How to Design Business Cards

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morningdove3202 mentioned that I had inspired her to make her own business cards, which she found very useful. If you have a business or a career, you need a business card; it's an essential networking tool. Here are some ideas for getting the most out of your business cards.

My basic tips on business card design:

Make the design legible and attractive, in that order. It doesn't matter how pretty the card is if some people can't read it.

Start with your name and the name of your business.

Include your preferred contact information. This can be phone, postal mail, email, whatever you use. If at all possible, include email and/or a website URL.

Add a few words describing your goods or services, such as "Jonz Photos -- Weddings, Reunions, & Other Celebrations."

Use two fonts. One should be slightly fancy, eye-catching but easy to read. Use it on your name and/or the business name, which should be large. The other font should be plain, such as Times New Roman or Arial. Use it on everything else.

If there is room, particularly if there's a big blank space, include a graphic that characterizes your business. Pick a bold, simple design that is distinctive at arm's length, not a lovely but fussy one that requires close examination to resolve. Corners, sides, or top center are good places for a graphic. If you are an artist, however, the rules are a little different -- you should put your own imagery on your card.

Leave the back blank so people can write on it!

Some helpful sites:
10 Tips on How to Design Your Own Business Card
Five Tips for Designing Great Business Cards
How to Design and Print Your Own Business Cards (with video)
How to Design Your Own Artist Business Cards
Business Card Mistakes

Using your business cards:

Remember that your business cards do you no good in your pocket, only in someone's hand.

Always carry some cards in your wallet or purse. I usually carry 20 or so at a time.

If you go through cards fast, store extras in your desk, suitcase, and/or glove compartment for restocking.

If you forget to give out cards, try imagining that they're hot. Another trick is to load up 10 or 20 cards each morning at an event, and throw away any of them you have left at the end of the day -- you don't want to waste them, so you hand out more.

Give a card whenever someone asks about your business or what you do. You can also give out cards when someone asks you for any contact information or asks how to spell your name.

If someone mentions being a blogger, then say, "Great, here's my card in case you ever need a contact in [business field]." If you are a blogger and you have a card for your blog, hand it out to people you plan to mention in a post and invite them to visit your blog.

If you have a booth, art panel, or any other static location that people will be walking past, then put some of your business cards in a conspicuous holder so people can see and take them. If an event has a "freebie table" then put a small stack of your cards on it.