Business Card Advisor

Hello friend,

As with anything that could have more than three (3) steps, it definately helps if you have a checklist to use as a guide so you don’t forget something important in the process. And when designing business cards it really makes sense as you typically have a number of options and therefor directions your business card design could go.

In this article you’ll learn how to use Rudyard Kipling’s famous Five W’s (and One H) as the basis for a checklist to help you create a great business card for your business.

I keep six honest serving-men
(They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When
And How and Where and Who.
- Rudyard Kipling

Taking these six simple questions into consideration when designing your next business card will put you head-and-shoulders above 90% of your competition, so take your time and flesh out the answers, okay!

Here then are the six “serving men” adapted to business card design, of course:

- What do I want my business card to do?

- Why will someone choose my business over a competitor?

- When will people use my card?

- How will people benefit from my product or service?

- Where will people go to get my product or service?

- Who is my business card for?

Like I said earlier; six simple questions! But the answers can lead down a wonderful path of discovery to an incredibly effective business card.

Now let’s expand on these and come up with an effective business card…
(more…)

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

Hi and welcome back,

I’m sure I’m going against-the-grain here considering marketing strategist Guy Kawasaki just came out with a new card that goes against almost everything I’ve been teaching for the last three (3) years. And some other business and marketing folks online seem to be jumping on the band-wagon as well.

His new Ego card (it’s not a business card IMHO) certainly stands out!

The front is black with just his name in big bold white letters (like I said: an Ego card). While this will certainly get some attention (and it seems most of the people who comment on his site like it) it really doesn’t do anything as far as letting people know what he can offer them.

Let’s move on to the back of the card…

Still black with white lettering (so it is consistent). Here he has four things:

- Three website URL’s
- an email address.
- a cellphone number.

So the card does have some contact information.

Don’t get me wrong here, this is an attention getting card! I’m sure the card is effective at starting conversations during the initial contact just because it is so out of the ordinary, but (IMHO) this could be so much more powerful with just a couple of simple tweaks…

He wouldn’t even have to change the attention getting front of the card, but just by adding these two things to the back it would have much more value to the people who receive it: (more…)

Here’s a new concept …

Let’s break all the traditional rules about business cards. Won’t that be fun. So…

Don’t put your phone number on your business card!

Don’t put your street address on your business cards!

Let’s go one further…

Don’t put your name on your business cards!

What am I talking about? Glad you asked…

(more…)