Much as we progress towards a paperless and e-world, a few things continue to be a major part of our lives. Take for instance, your business card. A small piece of paper with information about you, your business name and contact details, and yet this small piece of paper can make or break your reputation.
A few tips on ensuring that your business card speaks well of you
Design
Make sure the visiting card size is not outlandishly big or small compared to the standard size cards (60 x 90 mm). You want your card sticking out for the right reasons. Maintain a maximum of two fonts used throughout the card to give it an even and clean look. Two sizes of fonts are recommended – one for your own name and the rest for the balance information on your card.
Alignment
A horizontally aligned card gives you more space to play around and have lesser lines running across the card, making it easy on the eye. Another advantage is that a card with this alignment, shows up straight when flipping through a visiting card holder, so you can easily read from it. A vertical alignment used for making a business card, ends up giving the viewer a strain in his neck as he tilts it to read about you and your business. Not very cool you’ll agree.
Colour
You can splash some colour (like a full colour tint) on your business card to make it look attractive. An added advantage is that it becomes easier to locate your card from a bunch of them. While this is a good idea, you may want to be careful in choosing the colour – pleasant colours used aesthetically can create a positive effect on the viewer. The reverse is true for garish colours – it reflects on your personality too. If you are a sober, semi introvert person – using a bright pink tint in your card may seem way too flamboyant!
Content
Make sure all your important touch points are included in your card, to ensure that the world can connect with you instantly. Telephone numbers, mobile numbers, fax (if you still use one actively) address, email and social media links. It is a good practice to mention only those social media links where you are most active. Would a viewer like to click on your twitter handle and see that your last tweet was 6 months ago?
Excess content
If you have additional information to share, you can always use the back of the business card to publish such information. For example, you may want to list out multiple cities in which your business has a presence, or you may want to mention your circles of presence – in trade forums like FICCI, networking forums like BNI, social organizations like Round Table or Rotary and so on.
Photo business card
While there are differing schools of thought on whether it is a good idea to have your picture on the business card or not; here’s a little food for thought. From the stack of cards you end up collecting at the end of a networking meet or trade meet, which people are you likely to connect with more easily? If you are a seasoned networker you may make a quick note on the card you just received from a contact, while still in conversation with him, so you can go back and take the communication forward. But if you are exchanging cards like speed dating, a picture on the business card, may make it easy for you reconnect with the person.
Remember the Cards
Wherever you go, before stepping out for the day, make sure you have a bunch of your business cards on you. Always. You never know when you meet your dream connect, may be in an elevator or at the parking lot of your apartment. Always be prepared to meet an opportunity!
