When designing a business card, it's essential that it's clear, concise
and right to the point.
Of the factors that make an effective business card, the least exciting
one--clarity. However, it's also the most fundamental of the factors.
To see why, imagine this case. An architecture firm designs a business
card for their services, and does a good job of making cards available
to ideal contacts. One such contact--a wealthy person in search of a
new home, for example--gets a copy of the business card.
The
card features a bold typeface, a beautifully photographed image of one
of the architect's more famous buildings, and a memorable slogan.
Excellent, thinks the potential client: I'll keep them in mind. The day
comes when he's ready to put down the money for the house. Remembering
the card, he takes it out in order to contact the architect and ask
some questions about pricing and schedules. And then he finds out that
whoever designed the architect's business card left off the website
address and phone number.
This is an extreme case, yes. But it does illustrate the central law of
business cards, however imaginative their design: don't let your
creativity get in the way of your goal. Your goal isn't to design a
great business card; it's to let people know about your business.
Any good business card, in order to be clear, will include the
following information:
• The business name (even if it's just your name.)
• A brief description of the business, or the services offered.
• Contact information.
Although this is fairly straightforward, two caveats apply. Avoid the
temptation to get too fancy with the description of your business:
you're designing a business card, not writing a resume. Something like
"Jeffrey X, Designer of Images To Fuel The Imagination Of A Newborn
Millennium" is more likely to confuse your potential contact than
delight him or her, and can possibly make you look less like an
effective artist and more like a flake. Something like "Jeffrey X,
Artist" works perfectly well.
Secondly, make sure that you not only include your contact information,
but that you prioritize the information that you'll be able to make the
best use of. For example, if your email account is set up to
automatically process inquiries from clients or potential service
providers who can be of help to your business, don't place your phone
number above your email account on your business card. In fact, if you
don't particularly want to be contacted through certain channels (for
example, if your only phone is a family cell phone on a restricted
minutes plan, or if your only email account is also the email account
you use for mailing lists and online forum updates), don't include it
at all. This might turn away one or two people over the course of your
business card's life, but it's unlikely that it'll put a significant
dent in your business: as long as you have either a phone number, a
website address, or an email address for your contacts, they'll be able
to contact you on the terms you set. Don't feel compelled to include
each of these three types if you can't effectively respond to inquiries
for each: not offering your clients a phone number is much more
professional than offering them a phone number that you never answer.
This article will help you keep a clear vision of what information to
put on your business card and how to present it as well.
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