Make Your Life Easier With These 10 Tips for Effective Business Cards

Running a business, and marketing it, can be tough. One of the best tools you have to get new clients and to brand your business is your company’s business card. By following these 10 tips for designing effective business cards, you’ll make your life a whole lot easier.

Take your blank business card and turn it into a marketing machine.

Have a clear goal

Your company’s business card conveys multiple messages. You can use it as a quick way to give out your contact information, but it is also an effective marketing tool. Before designing your business card, identify what you want it to achieve.

Include all important information

Business CardDo not make the mistake of leaving out important information. Potential and existing clients want to know all the ways they can contact you. Cover all of your company’s best communication bases, and don’t forget to include social media links.

Include a personal photo

Networking events are one of the best places to hand out your business card. When a lot of people are exchanging contact information, it’s easy to mix up faces with names. If your photo is on it, those who received your business cards will remember you a lot easier.

Use the back of your business card

You want to use all the space available so your card reaches its fullest potential, and this includes not wasting the back of the card.

You can use the back to add extras, such as your photograph, a map to your business, a special offer, or a coupon.

Be creative

If you want your company business card to stand out, put some thought into how you can make it unique. It needs to reflect the perfect combination of your business’s industry and your personality.

Use high quality paper

Sometimes your business card is the first impression people get of you and your business. You don’t want to look unprofessional with low quality paper. As well, sometimes people write identifiers on business cards, and if you use low-quality paper they can’t.

Brand your business

Be clear and concise about what your business does. You can use your tagline or another company slogan or phrase. Make sure your logo is on your business card too. Keep the writing short, simple, and effective—make sure it conveys what you need them to know. Potential clients have to know exactly what your services are.

Proofread your business card

Check for typos and grammar errors; remember that this is your chance to make a first impression—you want it to be a positive one.

Include bragging rights

Don’t be shy about bragging a little about your affiliations and qualifications.

Watch your font size

Stay away from font sizes that are less than 10. You want to make sure people can read it without using a magnifying glass.

If you want your business to reap all the benefits that an effective business card offers, then check out our business card design and print services at iti Direct Mail today.

Image courtesy of pakorn at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Top 5 Tips for Variable Data Printing Will Change Your Direct Marketing Results

How many times have you received or sent out a mailer that reads something like this:

Dear Customer,

To us you are a valued customer; we would like to invite you to come into our store for a massive 15% off sale.

What’s wrong with this? Well, your customer hears “Come to our store and spend money.” It is more about your business rather than the needs of the customer. This is a generic mass mailer, and your customers can see right through it. Also, it is not very effective in increasing sales. Using our variable data printing services can make your marketing a little more personal and a lot more effective.

Personalizing communication with your customers

Customers are more likely to pay attention to a mailer when it is personalized and speaks to them by name. You should also use a very warm and welcoming tone in your communication with your customers; avoid being overly business-like.

Change the focus from “us” to “you”

It may be a wise idea to re-write your message and change the focus from “us” to “you.” This will show the customer that you focus on meeting the needs of your customers, instead of just focused on your own goals and needs.

Build a relationship with your customer

If you have a method to track customer purchases, this is an effective way to help to Variable Data Printingbuild a relationship with your customer—and to get to know their needs. Imagine if you send a mailer reminding a customer of an item that they might need, along with a coupon. This would increase the chances that the customer will actually come into your business.

Now that we have discussed how to create personalized wording for your mailer, here is an example of the improved wording of an effective mailer.

Dear John (Stating the customer’s name is a must),

As an extremely valued customer, we wanted to let you know about your opportunity to save a huge 20% off for those leather boots that you will need for the fall season. We would be pleased to help you find the perfect boots to fit your needs. We invite you into the store for a personal consultation with one of our stylists. We hope to see you soon.

There is a huge difference between the first example presented and this improved version. It is more personalized, warm, and is more likely to attract a customer into a business.

Relevant images

If you are putting so much effort into the correct wording of your mailer, make sure you pay attention to images as well. Ensure that the images you put on the mailer are matched with the words and message. If we use the example above, you would want to put pictures of boots, not random images.

Have a polished and professional design

Your mailer will give your customer an impression of your business. It is important that the graphics, layout, and fonts for the writing are all up to par and are professional enough to impress your customers and ensure that they come into your business.

For more information about our variable data printing solutions, please call us at (866) 558-6365 or visit our website at iti Direct Mail ( www.letterprinting.net ) today.

Importance of a Good Business Card Design for Businesses

Business Cards. You can make them out of paper, or, to be creative, you can make them out of wood, metal or plastic; but that’s probably overkill. What matters is an eye-catching design, perhaps a memorable slogan, and that it conveys the image of your business that you want to put in your client’s mind. We at iti Direct Mail believe that a good quality, traditional paper business card says it best for most businesses with perhaps a little something exciting to give it some staying power.

First impressions

You are not just giving out contact information when you give a business card to business card designsomeone. You are giving them a first impression. Unlike first impressions, a business card is not gone in a fleeting memory. At least you hope it won’t be. At iti Direct Mail we can help you find a business card that will stand up for your business; having a good business card design is essential.

Quality matters

The first thing you need is a good quality card. Professionally printed cards, on good quality paper, are not that expensive. The first impression that you send should not be ‘slapdash’, ‘cheap’, ‘in a hurry’, or ‘ordinary’. And, it most definitely should not be ‘temporary’.

Creativity counts

A good design is eye-catching, creative and memorable, and it is reflective of your personality and that of your business. And, be assured that our professional designers at iti Direct Mail will not design a boring business card. You don’t want to have a design that does not reflect the type of business that you do, because then you will give the wrong impression.

We still need business cards

Nowadays, smartphones may be able to exchange contact information, but as people, we are not there yet. A business card is still important in the digital age. As people, we are tangible. We want something in our hand to see and feel. It makes a greater impression. Phones or computers can exchange information that the human user never sees. We may know it is there, but we do not connect to it. Handing out a business card lets people connect to you.

A powerful tool

Business cards are inexpensive but powerful marketing tools. Just having one is essential. It provides people with the necessary information to remember you and contact you. But, it does more than that. It sends an unconscious message. The fonts you choose, the colors, the graphics: they all say something to the receiver. Make sure that you have a well-designed card where the designer has put conscious thought into that what that message says. At iti Direct Mail, we have people who can help you with that. Call us, and don’t leave your first impression to chance.