Tips for Printing Business Cards

Business cards are old school, but they still work. The reason a lot of people have given up on this traditional marketing trick is that they just don’t follow the playbook. In this guide, we’re going to give you the golden rules you need to follow to ensure your business cards help market your business. 

Cheap Materials = No Conversions 

When you’re picking your printing paper and printer (ideally through a professional provider, not in-house), you need to ensure you go for the quality. It’s better to have 50 decent business cards than 500 that are not worth the paper they’re printed on. 

Remember, business cards still form part of a successful marketing campaign, and print very much has a role to play in that. But if you decide to go for the cheapest materials a la George Costanza, the proof will be in the pudding. 

Call to Action?

When you design your business card, consider whether to include a (subtle) CTA. It’s not a requirement, but it may help incentivize potential customers to get in touch. For example, add a unique offer code. 

You can make it even more interesting by using a QR code. It’s simple, easy to set up, and takes your business card to the next level. People are now very comfortable with a QR code, and they’ll be intrigued to find out what happens when they scan it (just make it worth their time!). 

Use White Space 

When it comes to business card design, less is more. It’s tempting to add as many details as possible, but if there are too many elements for the viewer, there is nothing that will stand out. And no, they won’t respond to the CTA, either. 

Instead, leave plenty of white space. It will steer the viewer to the right places, and the design will look more professional and polished. Besides, the white space will also give you an opportunity to add extra details (a phone number or URL, for instance) relevant to a conversation or opportunity. 

Design Isn’t Just Aesthetics 

Sure, you want your business card to exude cool, professional. It needs to look good, we get it. But designing a business card isn’t just about the aesthetics. It needs to serve a purpose, maximizing your conversion opportunities. 

First off, cover the basics: your name, contact details, URL, address, that kind of thing. Next, think about how you want the design to serve the CTA (which we’ve already talked about). Because ultimately, you want that potential customer to get in touch with you, not simply think about how snazzy your business card looks. 

Stick to Standard Shapes 

We all love those quirky business card designs that stand out. The square shapes, the extra large dimensions, you catch our drift. The problem? These irregular sizes are just not practical. 

They don’t fit in wallets or purses. They’re annoying to carry around. Potential customers will ditch them before they have a chance of even thinking about calling you. By all means, be creative with your design, but try and stick within ‘normal’ dimensions. 

Ask for Samples 

If you’re going to go for a provider you’ve never used before to do the printing, make sure you ask for samples first. This is especially true when using a company you’ve found online. Just because they have a snazzy website doesn’t mean they produce great business cards. 

You can even use the samples to decide between different designs. You’ll find that business cards can look very different on screen compared to their physical counterparts. It may cost you a little extra, but it’s worth it before doing a full printing run. 

 

Proofread (Multiple Times!) 

The absolute worst thing that can happen after putting in all of that effort to create the perfect business card is to find a small typo or other error. Ordering another print job, particularly if you’ve used a decent printer, will not be dirt cheap.     

Before you send your order to the printer, make sure you double-check your materials. You may also want to ask for another set of fresh eyes to do the same, as they’ll pick up errors you no longer see! 

 

Once that’s done, you’re ready to go. You’ll find that going old school with this marketing technique will be more than worth it.