What To Do With Your Business Cards


Without a plan to distribute your cards, there'sno need to print them in the first place.

Many fall into the trap of thinking all thethinking about business cards is over once theorder is placed. Wrong! The average person hasmore than half of business cards still in the boxatany given time.

Make a plan to empty your box of cards in 3 monthsor less, after all, those little cards are yourmost pwerful marekting tool.

Always carry cards with you. Always have themhandy. "Let's see, I've got one here somewhere,no, that's a card I got yesterday, no, that's mykid's picture, here it is, no, that's not iteither.."

Always keep them fresh and flat. If theylook worn or dirty, pitch 'em. You should be ableto quick draw your card faster than Gunsmoke'sMatt Dillon. If somebody gives you their businesscard, you should give them yours in return, faceup.

Think of your card as a print ad for you. Leave iteverywhere. More ad exposure leads to morebusiness. If you designed your card well, yourhome address is not on it so you can leave itanywhere without fear a burglar will comevisiting.

Many stores, banks and restaurants have bulletinboards. Keep a few push pins in your car.

Always drop your cardin the fishbowls offering a prize.

Enclose a cardwith every check you send to pay bills.

Leave oneon the table with your tip (as long as the tip isnot embarrassing).

Give one to friends"Do you have my new card?"

Keep a supply in a cardholderon your desk or at the front counter.

Ask your spouse to always carry your cards, readyto deliver should they meet someone who might beinterested in your product or service.

Keep spare cards everywhere so you never have togrope for one, or worse yet, not find one and endup scribbling your name on the back of someoneelse's card.

Put the info on your card in a sig file thatautomatically appears at the bottom of all youreMail. Get my article that show you how, step bystep. MailTo:SIGFile@BigIdeasgroup.com.

If anything on your card changes, bite the bullet,eat the expense, and pitch 'em.

Your business card is more than a reference tool.It can be your biggest marketing advantage forpeople to remember you and forget yourcompetition.

For more about buiness cards, get my article"What Does the BACK of Your Business Card Say?"MailTo:BizCardBack@BigIdeasGroup.com

©2005 BIG Mike McDaniel, Professional Speaker andFormer Major Market TV News Anchor. The BIG IdeasGroup helps small business grow with mastermindgroups, seminars and sales training.MailTo:Mike@BIGIdeasGroup.comhttp://BIGIdeasGroup.com

Subscribe to "BIG Mike's BIG Ideas" Newslettersubscribe-956603364@ezinedirector.net.

More Resources

How To Get Big Sponsorship Money for Your Band, Tour, Event or Production
Touring is a bands greatest opportunity for success. But, touring can be very expensive.
Graphical LED Display
Graphical LED Displays utilize high-resolution graphics and video to transmit the information. You will find them sited in world's great cosmopolitan cities.
Using Flyers to Advertise Your Online Business
Using flyers is one commonly overlooked method of advertising offline. Flyers are extremely easy to create.
How Can All the Radio Stations Be #1?
Are you confused by all the information you receive from various radio stations? Do they all tell you they are #1 and you don't know who to believe? Most of them probably are #1 so believe it or not, they aren't lying to you. The question is, "What are they #1 in and is it a group of ears you want to reach?"Quite often a radio "Account Manager" or "Account Executive" which are pseudonyms for radio sales person, receives a call from someone who states they are gathering information for someone else, the real decision maker, someone who is looking at radio as a possible advertising medium.
What Colors Make Your Services Most Attractive?
This information is based on the principles of Laws of Attraction, Law of Allowing and Law of Deliberate Creation. And the Universal Laws of Energy (like attract likes) proven by Quantum Physics.
Advertising That Annoys: The Real Story
Critics conclude that entertaining or "creative" commercials sell better than those that are bland. But liking the commercial may not really be that important in the scheme of things.
Lamination of Signs
I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination is even if you have only seen it in passing. Restaurant menus are a common example.
Advertising Primer for Fast Learners
Advertising, when done well is a very effective way to increase your customer base and ultimately grow your bottom line.Many businesses have no idea how to advertise; they do a little bit here and a little bit there and end up saying that advertising doesn't work.
LED Moving Message Displays
LED's are becoming more and more popular in all kinds of lighting fixtures. For simpler, slimmer design, moving message displays utilize Light Emitting Diodes (LED's) as the display technology.
Creativity and Getting Outside of the Box
Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper? Wondering where in the world to start? I have a suggestion. Turn the page upside down.
Advertising Costs Getting Too High?
Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business. One problem that small business owners have always faced is the high cost of marketing.
Create A Killer Brochure: 9 Steps to the Perfect Piece
If you are creating a brochure, make sure you follow these 9 steps to get best return on your investment:1 Grab AttentionYou need a hook that gets your audience interested. The headline or main text is your first chance to grab attention.
Pros and Cons of Establishing an In-House Ad Agency
There have been several ads promoting books and reports on thissubject, or included as part of the contents in several mailorder books stating: "SAVE UP TO 17% ON ALL YOUR ADVERTISING" It's legitimate, practical and effective, but like so many otherpromises, there are pros and cons involved. The pros are fairlyobvious.
Constructing Business Advertisements
What many may consider the most important part of advertising is writing an effective ad. The information provided in a classified ad may be the deciding factor if it is successful or a, "bomb".
Do Your Business Cards Say Who You REALLY Are?
Here are a couple of tips for creating an eye catching card:Use some color - not too much - just enough to grab someone's attention and make them want to read the card.
Vinyl Banners for the Right Occasion
The sinage marketplace is competitive! Consequently, some companies are going to focus on price and neglect quality. To complicate the situation, companies that produce stock vinyl banner material offer a bevy of different materials based on weights/thickness, color, reflective properties, ink absorption properties, etc.
Hit Them With Benefits
More about advertising from BIG Mike McDanielIt makes no difference what media you use toadvertise, the rules are the same. Benefits,benefits, benefits.
Go Ahead Im Listening
In today's fast paced environment, interaction with family and friends is often relegated to a few left over minutes here and there, leaving many people feeling isolated.Radio fills the gap.
Why Radio Advertising Could Be The Best Thing You Ever Did For Your Business
In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one.
Secrets of Getting Free Advertising
The opportunities for getting free advertising for your product or services are limited only by your own imagination and energies. There are so many proven ways of promoting your own objectives without cost that it literally boggles the mind just to think of listing them.

More Advertising Information:

Related Articles

Can I Write and Print My Own Business Brochures and Business Cards?
If you have a computer and a printer, preferably one that can print in color, then you can make your own brochures and business cards that are very professional-looking! Be sure to use good quality paper (that is available at any office supplies store like Office Depot or Staples) for anything that you are going to hand out or send to potential customers and clients.Writing Text for Your Brochure and Business CardThe very best thing to do is to get a few examples of business brochures and business cards, preferably from the same type of business as the business you are starting.
Moving Message Board
Moving message boards are used in the areas where continuous announcements, or other information are need to be displayed in to either indoor or outdoor. Used most widely in churches, schools, airports, other transport stations, banks, production and administration department of organization as marquee information billboards.
What Is Most Important - Copy Or Pic?
When, some little time ago now, I first descended upon the advertising scene, we were a good deal more concerned than most people seem to be today about the nature of the business we found ourselves in. We were always holding debates - in the saloon bar of the Coach & Horses in New Bond Street, to be tiresomely precise - about the meaning of advertising, the significance of advertising, and the past, present and future of advertising.
Advertising Inserts
One of the best and easiest ways to advertise without having to worry about shelf life of those who would most likely use your services or buy the products from your small business is to use inserts in your local newspaper. A marketing piece might also be to insert our flyers in the daily newspaper.
Trade Writing - For Cash!
Often considered as "plain Jane's" of the print world, trade magazines prove that there is more to a market than just a pretty face.Trade magazines are written for a specialized audience and typically focus on one specific area or industry.
Advertising Costs Getting Too High?
Everyone knows that advertising is essential to growing a business. One problem that small business owners have always faced is the high cost of marketing.
Free Publicity With Dogs, Cats, and Rats
Here's a fascinating idea..
What Happened? Troubleshooting Poor Response from Ad Campaigns
Too many small business owners today run ad campaigns that get little to no results, and they have no idea why. When you have the knowledge to troubleshoot the poor responses, you also have the knowledge to make the needed changes so that - next time - your sales improve! Let's take a look at the breakdown of an ad campaign, and how to determine what went wrong.
The Benefits of Specific Advertising
The great Claude Hopkins (Author of Scientific Advertising) once said, "Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave no impression whatever.
If You Lost 70% of Your New Customers, Would You Notice?
Buyers Don't Rely on the Yellow Pages Like They Used toCustomers' buying behavior has changed - for good. If your business depends on most categories in the Yellow Pages to attract new customers, you've probably seen a decline.
The Future of Voiceovers: Hold Your Tongue...Possibly Forever
"Do we need to cast a voice-over talent for this project?"That's a valid question any producer might ask when creating an advertisement, corporate audio-video presentation, video game, etc. Of course, the answer depends on what elements the producer and client feel will best communicate with the audience.
Lamination of Signs
I suspect that everyone has an idea of what lamination is even if you have only seen it in passing. Restaurant menus are a common example.
How To Tell If An Advertisement Costs Too Much
People say it all the time: "This advertising costs too much!" They practically go into cardiac arrest when they see how much the advertising for certain media in certain markets is going to cost them. It is pretty easy to get sticker shock when you see that a sixty-second radio commercial on a popular Los Angeles station could cost you a thousand bucks.
6 Must-Have Elements of a Powerful Brochure
Most brochures that businesses put out today end up doing little to impact the sales of that business. By applying the 6 must-have elements listed below you will transform you brochure from trash can lining into a powerful sales tool.
Localized Advertising - Door-to-Door Ad Distribution on the Fly!
Have you ever had to distribute door-hanger advertisements for your business? Have you ever employed door-to-door sales techniques to increase your brand awareness?
Creativity and Getting Outside of the Box
Sitting in front of a blank piece of paper? Wondering where in the world to start? I have a suggestion. Turn the page upside down.
How to Make a Fortune from Unique Resistance-free Advertising
One of the most powerful offers you can use in your advertising is the word Free.But, you may well ask? how can I make a profit giving my products and services away without charging for them?Which is the exact reason why you need to understand the 'LVC Formula' which stands for the Lifetime Value of a Client!Here's how it works.
Advertising Through Moms
Moms have a very powerful influence on what their families eat, drink, wear, do, and buy. Moms are not only the driving force behind their families, but also the economy.
How To Make Your Resource Box Sell
Ezine Articles - they're everywhere!And little wonder. They're one of the fastestways of building traffic to your website.
Advertising Headlines and How to Write Them
1. Attract prospects with your headlineUse your headline as a flag to attract readers who are interested in your product.