You do if you know they're good - so what do yours say about you? Are they the biz? Try these top tips to make sure yours hit your mark...
Your business card is just about the most important thing you can have in your pocket! It's your own personal work of art, your silent ambassador - it represents you and your business when you're not there to do it in person, it should make you glow with pride when you hand it out - so it had better be good!
Here I've included a few ideas to help you make sure your business cards say the right thing about you. Remember - the impression that people get from your business card is the impression they'll form about your business, so the kind of things to avoid are odd sizes (annoying, don't fit into a card holder), printed at home (amateur), thin card (cheap), free (or £5) template from a 'certain' (!) website (cheapskate - everyone knows where you got it from and it's the same as millions of others!). Is your business really only worth £5?
Now, being a business card designer, I would say that, wouldn't I?!! Of course I would - but it's for a good reason.
Do you want to stand out from the crowd?
Do you want to leave a lasting impression?
Do you want people to think well of you and give you their business?
Do you want to feel proud when you hand it out?
Then take note! Here I've included a few ideas to help you make sure your business cards say the right thing about you:
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go for European size - 85x55mm (either portrait or landscape orientation). It doesn't necessarily need to be rectangular (so you can be creative!), but it DOES need to fit into most people's card holders - if it doesn't fit in, they won't keep it! (normal US size is 3.5 x 2 inches - 87x49mm)
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choose a good quality card (stock) - 400gsm as an absolute minimum, and ideally 450gsm or more, and if you can get it laminated too, this will give a real quality feel - you can choose from matt, gloss or soft touch lamination, or go for shiny bits with spotUV!
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use both sides! A blank back is a wasted opportunity - if you want to give people space to write notes, that's fine, but they don't need the whole of the back - use it to list some benefits of using your business, a great image, a brief comment from a happy client...
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go for a good colour scheme with your instantly identifiable brand or logo
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get it printed professionally - this needn't cost the earth, so you can spend your budget on a good design
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choose landscape or portrait, depending on what will suit your logo, artwork, text or image better, and make your font sizes no smaller than about 8pt
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take note of other people's reactions when they get your card - are they favourable? If not, change it!
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don't just throw them around - make a good connection with someone first before you whip out your cards - then they'll remember you and want to keep your card
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and finally, always, ALWAYS carry some with you!
