It’s decidedly low tech, but the business card remains an effective way of reaching out to clients and prospects. How do you make yours stand out? Online marketing consultant Don Crowther thinks you should put your picture on your business card. Not only that, but he wants you to include a mini-résumé, your Twitter handle, and some sort of special offer that entices each recipient to get in touch. “To me, a business card is a small brochure,” he says.

Crowther carries nine different versions of his own card. “It’s as much a marketing piece as your website, your brochure, or anything else that you do,” he says. Several of his cards include a photograph of himself taken from above, and one has an offer on the back for 20 free tips on how to use social media to build a business if you get in touch with him. He says that 20% of the people who get that card send him an e-mail.

Why include a picture? “You go to a convention, and you come home with 55 cards in your pocket,” Crowther says. “If one or two cards have photos, you’ll remember those people.” That’s the point of most of Crowther’s tips; to make your card stand out in the crowd. For that reason, he likes unconventional sizes and formats. He also applauds the use of humor and cleverness. One of his favorites is the card of a freelance Santa Claus who makes appearances at parties and events. The card is a mock driver’s license for Santa with the notation “authorized to drive with up to 12 reindeer.”

Crowther also advises leaving un-embossed white space on your card, so that recipients will have a place to make notes. Especially if your card doesn’t have a photo, a person who gets it is likely to want to jot down a couple of reminders about you. In addition, he says, consider leaving off your street address and including only your e-mail address or cell phone number. Or, you might want to include only your Facebook page URL or your Twitter address.

Source: Forbes

Posted August 24th, 2010 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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