The Art and Science of No-Bullsh*t Business Cards
Business cards suck. There are about a thousand people in the world who have good cards and sadly, they all sell things I can’t afford to buy. Thinking of getting new cards printed for your home business? Here’s what not to do.
1. Don’t be too similar.
Have you ever been the unfortunate recipient of a real estate agent’s business card? Apparently, there is a rule in the house selling industry - if you don’t have tacky, laminated business cards with a bad headshot taken circa 1982, you can’t actually get your real estate license. If you take an average card and remove all industry specific information, you’ll still know it’s for real estate because it’s still shockingly ugly.
Round your corners. (Note: this is an especially good idea since the first thing to get ratty on a card is the corners. Ratty card = going in the garbage). Use strong color. Don’t limit yourself to 12-point Times New Roman or Georgia or Garamond. Use a picture of your dog instead of your own ugly mug. Whatever. Just differentiate yourself a bit.
2. Don’t be too different.
Having said that, there are those who suggest that making big changes to the standard business card format will get you noticed. This is true.
It is also true that the purpose of a business card is to encourage people to retain your contact information. Therefore, if you make it so they can’t keep it, store it, and refer back to it, you’re out of luck. Yes, many people store contact information in some sort of electronic format and yes, they might do that with your funky card. They also might be raging Luddites who hate Blackberry’s with the venom of Satan. Make it easy for them.
If you want to play around with cards that are oversized or weirdly shaped, go ahead, but make those into something that is not a business card. Make them your brochures, or mini-portfolios, or coupons. Your business cards should look like business cards. You have to give people something they can stick in their Rolodex. Yes, people still use them. Lots of people.
3. Don’t be too vague.
Can someone please tell me what a “computer consultant” does for a living? How about a “product specialist”? Anyone? If the average 17-year-old can’t look at your card and know immediately and exactly what you do for a living, your business card is bad. I don’t care how unique you are. I don’t care how innovative you are. If I don’t get it, you don’t get the sale.
Sometimes lame companies create lame titles which are hard to get around. Since you’re self-employed, you get to make up your own title. Either make your title very clear, or so wildly creative that people can’t help but ask what you’re talking about. The latter is a risky tactic since it only works when you’re handing your card out in person.
If your title is “President” or some such nonsense, you’d better be damn sure your business name or tagline make it crystal clear what service or product you provide. Otherwise, people think you’re just another cocky, title-happy business owner with far too much time on your hands.
4. Don’t be too specific.
Do not list every product or service you sell. Use a few specific words to describe what you do. If you cannot describe what you offer concisely, what you offer is probably crap.
5. Don’t give too much contact information.
Nobody needs to know how to get you through IM. Give one or two solid ways to get in contact with you (phone and email are probably fine) and leave it at that. Don’t waste prime real estate listing your number at the cottage and the coffee shop and your mother’s house. No-one cares.
6. Don’t give too little contact information.
Some people suggest only giving one method of contact so that you control how people get ahold of you. This is good if you want to be seen as a control freak or a snob. Some people hate the phone. Some people hate email. Some people (like me) hate Contact Us forms. Don’t make it hard for people.
7. Don’t use buzzwords.
There are two reasons not to use buzzwords. One, what’s buzzy now will not be buzzy soon. You’ll look hopelessly out of date and have to buy new cards. Two, 99% of the world has no idea what you’re talking about. The 1% who do know don’t need what you’re offering because they probably offer it themselves. The rest of us don’t want to call you because we don’t know what you do and that makes us feel dumb. If you make me feel dumb, I’m not going to call you.
BONUS: Don’t be lame.
Do not print your own business cards on perforated paper. Do not print your own business cards using an inkjet printer. Do not print your own business cards on lousy cardstock. Do not print your own business cards at all. They’re twenty bucks, people. Take yourself seriously, for crying out loud.
P.S. This post, while shockingly useful and relevant, is also an entry for YoungGoGetter’s business card contest in conjunction with Orange32. It’s fairly awesome and you should check it out.
P.P.S. Like my witty repartee? Subscribe to the feed. It’s fairly awesome, too.
P.P.P.S Are you seriously still reading this? You may as well come and check out the comments, then.
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I know I’ve been like a lapdog with compliments and comments and such, but I don’t really care.
This is a great post. Guess what’s on my business card? I don’t have any at all. How pathetic is that? Somewhat.
Anyway, I need to get off of my rear and get that taken care of, and I’ll do it with this post pulled up.
Stumbled and Dugg. (Should I start using a pseudonym or something so it doesn’t look like I’m paid to post comments on your site? People have to wonder given my raving complimentary nature.)
Hi Chuck! You’re welcome to join the mutual admiration society I have going on with Mason at SmallFuel - we do the same thing!Thanks for your very nice words and the Stumble and Digg. Maybe I should get around to getting a Digg icon. You get business cards, I’ll deal with Digg. :)
The pseudonym is a good idea in theory, although Chuck is a pretty cool name and you might be loathe to give it up.
Where is a good place to get them done? Online?… Kinkos?
I got mine done at Overnight Prints, but was not too happy with the quality. Maybe it was b/c I designed my own layout and uploaded it to the site or maybe it was the cheaper cardstock. Its just hard to visualize what you see onscreen to what it will actually look like when printed.
My first batch looked like shit, on to round #2…
Hey Chris,
Personally, I like to get them done by local print shops that are little enough to still care if I’m happy or not with the outcome. Your average college who works at Kinkos doesn’t give a shit about you or your business, so while they sometimes come out with beautiful stuff, sometimes they… don’t. Sorry your first ones didn’t turn out well.
I think whoever wins this thing with YGG/O32 will come out ahead, online or not, because it’s pretty high profile and they’re reputable companies. I don’t think Eric would ever turn anyone astray. :)
[...] The Art and Science of No-Bullsh*t Business Cards - IttyBiz [...]
Glad our new Vdot Media cards fit your guidelines =), look forward to reading more.
Hi Satish - thanks for stopping by IttyBiz - it’s great to have you. Yes, Vdot’s cards definitely fit the bill. I dig the slimness. Welcome!
[...] Read the rest of this great post here [...]
I also wanted to use a local printer, and fortunately found one. I had to try a few places, though. Prices were pretty similar among them. The differentiating factor was service. The guy at one shop I stopped at made it quite clear, through his tone and body language, that I was interrupting something he was working on and would I either just place an order or go away. The guy at another shop, a lot farther away, was happy to explain terms and make suggestions about how to improve the quality of the card and save money. I quite happily drive past the “jerk shop” to the other one when I need stuff printed.
Ask around.
Hi Matt! I’m right there with you. Some of the local guys are dreamy. Some are so bitchy you’d think they were not, in fact, operating a print shop but actually running a front for the mob. Don’t even get me started on my local dry cleaners. :)
Hey! I resemble that remark!
As someone who was a Realtor for almost 10 years in my previous life, yes, the headshots are pretty much de rigour. But in my defense, they were always current (although I have to admit I did have a Glamour Shots once) ;P.
That would be a funny post. The “ad” photo and the “actual” photo of Realtors.
OMG, I am dying. That is SOOO true. I actually recently had someone want to “partner” with me and printed cards out for me with Office Depot issue.
First of all, I’m not promoting myself as anything other than my business (I’ve had people do this more than once).
Second, if I were going to say “Yes, I am with the company,” I certainly wouldn’t be handing out stuff like that.
And then a close runner up is the freebies from Vistaprint.
If you’re a high school babysitter and you want cards with your number, get free cards from Vistaprint.
If you want “calling cards” to hand out to moms in your playgroup, get free cards from Vistaprint.
If you have a business and expect people to pay you real money, get real business cards.
Hi Carla! My problem does not lie with the headshots. My problem lies with the fact that they make perfectly attractive people look ugly. The last real estate guy I talked to handed me his card, and I’m thinking, “Were you hungover when you had this shot taken? Or were you just still drunk?”
I’m with you on Vistaprint. While I freely admit I’ve never used them, they are free. Free things generally suck. If I’m going to get something free that sucks, I want to get it from my local printer so I can yell at him and tar his name.
I think there’s a tagline in there somewhere… Real Money? Real Business Cards.
@Matt - Don’t even get me started! There is nothing worse, and yet nothing more common, then a business making it oh so clear that you are screwing up their day just by being there. It seems so obvious that nothing buys my loyalty like a company that actually cares what I’m going through, but not many actually put this into practice.
very nice!
[...] with Andreas at Orange32, we chose the winner. And that is, Naomi Dunford at IttyBiz. Her entry, The Art and Science of No-Bullsh*t Business Cards, is a straight-forward guide as to what not do with your business [...]
[...] ever be as cool as Andreas or his website, so we must accept it and move on.) Anyway, I submitted The Art and Science of No-Bullsh*t Business Cards, and I won. Yay for me, yay for Travis, Yay for Andreas, not-so-yay for my printer. Five thousand [...]
Naomi! Congrats on winning the 5000 business cards! You rock!
Christine
Thanks Christine. I’ll send you a bunch. You can use them as bookmarks. :)
I’d like to add one:
Don’t Be An Egomaniac
The size of your logo is not a representation of your skill and will not bring in more business if it’s larger. The worst thing you can ever EVER say to a designer is, “make the logo bigger”. If anything should be bigger on the card, perhaps it should be your contact info because that’s ultimately what you want people to react to.
By the way, Naomi. I’m finally getting into your blog and I’m really digging what I’m reading. Love your style. Reminds me of, well, me.
Dave: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I forgot about that one. NOBODY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT YOUR LOGO!
I’m glad you like the blog. I dig yours too.
People who are not Dave: Go read his blog!
Hello…Man i just love your blog, keep the cool posts comin..holy Saturday
Hey Naomi,
Great post. Given all this good advice, I’d be interested in seeing some visuals that meet your criteria for good business cards.
Maya Norton
As I am getting ready to start designing some business cards, this was a great find. Thanks Naomi for the tips. Now that I have a logo and some other goodies on the way, I need to get off my a** and make something happen.
Keep’em coming.
Following up on my own request for business card examples.
These aren’t necessarily the best in terms of the texts presentation, but they’ve certainly been invested in by their designers.
Link: http://faveup.com/. Click on “business cards” on the bottom.
Maya Norton
Hey Maya,
Aren’t they gorgeous, though? It’s like kids books - sometimes they’re so pretty, it doesn’t matter what they say. I’ll keep an eye out for other good ones. Thanks for the link. Nice piece of eye candy to start the weekend off right. :)
Hey Naomi, I just discovered your blog today and I’m really enjoying reading your posts. It’s refreshing to read something that’s both informative and entertaining due to your sharp tongue!
This is some good advice on business cards. It’s a fine balance between cookie cutter cards and ones that will stand out. As a designer one of my biggest pet peeves are those amateurish cards that seem to be everywhere, obviously printed at Vistaprint or worse.
Regarding the comment about Overnight Prints - yes, they do have consistency issues. But I have used them several times with very good results and I’ve never had a problem getting an order reprinted at no extra cost if I wasn’t happy with the quality. Of course that doesn’t necessarily help when you’ve missed your deadline, but…
Thanks again Naomi for a great blog. I’ve subscribed and I’m sure to return!
[...] sehr nützliche Tipps zur Gestaltung der eigenen Firmen-Visitenkarte findet sich bei IttyBiz.com. Darin werden viele Punkte angesprochen, die beim Design genau das Problem [...]
[...] Do You Want 91,200 People Complaining They Can’t Get Your Phone Number? Have A Back-Up Plan That Doesn’t Suck The Art And Science Of No Bullsh*t Business Cards [...]