest. To be more polite, you could have a personal "calling card" printed up with your information to use in these
situations.
19. If you do seminars, have your
participants exchange cards with each other. Have them write a compliment about the person on the back before they hand them
out. Everyone will have a wealth of contacts; they will remember each other and it will also give participants a boost of
confidence.
20. Ask neighborhood businesses
if you may display your cards near their registers.
21. Tack them to bulletin boards
at supermarkets, restaurants, retail stores and the library - any place that has a bulletin board.
22. Give out two cards at a time
- one for your prospect or client, and one for her/him to give away.
23. Place some on the table when
you leave a restaurant.
24. Agree to mail the cards of other
business people in the mailings you do, if they will do the same for you. Your networking circle will grow as your cards are
passed around.
How Not to Use Business
Cards:
25. Don't give them to a member
of the opposite sex in the hopes that s/he will call you. I have a friend who was told this wouldn't work. He did an experiment
for six months to prove it, and his friend was right! Sadly, not one woman called him. Although he does have a girlfriend
now!
26. Some people don't give out business
cards when they meet a prospective client. Instead, they send a follow-up note later with their card enclosed.
Other Types of Business
Cards to Have:
27. Business card CD-ROM. If you
haven't seen these yet, they are a mini-sized CD that plays in any CD player and has your contact information on it, as well
as an introduction to your business.
28. Email Signature. Put your contact
information into a signature file for email, along with a link to your website (be sure to include the "http" in order to
make it "clickable.")
29. Vcard. These are electronic
business cards that recipients can click on and automatically add to their address books. Do a web search for "vcard" to find
software that supports this technology. Then use it in all your emails!
30. One consulting company, which
works with designers of products for people with disabilities, prints their cards in Braille. It reminds their clients how
they can help them comply with disability laws. It also gets people asking for information....
