by Akua Hinds

Created on: March 20, 2010

Your business card will leave a lasting impression of your personality and professionalism to whoever receives it.  Your card is your intro to your client, and your prospective clients can help you increase your business’ success.  That’s why it’s best to follow these tips in creating a business card that will portray your business in the best way possible. 

 A great place to purchase your business cards from is Vistaprint.ca.  Through VistaPrint, you can design your own cards using VistaPrint’s templates and the templates are in color.  Although you must pay a small fee for shipping the cards to your home, there is no cost for the actual cards themselves if you purchase 250 business cards with Vistaprint’s website printed on the back of the cards. 

Your business card should be no larger than the traditional size of 3.5 inches by 2 inches.  Otherwise, it won’t fit in a wallet or business card holder and it will most likely get tossed in the garbage as a result.  It’s also important for your card to have strong paper quality where the edges don’t turn up easily because cheap cards don’t get taken seriously by prospective clients. 

Now comes the fun part!  Designing your business card is an exciting and creative process.  Your card should clearly tell people what you do and offer a meaningful benefit.  Try to keep the font size large enough to read but not too large that there isn’t room for more information.  If you have more to say, add it to the back of the business card.  White space on a card will make it easier to absorb the message.  Try to remember that sometimes, less is more.  While it’s important to include the most important information, too much text on a card won’t leave a client wanting for more.  You want to encourage clients to have confidence in what your business can provide and contact you for more information.  The most important information such as your name, phone number, fax number, email and website, and slogan should be included on your card. 

Black and white business cards are still acceptable to use, but colorful cards add more to your professional image.  It’s a good idea to put your company colors on your business card to establish the brand in your client’s mind.  Just be careful not to use more than 3 colors unless it is a photograph because too much color on your card is detracting. 

Once your cards are ready to be distributed, purchase business card holders from your local dollar store.  Take the cards and cardholders with you to local businesses you already do business with such as your hair and nail salons, pizza shops and mom and pop stores.  Remind these companies that you already do business with them and ask politely if they will support you in return by displaying your business cards in their establishments.  When you hand your card to other people in person, shake their hand, smile and make eye contact when giving out your card to establish confidence and trust.  When you do these things, the person who accepts your business card will remember your positive demeanor and will most likely contact you in the future to discuss doing business together.  Since your card is such an important tool to building your business, be sure to make use of these tips to attract and maintain the clients you need. 

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